Bitcoin winter, Avalanche merges with Stripe and more.

While developers have long focused on the Ethereum network, the Bitcoin ecosystem is making a comeback, with several initiatives now looking to innovate on the main blockchain.

Recent developments include the growing nexus between Bitcoin and decentralized finance (DeFi), driving demand for Layer-2 protocols to unlock the Bitcoin blockchain and reduce transaction fees as on-chain activity increases.

Major players like Coinbase are also evaluating Bitcoin offerings. The cryptocurrency exchange has finally added the Lightning Network as an option for users looking to transfer Bitcoin (BTC), following a similar move by Binance a year ago.

Meanwhile, software company Animoka Brands has partnered with the Opal Foundation – a new protocol for the Bitcoin ecosystem – to enter the Bitcoin industry.

The introduction of Runes on the Bitcoin blockchain has sparked more buzz. The new token standard was launched on April 20, allowing fungi to be created on the network. Rune Transactions added over 1,200 BTC worth of transaction fees to miners in less than 10 days.

This week's CryptoBiz Lightning Network release on Coinbase, Avalanche's integration with Stripe, features MicroStrategy's earnings results and funding from BlackRock.

Avalanche integrates with Stripe for fiat-to-crypto onboarding

The Avalanche C-Chain network's integration with payments firm Stripe will allow verified Stripe users to buy Avalanche (AVAX) tokens and send them to their wallets, according to the network's developer, Ava Labs. Eight Avalanche Web3 applications are integrated with the platform. According to the article, Avalanche app developers can now embed a customizable widget into their interfaces, allowing users to convert fiat to crypto through the Stripe platform. The integration attempts to solve the “cold start problem” on Web3, which occurs when “customers don't have enough money in their wallets to make transactions on the platform.” To solve this problem, Stripe handles all KYC, payments, fraud and compliance, allowing the developer to focus on the app itself.

MicroStrategy's Q1 net loss hits $53.1 million, but bitcoin purchases continue to expand.

MicroStrategy reported a loss of $53.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, largely due to a $191.6 million impairment loss on digital assets, which was significantly higher than last year. The company's revenue fell by 5.5% to $115.2 million in 2023 compared to the same period in 2023. According to traditional accounting methods, their Bitcoin holdings are valued at $5.07 billion, but if evaluated at fair market value, they would have been seen at $15.2 billion, reflecting 65. Bitcoin price increases by % per quarter. The company continued to acquire more bitcoins in April and now holds $13.5 billion worth of 214,400 BTC bought at an average price of $35,180.

BlackRock's BUIDL will be the world's largest treasury fund.

BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) has overtaken Franklin Templeton's similar fund to become the largest treasury fund registered on the blockchain. With a market cap of $375 million, BlackRock's recently launched BUIDL fund has a larger market cap than the year-old Franklin Onchain US Government Fund (Benji), which has a market cap of $368 million, according to data from Dunn Analytics. Last week, BUIDL attracted $70 million, including a major investment from Ondo Finance. During the same period, Benji saw a 3.7% decrease in assets under management. More than $1.2 billion in U.S. Treasuries has now been issued across various blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana.

Coinbase integrates the Lightning Network for Bitcoin transactions

Coinbase now supports the Bitcoin Lightning Network, giving users the option to transfer Bitcoin using either Lightning or the Bitcoin network. Using the Lightning Network, Coinbase customers can transfer Bitcoin faster and cheaper than transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. Transfers on Lightning are “instant”, unlike transfers on the Bitcoin network, which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours because of the finite number of Bitcoin network processes per second. A recipient intended to use the Lightning Network sends a receipt containing a long string of characters that Coinbase recognizes as the amount of the transfer. In some cases, Lightning transfers may take several hours or fail due to a specific application or payment structure, Coinbase warned on April 30.

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