Measuring decentralization in blockchain
Decentralization involves spreading control and decision-making across a network instead of a single authority.
Unlike centralized systems, where one entity controls everything, decentralized blockchains distribute data among participants (nodes). Each node holds a copy of the ledger, ensuring transparency and reducing the risk of manipulation or system failure.
In blockchain, a decentralized network provides significant advantages:
Security: Decentralization reduces vulnerabilities associated with central points of attack. Without a single controlling entity, malicious actors find it more challenging to compromise the network. Transparency: All transactions are recorded on a public ledger accessible to all participants, fostering trust through transparency. This openness ensures that no single entity can manipulate data without consensus. Fault tolerance: Decentralized networks are more resilient to failures. Data distribution across multiple nodes ensures that the system remains operational even if some nodes fail.
So, decentralization is good, but it’s
Bitcoin sales at $109K all-time high 'significantly below' cycle tops — Research
Bitcoin (BTC) investors who bought BTC in 2020 or later are still waiting for higher prices, new research says.
In findings published on X on April 1, onchain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that $110,000 was not high enough to make many hodlers sell.
Glassnode: 2020 Bitcoin buyers “still holding”
Bitcoiners who entered the market between three and five years ago have retained their holdings despite significant BTC price upside.
According to Glassnode, this investor cohort, with a cost basis between the 2020 lows of $3,600 and the 2021 highs of $69,000, is still hodling.
“Although the share of wealth held by investors who bought $BTC 3–5 years ago has declined by 3 percentage points since its November 2024 peak, it remains at historically elevated levels,” it said.
“This suggests that the majority of investors who entered between 2020 and 2022 are still holding.”
Bitcoin Realized Cap HODL
Sony Electronics Singapore accepts USDC payments through Crypto.com
The online store of a Singapore-based subsidiary of Japanese tech behemoth Sony is now accepting USDC payments through Crypto.com.
According to an April 2 announcement, Sony Electronics Singapore now accepts USDC (USDC) stablecoin payments through an integration with the Crypto.com exchange. Crypto.com Singapore general manager Chin Tah Ang said:
“We’re pushing to make paying in crypto more mainstream and partnering with a well-established and forward-thinking brand like Sony Electronics Singapore further raises awareness of how simple it can be to pay for everyday goods and services using crypto.”
The Sony subsidiary is not the only high-profile partnership Crypto.com is involved in. At the end of 2024, the mobile-first crypto exchange partnered with Deutsche Bank to provide corporate banking services across Asian-Pacific markets, covering regions such as Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.
Related: CFTC mulling probe of Crypto.com over Super Bowl contracts: Report
Singapore bets on
GameStop finishes $1.5B raise to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet
Video game retailer GameStop Corporation (GME) has finished a convertible debt offering that raised $1.5 billion, with some proceeds earmarked for buying Bitcoin.
The offering was initially set to raise at least $1.3 billion, but purchasers opted for an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of notes, GameStop said in an April 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin in a manner consistent with the Company’s Investment Policy,” GameStop added.
The convertible notes are debt that can later be converted into equity and are scheduled to mature on April 1, 2030, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.
The conversion rate for the notes will initially be 33 shares of Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, according to the filing.
GameStop shares didn’t see a significant move
SEC and Gemini ask to pause lawsuit to explore ‘potential resolution’
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and crypto exchange Gemini have asked to pause the regulator’s suit over the exchange’s Gemini Earn program, saying they want to discuss a potential resolution.
In an April 1 letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos, lawyers representing the SEC and Genesis requested a 60-day hold on the case and that all deadlines be pulled “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.”
“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter states.
The lawyers added that a stay was in the court’s interest as “a resolution would conserve judicial resources” and proposed that a joint status report be submitted within 60 days after the entry of the stay.
The
Crypto PAC-backed Republicans win US House seats in Florida special elections
Two Republicans who received a combined $1.5 million from the crypto-backed political action committee (PAC) Fairshake will enter the US House after winning special elections in Florida.
Republican Jimmy Patronis won the vacant seat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District to replace Matt Gaetz, taking 57% of the vote to defeat Democrat Gay Valimont, according to AP News data.
Randy Fine also took Florida’s 6th Congressional District with 56.7% of the vote to beat his Democratic rival, public school teacher Josh Weil, and fill a seat left vacant by Mike Waltz, who took a job as White House national security adviser.
Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts — located in Florida’s western panhandle and along the state’s northeast coast — have been controlled by Republicans for roughly 30 years, but their lead has narrowed in recent years.
Fairshake, a PAC
UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’
Several British trade associations have asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to appoint a special envoy dedicated to crypto and for a dedicated action plan for digital assets and blockchain technology.
In a March 31 letter, the coalition of six UK digital economy trade bodies urged Starmer’s special adviser on business and investment, Varun Chandra, for a “greater strategic focus and alignment to deliver investment, growth and jobs” for the crypto industry.
The group, which consisted of the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, Global Digital Finance, The Payments Association, Digital Currencies Governance Group, the Crypto Council for Innovation and techUK, noted the US policy shift on crypto under President Donald Trump and his appointment of a crypto czar.
Britain’s commitment to an economic trade deal focused on technological cooperation with the US “presents a significant opportunity to mirror the United States’ ambition in fostering
North Korea tech workers found among staff at UK blockchain projects
Fraudulent tech workers with ties to North Korea are expanding their infiltration operations to blockchain firms outside the US after increased scrutiny from authorities, with some having worked their way into UK crypto projects, Google says.
Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) adviser Jamie Collier said in an April 2 report that while the US is still a key target, increased awareness and right-to-work verification challenges have forced North Korean IT workers to find roles at non-US companies.
“In response to heightened awareness of the threat within the United States, they’ve established a global ecosystem of fraudulent personas to enhance operational agility,” Collier said.
“Coupled with the discovery of facilitators in the UK, this suggests the rapid formation of a global infrastructure and support network that empowers their continued operations,” he added.
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group says North Korea’s tech workers expanded their reach amid a US crackdown. Source: <a
Kentucky joins Vermont and South Carolina in dropping Coinbase staking suit
Kentucky’s finance watchdog has dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase over the exchange’s staking rewards program, following its peers in Vermont and South Carolina.
Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions filed the stipulation to dismiss jointly with Coinbase on April 1, ending the state’s legal action against the exchange first filed along with 10 other state regulators in June 2023.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal posted to X on April 1, calling for Congress “to end this litigation-driven, state-by-state approach with a federal market structure law.”
Source: Paul Grewal
Financial regulators from 10 states launched similar suits against Coinbase in June 2023, on the same day the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange — a lawsuit the SEC dropped last month.
Seven suits against Coinbase still active
Alabama, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin
Bitcoin traders are overstating the impact of the US-led tariff war on BTC price
Despite Bitcoin’s 2.2% gains on April 1, BTC (BTC) hasn’t traded above $89,000 since March 7. Even though the recent price weakness is often linked to the escalating US-led global trade war, several factors had already been weighing on investor sentiment long before President Donald Trump announced the tariffs.
Some market participants claimed that Strategy’s $5.25 billion worth of Bitcoin purchases since February is the primary reason BTC has held above the $80,000 support. But, regardless of who has been buying, the reality is that Bitcoin was already showing limited upside before President Trump announced the 10% Chinese import tariffs on Jan. 21.
Gold/USD (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph
The S&P 500 index hit an all-time high on Feb. 19, exactly 30 days after the trade war began, while Bitcoin had repeatedly failed to hold above $100,000 for the previous