Crypto scoop: Memecoins Take Spotlight While BTC, ETH Trade Below Month Highs

While the top cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, trades at $26,000 and ETH at $1,700, some memecoins take the spotlight. In this edition of the crypto scoop, we review the following:

• Top cryptocurrencies price moves
• Memecoins PEPE and LADYS price moves
• Crypto initiatives in Kenya, New York, and China

Top Cryptocurrencies Price Moves

During the weekend, bitcoin was unable to cross the $30,000 benchmark and soon slipped to $26,000 during the week. ETH also experienced a drop to $1,700. 

However, while ETH may be trading below the $2,000 benchmark, Ether staking deposits for the first time since the Shanghai upgrade topped the withdrawals. This indicates ETH holders have an increased desire to stake their tokens on the blockchain. According to the on-chain analytics tool, Nansen shows that more than 200,000 Ether has been deposited to the network since the start of the week, bringing the total number of Ether locked for staking purposes to over 19 million tokens. 

The Bitcoin network, over the past few weeks, has experienced a significant traffic jam caused by an overwhelming number of unconfirmed transactions. In just over two weeks, the number of unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network has skyrocketed from 134,000 to 390,000. This also prompted a staggering 343% increase in transaction fees from $1.99 on April 26 to $8.82 by May 7, placing more demand on Bitcoin miners. 

Bitcoin Request for Comment (BRC-20) tokens modelled after Ethereum 2.0 witnessed tremendous growth of 192% from $95 million to $279 million. The token created in March allows developers to create and send fungible tokens via the Ordinal protocol. Unlike ERC-20 tokens, BRC-20 tokens do not use smart contracts and require a Bitcoin wallet to mint and trade these tokens. Following the surge in price has placed a demand on the Bitcoin network contributing to the number of unconfirmed transactions. 

Memecoins PEPE and LADYS price moves

PEPE, an ERC-20 memecoin based on the cartoon character Pepe the Frog, saw massive growth after its recent listing on the crypto exchange, Binance. PEPE's price skyrocketed in the last 7 days as it exceeded the $1 billion market cap and attained position as the third largest memecoin in market valuation. 

While PEPE jumped to the 45th largest crypto by market cap within 3 weeks of its launch, it began a downward spiral as investors turned overnight millionaires withdrew gains, plummeting by over 55%. 

PEPE wasn’t the only memecoin in the news this week. Miladys (LADYS), the self-organised memecoin of the namesake avatar NFT collection, surged over 5,250% after a tweet by Elon Musk. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a meme with the image of a Milady NFT. 

The token developers disclosed that LADYS has “no association” with Milady creator Charlotte Fang or Milady Maker. They explained, “LADYS is a meme coin with no intrinsic value or expectation of financial return. There is no formal team or roadmap. The coin is completely useless and for entertainment purposes only.” The token “is simply paying homage to an NFT collection we all love and recognise.”

Crypto Initiatives in Kenya, New York, and China

Kenya's government announced a partnership with the Venom Foundation in Abu Dhabi to create a blockchain and Web3 hub. The blockchain and Web3 hub will act as a centre for information sharing and teamwork across African government agencies and digital companies. In the essential industries of the continent, including finance, supply chain, agriculture, business, and cross-border trade, the partnership will try to push blockchain innovation.

 Following the agreement, Venom will offer tools and materials to assist Kenya and other African nations with digital transformation. These materials and tools will include blockchain-based solutions for asset tokenisation, land registry, voting systems, supply chain management and more.

New York State has proposed amendments to the law to enable residents to settle bail bonds in stablecoins instead of fiat currency. Assembly Bill 7024 seeks to establish stablecoins as an official means of payment and would become official if the relevant regulators approve it.

China has officially launched a national blockchain centre to train half a million specialists. The National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center, which was first announced in February, formally began operations in Beijing, the capital of China, on May 10. The centre will work with regional colleges, think tanks, and blockchain firms to advance blockchain technology in China. The university would train more than 500,000 specialists in distributed ledger technology (DLT).