Since 2020, the supply of Bitcoin (BTC) on exchanges has fallen by up to 25%. This decline is likely to increase further due to the entry of major institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity into the cryptosphere. However, there’s another factor that has caught attention: BTC exchange supply is drying up.

Banks’ Paradigm Shift: Requesting Easier Access to BTC

In a surprising twist, banks are changing their stance on BTC. They have sent an open letter to the SEC requesting that access to and holding of digital currency be made easier. Specifically, they want the regulatory body to revisit and amend Bulletin number 121, which outlines how crypto asset holdings should be reported and safeguarded by banks. This move signifies a significant shift in institutional perception towards

BTC Levels on Exchanges at a 24-Month Low

According to data from Glassnode, the number of BTC held on crypto exchanges is currently at its lowest level since July 2020. There is nearly 25% less BTC available on exchanges (either in wallets or up for trade) than there was four years ago, despite thousands more BTC theoretically entering circulation since then.

This trend has been ongoing even before the recent spot ETF approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The collapse of FTX in 2022 may have contributed to this decline as investors reconsidered custody of their digital assets. However, more broadly, it reflects that BTC holders are increasingly opting for long-term storage in their wallets rather than leaving it on exchanges for easy trading.

Most spot ETF brokers are likely to hold BTC (which backs their funds) through safe custodial means such as a mix of hot and cold wallets. As more people invest in spot ETFs, there is less BTC supply available on crypto exchanges.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent rally has been driven by the spectacular introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETF). It may now be time to focus on ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, broker Bernstein said in a research report on Monday. Ether is “probably the only other digital asset likely to get a spot ETF approval by the SEC,” the report said.

Bernstein says there is about a 50% chance of ether spot ETF approval by May and near-certain probability of approval in the next 12 months. Ether rose over 3% on Monday, while bitcoin gained just over 1%. Ether has outpaced bitcoin over the past week, gaining over 16% in seven days to trade above $2,900 for the first time in nearly two years while the bitcoin price rose a more sedate 8.5% to $52,300.

Financial giants entering the crypto game have had several effects on the market, including an influx of money entering the sector. But there’s been one factor that nobody really considered – BTC exchange supply is drying up. According to a glassnode graph documenting the number of BTC held on crypto exchanges, supply is at the lowest it’s been since July 2020.

Even before the spot ETF approval, Bitcoin held on exchanges was rapidly diminishing. This may have been spurred on by the disastrous collapse of FTX in 2022

Honduras imposes strict ban on Crypto Trading

The National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBS) of Honduras has recently taken a significant step by announcing a ban that prohibits local financial institutions from participating in crypto trading and holding digital assets. This measure has been adopted with the aim of preserving the integrity of the national financial system through stricter control.

Honduran regulations currently lack specific provisions for cryptographic assets, which exposes users to risks such as fraud, operational issues, and legal uncertainties. Additionally, there are growing concerns about the use of such assets for illicit activities like money laundering and terrorism financing.

The CNBS has highlighted the challenges related to the decentralized nature of many cryptocurrency-related businesses operating in Honduras, often registered in external jurisdictions. This decentralization makes regulatory supervision difficult, allowing potentially unmonitored activities.

To address these issues, the CNBS has issued a directive explicitly prohibiting Honduran financial entities from associating with cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, tokens, or digital assets not authorized by the Central Bank of Honduras. This move aims to maintain tight control over financial activities and preserve the integrity of the sector within the country.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has emerged as a revolutionary force within the financial industry, leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts to enable a wide range of financial services and applications that operate outside traditional banking institutions. By eliminating intermediaries, DeFi democratizes access to financial services, reduces costs, and fosters financial inclusion on a global scale.

DeFi encompasses various services built on decentralized blockchain networks, primarily Ethereum. These services include lending and borrowing platforms, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), asset management, insurance, derivatives, and prediction markets.

Through smart contracts—self-executing agreements with terms directly written into code—DeFi platforms automate transactions and enable peer-to-peer financial interactions without relying on centralized authorities.

As DeFi continues to grow and attract significant capital, it becomes essential to establish legal and regulatory frameworks that address the unique challenges posed by this new financial ecosystem.

While DeFi offers numerous advantages, it also raises concerns about consumer protection, financial stability, and compliance with existing regulations such as anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.

The decentralized nature of DeFi presents challenges related to consumer protection. Unlike traditional financial institutions, which are subject to regulatory oversight, DeFi platforms operate without central authorities.

Users maintain full control of their assets and transact through smart contract programs. However, this lack of intermediaries can lead to increased risks for consumers—such as potential fraud or loss of funds—without clear avenues for recourse.

Interestingly, this ban comes at a time when institutional interest in the crypto sector is increasing globally. In the United States, several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) related to Bitcoin have been launched. US banking actors are pushing for a review of rules that currently make it expensive to provide custody services for these ETFs.

Narratives can often fuel significant bumps in token prices, and there are renewed hopes around AI-related tokens. Over the weekend, tokens related to artificial intelligence (AI) or claiming to be utilizing AI rallied as OpenAI unveiled its groundbreaking text-to-video generator, Sora. This development has boosted hopes among those who view the sector as a key driver of profits this year.

Sector tokens experienced an impressive 7.7% average increase in value within the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. Notably, Ocean Protocol’s OCEAN and Fetch. AI’s FET rose more than 10%. Meanwhile, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20)—a benchmark for the biggest and most liquid cryptocurrencies—also saw a positive trend, rising by 2.68% during the same period.

Among all AI tokens, Worldcoin’s WLD stood out with a remarkable 30% surge, setting a new lifetime peak at $7. Worldcoin’s parent company was founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, leading some traders to consider WLD as a bet on OpenAI’s growth.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin added fuel to the fire by tweeting that AI could find a place for auditing smart contracts. This statement sent lesser-known tokens like 0x0 and Token Fi’s TOKEN up by as much as 15%, given their connection to AI-related topics.

He wrote;

One application of Artificial Intelligence AI that I am excited about is AI-assisted formal verification of code and bug finding.

Right now, Ethereum’s biggest technical risk probably is bugs in code, and anything that could significantly change the game on that would be amazing.

Buterin highlighted the importance of AI-powered auditing to identify and rectify buggy code in the Ethereum network. He specifically mentioned the value of AI-assisted formal verification of code and bug finding emphasizing that this could significantly enhance the network’s robustness.

But why is this so crucial? Let’s delve into the details:

The Challenge of Code Bugs: Ethereum, like any complex software system, faces the risk of bugs in its codebase. These bugs can lead to vulnerabilities, security breaches, or unintended behavior. Identifying and fixing these bugs is essential for maintaining a secure and reliable blockchain platform.

AI-Assisted Formal Verification: Formal verification involves mathematically proving that a program meets its intended specifications. AI-assisted formal verification combines the power of AI algorithms with formal methods to verify code correctness.

By leveraging AI, developers can automatically analyze code for potential issues, ensuring that it adheres to specified properties.

Benefits of AI in Code Verification: AI can perform exhaustive checks on code, exploring various execution paths and identifying subtle bugs that manual inspection might miss. It can help detect issues related to memory leaks, race conditions, buffer overflows, and other common programming pitfalls.

Automated verification tools powered by AI can significantly reduce the time and effort required for manual code reviews.

Interest in AI-related tokens began to spike in early 2023 when ChatGPT and image generation software gained popularity. Although this enthusiasm waned over the past few months, Sora’s Friday launch has seemingly reignited interest. Commercial usage of AI remains limited to virtual tools and chat software.

Bitcoin hovers around $52k per coin on Monday

As the weekend approaches, investors worldwide are taking a moment to reflect and analyze the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency. All eyes are on Bitcoin as it hovers tantalizingly close to the $52,000 mark, while altcoins navigate a landscape marked by slight retractions and nuanced price movements.

Bitcoin is classified as a Currency under CoinDesk’s Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS). It is the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency – a type of digital asset that uses public-key cryptography to record, sign, and send transactions over the Bitcoin blockchain – all done without the oversight of a central authority.

Bitcoin, the undisputed leader of the cryptocurrency market, has been on a remarkable journey over the past ten days. It all began on February 7 when Bitcoin finally broke out of its prolonged consolidation phase, which had seen the digital asset trading within a tight range around $43,000.

The breakout ignited a frenzy among bulls, propelling Bitcoin to knock on the $50,000 door by the end of the week. Despite facing initial resistance, Bitcoin’s ascent continued unabated, culminating in a triumphant reclaiming of the $50,000 level on February 12. The cryptocurrency reached a crescendo on Thursday, soaring to a dizzying height of $52,900, marking its highest price since late 2021.

However, as Bitcoin attempted to breach the $52,000 barrier, it encountered stiff opposition, leading to a slight retracement on Friday. As of now, Bitcoin remains locked in a tight range just below the $52,000 threshold, signaling a temporary pause in its upward trajectory.

While its market capitalization remains above $1 trillion, its dominance over the altcoin market has increased to 50%, indicating a shift in market dynamics favoring the king crypto asset. The recent price action in Bitcoin left the token’s market capitalization at $1.02 trillion. So far this year, Bitcoin has experienced a 23.01% change.

The Bitcoin network (with an upper-case “B”) was launched in January 2009 by an anonymous computer programmer or group of programmers under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto.” The network is a peer-to-peer electronic payment system that uses a cryptocurrency called bitcoin (lower case “b”) to transfer value over the internet or act as a store of value like gold and silver.

Each bitcoin is made up of 100 million Satoshi’s (the smallest units of bitcoin), making individual bitcoin divisible up to eight decimal places. That means anyone can purchase a fraction of a bitcoin with as little as one U.S. dollar.

Bitcoin’s price is renowned for being highly volatile, but despite that, it has become the top-performing asset of any class (including stocks, commodities, and bonds) over the past decade – climbing a staggering 9,000,000% between 2010 and 2020. When the cryptocurrency was launched at the beginning of 2009, as Satoshi Nakamoto mined the bitcoin genesis block (the first-ever block on the Bitcoin network).

Japan’s government has taken a significant step by approving a bill that permits venture capital firms and investment funds to acquire and hold crypto assets. If this bill is passed by parliament, it could have far-reaching implications for the investment landscape, particularly in the realm of Web3 startups.

The Bill’s Impact

By adding crypto assets to the list of permissible assets for venture capital firms and investment funds, Japan aims to boost investment in innovative startups operating in the Web3 space. This moves position Japan at the forefront of blockchain technology and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins

Japan has been proactive in framing a regulatory framework for stablecoins, demonstrating its commitment to fostering a conducive environment for digital assets. While promoting Web3 technologies, Japan remains vigilant about user protection.

Relaxing Rules for VC Firms

In September 2023, Nikkei reported that Japan planned to relax rules for venture capital (VC) firms investing in crypto startups. Now, with the cabinet’s approval of this bill, VC firms could potentially fund Web3 startups in exchange for crypto assets.

Supporting New Businesses

The amendment to the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act aims to “promote the creation of new businesses and investment in industry.” It also provides “intensive support to medium-sized companies and startups that are the driving force of Japan’s economy.”

Parliamentary Approval

The amended bill will be introduced and debated during the current session of parliament (the Diet). If approved, it will open up exciting opportunities for VC firms and investment funds while contributing to Japan’s position as a hub for crypto policy formation.

Japan’s government has approved a bill that allows venture capital firms and investment funds to hold crypto assets. If passed by parliament, this bill could significantly boost investment in Web3 startups. The move is part of Japan’s efforts to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins and promote Web3 technologies while maintaining a focus on user protection.

The amended bill will be introduced and debated in the current session of the Japanese parliament, known as the Diet. If approved, venture capital firms could fund Web3 startups in exchange for crypto assets. This development reflects Japan’s commitment to supporting new businesses and fostering investment in industries that drive its economy.

What does EIP 4844 mean for Ethereum rollups?

EIP-4844 is part of Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, designed to address scalability challenges. While Ethereum has made significant improvements through upgrades like The Merge and rollups, transaction fees remain high for many users, and throughput isn’t where it needs to be for mass adoption. To tackle this issue, Ethereum has long-term plans for data sharding.

Data sharding involves partitioning databases into smaller segments to enhance efficiency and performance. When applied to blockchain, sharding becomes even more interesting. Ethereum aims to implement danksharding, which will significantly lower transaction costs and increase throughput.

Danksharding is expected to boost Ethereum’s transactions per second (TPS) to around 100,000, a substantial improvement compared to the current base layer TPS of approximately 15 and layer 2 rollups’ TPS of about 100 as of Q1 2023.