News Roundup — Bitcoin Halving Officially Complete

Major news stories this week;

1. The Bitcoin halving just happened — here’s what it means
2. Binance gets Dubai crypto license following CZ’s departure
3. Tether Announces Upcoming Release Of Multi-Chain Tokenization Platform
4. Canada to begin implementing international crypto tax reporting standard
5. After Halving Event, Bitcoin Transaction Fees Soar to Over $240

Story Summaries;

1. The Bitcoin halving, one of the most anticipated events in the crypto industry, occurred in the first hours of Saturday, London time. From now on, the network will create half as much Bitcoin — only 3.125 new coins every 10 minutes, down from 6.25. That translates to almost $30 million worth of coins that will no longer enter circulation on a daily basis. Market participants love halvings, because they lower the supply of Bitcoin. If demand remains the same or increases, then Bitcoin’s price will push higher — at least in theory. Halvings are scheduled to occur roughly every four years, and this is Bitcoin’s fourth one. The prior halvings were spectacular for the cryptocurrency’s price.
2. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, received a long-awaited regulatory license in Dubai. Binance received its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license after co-founder Changpeng Zhao gave up his voting power in the exchange’s local entity, unnamed people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on April 18. The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority’s (VARA) final requirement for granting the VASP license was for Zhao to give up his voting power in Binance FZE, the Dubai-based unit of the exchange, according to unnamed people familiar with the matter.
3. Tether, the leading stablecoin company, is preparing to widen the scope of its operations in the cryptocurrency market. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of the company, announced that Tether is on the verge of launching a white-label tokenization platform that would be available for everyone. In social media, Ardoino announced the imminent release of the still-unnamed platform, describing it as “a masterpiece.” He also clarified that the solution would be fully non-custodial, multi-chain, multi-asset type, and super customizable. When launched, the platform might ease small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to the tokenization arena.
4. According to a supplement to the 2024 annual budget, Canada expects to apply the international Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) for taxation by 2026. The country is getting an early start on the new standard, which is expected to be observed by 47 countries by 2027. The CARF would impose new reporting requirements on crypto asset service providers (CASPs), such as cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto-asset brokers and dealers and crypto-asset automated teller machine operators, whether they are individuals or business entities. The supplemental report listed “stablecoins, derivatives issued in the form of a crypto-asset, and certain nonfungible tokens” as examples of crypto assets.
5. Bitcoin fees soared to more than 2,750 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB) or over $240 per transfer on Friday, April 19, 2024, in the aftermath of the halving. Currently, fees have decreased to 1,700 sat/vB or more than $150 per transfer on the low-priority end. Metrics indicate a strong level of Rune protocol activity on the web portal mempool.space. Bitcoin fees soared to more than 2,750 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB) or over $240 per transfer on Friday, April 19, 2024, in the aftermath of the halving. The recent increase in bitcoin transaction fees, which surpassed previous highs, highlights the fluctuating economic environment of the network following significant events. When Antpool discovered block 840,005, the mining pool captured 29.821 BTC worth $1.9 million.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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