Staff Picks - April 2022

How ambitious young projects are connecting Distributed Ledger Technology and music

As the world rushes to identify the major use cases of Distributed Ledger Technology, the music industry has continued to rise to the public’s attention.

Opera integrates Bitcoin, Solana, Polygon and five other blockchains

Under the Crypto Browser project initiative, Opera’s multichain compatibility aims to ease the introduction of Web3 to more than 380 million mobile and desktop users worldwide.

Binance Partially Resumes Deposits, Withdrawals on Ronin Network as Hack Recovery Continues

Gaming-focused Ronin on Tuesday disclosed a loss of more than $625 million in USDC and ether.

Average Ethereum Gas Fee Jumps to $20 per Transfer, L2 Fees Follow Rise

While Ethereum network fees to transfer data dropped significantly in recent times, tapping a low of $5.98 per transaction in mid-March, gas fees are rising once again on the second-largest cryptocurrency network in terms of market valuation. On Sunday, April 3, the average transaction network fee is around 0.0056 ether or $19.58 per transfer.

European Parliament Moves Forward on Anti-Anonymity Rules

Committees within the European Parliament have voted in favor of harsh new regulations surrounding unhosted crypto wallets. The complete and primary vote is pending, though it is reportedly likely to pass.


Slovenia Unveils Plan for Flat Tax on Crypto Transactions

The rate would be just under 5%, according to the government.

EU Bans Providing High-Value Crypto Services to Russia

The move follows warnings that crypto is being used to circumvent sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Kraken shuts down global headquarters because ‘San Francisco is not safe’

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell announced that he has made the decision to close Kraken’s global headquarters in San Francisco.

Starbucks joins NFT party, UK government seeks stablecoin regulations and Crypto Twitter rallies behind cancer fighter, Hodler’s Digest: Apr. 3-9

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

The UK Wants to Regulate Crypto: Here's What That Could Look Like

The government is set to reveal its regulatory package for crypto in the coming weeks.


FBI and CISA issue alert over North Korean cyberattacks on crypto targets

The cybersecurity agency believes that the threat from North Korean hackers will not go away unless crypto firms take necessary but simple steps to ensure their security.

How Web3 is redefining storytelling for creators and fans through NFTs

Web3 has given rise to generative NFTs that allow both fans and creators to tell stories across different mediums.

MetaMask warns Apple users over iCloud phishing attacks

The firm warned that If an Apple user has enabled automatic iCloud backups of their MetaMask wallet data, their seed phrase is being stored online.

Top universities have added crypto to the curriculum

Universities have been helping with blockchain-related research for quite some time and, now, some world-class universities have added the technology to their curriculum.

Argentinians Are Now Using P2P Markets to Multiply Their Savings

Argentinians are now discovering that P2P (peer-to-peer) markets can be used to maintain or multiply their savings in crypto and foreign currency. According to local media sources, more and more Argentinians are using P2P exchanges and markets to apply arbitrage and earn money being P2P cashiers. Maximiliano Hinz, Latam operations director of Binance, states that their P2P business has grown 40% in just the last month.


‘Web3 offers us the promise to rearchitect the internet,’ says NFT.com Founder Jordan Fried

NFT.com is aiming to cultivate a democratic, community-governed NFT headquarters to compete with the industry’s top marketplaces and data aggregate platforms.

Hacker bungles DeFi exploit: Leaves stolen $1M in contract set to self destruct

A hacker apparently so thrilled by a successful theft left behind over $1 million in a smart contract that was set to destruct, permanently ensuring the crypto could never be moved.

Report Says Binance Shared Client Data With Russia, Crypto Exchange Denies Allegations

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been accused in a media report of agreeing to provide user data to Russia’s financial watchdog. The trading platform has refuted the allegations. It also insists it’s complying with Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Metrics Show Decentralized Exchange Volumes Continue to Slide This Year

Decentralized exchange (dex) volumes have been dropping since December 2021 according to current statistics. However, last month dex trade volumes spiked 2.37% higher than the volumes recorded in February. Despite the brief spike and with only eight days left in April, metrics show this month’s dex volumes will likely be much lower than in March.

Crypto Exchange Coinbase Launches Web3 Social Marketplace for NFTs in Beta

Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a Web3 social marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in beta. In addition, the exchange noted that for a limited time, there will be no Coinbase transaction fees.