It has been a busy day in terms of news, so let us catch you up on the latest and greatest.

Today’s Agenda:

• Market Watch
• Highlights of the Day
  • Gatorade x Rumble Kong League 
  • Yuga Labs Unveils Major Changes for Moonbirds Collection
  • Eigen Layer is Set to Launch its Token and Airdrop
• Project of the Day
• Crypto Corner
• NFT News
• Business & Political Insights 

Market Watch

Top Gainers

• Ethena ($ENA): +10.4%
• Wormhole ($W): +9.5%
• Helium ($HNT): +9.4%

Top Losers

• Maker ($MKR): -7.2%
• Bittensor ($TAO): -5.7%
• Akash Network ($AKT): -5.0%

Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories

• Solana Meme Coins
• Cross-chain Communication
• Base Meme Coins

Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.454 Trillion

Fear and Greed Index – 67

Top NFT Sale

• CryptoPunks #1568 Sold for 105 ETH 

Highlights of the Day

Gatorade x Rumble Kong League 

Rumble Kong League, the NFT-based basketball video game built on the Avalanche blockchain, has partnered with Gatorade, making the popular sports drink the official beverage of the game. This collaboration is set to bring new branded content and interactive experiences to Rumble Kong League players.

Details of the Gatorade Deal

As part of this partnership, Gatorade will be featured through the G-Machine, a virtual vending machine within the game. Players can use in-game currency, G-Coins, to unlock various Gatorade-themed digital collectibles, such as vintage items, Hydroslam gear, and exclusive G-Gear. This unique integration offers a fun and engaging way for players to interact with Gatorade’s brand while progressing in the game.

Yuga Labs Unveils Major Changes for Moonbirds Collection

Yuga Labs, known for its innovative approach in the NFT space, has announced a significant transformation for the Moonbirds collection. The collection, recently acquired by Yuga Labs, will undergo a creative overhaul under the leadership of Colin Hesterly, an award-winning artist and director. This initiative, called the “Moonbirds Universe,” aims to create a richer ecosystem where Moonbirds can connect, engage, and experience the digital world of Volaria.

A Shift in Licensing and Ownership

As part of the new direction, Moonbirds will no longer operate under the CC0 framework, a licensing model that allows unrestricted use and distribution of artwork. Instead, the collection will adopt a more commercial approach, similar to PROOF’s Mythics collection. The vision includes plans for animation, deeper involvement in the Otherside Metaverse, and other creative projects. Additionally, Yuga Labs intends to introduce physical and real-world collectibles for Moonbirds, adding another layer to the brand’s appeal.

Eigen Layer is Set to Launch its Token and Airdrop

Eigen Layer, a popular protocol known for its unique restaking mechanism, has announced the launch of its native token, $EIGEN, along with an airdrop set to be claimable on May 10, 2024. The upcoming token launch and airdrop have generated a buzz among Ethereum stakers and developers, further spotlighting the protocol’s innovative approach to staking in the Web3 ecosystem.

$EIGEN Airdrop Details

The $EIGEN airdrop will be distributed in seasons, with the first season’s snapshot taken on March 15, 2024. The distribution is divided into two phases. Phase 1 accounts for 90% of the airdrop, targeting users who interacted with Eigen Layer in simpler ways, including eligible restakers and holders of liquid restaking tokens (LRTs). Phase 2 makes up the remaining 10%, focusing on users with more complex interactions with their LRTs. This second phase is determined through feedback from the Web3 community, ensuring a fairer allocation to those with deeper engagement.

Project of the Day

Helium

Helium ($HNT) is a decentralized network that connects Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Launched in July 2019, the network uses low-powered wireless devices to communicate through a system of nodes. These nodes, known as Hotspots, combine a wireless gateway with a blockchain mining device, enabling users who operate them to earn rewards in Helium’s native cryptocurrency, $HNT.

In terms of price movements, $HNT has a market cap exceeding $930 million, with a price hovering around $5.75. Despite a challenging bear market in 2023, Helium continued to make significant strides through various updates and partnership announcements. Although these achievements had limited impact on the price during the downturn, the recent market recovery has sparked a 100% increase in $HNT’s value over the past few months, indicating renewed interest in the project.

Now, with the market regaining momentum, long-term sentiment toward Helium remains optimistic, suggesting that $HNT could reach new all-time highs as the market maintains its upward trajectory. This positive outlook underscores the potential for Helium to become a key player in the decentralized IoT landscape.

Crazy Day in Crypto

• A solo Bitcoin miner solved a block and earned 3.125 BTC, worth about $200,000, marking the 282nd time in Bitcoin’s 14-year history that a solo miner has achieved this feat.
• Friend.tech has postponed the launch of its version 2 and the much-anticipated airdrop of its native $FRIEND token to this Thursday.
• Runecoin’s price hit an all-time high after cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced plans to list the token on Tuesday, April 30.
• Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo anticipates that the cryptocurrency sector will grow to one billion users by the end of 2025, a 72% increase from the current 580 million.
• Veteran trader Peter Brandt proposed a theory indicating that Bitcoin might have hit its peak for this cycle at $70,000, based on an “exponential decay” pattern he observed in previous market cycles.
• MicroStrategy has acquired 25,250 more BTC in the first quarter of 2024, resulting in a total of 214,400 BTC at an average cost of $35,180 per Bitcoin.

What’s Poppin with NFTs?

• Azuki will premiere the first episode of its anime series “Enter the Garden: The Waiting Man” tomorrow on YouTube at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Business Talks & Political Insights

• Recent court documents suggest the SEC might have regarded ETH as a security for over a year, a position that contradicts the agency’s earlier stance.
• Tether has invested $200 million into Blackrock Neurotech, a leading company in Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems, marking the launch of Tether’s new venture division, Tether Evo.
• Binance is facing a class-action lawsuit in Canada for allegedly selling unregistered crypto derivative products to retail investors.
• Supercell took part in a $3.2 million seed funding round for ‘Games for a Living’, a crypto gaming startup co-founded by Trip Hawkins, the original founder of Electronic Arts (EA).

Avalanche has teamed up with Stripe to streamline fiat-to-crypto conversions, helping users more easily access Web3 applications on the network.