14 Apr 2023
The Friday Focus - Issue 81
This week’s news are more about what’s to come than what happened. Get up to speed by reading our quick rundown in the post-Easter Friday Focus.

Top stories
Ethereum staking withdrawals go live
Hugely important EU Mica law vote set for next week
FTX exchange might reopen
Ethereum's Shanghai upgrade went live on Wednesday 12th of April. Kraken has dominated the early staking withdrawal volumes. Other exchanges, not under an obligation to end staking, will roll out staking withdrawals in the coming weeks. The Ethereum staking protocol has withdrawal limits to reduce the probability of abrupt supply shocks. Two days after the opening of withdrawals, the staking withdrawal queue is now at a 2-week wait. Although delayed by one day, the final vote for the EU's MiCa law is set for next week. The MiCA law will play a vital role in defining the regulatory environment for Europe's crypto industry. We haven't given much focus to FTX lately. Now they are back in our main section. FTX could reopen the exchange, according to its attorney. As usual, the FTT token temporarily surged on such news.
Other news
UN Cybercrime Treaty could lead to sweeping surveillance of crypto worldwide
Texas Senate Passes Bill to Limit Bitcoin Miners' Participation in Demand Response Programs
Arizona governor vetoes bill targeting taxes on blockchain node hosts
London Stock Exchange Group may provide clearing services for BTC derivatives in Q4
From our Analysts
A reliable pattern or an illusory correlation?
BTC’s current drawdown and recovery cycle is remarkably similar to the pattern seen in the 2018-19 bear market in terms of length and trajectory. If history repeats BTC will peak around May 20 at $45,000

Read the full analysis here.
Weekend Reading
The U.S. Cracked a $3.4 Billion Crypto Heist—and Bitcoin’s Anonymity
Federal authorities are making arrests and seizing funds with the help of new tools to identify criminals through cryptocurrency transactions.
DAOs can become a disaster more quickly than you think
Decentralized autonomous organizations suffer from a lack of oversight. Companies and founders should take that into account in their planning.