– FTX exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) regrets the actions that led him to a 25-year prison sentence. He revealed this in an interview with ABC News. "It's a major part of what I think about every day," added the former businessman, now inmate. According to him, FTX's insolvency was the result of several "bad decisions" he made in 2022. SBF noted that he "heard and saw the desperation and disappointment from thousands of clients" who "deserve full compensation at current prices." In Bankman-Fried's view, had he or another FTX employee remained as CEO, clients would "have long been refunded." SBF also criticized the decision not to relaunch the exchange. FTX's former CEO's lawyers plan to appeal based on some testimonies at the trial that "significantly distorted what actually happened."
– The rise in bitcoin's value after the halving will become "parabolic" and allow its price to reach $150,000 by year's end. Mark Yusko, CEO of Morgan Creek Capital, gave this forecast on CNBC. "Interest in the asset will increase after the halving – many will enter into FOMO mode. We should see a doubling of the fair value. In the current cycle, it's ~$75,000, with adjustments downwards. […] Thus, we get $150,000," Yusko shared his calculations. He also believes that "historically, about nine months after the event, a price peak will form before the next bear market." The top manager called the first cryptocurrency a "dominant token" and the "best form of gold." Regarding long-term prospects, the expert stated that bitcoin "could easily" increase tenfold over the next decade. Separately, Yusko noted that his hedge fund likes Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, though they fall short of the "king bitcoin."
– "Rich Dad Poor Dad" best-selling author and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki once again advised not to save "fake fiat dollars" but to buy gold, silver, or bitcoin. He believes the US has gone bankrupt by printing $1 trillion every 90 days just to pay bills. "The entire US dollar is American debt. [I am concerned about] our political, banking, and financial leaders. They are either incompetent, corrupt, or both. Our leaders have no idea how to control the growing national debt and the US bond market, as well as the excessively inflated stock market," Kiyosaki stated. However, the entrepreneur made an unexpected statement. According to him, bitcoin could crash to zero as it's not excluded that the first cryptocurrency is the same kind of fraud or Ponzi scheme as the US dollar, euro, yen, or any other "fake" fiat currency.
– "Gold bug" and staunch bitcoin opponent Peter Schiff suggested that bitcoin's popularity among young people is mainly due to "ignorance and lack of experience." The third factor is that during the short lifespan of young people, bitcoin has increased in price much more than gold. But by the time they gain the wisdom that comes with age, bitcoin will collapse. According to the economist, bitcoin's success depends exclusively on the activity of its buyers, making it a significantly riskier investment compared to tangible assets such as real estate or gold.
– CoinChapter reported that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk declared meme coins Dogecoin (DOGE) the official currency of the colony to be established on Mars. "The brave colonists who will head to the Red Planet will be rough and merciless people. They will not carry gold bars with them. They will need a fast and fun currency that embodies the spirit of space travel. Dogecoin meets all these criteria," Musk stated. It's important to note that the information above was released on April 1st – April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day. Therefore, it's possible that the entrepreneur was just joking with his fans by assigning DOGE the status of Martian currency.
– Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz lamented that in 2023, for the first time in a decade, the number of crypto ATMs installed worldwide significantly decreased. In his opinion, this was related to the bearish trend in the crypto market, which was exacerbated by the collapse of the FTX exchange and the bankruptcy of several other companies. However, in 2024, the situation began to improve: according to CoinATMRadar, 1,469 new crypto ATMs were installed in just the first three months of 2024. In contrast, about 3,000 devices were closed during the same period in 2023.
– Researchers at PeckShield published a new report on hacks in the cryptocurrency space. They noted that in March 2024, there were numerous incidents, with at least one hacking attack occurring every day. As a result, cybercriminals stole more than $187 million this month, of which about $100 million was recovered.
– We have previously told the story of one of the first crypto investors, an IT specialist named James Howells from Newport (Wales, UK). Back in 2013, James's girlfriend decided to clean the house. Into the trash went all the items she deemed unnecessary. Among the trash that was sent to the dump was a hard drive containing the data for a crypto wallet with 8000 BTC. Since then, Howells has not lost hope of retrieving what was lost. He narrowed his search to a section of the city dump where, under grassy hills, about 100,000 tonnes of trash lie. Howells was ready to dig through this entire mountain of waste to find the disk. However, local authorities rejected his request due to environmental preservation concerns. Now, to deter numerous "treasure hunters," a fence has been erected around the dump, and round-the-clock security with video cameras has been organized, because at the current rate, this small hard drive is worth about $520 million.
– Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) ranked 50th in Forbes' new billionaire ranking, with a net worth of $33 billion. Bloomberg's own index attributes Zhao with assets amounting to even more – $45.1 billion. The Forbes list also includes other representatives of the crypto industry. Thus, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong found himself in 180th place with $11.2 billion. In total, the publication counted 17 entrepreneurs connected with cryptocurrencies with a net worth of over one billion dollars.
– The outflow of institutional capital from the crypto sphere in mid-March triggered a drop in bitcoin and other digital currencies. However, Coinshares believes that the vast majority of investment companies and hedge funds are not interested in a decline in BTC quotes. The whales will try not to allow a collapse below $60,000. As a result, just last week, large investors directed $862 million into digital asset-oriented instruments.
Notice: These materials should not be deemed a recommendation for investment or guidance for working on financial markets: they are for informative purposes only. Trading on financial markets is risky and can lead to a loss of money deposited.
