Read in the Digest:
- Terra to Be Reborn on May 27, Binance and Huobi to Support Terra 2.0
- Seven Blocks Have Been Reorganized on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain
- Ripple will Consider an Initial Public Offering (IPO) After SEC Case Ends
- Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Stock Plunges 10% Despite Exceeding Expectations in Q1
- Portugal’s Assembleia da República Rejects Proposals on Crypto Taxation
Terra to Be Reborn on May 27, Binance and Huobi to Support Terra 2.0
In the wake of the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapse, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon shared Terra Proposal 1623 to create a new chain. The proposal has now been passed, with over 65% of the 200 million votes in favour of Terra 2.0.
Terra has now announced that it will create a new chain, Terra 2.0, without the algorithmic stablecoin, UST, that led to its collapse. Terra 2.0 will go live on the mainnet on Friday, May 27, and will be followed by an airdrop for the new token.
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, has announced that they are working closely with the Terra team on the recovery plan. Another leading exchange, Huobi, has confirmed that it would support the LUNA 2.0 airdrop after the proposal was passed.
Ahead of the new chain launch, other major exchanges, including FTX, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitfinix, Upbit, and Bitrue, have announced that they would support the Terra 2.0 and LUNA airdrop.
Flipsider:
- In South Korea, the case is different for Terra, with the authorities slamming a $78 million fine on Terra and South Korean exchange Korbit delisting LUNA.
Why You Should Care
The Terra 2.0 is an attempt from Terraform Labs and Do Kwon to resurrect the Terra ecosystem and quell community backlash despite the challenges.
Seven Blocks Have Been Reorganized on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain
As all eyes fall on Ethereum ahead of its transition from Proof-of-Work into a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, in a process known as “the Merge,” Beacon Chain has experienced a 7-block deep reorganization.
According to Beaconscan, on May 25, blocks 3887075 to 3887081 were forked/reorganized on the Ethereum beacon chain. When blocks are knocked off a chain due to a competing block beating it out, it is termed reorganization or reorg.
Martin Köppelmann noticed the event and criticized Ethereum, which had not experienced seven-block reorganization on its mainnet for years. Reacting to the issue raised, Vitalik Buterin said that developers are already working on fixing the issue.
Ethereum developer Preston Van Loon suggested that the reorg was sparked by out-of-date client software and a combination of known bugs on the Beacon chain.
Flipsider:
- Ethereum is taking a conservative approach to the Merge, with Van Loon suggesting that the August upgrade may be moved to September or October.
Why You Should Care
Ethereum developers are searching for the best way to migrate to PoS to minimize issues on the chain such as this.
Ripple Will Consider an Initial Public Offering (IPO) After SEC Case Ends
With the Ripple vs SEC case expected to end this year, CEO Brad Garlinghouse has revealed that the company is looking into the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) after completing the case.
In an interview at the ongoing annual World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland, Garlinghouse says he hopes the 15-month-long lawsuit will give his company certainty and clarity to operate in the United States.
He says that when the case is concluded, Ripple will consider an IPO. However, he adds that he hopes that the SEC “will not slow that process down any more than they already have.”
Whales have been accumulating XRP (Ripple’s native token) at a discounted price of 50% in the last two months. According to data from Santiment, Ripple whales with wallets (not exchanges) between 1M-10M XRP now hold 6.12% of all $XRP.
Flipsider:
- The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed another motion for the extension of the Ripple case.
Why You Should Care
Garlinghouse believes that Ripple, which has grown significantly outside the U.S., could do the same in the country with “clarity and certainty” from the SEC case.
Nvidia Stock Plunges 10% Despite Exceeding Expectations in Q1
On Wednesday, May 25, chip designer Nvidia Corp released its quarterly performance report for Q1 of 2022. In its 2022 Q1 report, Nvidia beat analyst expectations for sales and earnings.
In Q1, Nvidia was predicted to hit a revenue of $8.11 billion; however, it generated $8.29 billion. While expected sales were capped at $1.29 billion, Nvidia completed sales of $1.36 billion in Q1 of 2022.
Despite releasing a strong first-quarter report, Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped as much as 10% on Wednesday. The plunge has been linked to the weak guidance Nvidia released for this quarter.
The 1 month price chart of Nvidia. Source: Nasdaq
Nvidia reports that sales of video game chips will decline in the current quarter. Nvidia expects to make sales of expected $8.1 billion in the second quarter, well below the $8.44 billion analysts expected.
Flipsider:
- Nvidia has been fined $5.8 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for hiding part of its 2018 crypto-mining revenue.
Why You Should Care
The share price drop of Nvidia is largely due to the “challenging macro environment” that has also affected cryptocurrencies.
Portugal’s Assembleia da República Rejects Proposals on Crypto Taxation
The Portuguese Parliament, Assembleia da República, rejected two bills presented by left-wing parties, Bloco de Esquerda and Livre, which aimed to tax cryptocurrencies during a voting session for the 2022 budget afternoon of May 25.
Livre’s proposal requested the government to explore taxing crypto profits above €5000 ($5,345.75). The bill, if passed, would have seen crypto investors pay up to 28% on capital gains.
Portugal has been considered a cryptocurrency tax haven for a long while, and since 2018, proceeds from trading cryptocurrencies have been tax-free. Also, digital asset trading is not considered investment income in Portugal.
Flipsider:
- The country’s days of zero-tax on crypto may be drawing to a close as the Portuguese Minister of Finance Fernando Medina stated that the government would work on the regulatory framework.
Why You Should Care
The tax-free policy of Portugal has encouraged investors to migrate there, growing the country’s crypto sector.
