Memecoin Sends BTC Fees To The Moon, Miner Profits Exceed $50B…

Top stories this week

Memecoin hype drives Bitcoin transaction fees to multi-year highs

The ongoing trading frenzy in memecoins such as Pepe has triggered an unintended consequence for Bitcoin (BTC) – raising transaction costs to their highest point in two years. On May 3, the total amount paid on the Bitcoin blockchain reached $3.5 million, jumping around 400% from the end of April. Bitcoin’s BRC-20 token standard has become the latest trend in the crypto ecosystem amid the rise of memecoins. A total of 8,500 different tokens have been minted using the BRC-20 standard. Gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain have also recently skyrocketed to new multi-month highs.

Bitcoin miners earned $50B from BTC block rewards, fees since 2010

Amid an ongoing debate over miner costs and susceptibility to Bitcoin price drops, new figures suggest that miners are stuck in the black for the long term. Calculations from the chain analysis firm Glassnode suggest that since 2010, fees and block reward subsidies have given miners billions. Miners’ total all-time earnings are nearly 40% higher than their estimated costs, coming in at $50.2 billion versus $36.6 billion, respectively.

‘Godfather of AI’ resigns from Google, warns of dangers of AI

Artificial intelligence pioneer and former Google employee Dr. Geoffrey Hinton shared his concerns about the technology he has helped develop over the past few years. According to the neural network expert, AI could pose a threat to humanity in the future as it learns unexpected behavior from the vast amounts of data it analysed. He is also concerned about the ongoing arms race for AI to develop lethal autonomous weapons systems, as well as an increased number of fake images, videos and text flooding the internet.

Balaji cashes out his insane $1M Bitcoin stake, 97% below price target

A wild Bitcoin price bet between former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan and pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock has been settled 45 days in advance for $1.5 million. Medlock offered to bet anyone $1 million that the United States would not experience hyperinflation on March 17. The former Coinbase CEO accepted the bet, predicting that the US dollar would deflate due to inflation and as a result, BTC would reach $1 million within 90 days. In the deal, Medlock gave $500,000, while another $1 million went to two organizations.

Microsoft axes Bing waiting list, giving users free access to GPT-4

Microsoft recently announced a number of new AI-powered features for its Bing chatbot and Edge browser, including full access to the GPT-4 model – the same underlying engine that powers the ChatGPT Plus subscription service. The new features will not require any purchases or subscriptions, although users will need a free Microsoft account to take advantage of the Bing chatbot’s full feature set. In contrast, OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus service costs $20 per month for access to the same GPT-4 model.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $29,618Ether (ETH) on $1,991 and XRP on $0.46. The total market value is at $1.22 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Pepe (PEPE) of 961.32%, FLOKI (FLUFFY) at 35.36% and Rocket Pool (RPL) of 10.15%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week are Sui (SUI) at -70.87%, unchanged (IMX) of -10.68% and Cronos (CRO) of -10.06%.

For more info on crypto prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Most memorable quotes

“Even in the United States where it [CDBC] was for quite some time a topic of little interest, now it is commitment, and for the right reason. The future has arrived.”

Kristalina Georgievamanaging director of the International Monetary Fund

“I spent my own money sending a demonstrably costly signal that there is something wrong with the economy, and that there is not going to be a ‘soft landing’ as Powell promises – but something much worse.”

Balaji Srinivasanformer CTO at Coinbase

“There are going to be very few people in the next 10 years who have no involvement in this [crypto] sector.”

Lisa CameronMember of the Parliament of Great Britain

“It is this uncertainty that permeates everything. You just don’t know what’s coming next or where it’s coming from or why or how in the United States.”

Oliver LynchCEO of Bittrex Global

“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t [co-developed modern artificial intelligence]would anyone else have it.”

Geoffrey Hintonpioneer of artificial intelligence known as the “Godfather of AI”

“Well, I think we have both, and I think it’s a little naive to say that this [banking crisis] is only limited to the First Republic.”

Bob Michelechief investment officer at JP Morgan Asset Management

Prediction of the week

Bitcoin price sets new May high above $29.5k as traders look out

Bitcoin saw a recovery of further lost ground on May 5 when $30,000 remained in play. The BTC/USD pair had fallen with US stocks at the Wall Street open the previous day, but the weakness was short-lived as the $29,000 support returned.

Popular pseudonymous trader Alan, also known as Trader Tardigrade, was optimistic about the continuation of the upside, which could mimic the breakout from late 2020. “#Bitcoin has entered the phase of ‘Storing of power,'” he told Twitter followers alongside a comparative chart, adding that the moment was the preparation for an “incoming Bull Run”.

FUD of the week

Argentina’s central bank bans cryptocurrencies from payment apps

Argentina’s central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions, claiming it intends to reduce the country’s payment system exposure to digital assets. Cryptocurrencies are not regulated in Argentina, which means that all coins and tokens are subject to the ruling. Argentina’s fintech chamber urged the government to reconsider the decision.

FBI, Ukraine seizes 9 exchange domains on money laundering charges

Nine digital currency exchanges that allegedly help cybercriminals had their domains seized by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Ukrainian law enforcement. The seized domains included 24xbtc.com, 100btc.pro, pridechange.com, trust-exchange.org and bitcoin24.exchange. Each site allegedly offered anonymous crypto exchange services, and flouted many of the rules and regulations required of a licensed firm.

Darknet hackers are selling crypto accounts for as little as $30 a pop

Cybercriminals from the shadowy parts of the internet are reportedly selling hacked, verified crypto accounts on the darknet for as little as $30 each. Hacked accounts can be used to illegally evade Know Your Customer measures on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. But cryptocurrency accounts aren’t the only items on the list – account details for credit cards with balances up to $5,000 are being sold for just $110, while login details for online banking accounts with balances up to $2,000 are selling for $60.

Best Cointelegraph Features

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The Ethereum co-founder talks ancient history, what’s next for MetaMask and Infura and what the future holds for the #2 cryptocurrency.

Your guide to the exciting and terrifying world of runaway AI development.

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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.