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BTC soars to $26,000 and ETH to $1,700 while the Ethereum Shanghai launch date is set by developers.

Amid the SVB and Signature Bank collapse, we see price gains among top cryptocurrencies. In this edition of the crypto scoop, we review:

Price moves of top cryptocurrencies
Ethereum’s shanghai upgrade
Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin community
South Dakota Governor’s veto of an unsupportive crypto bill
Uniswap’s launch on the BNB blockchain

Price chart of top cryptocurrencies (Source: Coinmarketcap)

Price moves of top cryptocurrencies and the SVB Bank Collapse

This week, we witnessed the collapse of two mainstream crypto-friendly banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. The closure impacted some crypto service providers and Circle, the parent company of USD Coin (USDC). USD Coin deppeged from $1.

Joe Biden, President of the United States, vowed to find those responsible for the collapse of this bank while putting mechanics in place to ensure that investors' deposits were saved. CEO of Circle, Allaire, praised the US government for the $25 billion funding program to support liquidity troubled banks.

During an interview, Allaire assured the crypto community about the security of their funds, noting the bank may have suffered exposure because of the $3.3 billion held with SVB. He explained, “We’ve moved all of our assets to Bank of New York Mellon” and said that Circle was working on moving the remaining funds with SVB to Bank of New York Mellon.

Cardano’s Founder, Charles Hoskinson, speaking on the events following the SVB crash, noted that this should push the crypto community to differentiate itself from the “unstable and volatile” banking sector. He pointed out that the collapse of Silvergate Capital, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank had caused losses for crypto-focused firms. He emphasises the need to avoid traditional banking while noting there would be a “game over” scenario for banks once “we can digitise treasuries.”

However, since then, USDC has successfully regained its $1 peg. While there had been fears that the collapse of these banks may result in a bear run, the reverse is the case. Bitcoin soared to $26,500, surpassing a 9-month high, while ETH soared to $1,600. ADA soared 8.02% this week, and Solana soared 18.13% to $20.

Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade is set for April 12, 2023

Ethereum’s last testnet, Goerli, was executed on March 14. However, developers noted that the testnet wasn’t at smooth as anticipated. ETH developer Tim Beiko pointed out that while the deposits were being processed, they didn’t run as smoothly as expected because several testnet validators didn't upgrade their client software before the Goerli fork. He, however, expects that validators would have made proper adjustments ahead of the Shanghai fork.

During the All Core Developers Execution Layer #157 call on Thursday, Ethereum developers set a target date of April 12 for the Shanghai hard fork. The Shanghai hard fork will mark the completion of Ethereum’s transition to a proof-of-stake(PoS) network and enable stake ETH withdrawal.

Tether Attains A Milestone In Market Dominance

Tether has increased its market share in the stablecoin market to 56.4%, its highest level in 18 months, according to new statistics from Blockworks. Tether's stablecoin dominance has increased to its highest level in a year and a half, a feat many in the cryptocurrency world credit to issues involving competitor stablecoins USDC and, BUSD, DAI.

With a market share of 56.4%, up 5.4% over the past 30 days, USDT now holds the highest market dominance.

Shytoshi Addresses FUD Surrounding Shiba (INU)

Memecoin, Shiba Inu received a backlash over Shibarium’s allegedly ripped chain.

Shibarium is a layer 2 that aims to scale the Ethereum chain providing speed, lower fees, and more development capacity. On March 11, it started the PuppyNet beta test. But following the allegation that SHIB programmers plagiarised Rinia's code, the Shiba Inu Discord is awash with furious remarks, as @Rancune eth has chronicled. A Discord user named "STEVE " made the accusations," who noted that Rinia and Shiba Inu's genesis files share a chain ID.

Pseudonymous co-founder of SHIB and creator of Shibarium, Shytoshi, dismissed the allegations as Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). He noted that the “chain IDS were picked randomly” at development and noted it was an oversight not to double-check after the puppy net launch.

South Dakota Governor Vetoes Crypto-unfriendly bill

The governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, has vetoed a bill prohibiting using cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. While the bill lays the path for central bank digital currencies (CBDC), the governor asked 20 other states that are scheduled to adopt a similar bill to "block this legislation from passing," stressing that it is evident that this bill is "a threat to our freedom."

The governor explained HB 1193 adopts a definition of ‘money’ to exclude cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and other digital assets specifically.

Uniswap, Decentralised exchange goes live on BNB Chain

A governance proposal by 0x Plasma Labs to launch Uniswap v3 on BNB Chain was approved by the majority of the 55 million UNISWAP token owners in February.

The proposal was made for Uniswap to broaden its influence and possibly spur further development of decentralised finance (DeFi).

UNISWAP is now live on the BNB blockchain. The move to BNB Chain offers various benefits, including user growth, lower costs, and tapping into new geographical markets, according to the release,

Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Scales to $26,000 Amid SVB Collapse