1 BTC = $100K 🔜🚀

Bitcoin surged past $93,000, setting an all-time high, with anticipation mounting for a potential $100K milestone by the weekend. Inflation concerns are drawing investors to Bitcoin, seen as a hedge against rising prices. Crypto miners like Hut 8 posted strong earnings, and MicroStrategy’s BTC-heavy portfolio is boosting its bond market performance. Meanwhile, Dogecoin saw a 3% boost tied to Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s administration. Other crypto-linked stocks, including Coinbase, are rallying as Bitcoin’s bull run continues, attracting interest across financial markets.

Bhutan has reached $1 billion in Bitcoin holdings, leveraging hydropower from Himalayan rivers to mine 13,011 BTC since 2021. Now the fourth-largest government holder of Bitcoin, Bhutan’s crypto strategy contributes over 25% to its GDP. This aligns Bhutan with countries like El Salvador, both of which consider Bitcoin a national reserve asset. The 2024 surge in Bitcoin interest, spurred by the U.S. SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs, could also see added momentum from pro-crypto political moves, possibly strengthening crypto’s role in national economies.

ENS Labs, creator of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), is developing "Namechain," a layer-2 solution designed for efficient and cost-effective blockchain identification. Using zero-knowledge rollups compatible with Ethereum’s zkEVM, Namechain aims to reduce fees while leveraging Ethereum’s security. Expected to launch by late 2025, the new ENSv2 architecture will ensure backward compatibility with existing ENS domains. Following a similar trend with other blockchain projects, Namechain will make decentralized names easier and cheaper to register, enhancing accessibility and usability across the ecosystem.

Cardano Foundation released its inaugural Financial Insights Report, showing $478 million in assets, largely in ADA and some Bitcoin. Funds are directed toward resilience, education, and adoption, with $23.77 million spent in 2023. Cardano's Treasury supports projects like Project Catalyst, enabling ADA holders to vote on initiatives. The Foundation also launched Cardano Academy and hosted events like Cardano Summit 2023 to foster blockchain education and industry engagement. CEO Frederik Gregaard emphasized transparency and long-term ecosystem growth as core strategies for Cardano’s blockchain network.

Tether has transferred 1.25 billion USDT from its Treasury to centralized exchanges like Kraken, supporting the growing demand for stablecoins in a bullish crypto market. This move follows a 7-billion USDT mint over six days, much of it aimed at inventory replenishment across multiple blockchains via chain swaps. The Tron network holds the majority of USDT supply, with Ethereum close behind. In addition, Tether recently launched a Wallet Development Kit (WDK), enabling developers to integrate non-custodial wallets for Bitcoin and USDT, expanding self-custodial solutions across applications.

Elon Musk announced that all actions by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) will be shared online, promising full transparency. Musk aims to cut $2 trillion from federal spending, targeting inefficiencies with a leaderboard of “dumb” expenditures. His proposed cuts have drawn skepticism from experts, who argue such drastic savings may not be feasible without affecting essential services like Medicare and Social Security. Musk humorously dubbed himself the “Secretary of Cost-Cutting,” vowing to use AI in D.O.G.E. to streamline spending "in a nice way."

Delhi Police made a major breakthrough in the WazirX hack case, arresting SK Masud, linked to India’s largest crypto heist with $230 million in stolen assets. The accused allegedly created a fake WazirX account and sold it on Telegram, leading to a breach of the platform’s hot and cold wallets. The stolen funds were partially laundered through Tornado Cash. The investigation highlights Liminal Custody's lack of cooperation, complicating efforts to trace the assets. WazirX’s founder, Nischal Shetty, has announced plans for a decentralized exchange (DEX) as a response to the incident.

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