ViaBTC, a mining pool, has sold the first satoshi mined after the recent Bitcoin halving for $2.13 million at an auction on CoinEx. The Ordinals protocol has allowed for individual satoshis to be identified and traded, giving value to specific sats for the first time. The satoshi, with a face value of around $0.0006, was expected to attract significant interest and was categorized as "epic" under the Ordinals system due to being the first after a quadrennial halving. The advent of the Ordinals protocol has allowed sats to be traded like unique tokens, similar to non-fungible tokens on other networks.

BlackRock was not directly involved in the tokenization of a money market fund on the Hedera blockchain, despite rumors to the contrary. The HBAR token experienced a surge of over 107% on Tuesday, followed by a 25% drop, as traders looked to short the recent spike. While the token remains up by 61% over the past 24 hours, liquidity remains thin relative to volume, indicating a potentially volatile trading period ahead. Funding rates across all derivative exchanges are heavily negative, indicating a bearish bias, and the lack of liquidity coupled with a high short interest creates a landscape for a potentially volatile trading period.

Crypto issues are unlikely to be a focus in Mexico's upcoming election due to concerns over cartel violence, corruption, and migration. The election will take place on June 2, with results expected between June 5 to June 8. The future of crypto in Mexico will depend on which party and presidential candidate takes over from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is unable to run again under the constitution. The favorite to win the presidency, Claudia Sheinbaum, has indicated a focus on regulating blockchain to increase security in the technology and ecosystem. However, even if other contenders come to power, crypto may not be a priority due to the ongoing issues of cartel violence and corruption.

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand have proposed a bill that seeks to regulate stablecoins issued by US companies. The bill includes a framework for state and federal oversight of stablecoin issuers, a process for possible collapses, and a ban on algorithmic stablecoins. However, the bill does not address foreign company-issued tokens, like Tether, and lacks a specific mechanism to prevent them from accessing US customers. Lawmakers may only be able to pass stablecoin legislation during the lame-duck session, and any bill would likely be attached to a must-pass piece of legislation. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has won a civil case against Do Kwon and Terraform Labs and is seeking $4.7 billion in disgorgement and $520 million in civil penalties.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Do Kwon, co-founder of cryptocurrency company Terra, has appealed against the extradition ruling of the Montenegro court. His lawyer is working to have him extradited to South Korea instead of the United States.

According to Reuters, Venezuela is turning to Tether (USDT) as a way to bypass new sanctions imposed by the United States. This is the country's second attempt to use cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions. PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, is reportedly trying to increase its usage of USDT as a hedge against having foreign bank accounts frozen. The company is said to be using intermediaries to trade crypto and obscure the on-chain trail. Venezuela's first experiment with crypto in 2018 failed to gain traction and was discontinued by the government in early 2024.

Bitcoin's halving event, which occurs every four years and reduces the amount of new bitcoins available daily to digital miners by 50%, is set to happen on Saturday. This is a programmed event in the bitcoin ecosystem designed to maintain the currency's limited supply and store of value. The 2024 halving is expected to drive demand for bitcoin and increase its price, as seen in the aftermath of the previous three halvings. While halvings may present challenges for miners, they could lead to consolidation and more profitable companies for investors. Analyst Gautam Chhugani believes that new demand catalysts, such as the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, have contributed to the positive price action of bitcoin and predicts that it could reach $150,000 next year. The recent drone attack on Israel highlights the fragility of the bitcoin market.

As Bitcoin's halving approaches, many are anticipating the launch of Casey Rodarmor's Runes protocol. The previous project, Ordinals, generated significant revenue but also caused network congestion and high user fees. Runes aims to simplify and secure the creation of tokens on Bitcoin, potentially expanding Bitcoin culture. However, some in the community are skeptical of the protocol's similarity to Ordinals and its potential impact on network congestion and fees. Additionally, the halving may lead to a greater reliance on transaction fees for network security, potentially driving up fees.

1. EigenLayer: Deposit limits for all LST tokens will be removed on April 16

2. FTX/Alameda liquidation address deposited 2,500 ETH into Coinbase before the drop

3. LooksRare may soon support NFT on the Bitcoin chain

4. Solana Foundation Strategy Director: On-chain congestion stems from a known bottleneck in the QUIC protocol implementation

5. A whale who was long on ETH/BTC exchange rate was liquidated after the Aave loan health rate broke 1

 6. A whale transferred 8,500 ETH to the Beacon Depositor address through an intermediate address, worth more than $25 million

7. Aptos chain transaction volume exceeded 550 million, with a monthly growth of more than 10%

8. Cross-chain bridge Meson Finance announces support for BEVM mainnet

9. USDC circulation decreased by 800 million in the past 7 days

10. 4 whales/institutions sold 31,683 ETH worth $106 million during the market drop

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest's criminal case against Meta, the social media giant, over cryptocurrency scam ads featuring his image has been dropped by government prosecutors. Private prosecutions are uncommon in Australia, and serious charges like those brought by Forrest require a higher court and prosecution by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP). The CDPP did not provide a reason for the case's discontinuation, but stated that there was insufficient evidence to proceed. Despite his recent separation from his wife, Forrest, who is worth $18.7 billion, remains committed to his business and philanthropic endeavors, including the Minderoo Foundation, and has shifted his focus to green energy. He has vowed to continue his fight for legal reform that would allow action to be taken against foreign-owned social media platforms like Facebook.