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From a mad rush to buy Bitcoin to a new push for gaming tokens on Ethereum, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin trading volume in Thailand has soared 212% on peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins.

The spike follows days of publicity surrounding a couple on the run who have garnered worldwide attention for attempting to live off the coast of Phuket, Thailand in a seastead home. An early American Bitcoin investor named Chad Elwartowski and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet, also known as “Bitcoin girl Thailand”, are accused of “violating Thai sovereignty.”

The Thai navy has seized the home and reportedly revoked Elwartowski’s visa.

The story thrust crypto into the spotlight and created a Bitcoin buying frenzy in Thailand. For the week ended April 20, BTC trading volume on LocalBitcoins spiked to 68.16 million Thai Baht worth roughly $2.1 million versus a trading volume of 21.8 million Thai Baht worth roughly $685,000 for the previous week.

Fundstrat analyst Tom Lee says an increase of Bitcoin buying outside the US is playing a big role in the sharp rise of BTC’s price in 2019. According to Lee, at least 30% of Bitcoin’s on chain activity, which is near its all-time highs from the last bull run, is from countries with relatively small economies.

“What I think we have to remember is crypto is probably a 70% story outside the US. And I think events like Venezuela and the devaluation of the Turkish lira, these have actually caused on-chain volumes to take off because on a LocalBitcoins basis, people are saying, ‘Look, I don’t trust using these local currencies. I don’t trust the banks. I’m going to start using Bitcoin.’”

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Ethereum

The developers of Gods Unchained, a competitive trading card game on the Ethereum blockchain that uses non-fungible tokens (NFT) to bring real ownership to in-game assets, just outlined how they’re scaling NFT usage for players and developers.

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Ripple and XRP

Ripple’s senior vice president of product, Asheesh Birla, details how Facebook can use blockchain tech to take the friction out of payments for mobile consumers. Birla says Facebook is poised to build the next ‘super app’ by using a blockchain-based payment service to help customers load funds into the new super app for e-commerce payments and in-app payments.

“But here’s where Facebook, by leveraging blockchain infrastructure and crypto exchanges, may have an added advantage. The company can activate its already massive user base in the region and solve the same last-mile payments problem by partnering with regional crypto exchanges as on and off ramps to the Facebook super app.

Tapping into blockchain and crypto technology in this way could help Facebook scale in emerging markets and take market share away from incumbent providers. Thus, reinventing Facebook as we know it today.”

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Litecoin

Quanta, a cross-chain technology that allows interoperability among blockchains, now offers support for Litecoin.

The coin network has created both LTC/BTC and LTC/ETH markets.

Stellar

Coinsquare has just announced support for Stellar Lumens (XLM). Cole Diamond, CEO of Coinsquare says,

“Coinsquare aims to offer convenient and safe access to the highest-quality cryptocurrencies through its platform. XLM has been a highly requested asset which we are thrilled to now be offering our customers…The launch of XLM showcases to the Canadian market that we are continuing to invest in our offering, while maintaining our commitment to being the safest, most trusted platform for digital currency trading in Canada.“

XLM can be purchased and traded for fiat or crypto.The platform now offers 10 cryptocurrencies.

We’re excited to announce the launch of XLM on #Coinsquare! You can now fund your account with XLM and withdraw it directly to your wallet. You can also buy and trade it with fiat or any cryptocurrency! #XLMcommunity #CryptocurrencyNewshttps://t.co/RNqyKpYPDh pic.twitter.com/jL35WpiC5Z — Coinsquare (@Coinsquare) April 25, 2019

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Tron

Crypto exchange Huobi DM has launched a giveaway worth one million TRX. It consists of three tiers of rewards for regular traders and VIP clients.

Cardano

Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson held a new surprise ask-me-anything on YouTube.



Topics include Hoskinson’s thoughts on the Bitfinex allegations, Cardano (ADA) and the recent IOHK summit, access to the Haskell course released in Ethiopia, staking support on Windows, and the future of the proof-of-stake protocol.



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