Cardano's big move

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Cardano's development activity surges, outpacing Ethereum on GitHub

Key points:

• Despite the development boom, DeFi metrics on Cardano have dipped. This could be temporary, but user interest needs to recover.

• Upcoming upgrades focused on DeFi could reignite user interest and boost the price of ADA.

News - Cardano's development team has been working meticulously, with a significant surge in activity on GitHub recently. This intense focus has pushed Cardano past Ethereum in terms of development activity.

What could be the implications of it?

• On the bright side, this development frenzy could help Cardano transition into a more robust and versatile platform with innovative features. This could attract users and developers seeking advanced functionalities.

• Furthermore, surpassing Ethereum in development activity generates significant buzz, positioning Cardano as a serious competitor and potentially boosting investors' confidence.

Any disadvantages? A singular focus on development speed can be risky. Rushing code can lead to security vulnerabilities and bugs. The key will be for Cardano to strike a balance between rapid development and thorough testing to ensure the quality of the code they're pushing out.

While development activity is surging, the number of active addresses interacting within the Cardano ecosystem hasn't grown. In fact, the DeFi sector on Cardano has seen a slight decline in terms of total value locked (TVL) and decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes have fallen. This could be due to a temporary shift in focus towards non-DeFi features, users waiting for DeFi-enhancing upgrades, or increased competition.

If user interest wanes and DeFi metrics don't recover, it could lead to a decline in ADA price.

Bitcoin halving poses threat to small miners, industry leaders suggest

Key points:

• The upcoming Bitcoin halving will significantly reduce block rewards for miners, impacting profitability.

• Smaller miners with high debt or inefficient rigs may struggle to survive the post-halving environment.

News - With the fourth Bitcoin halving event just around the corner in April 2024, a sense of anticipation mixed with fear hangs over the mining industry. This reduction in block rewards, cut in half every 210,000 blocks mined (roughly every four years), is expected to significantly impact miner profitability. Industry leaders warn that the upcoming halving will be a test of efficiency and resilience, potentially weeding out less prepared participants.

What about the large mining firms? Large, well-established mining firms like Marathon Digital appear confident. They've been strategically planning for this event for years, focusing on operational efficiency and building strong financial reserves.

Adam Swick, Chief Growth Officer at Marathon Digital said, "These companies are typically more resilient given their greater access to capital and efficient operations." He anticipates the halving will disproportionately affect smaller miners who are already operating on thin margins.

What’s more? History offers some clues. Previous halving events have forced mining companies to adapt to lower profitability. Greg Beard, CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining, expects to see similar behavior this time around. "Miners must sell BTC to pay for more efficient miners," he said.

While the recent surge in Bitcoin's price may provide temporary relief through higher transaction fees, it could also create a false sense of security.

BlackRock investment drives Ondo token to top 100, reaching $1.05B market cap

Key points:

• ONDO leverages Ethereum's blockchain technology and aligns with BlackRock's focus on real-world asset tokenization.

• Increased social media discussions and a growing number of token holders indicate rising investor interest in ONDO.

News - Ondo Finance (ONDO), the native token of a security tokenization project, has entered into the top 100 most valuable cryptocurrencies by market cap. At the time of writing, Ondo boasted a market cap exceeding $1 billion, landing it at the coveted 94th position.

This impressive climb can be attributed to a surge in token price, reaching $0.76, up 31.46% in just 24 hours.

But what's behind this sudden surge? According to AMBCrypto's investigation, a major player has entered the scene: BlackRock. The leading investment firm recently announced plans to launch a tokenized money market fund, specifically targeting Ethereum-based security token projects. This fund, dubbed the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) fund, signifies BlackRock's growing interest in the tokenization space.

So, how does Ondo fit into this picture? Not only does Ondo share BlackRock's focus on security tokenization, but it's also built on the Ethereum blockchain. This alignment with BlackRock's plans positions Ondo to potentially benefit from the investment giant's foray into tokenization.

Further bolstering Ondo's rise is a surge in social media chatter. On-chain data from Santiment reveals a spike in Ondo's Social Dominance metric to 0.869% on 20 March. While the metric has since dipped, this temporary rise indicates the project has garnered significant attention.

North Korea earns $3B from cyber theft and crypto exploits, UN report reveals

Key points:

• UN report confirms that 50% of North Korea's foreign currency earnings come from hacks and crypto exploits.

• 40% of these illicit funds are used for developing weapons of mass destruction, according to the report.

News - A report from South Korea-based news agency Yonhap has revealed that approximately 50% of North Korea's foreign currency earnings are derived from hacks and cryptocurrency exploits.

Citing a UN report, Yonhap underscored that between 2017 and 2023, North Korea's illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space amounted to a staggering $3 billion. The report indicated that 40% of these illicit funds were funneled into the development of weapons of mass destruction. This echoes previous warnings from the U.S. administration in mid-2023, which expressed similar anxieties about North Korea's reliance on cyber theft.

What’s the truth? North Korea has been particularly active in targeting DeFi hacks in recent years. A 2023 report by Chainalysis linked the infamous Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking collective, to a significant portion of these attacks. The report estimated that Lazarus Group stole a staggering $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2022 alone.

With traditional money laundering channels under increasing scrutiny, North Korea appears to be adapting its tactics. The report suggests that stolen crypto funds are now being funneled through YoMix, a cryptocurrency mixer, following crackdowns on previously used mixers like Sinbad and Tornado Cash. Kimusky, another North Korean hacking group, has also been flagged for its involvement in crypto exploits on platforms like Stake.com and Harmony.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• Solana stays true to its ‘Ethereum-killer’ label with this milestone

• Bitcoin rushes past $65K as Powell hints policy shift: Next stop $70K?

• Cardano’s Hoskinson shares his 2030 forecast, but it excludes ADA

• Memecoin mania-induced 3x ‘hike’ on Solana just a ‘stress test’ – Co-founder

• BOME, SLERF, ETHFI: Are these March’s top 3 picks for you?

Crypto Scams Uncovered

• Investors fell victim to a cryptocurrency project known as "Save the Kids”, which was promoted by influencers and celebrities, claiming to be a charitable initiative aimed at helping children. However, it turned out to be a honeypot scam designed to exploit investors.

• A cryptocurrency account registered in Wang Yicheng’s name received more than $90 million between January 2021 and November 2022. At least $9.1 million of these funds were linked to pig butchering scams. Victims of these scams, such as a 71-year-old California man, fell prey to fraudulent schemes promising high returns.

• Pincoin and iFan were two interconnected cryptocurrency projects that operated as a Ponzi scheme in Vietnam. Investors were promised high returns through a lending program and referral bonuses. However, after collecting millions of dollars from investors, the operators disappeared, leaving behind empty offices and defrauded investors.

Top 3 coins of the day

Aptos (APT)

Key points:

• The Open Interest (OI) in the Aptos’ derivative market increased by 7.67% over the last day.

• On 22 March, short positions outweighed the long positions in terms of liquidation.

What you should know - Aptos blockchain has seen a substantial growth in its development activity of late. Hence, its native token APT has successfully increased in value, especially after 27 February. It reached a local high of $16.67 on 19 March - a level last seen on 16 February 2023. The recent upward trajectory has also given a way to ‘greed dominance’. Even though the market looks ripe for a continued northbound move, APT still could go to its near-term support range within $11.75-$10.59. This, if sellers take charge of the market. The possibility of which looked quite possible since RSI, at the time of writing, was headed towards the overbought zone.

Litecoin (LTC)

Key points:

• Coinbase recently announced futures trading expansion for Litecoin. But this didn't have any positive impact on the price movement.

• Litecoin underwent "Core v0.21.3rc3" update which will bring several key improvements and features to the network.

What you should know - Unlike majority of the leading cryptocurrencies, Litecoin has been facing bearish pressure for quite some time now. Owing to massive price fluctuations, LTC will likely continue on its volatile journey in the near-term before its price stabilizes near the support zone of $77. Interestingly, LTC, at the time of press, was undervalued - something that can be concluded from the reading of Bollinger Bands (BB). Technical indicator MACD too confirmed the bearish narrative, highlighting a good chance for LTC to move in the opposite direction. For traders facing unrealized losses, it would be important to rebalance their portfolio and cut their losses.

Fantom (FTM)

Key points:

• At press time, Fantom was 66.27% down from its all-time-high (ATH).

• But it was 609.66% up from its cycle low of $0.165.

What you should know - Out of the top 50 coins, Fantom posted strong gains in the past week - It was up 60.19%. On a closer look at the 1-D price chart, one can easily analyze that FTM hasn’t been closely following BTC’s price trajectory. In fact, it has been establishing a one of itself that is supported by strong volumes and positive sentiment. After trading in a sideways range for more than three months, it saw a northward breakout on 3 March, the uptrend has continued ever since, albeit with a minor corrections along the way. If FTM converts $1.18 into its support, the coin is bound to see a huge influx of demand. But RSI, at press time, was standing at the 77-mark, right in the overbought territory, hence traders can expect a short-term correction soon.