Top stories this week
Coinbase calls Pepe a 'symbol of hate', urging boycott of exchange
An email sent to Coinbase customers describing the Pepe the Frog meme as a “hate symbol” co-opted by alt-right groups sparked the ire of the PEPE memecoin community this week. Two hours after the email was sent, the hashtag "#deletecoinbase" hit the trending sidebar on Twitter, with more than 14,000 comments calling on users to boycott the exchange. Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer, took to Twitter to respond to the outrage and apologized: "We screwed up and we're sorry."
Florida Governor signs CBDC bill, restricting certain uses of U.S. and foreign CBDCs
US Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill restricting the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the state. The new law prohibits the use of a U.S. federal CBDC "as a currency under Florida's Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)." It also prohibits the use of CBDCs issued by foreign governments and calls on other states to use their commercial codes to institute similar bans. DeSantis said he was spurred to action by White House studies of new financial technology. The law comes into force on July 1.
Milady memecoin jumps 5,250% after Musk's tweet and exchange listings
Milady (LADYS), the self-organized memecoin based on the anime avatar NFT collection of the same name, jumped over 5,250% on May 11 after Elon Musk tweeted a meme using imagery of a Milady NFT . The tweet also bumped up the collection's average sale price. “LADYS is an even coin without any intrinsic value or expectation of financial return. There is no formal team or roadmap,” the token developers said. "The play is completely unnecessary and for entertainment purposes only."
Good or bad ordinals for Bitcoin? Supporters and opponents make their voices heard
Bitcoin ordinals continue to inspire debate within the Bitcoin community. Shortly after their introduction in January 2023, opponents of the technology began to worry about its perceived flaws, citing slow speeds and rising transaction costs. Meanwhile, its proponents claim that ordinals provide more opportunity, improve decentralization and guarantee freedom of expression. The technology makes it possible to add text, images and code to a satoshi - the smallest unit of bitcoin.
To catch a scammer: Kraken creates a fake crypto account to "bait" fraudsters
Crypto exchange Kraken has provided a new method for reporting malicious wallets - by creating a fake crypto environment to "scam" bad actors. Kraken created the “custom environment” for popular streamer Kitboga to frustrate a scammer posing as US President Joe Biden. The punchline comes when Kitboga, who portrays an elderly person with a $450,000 balance in Bitcoin, infuriates the scammer after mistyping his wallet address before sending all the funds.
Winners and losers
At the weekend, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $26,707Ether (ETH) To $1,803 And XRP To $0.43. The total market capitalization is $1.12 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Kava (KAVA) at 15.28%, Bitcoin SV (BSV) at 5.19% and PAX Gold (PAXG) at 0.20%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pepe (PEPE) at -54.43%, PancakeSwap (CAKE) at -27.15% and WOO Network (COURT) -24.48%.
For more information on crypto prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph's market analysis.
Read also
Features
Crypto as a “public good” in the 22nd century
Features
"Make sure Ethereum wins" - Steve Newcomb reveals zkSync's main directive
Most Memorable Quotes
"A general pause in AI training, along with existing trends that appear to not prioritize investment in the AI industry's ethical efforts, will only cause damage and setbacks. additional."
Christina MontgomeryHead of Privacy and Trust at IBM
"The tokenization of real-world assets may provide an unprecedented opportunity to create new market infrastructure and increase the efficiency of commodity trading across the globe."
Cathy ClayExecutive Vice President, Global Data and Digital Solutions at Cboe Global Markets
"The metaverse is dead!" Let's hold an online vigil so that we, the 600,000,000 monthly active users of Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, PUBG Mobile, Sandbox and VRChat, can mourn his passing together in real-time 3D.
Tim SweeneyEpic Games CEO
"We messed up and we're sorry [about comments regarding Pepe the Frog].”
Paul Grewallegal director at Coinbase
“People are actually adopting [crypto] inside their wallets. Whether you're talking about the retail side, the high net worth investor side, or the institutional investor side, everyone is looking at their portfolios and trying to get that kind of exposure.
Neil TanChairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong
“Key lessons learned from the Terra LUNA accident include due diligence. Doing due diligence on every project would save potential investors from future heartache.
Obinna Uche Uzoijetwitter analyst
Prediction of the week
Bitcoin Enters $26,000 “Dip” As BTC Price Approaches 2-Month Lows
Bitcoin approached its two-month low on May 12 on fears that a “head and shoulders” pattern could drive the bears forward.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $26,100 on Bitstamp – its lowest since March 17. Despite encouraging macro conditions for risky assets, Bitcoin failed to capitalize on upside potential as supply liquidity dwindled.
This “head and shoulders pattern” would set a negative precedent if confirmed. "We just can't let the head and shoulders crowd of #Bitcoin win," said pseudonymous financial commentator Tedtalksmacro, before adding that if Bitcoin climbs back above $27,000, things could get ugly. "very interesting".
FUD of the week
Pepe memecoin frenzy draws unwanted attention from scammers
Bad actors noticed the hype around the Pepe memecoin, leading to attempted scams that now plague the crypto community. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, at least 10 memecoin scams have been created in the past few days. The company reported fraudulent tokens that had recently been stripped of liquidity, which attracted investors. Fake Pepe claim sites are also starting to become more common on Twitter.
'Bitcoin is not under attack:' BTC maxis allay fears of a DoS offensive
A sudden increase in Bitcoin transaction fees and unconfirmed transactions sparked concerns on Crypto Twitter during the week about a possible denial of service attack on the network. Bitcoin's average transaction fee was $19.20 on May 8, according to BitInfoCharts, while the transaction backlog stood at 459,341 on the same day. The increased demand on the network even caused the total fees per block to temporarily exceed the block subsidy reward of 6.25 BTC. Bitcoin analysts and commentators rushed to allay community fears.
ParaSpace team clashes with CEO over alleged whereabouts of protocol funds
NFT protocol ParaSpace has published several alleged irregularities linking its CEO Yubo Ruan to mismanagement of funds equivalent to 2,909 Ether. The funds had previously been stolen in a hack, but were later recovered through white hats. Ruan, however, returned only a portion of the protocol treasury funds. ParaSpace employees have now taken full control of the protocol and are asking Ruan to step down. The CEO has denied any wrongdoing.
Best Crypto Features
Cryptocurrency Trading Addiction: What to Look for and How to Treat It
Treatment centers are seeing an increase in the number of customers struggling with cryptocurrency addiction. Although the symptoms are not hard to spot, some crypto traders may not even be aware of what is troubling them.
$3.4 Billion Bitcoin in a Popcorn Box: The Story of the Silk Road Hacker
The Silk Road hacker lived the high life for a decade with his stolen billions - but was arrested due to a pocket change transfer.
William Clemente III predicts Bitcoin will hit six figures by the end of 2024: Hall of Flame
Will Clemente III dropped out of school to become a crypto analyst and says Bitcoin has a strong chance of hitting six figures by the end of 2024.
Subscribe
Blockchain's most engaging reads. Delivered once a week.