AI tokens surge, Binance launches NFT loans and one of crypto’s biggest haters makes a surprising move. These stories and more, this week in crypto.
AI Tokens Jump Following Nvidia Report
AI-themed cryptocurrencies got a lift as Nvidia reported increasing demand for chips that power artificial intelligence applications. Tokens related to AI projects, like SingularityNET, Cortex and Measurable Data Token all recorded significant increases in price, while most of the rest of the cryptocurrency market remained flat.
Binance Launched NFT Loan Feature
Binance marketplace is launching a non-fungible token loan feature where digital asset holders can secure Ether loans by using their NFTs as collateral. The new service, called Binance NFT Loan, will allow people to use blue-chip NFTs to borrow crypto with competitive interest rates, zero gas fees, and liquidity protection.
Hong Kong Greenlights Retail Crypto Trading
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission announced that beginning next month, it will allow retail investors to trade certain crypto assets on registered trading platforms. The new guidelines are part of Hong Kong’s broader effort to become a global crypto hub, a sharp contrast when compared with China, which banned crypto trading in 2021.
Bitcoin Pizza Day Marred
Last week, bitcoiners celebrated Bitcoin Pizza Day, commemorating the day back in 2010 when computer developer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin. The day was marred, however, with rug pulls and honey pots. 14 pizza-related meme coins were issued this week, four of which were reported as rug pulls with their creators disappearing while others are suspected of being what are known as honey pots, where an asset can only be sold to the contract creator.
Chinese Drug Labors are Paid in Crypto
New research shows that 90% of Chinese chemical producers are accepting cryptocurrency as payment for fentanyl ingredients that they’re selling to drug operations around the world. Elliptic and Chainalysis released new findings that offer a glimpse into crypto’s underreported role in the deadly opioid’s supply chain.
Global Crypto Hacking Falls by 70%
Blockchain intel firm TRM Labs reported that hackers stole $400 million from 40 crypto projects in the first quarter, which is a 70% decline from last year. In addition more hackers tend to return money as the sanctions against Tornado Cash, and the arrest of the Mango Markets infiltrator has left less room for the perpetrators to disappear with their loot.
BRC-20s Make Bitcoin Network Busiest
Daily transactions on the Bitcoin network have rocketed to an all-time high this month, nearly 40% higher than the previous peak in 2017. With the BRC-20 standard, crypto tokens are built directly on the bitcoin blockchain which resulted in 25,000 of these experimental coins being minted this year, sending transaction numbers through the roof.
Crypto Hater Peter Schiff to Drop NFTs
Despite hating crypto for years and calling NFTs worthless, Peter Schiff is set to release his NFT art collection on the Bitcoin blockchain. The reaction from the crypto community has been mixed, with people generally baffled, amused or welcoming, with some keen to point out the apparent hypocrisy, in what seems like a parody but isn’t.
That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
