🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (18/04/25)
1️⃣ Crypto Exchange eXch To Shut Down Amid Money Laundering Allegations 👀
Crypto exchange eXch has announced that it will cease operations on May 1st. This follows allegations of the platform being used as a portal for crypto money laundering by North Korea's Lazarus Group during the Bybit hack. In an April 17 notice, eXch stated the majority of people in its management team voted to “cease and retreat” in response to the allegations.
eXch stated,
Even though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut down our infrastructure (attempts that have also been confirmed to be part of this operation), we don’t see any point in operating in a hostile environment where we are the target of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] simply because some people misinterpret our goals.
2️⃣ Arizona Leads Crypto Reserve Legislation Race As SB 1373 Passes House Committee ‼️
Arizona's Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) has reportedly passed the House committee on Thursday. Notably, the bill proposes the creation of a digital assets strategic reserve fund. It empowers the state treasurer to fund this reserve by depositing seized crypto into the fund via a qualified custody solution or a state-registered exchange-traded product. It also allows the treasurer to loan digital assets from the fund for additional returns. The bill now awaits a third reading and a full floor vote before reaching the governor's desk for final approval.
3️⃣ HashKey Capital to Debut Asian XRP Tracker Fund With Ripple as Anchor Investor ⚡️
HashKey Capital has announced the launch of the HashKey XRP Tracker Fund. It describes this as the first investment fund in Asia designed to track the performance of XRP. The fund will reportedly provide professional investors with exposure to XRP, without the need to manage the asset directly. It offers the ability to buy through cash and in-kind subscriptions, and offers monthly liquidity. Ripple will be seeding the initial investment as its anchor investor.
4️⃣ Kyrgyzstan President Brings CBDC a Step Closer to Reality ▶️
Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov has reportedly signed a constitutional law authorising the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project. The legislation also gives the “digital som” legal tender status. Under the new provisions, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic will be able to develop and approve rules for conducting payments on the digital som platform. Local media reports state the country is due to begin the testing of the digital som this year. However, Kyrgyzstan is not expected to make a final decision on whether to issue the CBDC until next year.
5️⃣ A16z Doubles Down On LayerZero With $55M Investment 💰
Interoperability protocol LayerZero has reportedly received a $55 million investment from the crypto arm of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The investment was disclosed in an April 17th X post by Ali Yahya, a general partner at a16z. While the firm did not disclose the valuation of the funding round, LayerZero was last valued at $3 billion during its Series B funding round. According to Yahya, the tokens from the round will be committed to a 3-year lock-up period. The funding is expected to help the protocol expand beyond interoperability to token issuance, data management, governance and improving databases.
6️⃣ Eliza Labs Launches Auto.Fun, A No-Code AI Spin On Pump.Fun ✨
Eliza Labs, the developer of the ElizaOS AI agent framework, has announced the launch of auto.fun - a new no-code platform allowing users to launch AI agents on Web3 applications. The announcement states that the platform will allow anyone to create, deploy and monetize AI agents without programming knowledge. It supports the creation of AI agents that interact with social media, DeFi apps and other Web3 services.
Eliza Labs founder Shaw Walters stated,#BinanceAlphaAlert #UpdateAlert #
