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Pepe (PEPE), the meme coin featuring the popular character Pepe the Frog, has experienced a significant surge in value in the past week, rising by 152.9% against the U.S. dollar. Recent statistics indicate that PEPE’s market capitalization has surged from $141 million on April 22 to a current valuation of $303 million. PEPE Jumps 99% in 24 Hours, Now Fifth-Largest Meme Token by Market Cap On April 30, 2023, the top meme coin crypto assets by market capitalization are worth $19.11 billion. Over the past 24 hours, the valuation of all meme tokens has risen 1.6%. However, only two out of the top five meme coins by market capitalization have seen gains. The newly launched cryptocurrency, pepe (PEPE) , is leading the pack with triple-digit gains. Data collected from coingecko.com shows that over the last seven days, PEPE has risen 152.9%, with most of the gains coming from the last 24 hours as the token jumped 99% higher on Sunday. PEPEUSDT chart by TradingView Bitcoin.com News

Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have declined by 5.76% over the past 30 days, according to the latest NFT sales statistics. The data reveals that the sales figure stood at $732.13 million in April, which is $44.75 million lower than the $776.88 million recorded in March. NFT Sales Decline by 5.76% in April, Ethereum Dominates, Bored Ape Yacht Club Leads in Collections NFT sales surpassed $1 billion in both January and February 2023; however, sales figures declined in March and April. According to cryptoslam.io’s latest NFT sales data for April, the sales stood at $732.13 million, which is 5.76% lower than the previous month. Out of this amount, Ethereum-based NFT sales dominated the market, accounting for $485 million in trades. However, Ethereum NFT sales declined by 19% in April compared to March figures. Meanwhile, Solana-based NFT sales recorded $88.16 million, down 6.78% from last month. The top five blockchains with the most NFT sales in April, following Ethereum and So

After the most recent increase in the federal funds rate, the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to raise the lending rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25% in three days, according to expectations. A recent poll of 105 economists revealed that 94 of them predict a 25bps rate hike will occur during the May 2-3 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. While economists are anticipating a rate hike in May, they anticipate that it will be the final one in 2023. The majority of polled economists believe that the Fed will maintain the rate at 5.25% for the remainder of the year. Report Says Next Phase of the Tightening Cycle Is Holding Benchmark Rate at Current Levels Several reports and surveys indicate that market observers believe the U.S. central bank will increase the benchmark interest rate by 25bps at the FOMC meeting this week. The FOMC meeting is scheduled to take place on May 2-3 and according to the CME Group Fedwatch tool, 83.9% suspect a 25bps rate hike will come to fruition.

Just over two weeks have passed since Ethereum’s Shapella upgrade on April 12, 2023, which occurred at block height 6,209,536, enabling stakers to withdraw for the first time. At the time of the upgrade, slightly over 8 million ethereum was locked into liquid staking protocols. Since then, over 400,000 ether, valued at $763 million, has been added to 17 liquid staking platforms. Ethereum Liquid Staking Platforms Continue to Swell As of today, April 30, 2023, the total value locked into liquid staking protocols such as Lido Finance, Coinbase’s Wrapped Staked Ether, Rocket Pool, Frax, Stakewise, Stakehound, Ankr, Ether.fi, and Bitfrost is just over $16 billion . According to 30-day statistics, six out of the top ten protocols, ranked by value locked, have experienced gains over the past month, with four of them showing double-digit growth. At present, Lido dominates the $16 billion market, holding 73.6% or 6,206,101 of the 8,431,605 ethereum locked in liquid staking protocols. Data

Another week has passed in the world of crypto and finance, with the anniversary of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s last known emails, predictions of massive declines in Americans’ standard of living, and important developments at the struggling First Republic Bank. All this and more just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. The Elusive Satoshi Nakamoto: Last Emails Reveal Bitcoin Creator’s Thoughts Before Disappearing Over a Decade Ago Twelve years ago, on this very day of April 23, 2011, a cryptic individual, known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, penned one of the final correspondences to software developer Mike Hearn. The elusive mastermind behind Bitcoin conveyed in the message that he, she, or they had “moved on to other things” and confidently asserted that the project was entrusted in “good hands.” Read More Economist Warns of ‘Catastrophic’ Fall in American Living Standard — Elon Musk Weighs in on De-Dollarization, US Dollar Weaponization Economist Peter S

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said it will start issuing gold-backed digital tokens on May 8. The first phase of the launch will see the digital tokens being issued for “investment purposes with a vesting period of 180 days.” The RBZ also revealed that the gold-backed digital tokens “would be used both as a means of payment and a store of value.” Gold-Backed Tokens Additional Value-Preserving Instruments According to the Zimbabwean central bank, it plans to start issuing the recently mooted gold-backed digital currency on May 8. The digital currency, which will be backed by the gold held at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), is expected to complement the physical gold coins that went into circulation in July 2022. The announcement of the digital currency’s issuance date came just a few days after the central bank governor, John Mangudya, was quoted revealing the RBZ’s intention to fight local currency depreciation with gold-backed digital currency. Also, as reported by

This week, the Statistics Bureau of Japan unveiled the latest core consumer price index (CPI) report for the country, revealing a surge to 3.5%. This figure comes as a surprise to analysts who had predicted a more modest 2.9% for the end of the quarter. It’s worth noting that Japan’s inflation has been steadily rising since June 2021. The timing of this uptick is also notable, as Kazuo Ueda has recently assumed the role of the 32nd governor of the Bank of Japan. New BOJ Governor Faces Rising Inflation, Central Bank to Conduct Review of Monetary Policy Measures In April, Japan experienced a surge in its year-over-year inflation rate — excluding fresh food and energy prices — which increased to 3.5% . This worsening inflation rate is a concern for the Bank of Japan (BOJ), which aims to bring the rate back down to the 2% range, like several central banks worldwide. However, the country’s economy is facing significant challenges, including the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, which r

On Friday, Michael Barr, the vice chair for supervision at the U.S. Federal Reserve, published a report on the vulnerabilities that led to the ultimate failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In addition, Marshall Gentry, the chief risk officer of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), released a similar report on Signature Bank’s collapse and its overreliance on uninsured deposits. Fed Is Confident Supervisory Recommendations ‘Will Lead to a Stronger and More Resilient Banking System’ The Federal Reserve and the FDIC published reports on Friday concerning the fall of the second and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. The first report , published by the Fed’s vice chair for supervision Michael Barr, claims the central bank’s supervisors failed to recognize the extent of vulnerabilities at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) as it grew in size and complexity. Barr wrote that SVB had 31 open supervisory findings while other banks had much fewer in comparison. The report offe

Bank of Russia decided to maintain the interest rate at 7.5% amid moderate inflation, estimated at 2.5% on an annual basis in April, although this may change later this year. The monetary authority improved its forecast for the Russian economy and now expects growth entirely in positive figures, up to 2.0% for 2023. Bank of Russia Leaves Interest Rate Unchanged for Fifth Consecutive Time At a meeting of its Board of Directors on Friday, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) kept its key interest rate at the current level of 7.5%. The figure has remained unchanged since September 2022. The regulator explained its decision with moderate inflation. Due to the high base effect, annual inflation in the Russian Federation dropped significantly — to 3.5% in March, from 11% in February, and has been estimated at 2.5% as of April 24, leading Russian business daily Kommersant noted in a report. Bank of Russia believes that the indicator was held back by the ongoing adaptation of the Russian eco

According to multiple reports, First Republic Bank is facing significant financial difficulties and could be taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) if private sector banks do not intervene. The FDIC has reportedly approached several large commercial banks regarding purchasing First Republic after the bank’s stocks dropped more than 50% on Friday. FDIC Considers Taking Over First Republic Bank as Financial Troubles Deepen, Urges Private Sector to Step In First Republic Bank’s shares were halted multiple times on the New York Stock Exchange this week, with the stock slipping 50% lower on Friday to an intraday low of $2.98 per share. By the end of the Friday trading session, it had fallen over 43% to $3.51 per share. According to sources cited by CNBC, “the most likely outcome for the troubled bank is for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to take it into receivership.” However, the bank is still hoping for an alternative solution to a government takeov

Scottish-Salvadoran driver Sebastian Melrose has made his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup racing championship. The 25-year-old, who took part in a popular Netflix TV series last year, drives a Bitcoin-branded 911 that features the flag of crypto-friendly El Salvador on its rooftop. Bitcoin Racing Team Joins Porsche Carrera Cup With Netflix Celebrity in the Car British racing team Bitcoin Racing has joined the Porsche Carrera Cup together with Richardson Racing, not only to win prizes in one of the U.K.’s biggest racing championships but also to promote crypto. The tandem hired a newcomer to the series, Scottish-Salvadoran driver Sebastian Melrose, who debuted last weekend at the Donington Park circuit. Melrose, who owes a great deal of his fame to his participation in the “Too Hot to Handle” dating game show on Netflix, sat behind the wheel of a “Bitcoin Porsche,” a 500-horsepower 911 GT3 that is sporting the bitcoin logo on its door panels, and on its roof, the flag of El Salvado

According to regulations published by the country’s treasury secretary, global crypto exchanges used by Kenya’s estimated 4 million users will start paying a 1.5% tax on revenues earned. Tax-Avoiding Digital Asset Platforms The Kenyan Treasury has said it will start levying taxes on revenues earned by cryptocurrency exchanges used by an estimated 4 million local residents. According to a report by Business Daily Africa, Kenyan authorities will rely on the 1.5% digital tax service that became effective on Jan.1, 2021. Initially proposed in 2020, the digital tax is the Kenyan government’s attempt to extract revenue from leading crypto exchanges and tax-avoiding digital asset platforms. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in early January 2021, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said it expected to get $45.5 million (5 billion Kenyan shillings) from the tax. Meanwhile, as shown in the 2023 regulations’ value added tax (electronic, internet and digital marketplace supply) published by Tr

Sources have revealed that U.S. government officials are in talks to rescue First Republic Bank, a struggling financial institution. The discussions involve the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve, according to reports on Friday. Private-Sector Deal Preferred as U.S. Government Officials Discuss First Republic Bank Rescue Efforts Market observers have been keeping a close eye on First Republic Bank since the collapse of three major banks in March. The bank disclosed earlier this month that it experienced $100 billion in withdrawals by customers in March, following the collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank. Additionally, 11 banks injected $30 billion into First Republic Bank to strengthen its reserves. FRC stock chart by TradingView On Friday, Reuters reported that the U.S. government is coordinating with the bank’s advisers to possibly save First Republic Bank, as talks led by the adviser

As of April 28, 2023, the number of Ordinal inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain has exceeded 2 million, according to current statistics. This milestone has been reached within just over four months since the first Ordinal inscription was minted on December 16, 2022, at block height 767,753. In total, inscription minting fees have amounted to 196.22 bitcoin, equivalent to $5.78 million. More Than 2 Million Ordinal Inscriptions Are Now Engraved Into the Bitcoin Blockchain The trend of Ordinal inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain continues to grow, with over 2,116,396 inscriptions discovered at the time of writing. These inscriptions are composed of various formats such as text, video, images, applications, and audio. Dune Analytics statistics reveal that 67.6% of all inscriptions are in text form, while 22.6% are images in the form of JPG or PNG files. Moreover, more than 13,000 Ordinal inscriptions include an application, and over 6,000 image inscriptions are animated. There

According to unnamed sources, the home of Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, was searched by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday. The grounds for the raid remain unknown, and neither Salame nor his legal representative have offered any statement concerning the situation. FBI Conducts Mysterious Search on Home of Former FTX Executive Ryan Salame On April 27, 2023, a report from the New York Times revealed that Ryan Salame, the former co-chief of FTX Digital Markets, had his $4 million house in Potomac, Maryland searched on Thursday morning. Salame, who was a key figure at FTX, informed regulators in the Bahamas that the company was misusing customer funds just days before its collapse, according to court documents. The raid was disclosed by two individuals with knowledge of the matter, as noted by reporters Matthew Goldstein and David Yaffe-Bellany of the Times. The reason for Thursday’s search remains unknown leaving the mot

Switzerland’s financial regulator is not satisfied with the emergency plans of two of the Alpine nation’s five major banks. The assessment refers to a period prior to the rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS when the authority viewed the troubled giant’s preparedness in positive terms. 2 Swiss Banks Unable to Implement Recovery Plans, Finma Finds The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) considers insufficient the crisis plans of two of Switzerland’s main banks, Reuters reported. The regulator is not certain if Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) and Postfinance will be manage to continue to operate in case of a crisis. ZKB’s emergency plan is not yet ready to implement as the bank has not reserved sufficient capital for recapitalization while Postfinance “must realign its emergency recapitalization strategy,” Finma stated in an announcement on Wednesday. The two are among the country’s five “systematically important banks,” along with Credit Suisse, UBS, and Raiffeisen. The asse

PRESS RELEASE. Zagreb, Croatia, 28th April 2023, Chainwire AIGameToEarn, an innovative platform combining artificial intelligence and gaming, started the whitelisting signups for its upcoming launch. The list is open to 2,000 lucky individuals, of which 200 spots are reserved for contributors, giveaways, and contest winners. Those who hurry and get whitelisted can purchase two AI NFTs on the mint day and participate in the platform’s $100,000 leaderboard. Making the whitelist is not a prerequisite for enjoying AIGameToEarn. On the contrary, those who miss this chance can still earn rewards by completing quests and participating in the community. The whitelisting process will end on May 15. Here’s how to join the whitelist: Those interested can submit their wallet here . Complete as many quests as possible on the Zealy quest board. This will boost their leaderboard position and their chances of winning a whitelist spot. Stay active in the community. All interested gamers and

A Bank of America (BOFA) commodity strategist has postulated that gold, should it continue to flourish in 2023, could pave the way for a climb to $2,500 per ounce. Presently priced at $1,983 per unit, the precious metal remains just shy of the $2,000 threshold. However, if it were to achieve the projected $2,500 target, its value would need to rise by more than 26% against the U.S. dollar. ‘Non-Commercial Purchases Do Not Need to Increase Materially to Justify Gold Hitting $2,500,’ Says BOFA Commodity Strategist In 2023 thus far, gold has demonstrated admirable performance, with its price soaring by over 19% in the span of six months. The past 30 days, in particular, have seen a noteworthy 1.33% spike in the price of this treasured metal. Furthermore, a recently-released memo from a BOFA commodity strategist opines that, to realize the envisioned $2,500 per ounce milestone, gold need not scale much further in value. “Bottom line: non-commercial purchases do not need to increase m

The Chinese yuan is now China’s most used currency for cross-border settlements. According to official data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Chinese yuan rose to be the most-used currency in March over the U.S. dollar, in a push from the Beijing government to internationalize its currency for payments. Chinese Yuan Used to Settle Most of China’s International Payments in March Beijing is now settling most of its international trade operations using the Chinese yuan. According to official numbers from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, a Chinese national institution in charge of managing China’s international reserve, the payments settled using the Chinese yuan overtook those made with U.S. dollars in March, being used in 48.4% of all settlements. The Chinese yuan was used to settle $549.9 billion in payments, a record number, rising from $434.5 billion in February. The usage of the U.S. dollar for these payments fell from 48.6% to 46.7% during the

As the Bitcoin Cash enthusiasts brace themselves for the much-awaited upgrade that vows to unleash decentralized applications, General Protocols revealed a complete production release of its decentralized hedging application, boasting a doubled contract size. Meanwhile, those utilizing the privacy-boosting protocol Cashfusion have fused over 17.4 million bitcoin cash since its inception, equivalent to a staggering $2 billion in U.S. dollar value. General Protocols Reveals Latest Defi Application Release The Bitcoin Cash community eagerly awaits an upgrade that promises to revolutionize the creation of decentralized applications on May 15, 2023. Last November, blockchain developer Jason Dreyzehner shared the news that the 2023 upgrade had been successfully added to the testnet network. Dreyzehner elaborated on the forthcoming improvements, which will introduce Cashtokens capable of generating a plethora of possibilities , from identity tokens and covenant-tracking identity tokens, t