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What the numbers say: The total number of Ordinal Inscriptions on the Bitcoin network surpassed 5 million on May 9, more than doubling in just 10 days. Total inscriptions hit 5.01 million, up from 2.39 million on April 29. This figure skyrocketed similarly on May 1 by reaching 3 million, with a massive increase from the 58,000 level at the beginning of April. The increased inscription number also caused the daily transactions on the Bitcoin network to reach a new all-time high at the beginning of May by hitting the 492,220 level. Details: Dune's data has shown that a significant portion of these inscriptions is text-based, with an 86% rate. Text-based inscriptions were followed by image-based ones with a quite distant 13% share. Application, video, audio, and model-based inscriptions were able to take a relatively small share of the cake. Relevance: As the Ordinals NFTs have gained massive popularity over the last several months, leading crypto exchange Binance's NFT marketplace recently announced that it would start supporting Ordinals NFTs on its platform later in May. Previously, Binance NFT only supported BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum networks. The latest move has expanded Binance's NFT ecosystem to the Bitcoin network as well. The update will allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin NFTs directly through their existing Binance accounts. Brands that should care: The rising popularity of Ordinals NFTs has caused many other NFT-related firms to jump on the bandwagon. In late February, Yuga Labs, the firm behind the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks NFTs, introduced its first-ever Ordinals NFT collection, TwelveFold. NFT marketplace Magic Eden also recently launched a new fully audited NFT marketplace and a creator launchpad for Ordinals NFTs. In April, crypto exchange OKX similarly brought Ordinals NFTs to its marketplace and wallet ecosystem. What it means: Ordinals are digital assets permanently attached to a satoshi, or 1/100,000,000 of a full Bitcoin (BTC). |     | |
| 2 | | Crypto exchange Bittrex has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., nearly one month after it announced that it would gradually halt its operations in the country. In the bankruptcy filing, the company reported more than 100,000 creditors. More: - The firm also said it had assets and liabilities within the $500M to $1B range separately.
- The bankruptcy filing concerns the firm's Seattle-based entity, two entities in Malta, and an affiliated entity dubbed Desolation Holdings LLC.
- The exchange's Liechtenstein-based global entity, Bittrex Global GmbH, was excluded from the bankruptcy process, and the company said it does not plan to halt its global operations.
- The move came shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the exchange over the violation of U.S. investor protection laws by running as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse at the same time without registration.
- The lawsuit also named former CEO Bill Shihara and Bittrex Global GmbH as defendants.
- Before the SEC's lawsuit, the exchange had to lay off 83 employees in February by citing the crypto market downturn and decided to halt its operations in the U.S. by the end of April due to the current regulatory environment.
Zoom Out: - With the bankruptcy filing, Bittrex joined other crypto-related firms, including FTX, BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager Digital, going bankrupt within the last months following the collapses of high-profile crypto projects and a prolonged crypto winter.
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| 3 | | Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful has resumed marketplace operations more than one month after it was shut down. In a statement on the company’s website, the firm said the marketplace was temporarily suspended to protect all customers and Paxful’s future. More: - The latest statement has also pointed out that the Paxful Wallet remained fully operational for users during the suspension.
- In early April, Paxful suspended its operations after eight years, citing key staff departures and the current regulatory environment in the U.S.
- Shortly before the suspension, Paxful co-founder Artur Schaback accused CEO Ray Youssef and the company of involvement in misappropriating funds, money laundering, and evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia.
- At the time, Youssef claimed that Schaback sued Paxful because he was angry that the firm fired him.
- In April, Youssef also stated that 88% of suspended accounts were unfrozen, freeing $1M of customer funds, and he stepped down from the CEO position to unfreeze the accounts.
- Schaback said the platform is currently run by a Delaware lawyer who serves as a custodian and a director in addition to Schaback and Youssef.
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| 4 | | Some of the most well-known finance and tech firms, including Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Deloitte, and Cboe Global Markets, have joined forces to launch a new blockchain network dubbed Canton. The network mainly aims to link different institutional applications built using the blockchain startup Digital Asset's smart-contract language Daml and accelerate blockchain adoption in financial markets. More: - The network's testing phase will begin in July.
- The project participants said the Canton Network would offer better privacy, controls, standards, and scalability for financial institutions than currently available ones.
- The group also defined Canton as a network of networks.
- Digital Asset, ASX, BNP Paribas, Broadridge, Deutsche Börse Group, Cumberland, Moody's, Paxos, and SBI Digital Asset Holdings are all among the other firms backing the project.
- The initiative saw support from around 30 firms.
- The Canton Network will have the ability to connect different blockchain systems built by various entities and allow systems to work together without requiring those entities to give up on control.
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| 5 | | The Bank of Canada, the country's central bank, has launched an online public consultation on a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC). The consultation process will continue until June 19. More: - The process aims to hear Canadians' opinions on the potential use cases of a digital dollar, crucial security features regarding the CBDC, the state-backed digital currency's accessibility, and other aspects regarding privacy.
- The bank underlined that the country currently does not need a CBDC, but the consultation results will be used when a national digital currency is required.
- In its statement, the central bank also pointed out that cash usage would not change in the country even if a CBDC is implemented someday.
- Carolyn Rogers, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, said they want to make sure that everyone can always take part in the Canadian economy.
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| 6 | | Estonia's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has published new data showing that the number of registered crypto firms in the country declined by 80% due to the new Terrorist Financing Prevention and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. The amended law came into force on March 15. More: - Since the new legislation came into effect, around 200 domestic crypto service providers voluntarily halted operations in the country by withdrawing their licenses.
- Another 189 firms' authorizations were canceled since they did not comply with the new regulations.
- The revised rules increased licensing costs, tightened capital and information reporting requirements, expanded the definition of the virtual asset service provider, and required firms to have legitimate ties with Estonia.
- There are currently 100 active crypto firms registered in the country.
- The most common issues found in the shuttered firms were the board members registered without their own knowledge or with falsified documents and the use of identical documentation in different companies.
- Matis Mäeker, director of the FIU, said it would soon return to normal supervising practices by moving from assessment on paper to daily on-site supervision.
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- Fintech giant PayPal has reported nearly $1B of crypto holdings in its earnings report for Q1 2023, with an over 30% increase from the previous quarter.
- Central Bank of Ireland Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said unbacked cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), are more akin to a Ponzi scheme than an investment.
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 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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