Bitcoin Price: US$ 62,920.21 (+2.33%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 2,950.99 (+0.74%)
On May 13, Hong Kong’s Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced their largest-ever net outflow, erasing all gains since their launch less than two weeks prior, marking the third consecutive trading day of net outflows. This coincided with Bitcoin trading below $61,000, a phenomenon seen as part of a post-halving slump. In the midst of these market fluctuations, OpenAI introduced GPT-4o, a more conversational AI chatbot capable of interpreting and responding to user audio and video in real time. This new model, faster and 50% cheaper than its predecessor, GPT-4 Turbo, boasts response times to audio inputs as quick as 2.3 seconds, mirroring human response times in an ordinary conversation. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed and settled charges against cryptocurrency brokerage firm Falcon Labs, leading to approximately $1.8 million in disgorgement and penalties. The settlement alleged that FalconX, without proper registration, facilitated orders for digital asset derivatives for U.S. users, prompting FalconX to cease offering services to U.S. residents and pay the penalties.
CertiK, a security platform, recently discovered and rectified a $5M security flaw in the Wormhole bridge on the Aptos network. This flaw, stemming from an incorrect implementation of the ‘public(friend)’ and ‘entry’ modifiers in the MOVE programming language, could have enabled an attacker to fabricate transactions and potentially drain up to $5M from the bridge. Meanwhile, in the decentralised exchange sector, Antonio Juliano, the founder of dYdX, is transitioning from his role as CEO to become the chairman and president, passing the CEO baton to former chief strategy officer, Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen. Under Juliano’s stewardship, dYdX experienced a significant surge in activity, achieving a market capitalisation of over $1.1 billion, and spearheading key developments such as the launch of its own layer-1 blockchain and a strategic shift from Ethereum to the Cosmos network. In parallel, the crypto exchange OKX has emerged as a dominant player, accounting for 51.08% of the daily trading volume of Bitcoin Runes, outperforming other platforms like UniSat and MagicEden. Bitcoin Runes, a novel protocol for issuing fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network, has made a remarkable impact since its April launch, generating a staggering 2,287 BTC ($143.6 million) in transaction fees and establishing itself as a cornerstone of the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem alongside Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.
In response to the declining Japanese yen, Tokyo-based investment firm Metaplanet has strategically shifted its treasury management strategy to prioritise Bitcoin, purchasing a total of 117.7 BTC ($7.19 million). This move, which has significantly increased the price of Metaplanet shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is part of a broader trend in Japan, where the yen has been the worst performer among major currencies against the U.S. dollar in 2024, mainly due to the gap between domestic and foreign interest rates and a growing trade deficit. Meanwhile, El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, has launched a proof-of-reserves website to monitor the country’s Bitcoin holdings, which currently stand at 5,748 BTC (approximately $360 million), with the government aiming to add 1 Bitcoin to its treasury daily. Despite criticism following a drop in Bitcoin’s value, El Salvador has an unrealised profit of over $57.4 million on its Bitcoin holdings and could potentially pay off its loans to the International Monetary Fund if the Bitcoin price reaches $100,000, according to venture capitalist Tim Draper. On the other hand, North Korean hackers, specifically the Kimsuky group, are reportedly using a new malware variant called “Durian” to launch attacks on South Korean crypto firms, exploiting legitimate security software used by these firms. This comes as part of a larger trend of crypto hacking, with the notorious Lazarus Group, which has connections to Kimsuky, accused of stealing over $3 billion in crypto assets up to 2023, contributing to the more than $1.8 billion worth of crypto lost to hacks and exploits in 2023 alone.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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