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Zambia will complete simulations of cryptocurrency use by the end of June to help it form new crypto regulations to strike a balance between innovation and consumer protection. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Felix Mutati, Zambia’s finance minister, said a robust digital infrastructure is critical to adopting digital currencies in the region.



This week, the much-anticipated Shapella update on Ethereum went live, pushing the price of Ether above $2000, just like we <a href="https://technext24.com/2023/04/10/ethereum-market-increase-this-week/">predicted</a> on Monday. 



Here are major crypto stories from around the world this week.



<h4 id="ftx-might-be-back-in-the-future">FTX might be back in the future&nbsp;</h4>



Reports emerged this week that the defunct crypto exchange FTX might be considering restarting operations in the future. In a Wednesday hearing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, lawyers representing FTX said the crypto firm had recovered roughly $7.3 billion in liquid assets.&nbsp; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img width="1200" height="800" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FTX.jpeg" alt="FTX" class="wp-image-166340"/></figure>



According to the legal team, FTX will consider restarting its crypto exchange operations sometime in the second quarter of 2024, which suggests a restart as early as April to May next year.&nbsp;



Reacting to the development, the price of the FTX Token (FTT) surged from $1.32 to $2.80 when lawyers announced the exchange&#8217;s potential reboot, an increase of more than 112%. Recall that the token price had been between $1 and $2 since the firm’s bankruptcy filing.



<h4 id="zambia-will-be-done-with-regulation-testing-by-june">Zambia will be done with regulation testing by June&nbsp;</h4>



Zambia crypto regulation tests are on track to finish by June 2023. In a Wednesday <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/zambia-finish-cryptocurrency-regulation-tests-by-june-minister-2023-04-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Reuters,  Felix Mutati, Zambia’s finance minister, said the purpose of conducting the tests was to help the government “see what would happen in the real world,” to assist in forming crypto regulations.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img width="678" height="452" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/049EE572-8D9B-4791-94D6-CC7A16724AB3.jpeg" alt="Zambia crypto regulation " class="wp-image-189748"/></figure>



Related post:



<a href="https://technext24.com/2022/03/28/will-zambia-be-africas-tech-hub-ethereums-co-creator-confirms/">Ethereum&#8217;s co-founder reveals Zambia&#8217;s plans to be Africa&#8217;s Tech Hub</a>



Recall that Zambia’s central bank and securities regulator commenced the tests on February 19, which Mutati said was looking to balance safety and innovation. Mutati also stated in the interview that digital identities and other digital infrastructures need to be implemented before cryptocurrencies can be introduced.



<h4 id="twitter-will-launch-a-crypto-trading-feature">Twitter will launch a crypto trading feature </h4>



According to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/13/twitter-to-let-users-access-stocks-crypto-via-etoro-in-finance-push.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by CNBC on Thursday, social media giant Twitter is set to introduce a new feature allowing platform users to trade cryptocurrencies and stocks. 



Per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/04/13/twitter-will-let-users-buy-stocks-and-crypto-as-elon-musk-pushes-for-everything-app/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>, this new feature is being launched in partnership with fintech firm <a href="https://www.etoro.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eToro</a>, and Twitter users will be able to browse market charts for a wider variety of financial instruments and purchase or sell crypto and other assets through eToro. 



Furthermore, the partnership will expand on Twitter’s “cashtags” feature that currently allows users to view real-time trading data from TradingView.



<h4 id="ethereum-shapella-upgrade-goes-live">Ethereum Shapella Upgrade goes live&nbsp;</h4>



The anticipated Shapella update on the Ethereum network went live on Thursday and paved the way for new features like the unstaking of Ether. 



Notably, Shapella is a term the Ethereum community uses to blend together “Shanghai” and “Capella,” the upgrades that happened simultaneously. The hard fork is an important milestone on Ethereum’s roadmap, leaving a lot of community members excited for the network’s future.



Related post:



<a href="https://technext24.com/2023/01/26/ethereums-upcoming-shanghai-upgrade/">All you need to know about Ethereum&#8217;s upcoming Shanghai Upgrade</a>



At the Shapella watch party hosted by the Ethereum Foundation team, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that the network is now in a “really good place.” He explained that:



“We’re in a stage where the hardest and the fastest parts of the Ethereum protocol’s transition are basically over. Very significant things still need to be done, but those can be done at a slower pace.”&nbsp;



One of the expected effects of the Shapella update is the onboarding of more institutional investors to Ethereum.&nbsp;



<h4 id="crypto-exchange-hacked-for-13-9-million">Crypto exchange hacked for $13.9 million&nbsp;</h4>



South Korean crypto exchange GDAC was hacked for $13.9 million worth of crypto this week. According to a Monday <a href="https://twitter.com/WemixNetwork/status/1645354912711331842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1645354912711331842%7Ctwgr%5E68dad0f61d7dafd32ac3ae340e8a9170d00765a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tradingview.com%2Fnews%2Fcointelegraph%3Ae57051a3d094b%3A0%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> from the exchange CEO, Han Seunghwan, the attacker gained control of some of the exchange’s hot wallets on the morning of April Sunday and, at 7 am Korean Standard Time, began moving crypto into wallets under the attacker’s control.&nbsp; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img width="702" height="400" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Online-hacking-Cyber-fraud.jpeg" alt="Kaspersky prevents about 300,000 attacks on IoT devices in sub-Saharan Africa, provides safety tips for users" class="wp-image-160201"/></figure>



Around 61 Bitcoin, 350.5 Ether, 10 million of the WEMIX gaming currency, and $220,000 worth of Tether was stolen in the attack. Totalling around $13.9 million worth of crypto at the time of announcement. Per the announcement, the amount stolen is “approximately 23% of Gdac’s current total custodial assets.”



Centralised exchange hacks continue to be a problem in the crypto industry. Recall that Crypto.com was hacked for over $15 million in January 2022, and an attacker recently drained $663 million from the FTX.



That is all from us this week, see you same time next week.

Zambia will be done with crypto regulation test by June

Technext.ng

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