Weekly Crypto Update: April 7-13

📊Market Movements

- Bitcoin is up 13% over the last 7 days, currently at $84,500
- Ethereum is sitting at $1,620 with a 14% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were XCN (+163%), HYPE (+67%), and HNT (+61%), while the top 3 losers were OM (-87%), EOS (-12%), and XTZ (-7%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 29 Fear today
- Crypto market capitalization at $2.68 trillion, down 0.4% since yesterday
- Stablecoins market capitalization is down 0.22% in the last 7 days, currently at $233 billion, with $USDT dominance at 62%
- NFT sales volume increased by 36060% over the previous 7 days while total sales increased by 160% with 100,739 sales
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 62.7%, Ethereum at 7.3%, and other cryptocurrencies at 30%
- Mantra token OM fell 90% in 24 hours, exact reason is not clear

🌐Blockchain Tech & Gaming

- Blockchain researchers introduce a new more efficient and secure restaking system called Elastic Restaking
- Immutable will consolidate all of its networks to its newer Immutable zkEVM L2 blockchain to create one unified Immutable Chain for web3 gaming
- Ethereum layer-2 gaming network ZKcandy focused on mobile gaming launched its mainnet along with 8 available games on the platform
- Esports team NRG launched an AI chatbot called Volt, which is powered by Theta network
- MMO space survival game Eve Frontier kicked off its 10-day free trial, which ends April 21st

💰Investments & Partnerships
- NFT trading platform Magic Eden pivots into crypto trading by acquiring Slingshot Finance
- Winklevoss-backed startup Octane raised $6.7 million to tackle crypto hacks using an AI-powered code auditor

🛡️Crypto Security

- Spanish police arrested 6 people involved in a crypto investment scam, which used celebrity AI videos to convince 208 people to hand over a total of €19 million
- City of London police claim that crypto was involved in 66& of all investment fraud reported in the UK in 2024
- Cybersecurity company Kaspersky discovered malware that tricks victims into sending hackers their crypto by replacing wallet addresses on users’ clipboard (copy-paste process); malware is distributed as a Microsoft Office Add-in on SourceForge website

📃Regulatory Developments

- U.S-based NFT trader pleads guilty to tax fraud of $13 million from trading CryptoPunks
- Ripple Labs and SEC filed a request to suspend their case appeals to pursue a negotiated resolution
- Nasdaq applied for a rule change with the SEC to be able to list VanEck’s Avalanche ETF
- Thailand is taking new measures to target and block unregulated foreign crypto P2P platforms
- New York lawmaker introduced a legislative bill that would allow state agencies to accept crypto payments

🗞️Miscellaneous

- According to a recent study, 33% of French users aim to buy crypto in 2025 indicating a significant increase in adoption
- Japan’s Metaplanet bought another $26 million worth of Bitcoin
- Scotland's Lomond School will be the first school in the UK to accept Bitcoin for tuition payments starting in Autumn 2025
- World Food Program USA now accepts donations in cryptocurrencies
- After the launch of Bitcoin and AI-themed ETF, Roundhill Investment now wants to launch an ETF focused on humanoid robots
- Ethereum developer V. Griffith released from prison
- US recession odds drop as Trump pauses reciprocal tariffs
- 93% of WazirX creditors voted in favor of the restructuring plan in order to repay users after last year’s hack of $235 million

Have a successful week ahead! 🤝
- Swapin Team