Volatility Alert! Bitcoin Up, Ethereum Down - What's Next?

Dear Readers,

Major cryptocurrencies exhibited volatility today. The Bitcoin (BTC) price surged near $63,000 following the launch of a Hong Kong ETF. Conversely, Ethereum (ETH) fell away from the $3,200 mark. Among other leading altcoins, Solana (SOL) declined, while XRP gained and Cardano (ADA) remained flat. As of Tuesday, April 30, Bitcoin had risen 0.82% to $62,836, while Ethereum had dipped 1.13% to $3,141.

Highlights Of The Week

• Hong Kong's debut of spot crypto ETFs draws interest from potential Chinese investors, signaling a potential surge in market participation.

• Despite regulatory uncertainties in the US, Hong Kong ETF issuers remain undeterred; concerns over Ether's security classification loom.

• MicroStrategy's Q1 financials show a net loss of $53.1 million, yet the company persists in accumulating Bitcoin throughout April.

• Keonne Rodriguez, linked to Samourai Wallet, pleads not guilty to money laundering charges, maintaining innocence.

• Terraform Labs pushes back against SEC's demand for $5.3 billion in penalties, intensifying legal battle.

• FTX debtors secure court approval for a $450-million settlement, marking a significant step in the exchange's bankruptcy proceedings.

• South Korea gears up to institutionalize its crypto crime investigative unit, indicating a concerted effort to combat illicit activities.

• Avalanche C-Chain's integration with Stripe facilitates AVAX purchases for verified users, with eight Web3 apps also joining the platform.

• The Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacker collective, launders over $200 million in stolen cryptocurrency between 2020 and 2023, highlighting ongoing cybersecurity challenges.

• Tether makes a strategic move by investing $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech, solidifying its position as a major player in the cryptocurrency space.

Top Weekly Gainers

Amidst the volatile cryptocurrency domain, known for its unpredictable swings, discerning traders display a flair for identifying Weekly Top Performers brimming with lucrative opportunities for financial prosperity. By adopting a proactive mindset and diligently monitoring market trends and price variations, investors can capitalize on these favorable moments, potentially revolutionizing their investment approaches for optimal outcomes.

Helium (HNT), a decentralized network for Internet of Things devices, emerged as the top gainer in the last seven days. Its price surged 46.33%, reaching $5.82. Trading volume for HNT also saw a significant increase, currently sitting at $67.44 million. Helium leverages blockchain technology to create a network for low-powered wireless devices to communicate and transmit data.

Highstreet (HIGH), a project building a VR metaverse with a play-to-earn model, followed closely behind Helium with gains of 39.79% over the last week. HIGH is currently priced at $3.83, with a trading volume of $48.75 million.

ZKBase (ZKB) also impressed with a 36.54% increase in price during the same period. ZKB is a platform built on ZK-Rollups technology, offering functionalities like a Layer 2 AMM DEX, a payment service, and an NFT marketplace. The current price of ZKB sits at $0.04748, with a trading volume of $2.37 million.

Guild of Guardians (GOG), a multiplayer fantasy RPG built on Immutable X, witnessed a price increase of 34.21% over the past seven days. GOG allows players to collect characters and earn rewards. The current price of GOG is $0.2908, with a trading volume of $2.99 million.

Rounding out the list is Aleph.im (ALEPH), an open-source, crosschain network offering decentralized database solutions like file storage, computing, and a decentralized identity framework. ALEPH experienced a price surge of 26.11% in the last week, reaching $0.3243. The current trading volume for ALEPH sits at $5.51 million.

Top Weekly Losers

In the ever-shifting realm of cryptocurrencies, weekly tales unfurl, highlighting both successes and obstacles. Participants in this arena navigate regulatory changes, market uncertainties, and unwarranted media attention, reaching a decisive point. Despite challenges, this week offers traders and investors a crucial moment to assess their approaches and map out a route to prosperity. Significant downturns were observed in numerous cryptocurrency tokens during the week.

Aerodrome Finance (AERO), a next-generation AMM designed to be a central liquidity hub, experienced a rough week. The price of AERO plunged a steep 34.95% in the last seven days, reaching $1.07. Currently, AERO's trading volume sits at $64.94 million.

Akash Network (AKT), a project leading the charge in decentralized cloud computing, took a hit of 29.67% over the past week. AKT's price currently sits at $4.23, with a trading volume of $13.17 million.

Artrade (ATR), the first marketplace for art-based Real World Assets (RWA) built on Solana, also witnessed a significant decline. The price of ATR dropped 29.66% in the last seven days, bringing it down to $0.02781. The current trading volume for ATR is $1.95 million.

Polyhedra Network (ZK), a project aiming to unlock improvements in computational power and interoperability within the blockchain space, saw its price decline by 27.31% over the last week. ZK is currently priced at $1.27, with a trading volume of $17.63 million.

Trias Token (TRIAS), which seeks to establish a new-generation public chain system, fell 24.83% in the last seven days. The current price of TRIAS is $8.58, with a trading volume of $2.40 million.

Hot ICOs To Watch Out For

Active ICOs

CratD2C

CratD2C, a trailblazing platform, is conducting its ICO to revolutionize security and scalability. Their Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) system combined with Layer-1 architecture promises a new standard in the industry. Their fundraising began on April 8th and is set to conclude on May 31st. So far, they have garnered nearly $190,000, but their sights are set on reaching $5 million.

Mocaverse

Mocaverse, an NFT collection by the renowned Animoca Brands, is also in the midst of its ICO. This collection offers membership to Animoca Brands' extensive network of companies, projects, and partners. Their ICO commenced on April 25th and concludes on May 2nd. They are on the cusp of achieving their fundraising goal of $36.89 million, having already secured over $31.8 million in investment.

Trailblaze

Lastly, Trailblaze, a platform designed to streamline investments, has just begun its ICO. Launched on April 29th, their ICO will run until May 4th. Trailblaze caters to a variety of investment types and stages, encompassing pre-seed funding, IDOs, INOs, and NFT drops. Their goal is to raise $1.43 million, and they have already secured $700,000.

Upcoming ICOs

Umoja

A new wave of intriguing Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is set to hit the market in May. Umoja, a DeFi project aimed at empowering users to create self-sustaining financial tools, is leading the charge. While specific sale dates haven't been announced yet, they're targeting a $10 million fundraising goal.

Engines of Fury

Gamers will also have exciting options to explore in May's ICO landscape. Engines of Fury, a free-to-play post-apocalyptic shooter, is gearing up for its token sale. This action-packed title leverages a single deflationary token ($FURY) and NFTs to fuel its in-game economy. Specific sale dates are still forthcoming, but they aim to raise $4.5 million.

GMatrixs

Another gaming-related project, GMatrixs, is also on the horizon. Described as the first technology-focused Web3.0 integrated service platform in the GameFi space, GMatrixs offers a comprehensive ecosystem for gamers. Specific sale dates are to be announced, but they have set a fundraising target of $6.5 million.

Ended ICOs

XSwap

XSwap, the first Cross-Chain Swaps Protocol built on Chainlink and powered by CCIP, concluded its ICO on April 30th. While they achieved a respectable $700,000 in funding, it fell short of their initial goal of $2,100,000.

Meson.Network

Meson Network, aiming to revolutionize Web3 with a streamlined bandwidth marketplace built on blockchain protocol, reached its fundraising target of $12,250,000. Their sale ran from April 26th to April 28th, showcasing strong investor confidence in their approach to replacing traditional, labor-intensive bandwidth sales models.

Letit

Letit, a platform offering Letit Tracker, an online application designed to improve trading results in financial markets, concluded its ICO on April 20th.  Letit Tracker helps users of all experience levels by allowing them to account for and analyze their trades, leading to more informed investment decisions. Their ICO ran from February 1st and managed to raise its entire $1,430,000 goal.

Hottest Airdrops

LunarStorm

• Go to LunarStorm Zealy airdrop page.

• Sign up via Discord, wallet, or email.

• Complete tasks for free XP.

• $1,000,000 worth of LUST distributed.

• Check the official announcement for more details.

PlanetQuest

• Visit PlanetQuest airdrop page.

• Connect X account, follow on X.

• Sign up, and connect wallet.

• Disable extra browser extensions.

• Go to browser settings and extensions, toggle off extras.

• Get 2500 points for signing up.

• Share airdrop news on X, mention @joinPlanetQuest or $PQX.

• Earn points based on views, likes, replies, and reposts.

• Accumulate points for Quantum crystals.

• Airdrop operates in seasons.

• First season ends by month-end, second starts on May 1.

• Earn extra points for referrals.

• Visit the official airdrop announcement for more details.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,
Crypto Recorder Team

P.S Got a question, suggestion or general feedback? Feel free to reply to this email. I'll get back to you asap!