Major Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Scheduled for May

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal is investigating potential federal law violations in President Donald Trump's crypto business ventures, including the launch of meme coin Official Trump and involvement in DeFi platform World Liberty Financial. Blumenthal expressed concerns about the president's alleged pay-to-play scheme through cryptocurrency.

Coinbase faces analyst predictions of a decline in earnings per share and revenue for the first quarter due to a drop in trading volume and market cap. Despite optimism around stablecoins, concerns linger about losing retail share to decentralized exchanges like Solana and Base.

Tim Draper believes that businesses should acquire Bitcoin for their treasuries, emphasizing its importance and potential for growth. He envisions a future where funds operate solely on cryptocurrency, streamlining processes through smart contracts and blockchain technology.

Aptos experienced a surge in developer interest after a viral social media campaign by user BuzzlamicJihad. The campaign led to a 17% increase in Aptos' value and created catchphrases that became popular in the crypto community.

A collaboration between Adidas and Xociety will see the release of limited edition NFT mystery boxes containing virtual clothing for player avatars in the Sui-based game. Each box will include Adidas-themed digital clothing sets with varying rarity levels, along with authenticity certificates and XCS tokens representing corporate shares in Xociety.

Despite the successful launch of Ethereum's Pectra upgrade, the price of ETH remained stagnant, trading 40% lower than a year ago. The recent upgrade, along with "The Merge," did not result in significant price movements, as analysts often view Ethereum upgrades as "sell the news" events.

Revolut is collaborating with Lightspark to introduce Bitcoin transactions on the Lightning Network in the U.K. and select EEA countries. The feature aims to reduce fees and processing time for crypto users, with no specified timeline for its launch.

The criminal trial of former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony began with testimony from a victim who lost $20,000 and the prosecution's star witness, Thomas “Papa” Smith. Karony is accused of money laundering, securities fraud, and wire fraud related to SafeMoon's liquidity pool.

Bitcoin's recent chart patterns resemble those before the late 2024 rally, with the MACD histogram and SMAs indicating potential bullish momentum. Traders interpret signals in context with price action to avoid false indicators like bear traps.

Bhutan has partnered with Binance Pay and DK Bank to allow tourists to make crypto payments for various services like airline tickets, hotel stays, and local crafts. Over 100 cryptocurrencies are supported, settling transactions in the local currency, Ngultrum (BTN), through DK Bank.