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Discover the excitement and rewards that await you at Stake.com with a 200% deposit bonus!Crypto Market UpdateTable of ContentsCrypto Market Updates and TrendsBitcoin Stays Strong Amid ETF OutflowsEthereum Dips Amid Upgrade and ETF DelaysEthereum Foundation Faces Legal ScrutinyBlackRock's Bold Move Into Digital LiquidityLegal Troubles and InnovationsTornado Cash Founder ChargedDecentralized Exchange Raises $1MDo Kwon's Extradition RejectedSBF Faces Stiff Sentence ProposalParaSwap Contract Vulnerability ExposedMarket Dynamics and InvestmentsEtherFi Token Manipulation ConcernsAave Launches Loyalty ProgramAI Crypto Gains Traction in the U.S.StarkNet Announces Roadmap for GrowthGaming and Partnership DevelopmentsImmutable and Polygon's $100M Blockchain Gaming FundAnonymous Trader Profits from Shroom CoinSecurity Concerns and NFT SalesTrezor Twitter Hack Raises Security AlarmsBitcoin Leads NFT Market SurgeBitcoin Stays Strong Amid ETF OutflowsBitcoin's resilience is highlighted as it maintained a value of $63,000 after a brief dip to $61,000, with ether also recovering. Despite fluctuations, the broader crypto market, including the stablecoin sector, which surpassed $150 billion, shows signs of liquidity recovery to pre-FTX levels. Notably, the Bitcoin ETF market experienced its biggest outflow day, with analysts predicting further drops if there’s another massive outflow coming. However, anticipation builds around the Bitcoin halving event, with expectations of a bullish trajectory despite potential short-term retracements. The FOMC meeting outcome is almost certain, but there's keen interest in Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments for their impact on risk assets. Ethereum Dips Amid Upgrade and ETF DelaysEthereum's price dropped 20% in a week, despite investor bullishness, following a rally and subsequent correction, now staying at above $3,300. Ether's performance lagged behind competitors during this downturn. A significant network upgrade coincided with a price peak, enhancing scalability and reducing transaction fees for layer 2 networks. Separately, the SEC has delayed decisions on Ethereum ETFs, reducing approval chances and affecting market sentiment, with final verdicts postponed to late May. Analysts and market odds reflect growing skepticism, contrasting with earlier optimism following Bitcoin ETF approvals. Public sentiment and analysts have turned more pessimistic regarding the approval of Ether ETFs, with odds for approval by the end of May falling. Grayscale is considering adding staking to its Ether ETF application, aiming to mitigate inflationary pressures and maintain competitiveness.Ethereum Foundation Faces Legal ScrutinyThe Ethereum Foundation, a pivotal player in the Ethereum ecosystem, is under investigation by an undisclosed "state authority," with the investigation's scope remaining unclear. This development occurs amidst Ethereum's major technical upgrade and a pending decision on an Ether ETF in the U.S. The foundation's website underwent important changes, including the removal of a warrant canary. BlackRock's Bold Move Into Digital LiquidityBlackRock and Securitize are launching the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, offering potential high returns with a minimum $100,000 investment. This collaboration hints at BlackRock's venture into tokenization without explicit confirmation. BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF gained significant traction, with trading volume surpassing $1 billion. CEO Larry Fink foresees a transformative shift towards tokenizing all financial assets to eliminate corruption. Tornado Cash Founder ChargedAlexey Pertsev, the founder of Tornado Cash, faces money laundering charges for allegedly laundering over $1.2 billion. The case in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, links him to cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash and transactions involving hacked funds. A guilty verdict could impact the crypto community, challenging the intersection of software development, money laundering, and legal liability. Decentralized Exchange Raises $1MOoga Booga, a decentralized exchange aggregator, recently raised $1 million at a $10 million valuation to support trading on Berachain's upcoming mainnet. The platform aims to find the most cost-effective crypto swaps across multiple exchanges, leveraging Berachain's "proof-of-liquidity" security method. Founder Kevin Liu transitioned from running a DEX to focusing on proven product offerings. Do Kwon's Extradition RejectedThe Montenegro appeals court rejected Do Kwon's appeal to reverse his extradition to South Korea over the collapse of his crypto enterprise, Terra. The U.S. Department of Justice also seeks his extradition. Kwon's lawyer confirmed the finality of the decision. The extradition timeline is yet to be determined, and the U.S. plans to continue pursuing Kwon's extradition. SBF Faces Stiff Sentence ProposalFormer FTX CEO Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried faces a proposed 40-to-50-year prison sentence, sparking objections from his lawyers. They argue the severity of the sentence reflects a "medieval" view of punishment, and propose a reduced term of five to six years, emphasizing no actual losses, philanthropic efforts, and low risk of re-offending. ParaSwap Contract Vulnerability ExposedParaSwap's Augustus v6 contract, launched to improve swapping efficiency, was found to have a critical vulnerability, affecting 386 addresses. After securing the victims' funds through a white hat intervention, the company deactivated the contract on its interface and plans to reimburse victims. Hackers managed to cash out approximately $24,000 before the pause. EtherFi Token Manipulation ConcernsEtherFi's ETHFI token faced challenges as an early investor, Arrington XRP Capital, allegedly game the airdrop system by staking 5,000 ETH across ten wallets to amass 200,498 ETHFI tokens. This initially led to a 32% price drop in ETHFI before recovering, raising concerns about Sybil attacks and potential manipulation, despite EtherFi and Arrington's explanations. Aave Launches Loyalty ProgramAave's "Merit" loyalty program rewards users based on DAO contributions, distributing 280 WETH initially. It incentivizes Aave-aligned actions while penalizing non-supportive behavior, influencing competitors. The program's detailed criteria remain undisclosed to prevent manipulation, focusing on specific activities like liquid staked token deposits. Notably, it aims to maintain Aave's strategic direction and user incentivization. AI Crypto Gains Traction in the U.S.In 2024, the U.S. dominated global interest in AI cryptocurrencies, followed by the UK and Turkey. Bittensor (TAO), Render (RNDR), and Fetch.ai (FET) emerged as popular choices. RNDR led in market cap, with a value surge. Saudi Arabia plans a $40B AI investment fund overseen by a16z to become the largest AI investor globally, aiming to boost its AI technology capability through partnerships and its sovereign wealth fund. StarkNet Announces Roadmap for GrowthStarkNet revealed its 2024 roadmap focusing on enhancing transaction speed and lowering fees. Being a prominent layer-2 network with $1.4 billion locked assets, it plans upgrades like transaction parallelization and Cairo-native integration. This aims to expedite transactions and boost network scalability for improved performance and user experience. Immutable and Polygon's $100M Blockchain Gaming FundImmutable and Polygon have launched a $100 million fund, the Inevitable Games Fund (IGF), to support blockchain games, signaling a major step in blockchain gaming development. The IGF invests in games native to ImmutableX or Polygon blockchains, with notable investments including Pixelmon and Guild of Guardians. Despite a decrease in blockchain gaming funding in 2023, the sector still saw significant interest, with Polygon emerging as a leading blockchain for gaming, achieving over 400,000 daily unique active wallets. On a related note, Polygon Labs paid $4 million to Starbucks for an NFT-powered loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey, marking a shift in business development strategy toward seeking big-name partnerships. However, following the program's discontinuation, Polygon Labs is now focusing more on technology development than on such partnerships. Anonymous Trader Profits from Shroom CoinAn anonymous trader secured an $8.9 million profit within an hour by trading Shroom (SHROOM) memecoin during liquidity addition on Solana. The wallet invested $1.04 million in SHROOM, selling for 57,112 SOL worth $9.93 million. SHROOM's price dropped over 70% since launch to an $11.88 million market cap, sparking insider trading suspicions. Trezor Twitter Hack Raises Security AlarmsThe official Twitter account of Trezor, a notable crypto hardware wallet provider, was recently compromised by scammers promoting a bogus presale for "TRZR" tokens. The fraudsters managed to accumulate $8,100 in funds by urging participants to deposit Solana tokens within a 24-hour window. Concerns regarding Trezor's security measures and reputation have been raised within the crypto community. Top Altcoin Gainers and LosersGainers:KuCoin Token KCS (+11.64%) Pepe PEPE (+8.55%) AIOZ Network AIOZ (+7.94%) Losers: dogwifhat WIF (-14.93%) Aptos APT (-10.66%) Avalanche AVAX (-9.74%) NFT Market MapBitcoin Leads NFT Market SurgeBitcoin led today's NFT market with $12.9 million in sales, increasing by 28.23%. Notably, Uncategorized Ordinals and NodeMonkes contributed $5 million and $2.5 million respectively. Ethereum ranked second with $11.7 million, boosted by Bored Ape Yacht Club's 77% surge to $1.65 million. Flow experienced a 113.71% sales increase. This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.