Google search interest for the halving is hitting all-time highs!

Hey, degens!

You’re probably focused on this week’s Bitcoin halving. But we’re here to make sure you don’t miss out on the macro landscape of crypto right now. 

Let’s get into the headlines!

Tether will no longer be just a stablecoin

Tether, the company behind the world's largest stablecoin USDT, is restructuring.

It's the entire business to expand beyond just stablecoin development. 

The company has launched 4 new business divisions:

1. Tether Data - Focuses on strategic investments in emerging technologies like AI and peer-to-peer platforms.

2. Tether Finance - The hub for Tether's traditional stablecoin products and financial services, aiming to democratize the global financial system.

3. Tether Power - Targets further development of Tether's mining and energy efforts.

4. Tether Edu - Will focus on digital education and the promotion of blockchain adoption globally.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said this evolution "beyond our traditional stablecoin offerings" will allow the company to "build and support the invention and implementation of cutting-edge technology."

Final words:

It's a pretty big shift for a company that's basically synonymous with stablecoins. But in recent years, the company has already expanded into Bitcoin mining, created an educational division, and accumulated a large Bitcoin treasury.

The goal appears to be transforming Tether from a stablecoin-focused company to a broader provider of financial infrastructure and services powered by blockchain.

Should be really interesting to see how all these new divisions shake out over time. Gotta keep an eye on this one, for sure!

Google search interest for the halving is hitting all-time highs! BTC nesting at $61K, still better than AI tokens

So, the crypto market has been going through a bit of a rough patch lately, with Bitcoin struggling to hold above $61,000. But you know what's interesting? 

This volatility has led to an increase in Bitcoin's dominance, as layer-1 tokens and AI-related coins have fared much worse.

Bitcoin's dominance has risen to 55.19%, up around 1.35% in the last week and 2.5% in the last month. This is partly due to the impending Bitcoin halving, which has sparked a surge in Google search interest, far surpassing Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin.

But there's also been a lot of deleveraging going on in the Bitcoin futures market. 

The total value of Bitcoin futures contracts traded on major exchanges has plummeted by $5.2 billion over the past week. This "deleveraging event" has led to substantial liquidations, with over $1.8 billion worth of positions closed in just two days last week.

The funding costs for holding these leveraged Bitcoin futures positions got so high that it just became untenable. And this cascade of liquidations and position closures happened even before the halving - so not exactly a "sell the news" scenario, but more like a macro-driven market cleansing, you know?

It's been a wild ride for sure. But through it all, Bitcoin seems to be weathering the storm a bit better than a lot of the other crypto assets out there. 

Looks like a lot of people are pretty hyped about what this halving could mean for Bitcoin's price.

Worldcoin is bringing a new Blockchain in town, here’s everything you need to know. 👇

When you hear Worldcoin, you can’t help but imagine their funky eye-scanning "Orbs"

Well, Worldcoin is launching its own blockchain called World Chain later this year. 

The new blockchain will be built on top of Ethereum using Optimism's "superchain" technology. World Chain will use ETH as the native token, while Worldcoin's own token (WLD) can be used to pay gas fees.

The main reasons for creating World Chain:

• Worldcoin project has just gotten way too big for the existing Optimism network that it's been using so far. I mean, at times Worldcoin users have made up a staggering 90% of the activity on Optimism! That's crazy.

• By having a dedicated network, Worldcoin aims to improve the user experience.

• The goal is to prioritize verified human users over bots on the new blockchain, giving them preferential access to block space and a gas allowance for casual transactions.

Claims so far:

Worldcoin has drawn over 10 million users across 160 countries since its launch in 2022, with over 5 million people verifying their identity using the Worldcoin Orbs. 

The project has faced some privacy concerns in the past, but the company claims World Chain and World ID will be privacy-preserving.

While Worldcoin's token has been down 23.6% in the last week, the announcement of World Chain has resulted in a 4.4% increase in the WLD token price, trading at $5 per coin.

News from the decentralized world 🗺️

• OKX, Binance and Bybit monthly volumes tripled since late 2023 (Link)

• Tokenized asset market could hit $16T on public blockchains — RippleX VP (Link)

• The Arkansas State House has passed two bills that could restrict cryptocurrency mining within the state. (Link)

• Binance Converts SAFU Fund Into USDC, Aims to Keep Balance at $1 Billion (Link)

• Gaming Tokens Suffered Major Losses, Falling As Much as 39% in the Past Week (Link)

• Kraken Releases Own Crypto Wallet. (Link)

• Binance Wants to Return to India—But It'll Have to Pay a $2 Million Fine First (Link)

Meme of the week 🤡

Degen of the week

Tweet of the week 🐤

Video of the week: (Peter Schiff getting slaughtered)

That’s a wrap! We’ll see you post the BTC halving! 😎

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