Friend.tech has launched version 2 of its blockchain-based social platform with new features and anticipation for a 100% airdrop of its FRIEND token.

The SPX index is down 1.6%, driven by a rise in bond yields following higher-than-expected employment cost data, raising concerns that the Fed might maintain higher interest rates. The broader cryptocurrency market is down, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 6.02% and 6.79%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today’s outperformer is FRONT, which jumped 4.6% after Frontier Wallet enabled secure cross-chain asset swaps to Cronos Chain with XY Finance.

Frontier (FRONT), founded in 2019, is a multi-chain DeFi and NFT wallet that supports over 65 blockchains and enables secure trading, staking, and asset management through a single interface. It integrates with top wallets via WalletConnect and simplifies the user experience by minimizing the need for multiple extensions and seed phrases. Frontier Wallet now 

 cross-chain asset swaps to Cronos Chain via XY Finance, enabling secure bridging to $CRO from over 20 blockchains. Users can also participate in the Spring Odyssey event, promising enhanced on-chain experiences with Frontier.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network in partnership with Lightspark, offering users instant, low-cost Bitcoin transactions as an alternative to the slower, more expensive traditional Bitcoin network. This integration supports Coinbase's goal of creating a global payments system with transactions costing just one cent and processing within one second. The Lightning Network, operational since 2017, significantly reduces transaction costs compared to traditional finance methods, such as credit cards and wire transfers. This move not only enhances the utility of Bitcoin for Coinbase's customers but also advances the broader crypto ecosystem by supporting faster, more affordable, and more secure global payments.

After the debut of Hong Kong's first spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin's price fell below $61,000, with concerns it could drop further below $60,000. The launch triggered a "sell-the-news" reaction, contributing to a downward trend and negative net flows in U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. This situation poses risks but may also present a buying opportunity for long-term investors.

 version 2 of its blockchain-based social platform with new features and anticipation for a 100% airdrop of its FRIEND token. The company has already taken a snapshot for the airdrop, which may occur as soon as next week when points balances become blockchain-based. Friend.tech, which debuted in August 2023 on Base, a Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2, had initially seen significant activity but later experienced a decline. The latest update introduces the Money Club for managing community treasuries and minting tradable collectibles, a new points system for the airdrop, and custom engagement metrics. Additionally, version 2 allows users to customize their chat spaces. The platform currently has $34.4 million in total value locked, down from its peak of $52 million.

Beginner

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Friend.tech Launches Version 2 and Announces Airdrop

Learn how you can import your mnemonic phrase for Bybit Wallet with our comprehensive article.

For new users, it's recommended that they familiarize themselves with the wallet's basic operations, understand its features and characteristics, and then start using and importing mnemonic phrases.

If you haven't installed Bybit Wallet yet, please click 

After installation, you can pin the Bybit Wallet to the toolbar through the following steps:

 icon in the upper right corner of your browser, and the Bybit Wallet will pop up the initialization interface.

Before using your Bybit Wallet, please set a password first. This password is used to unlock your wallet and encrypt your key information. The local password will not be uploaded to our server, so please keep it carefully. Once lost, the password cannot be retrieved.

After entering the password, please check the 

If you are already using Bybit Wallet, then you only need one step to import your mnemonic phrase.

Please click on the wallet address to enter the wallet management page:

Next, enter the device password you created for the wallet and click 

After setting the local password, please select 

If your mnemonic phrase length is 12, you can click the 

 input box and paste it directly. Of course, you can also manually enter them one by one.

In addition, we also support mnemonic phrases of different lengths, which are 12-, 15-, 18-, 21-, and 24-word mnemonic phrases, all of which can be imported into Bybit Wallet. Please choose the one that suits you.

 button to import. Bybit Wallet will search for the wallet address that has assets under the mnemonic phrase and automatically import it into Bybit Wallet.

At this point, the mnemonic phrase has been successfully imported into Bybit Wallet.

In the import wallet interface, you can also choose to import the wallet using your private key. Just click 

, then enter your private key in the input box, and then click 

Now, you can start using Bybit Wallet to your heart's content. Remember to update your wallet regularly to get the latest features and optimizations. We are always working hard to improve and enhance the user experience of Bybit Wallet. If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to let us know any time.

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How to Import Your Mnemonic Phrase for Bybit Wallet

Today’s outperformer is ENA, which jumped 7.3% after Ethena's synthetic dollar launched on Swell L2 with rewards and airdrops in pre-launch phase.

The SPX index is up 0.32%, the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain borrowing costs, but investor focus will be on any changes in rhetoric after recent high inflation data. Market expectations for rate cuts this year have decreased, with only one 25 basis point reduction now anticipated, compared to three a month ago. The broader cryptocurrency market is down, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 1.23% and 4.01%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Ethena Labs (ENA), founded in 2023, introduces USDe, a synthetic dollar on Ethereum, offering a decentralized alternative to traditional stablecoins. It features the 'Internet Bond' for global savings, using delta-hedging to manage volatility and aiming to transform the financial ecosystem by enhancing Ethereum's utility. Recently, $USDe is now available on 

. By depositing $USDe during the Pre-Launch phase, users can earn Sats, qualify for a Season 2 airdrop upon the L2 launch, receive additional airdrops from projects on Swell L2, and share 1 million EigenLayer Points. For more details, visit the Swell Network website.

Omnity has launched a new integration that allows for the fee-free trading of Runes tokens without impacting the Bitcoin network. This 

 utilizes the Internet Computer Protocol's chain fusion technology, enabling interactions with the Bitcoin blockchain and other networks without the need for wrapped tokens or off-chain relayers. The initiative, which distinguishes Omnity from other Bitcoin interoperability solutions, aims to address the scalability challenges of the Bitcoin network, particularly in light of increased activity from new technologies and Bitcoin ETFs. On April 20, the Bitcoin network hit a record high of over 926,000 transactions, with Runes tokens constituting a significant portion of this traffic.

Bernstein analysts believe the recent decline in Bitcoin ETF flows is temporary and predict a bullish future with a $150,000 BTC price target by 2025. They remain optimistic about Bitcoin's integration into financial platforms and its long-term acceptance. Additionally, they suggest that a denial of an Ether ETF could benefit Ether and Ethereum Layer 2 tokens. The firm expects the crypto market cap to triple to $7.5 trillion within two years.

 plans to distribute EIGEN tokens via airdrop from May 10 to September 7, targeting users who participated in Ethereum restaking on the EigenLayer protocol. The initial distribution, termed a "stakedrop," will allocate 5% of the total token supply based on activities as of March 15. The airdrop is divided into two phases, with 90% of tokens going to initially eligible users and the remaining 10% to those who interacted with EigenLayer in more complex ways. However, the airdrop excludes users from several countries, including the US and Canada, and implements strict measures to block VPN and proxy users. Future airdrops will reserve an additional 15% of the token supply. The EIGEN token, designed to address specific protocol faults, will initially be non-transferable and non-forkable to support the protocol's growth, with full functionality enabled later.

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Ethena’s USDe Launches on Swell’s Layer 2 Network

cat in a dogs world (MEW) is a no-utility, cat-themed meme coin built on Solana challenging the dominance of dog-themed coins in the crypto space.

The world of meme coins is wild and filled with all types of animals, such as dogs, cats, penguins and frogs. In 2024, the meme coin craze is back in full swing, evidenced by the astronomical gains made by top crypto meme coins like 

During this meme coin season, Solana-based meme coins have stolen the show with dog-themed tokens dominating the space. However, a recent cat-themed meme coin is seeking to challenge this dog-themed coin narrative.

cat in a dogs world (MEW) stormed into the meme coin space on Mar 27, 2024, and has been causing a stir with its remarkable price surge. Upon listing, MEW’s price soared by 385% to reach an ATH of $0.0097 within four days.

Let’s explore the MEW coin and find out why it’s one to watch in the thriving 

cat in a dogs world is a no-utility, cat-themed meme coin built on Solana (

It was launched on Mar 27, 2024, to provide a cat-themed token that would be a worthy competitor to the dog-themed meme coins dominating the space.

Barely 96 hours into the market, MEW had pumped by 385% to hit a price of $0.0097, during which its market capitalization reached around $848 million, a figure reserved for more established projects in the market such as 

MEW’s market cap has since shrunk to a more conservative figure of $357 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $59 million on Apr 30, 2024. It’s currently trading around $0.004.

cat in a dogs world has a total/max supply of 88,888,888,888 tokens, of which 90% were burned as 

, while the remaining 10% were allocated as an 

MEW’s formidable success could be attributed to its tokenomics strategy, as burning most of the LP tokens creates a stable price floor and cushions the token against market volatility. The airdrop is also an excellent way to attract attention to the project and create brand awareness, further solidifying MEW's presence on Solana and in the cryptocurrency market as a whole.

Deliberately airdropping and burning the LP tokens enhances the value of the MEW token, while giving it a competitive advantage in the cutthroat world of meme coins.

Cat meme coins have been generating a lot of hype lately. Let's look at a brief comparison between MEW and two other cat-themed coins in the meme coin space.

 (CATS) have caused a stir in the meme coin space. Not only are they both trying to change the dog-eat-dog landscape, but they’ve also approached the market in an innovative way.

That said, unlike MEW, CATS has various utilities in its ecosystem, such as 

. Catcoin’s ecosystem is also filled with a variety of products, such as the Caring Cats charity and a non-fungible token (

) collection. While the two tokens entered the meme coin space at different times, they’ve both managed to draw attention to feline-themed meme coins.

 (OMNI), caused a stir when its price quickly soared after the coin’s debut in December 2023. However, unlike MEW, which is only available within the Solana ecosystem, Omnicat leverages omnichain technology and is available on seven blockchains, including 

While it may be a meme coin, Omnicat leverages 

’s blockchain in order to advance its mission of interoperability in the crypto space. Both MEW and Omnicat have adopted innovative approaches that seem to have paid off despite their meme coin narratives.

You can buy MEW Cat Coin on Bybit as a Spot pair (MEW/USDT) or a USDT perpetual contract (MEWUSDT). To celebrate this Spot listing, Bybit is holding two Token Splash events, 

, with 40 million MEW tokens up for grabs.

, is exclusively for new users, with a prize pool of 25 million MEW. By completing Identity Verification and accumulating a deposit volume of 25,000 MEW (worth 100 USDT), or depositing 100 USDT and trading 100 USDT worth of MEW tokens via your first trade with Bybit, you’ll have a chance to receive 5,000 MEW. Rewards are available on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 5,000 new users.

, has 15 million MEW tokens up for grabs. Simply trade at least 1,000 USDT worth of MEW tokens on Bybit’s Spot market to earn a share of the prize pool. 

Rewards will be capped at 200,000 MEW (around 800 USDT) per user.

While it’s primarily been a dog-eat-dog world in the meme coin space, tokens such as MEW are effectively diluting this narrative. Being one of the top-ranking Solana meme coins, the MEW cat-themed coin has followed others in the ecosystem by skyrocketing in price within a short time of entering the market, flooding Solana with much-needed liquidity.

Despite its slowed momentum — generally attributed to the currently fluctuating price of Bitcoin (

) — MEW remains a Solana cat-themed meme coin to watch when the market starts rallying again.

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cat in a dogs world (MEW): Pouncing on the Cat Meme Coin Craze

Bitcoin

web3

Bitcoin runes is a new Bitcoin protocol streamlining fungible cryptocurrency issuance with its native UTXO transaction model. 

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) blockchain was envisioned to support only one crypto asset — its native BTC cryptocurrency. Fast forward to early 2023, and a significant innovation has altered the landscape of the world's largest chain: 

. The brainchild of developer Casey Rodarmor, this protocol facilitates the direct creation of NFTs on Bitcoin in the form of 

Soon afterward, a new token standard that leverages the Ordinals protocol, 

, was introduced to enable Bitcoin-based fungible cryptocurrencies. BRC-20 has led to a surge in the number of new fungible cryptocurrencies on the network, nearly all of them 

Despite its innovative nature, the BRC-20 standard has attracted harsh criticism from many Bitcoin enthusiasts, partly due to its tendency to congest the network. Responding to these concerns, Casey Rodarmor unveiled a new groundbreaking solution in late 2023: Runes, a technology that facilitates the development of fungible cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin while addressing the inefficiencies of the BRC-20 standard.

The Runes fungible token protocol is scheduled to launch in April 2024 to coincide with the highly anticipated 

 event. Bitcoin Runes represents a significant milestone in the storied blockchain's history. It might unlock new use cases for Bitcoin-based fungible tokens — and create a vibrant new ecosystem on the chain.

The year 2023 proved to be an eventful one for the Bitcoin blockchain. First, in January 2023, developer Casey Rodarmor introduced a novel way of creating Bitcoin-based NFTs by attaching small bits of custom data, called inscriptions, to satoshis, the smallest units of which a Bitcoin is composed. The new technology, which Rodarmor named Ordinals, made it possible to create Bitcoin NFTs without any 

Just two months later, in March 2023, the pseudonymous developer Domo used the Ordinals technology to describe a method of creating fungible cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin. That’s how the BRC-20 fungible token standard was born. Domo warned that the new standard was still an experimental technology. Crypto enthusiasts and developers, however, aren’t particularly known for being taken aback by warnings, and within months of the standard’s introduction, hundreds of BRC-20 tokens emerged on Bitcoin.

Unfortunately, the BRC-20 standard is an inefficient and complex way to create cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin. To address the critical drawbacks of BRC-20, Rodarmor proposed a new fungible token protocol: Bitcoin Runes.

Runes introduces a highly efficient method for creating fungible tokens that demand fewer resources than the BRC-20 standard. This efficiency is primarily achieved due to the protocol's use of Bitcoin's native unspent transaction output (

) model for creating and managing fungible assets.

In general, when any transaction between two addresses occurs on Bitcoin, the transfer amount is sent to the recipient's address as an unspent output — an amount available to be spent for future transfers. Every Bitcoin address balance is also maintained in the form of these unspent transaction outputs. This system of transferring and maintaining balances as unspent output of future transactions — the UTXO model — is what distinguishes Bitcoin from many other blockchains, including Ethereum (

). It’s this UTXO model on which the Runes protocol bases its method of creating fungible cryptocurrencies.

Upon the creation of a Runes token, it’s assigned to a specific UTXO through a simple protocol message. A single UTXO can hold any amount of Runes token balances, and the UTXO is used to track the Runes balances directly. As a result, Runes impose a much lighter load on the network, as compared to BRC-20 tokens. Moreover, the minting process for Runes-based tokens is considerably easier than the intricate procedures involved in creating BRC-20 tokens.

BRC-20 tokens have faced ferocious criticism right from the start for several reasons, including the heavy load they place on the network, the complexity of minting and managing them, and the proliferation of useless meme coins based on the standard. Probably the number one criticism relates to the network bloat these tokens create. The way BRC-20 tokens are issued and managed leads to many "junk" UTXOs clogging up the network.

 in a blog post, introducing the Runes protocol with the hope of resolving the main issues associated with the BRC-20 standard.

In the same post, Rodarmor announced his intention to unveil Runes around the time of the 

 event, projected to occur on or around Apr 15, 2024. It’s anticipated that the first Runes-based native token will emerge, courtesy of Rodarmor’s own efforts, right at the next mined block following the halving event. As of the time of this writing (March 20, 2024), no Runes tokens officially associated with its protocol have been launched.

As noted above, Runes relies on Bitcoin's native UTXO transaction model to create and manage fungible cryptocurrencies. Consequently, the core operations related to these crypto assets — issuance, transfers and storage — are all carried out efficiently, with a relatively light load on the underlying Bitcoin blockchain.

To create or transfer Runes tokens, the protocol assigns messages to UTXOs via OP_RETURN — a function used to store transactional information on Bitcoin. Recall that a UTXO is simply the output of a Bitcoin transaction, which is stored at an address on the network.

When issuing a Runes token, the message sent via the protocol must contain two fields —SYMBOL and DECIMALS. The SYMBOL field defines the ticker for the new Runes cryptocurrency. It can only accept letters, A to Z, with no numbers or special characters permitted. If the ticker has already been reserved, the transaction will be rejected. The DECIMALS field specifies the decimal precision for the new token.

For Runes transfers, the message assigned to a UTXO must contain three fields — ID, OUTPUT and AMOUNT. ID is the identifier of the token being sent, OUTPUT designates which UTXO the token is being sent along and AMOUNT indicates the actual transfer amount.

In addition to these fields, the OP_RETURN message data must include an uppercase R in order to signal to the network that this is a Runes transaction.

The OP_RETURN message data assigned to a UTXO is all that Runes tokens require in terms of data storage. Thanks to this messaging system, which is integrated into Bitcoin’s native UTXO model, Runes produces a very modest impact on the network.

The Runes protocol inevitably draws comparisons with the other method of creating fungible cryptocurrencies on the Bitcoin network — the BRC-20 token standard.

Upon its launch in early 2023, BRC-20 was regarded as a significant innovation, the first technology to enable fungible crypto assets directly on Bitcoin. This token standard relies on the Ordinal theory as described by Casey Rodarmor at the launch of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol. Rodarmor noted that each satoshi on the Bitcoin network could be uniquely traced by the chronological order in which it’s been mined. He also introduced a way of attaching custom data to a satoshi using the protocol. 

The Ordinals protocol ushered in an era of 

. While Ordinals are primarily geared toward the creation of NFTs, the BRC-20 experimental token standard is based on the adaptation of the protocol to allow the issuance of fungible crypto assets.

In contrast to the Runes protocol, BRC-20 doesn’t utilize Bitcoin's native UTXO model to facilitate token operations. As a result, the process of issuing and managing BRC-20 tokens has produced a considerable volume of redundant UTXOs generated on the Bitcoin chain. This has led to significant network congestion, observed by many Bitcoin users since the arrival of the first BRC-20 tokens.

However, the load on the network isn’t the only feature that distinguishes the Runes protocol from the BRC-20 standard (although this is probably the most impactful difference between the two technologies). BRC-20 also features a complicated process of creating and managing crypto tokens, whereas Runes is a relatively straightforward technology. In theory, any Bitcoin user can issue a BRC-20 token directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. However, the process is quite technically involved for most ordinary users. As a result, many BRC-20 token issuers have to rely on third-party tools to create and manage their assets.

Additionally, Runes provides another critical advantage over BRC-20 — direct compatibility with 

 protocol for Bitcoin scalability. Lightning Network facilitates fast and cost-effective Bitcoin transactions, and Runes-based assets achieve compatibility with it by utilizing the OP_RETURN messaging data, the key component of a Runes transaction.

Runes is an essential step in the development of a fungible asset ecosystem on Bitcoin. It all started with the introduction of the BRC-20 standard. Now, Runes is shaping up as the next phase of this critical development. The great thing is that the protocol brings transaction efficiency, user-friendliness and compatibility to Bitcoin's UTXO system — features that BRC-20 tokens sorely lack. 

The Runes protocol's advantages could lead to the emergence of critical use cases over the coming months and beyond. 

First, Runes has the potential to establish an ecosystem of functionally useful cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin. While the BRC-20 standard facilitates the creation of numerous tokens on the chain, nearly all of them are meme coins, with no practical applications beyond jokes, humor or crypto-themed satire. 

In contrast, the lightweight nature of Runes tokens and transactions could facilitate the development of payment systems and solutions directly on Bitcoin. By encouraging such payment activity, these solutions could open up opportunities for substantial transaction fee revenue, in addition to other benefits for operators willing to leverage Runes technology.

Secondly, the integration with Lightning Network and other Layer 2 Bitcoin scalability solutions might see Runes tokens being used for cost-effective asset transfers via these platforms.

However, it's important to acknowledge an inherent limitation that the Runes protocol shares with BRC-20 — namely, its lack of smart contract functionality. Similar to the BRC-20 standard and the Ordinals protocol, Runes enables crypto asset operations without using smart contracts, which Bitcoin isn't capable of supporting. This lack of programmability inherent in smart contracts might limit the potential use cases of the Runes protocol.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact the Runes protocol will have on Bitcoin’s ecosystem and user community. The broader consensus is that Runes will be an even grander development for the blockchain than either Ordinals or BRC-20. Attention is now being focused on the upcoming date of Apr 15, 2024, as many crypto enthusiasts await the arrival of the upcoming Bitcoin halving event — while others are eagerly looking forward to seeing the first Bitcoin Runes token.

Bitcoin Runes: A New Era for Fungible Tokens on Bitcoin

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