Meme mania hits Avalanche

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Memecoin madness grips Avalanche, with Coq Inu leading the flock

Key points:

• Avalanche witnessed a surge in memecoin activity alongside Solana.

•  Coq Inu dominated Avalanche's memecoin scene.

News - While Solana grabbed headlines for its memecoin explosion, Avalanche has quietly experienced a similar surge in activity over the past two months.

Daily transaction counts surpassed 10,000 twice in March, coinciding with Solana's memecoin frenzy. User participation also spiked, exceeding 4,000 on two occasions during the same period.

Which coin led the charge? Coq Inu (COQ), a chicken-themed memecoin, reigned supreme, capturing a consistent 40-60% share of all memecoin transactions on Avalanche. At its peak, COQ experienced a remarkable 4x price increase within two weeks in March. However, the token's price has since dipped.

Interestingly, the Avalanche Foundation, recognizing the potential of memecoins, has made strategic investments in COQ, Kimbo (KIMBO), and Gecko (GEC).

In conclusion - This increased memecoin activity could potentially lead to deflationary pressure on AVAX, Avalanche's native token. Avalanche burns all transaction fee revenue, meaning a rise in memecoin transactions could accelerate this burn.

US Bitcoin ETFs experience record outflows despite Fed's dovish stance

Key points:

• Fidelity's FBTC ETF saw the largest single-day outflow.

• Fed maintained its interest rates and announced a reduction in quantitative tightening.

News - Investors in US-based Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are pulling out at a record pace, despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's assurance that interest rates won't be raised.

Data from Farside Investors showed a record one-day outflow of $563.7 million on Wednesday, extending a five-day decline for these Bitcoin ETFs. The total outflow since 24 April neared $1.2 billion.

Highest outflows - Fidelity's FBTC ETF experienced the largest single-day outflow, losing $191.1 million. This has been a worrying sign for bulls, as FBTC, along with BlackRock's IBIT, had consistently attracted funds in the first quarter, offsetting outflows from the larger Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

GBTC saw the second-largest outflow on Wednesday at $167.4 million, followed by ARKB at $98.1 million and IBIT at $36.9 million.

The Fed maintained the benchmark interest rate between 5.25% and 5.5% as expected. While acknowledging the economy's strength, Powell also downplayed concerns about renewed tightening due to recent inflation data.

Arkansas passes bills to regulate crypto mining, Governor expected to sign into law

Key points:

• Arkansas passes stricter regulations on crypto mining.

• Bills impose noise limits, water usage restrictions, and ownership limitations.

News - Arkansas is poised to enact stricter regulations on cryptocurrency mining after two bills passed the state House of Representatives. These bills now await the Governor’s signature to become law.

More about the bills - Senate Bills 78 and 79 target various aspects of crypto mining operations within the state. Senate Bill 78 focuses on noise limitations, water usage for cooling purposes, and ownership restrictions. It prohibits foreign ownership of mining facilities while empowering local governments to regulate these operations within their jurisdictions.

The second bill, Senate Bill 79, establishes a state-level licensing and regulatory framework overseen by the Oil and Gas Commission. This legislation aims to create a more comprehensive system for managing crypto mining activities.

These new regulations amend the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, which previously offered some protections for mining sites but faced criticism for limiting local control over the industry.

The move by Arkansas reflects a growing trend of increased scrutiny surrounding crypto mining in the United States.

Worldcoin expands into Mexico amid regulatory scrutiny in Latin America

Key points:

• Concerns arise in Mexico regarding Worldcoin's data privacy practices.

• Argentina proposes stricter regulations for companies collecting biometric data.

News - Worldcoin is experiencing contrasting situations in its Latin American expansion. While it marks its entry into Mexico, it faces regulatory hurdles in Argentina. Well, this makes Mexico the third-largest Latin American market for Worldcoin, following Argentina and Chile.

How did Mexico react? Not everyone welcomed Worldcoin's arrival with open arms. Mexican Congresswoman María Eugenia Hernández from the Morena party raised concerns about the project's data protection practices. She has called for a thorough investigation by the National Transparency Institute (INAI).

Argentina's response has been even stricter. Provincial deputy Carlos Puglelli introduced legislation to regulate companies collecting biometric data through methods like iris scanning, a core aspect of Worldcoin's user verification process.

Worldcoin's contrasting experiences in Latin America underscore the growing tension between technological advancements and the need for comprehensive data protection regulations. As the digital landscape evolves, striking the right balance between these two forces will be crucial for the company.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• PEPE flips ARB: A Fluke or start of a new trend?

• Ethereum dips, but demand rises: What’s driving investors to ETH?

• Bitcoin – Time to ‘buy the dip?’ BTC’s price could hike 60% IF crypto…

• Shiba Inu’s massive 1.6B April burns fail to fire up a price rally – Why?

• BONK surges 50%, flips FLOKI in market cap, but key hurdles remain

Did you know?

• Beeple's "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" was one of the best-selling NFTs of all time. On 11 March 2021, it sold for almost 70 million US dollars (38,500 ETH).

• Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, over 22,000 cryptocurrencies have been created, with an average of around 5 new ones introduced daily and 33 per week according to CoinMarketCap data.

• While there is a widespread willingness among retail, grocery, and luxury goods merchants (80%) to adopt cryptocurrency as a payment method, in contrast, only 25% of travel, hospitality, and automotive merchants share the same enthusiasm, as per Statista data.

Top 3 coins of the day

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Key points:

• Out of the top 10 coins, DOGE noted a maximum loss over the week.

• However, its Open Interest increased by 2.1% in the last 24 hours.

What you should know - DOGE has been signaling bearishness with a descending channel pattern. It registered lower lows and highs on the daily chart, indicating sellers’ dominance. The RSI of 34 reinforced the downtrend as it sat near the oversold level. The technical indicator suggested a potential continuation of the decline. However, some view the low RSI as a possible buying opportunity. Historically, DOGE has bounced back from oversold readings. It can follow the same pattern this time as well - only if Bitcoin goes north.

Polkadot (DOT)

Key points:

• The current sentiment surrounding DOT is mixed while the long-term trend is bearish.

• The futures market data suggested a potential short-term bounce, at press time.

What you should know - On a macro-frame, DOT has been on a steep decline after 14 March. It broke below its long-term bullish trendline and the crucial $7.231 level on 23 April. However, on a lower timeframe, demand has been picking up. DOT saw a 3.5% growth in the last seven days, but the trading volume was comparatively lower. If bulls gain strength, prices could push past $7.877. As for the support, $6.155 level was of utmost importance. At press time though, the market was taking a breather and the momentum looked neutral - this was something that was confirmed after looking at the MACD indicator which remained flat.

Cosmos (ATOM)

Key points:

• At press time, ATOM was trading at $8.74 with bulls in command.

• In the derivatives market, long positions outweighed the shorts.

What you should know - ATOM has been defying the current market weakness, outperforming its peers with a recent price increase. However, the trading volume on this upswing remained low, raising questions about the sustainability of the move. Technically, ATOM's price was hovering near the upper Bollinger Band, at press time. Thus, indicating potential overbought conditions. The narrow Bollinger Bands further hinted at the low price volatility. And the RSI of 42 sat near the neutral territory. This could signal a potential consolidation phase or a minor pullback before a possible continuation of the uptrend.