The launch of Runes has boosted activity on Bitcoin to record highs. Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have officially begun trading and issuers say they’re not too worried about Ether being seen as a security in the United States. Meanwhile, restaking protocol EigenLayer has released a white paper for its new token and announced an airdrop, which met some criticism.

Bitcoin processes 1.6 million confirmed payments in a day

Amid increasing Bitcoin (BTC) use for day-to-day purchases, the Bitcoin network recorded the highest number of confirmed payments on April 23. 

Three days after stepping into the new halving cycle on April 20, the Bitcoin network processed over 1.6 million unique transactions between sender and receivers.

Comparing data from Blockchain.com and Glassnode shows a direct correlation between the launch of Bitcoin Runes — an alternative to Bitcoin Ordinals and the BRC-20 protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain — and the spike in daily Bitcoin transactions.

According to Dune Analytics data, Runes represented 81.3% of all Bitcoin transactions on April 23.

Runes and BRC-20 tokens are new fungible token standards aiming to create more utility for Bitcoin in a new paradigm known as Bitcoin DeFi, or BTCFi for short.

Hong Kong crypto ETFs begin trading

Exchange-traded fund issuers in Hong Kong say they’re not concerned about United States regulators classifying Ether (ETH) as a security.

Speaking at a press conference on April 29 on the eve of the launch of spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, the head of digital asset management firm China Asset Management, Zhu Haokang, and the head of custody firm OSL Digital Securities, Wayne Huang, answered questions on the new institutional investment products.

One of the more notable responses was to a question regarding the world’s first spot Ether ETF and whether the United States declaring it a security will have any impact in Hong Kong. Huang responded:

“Probably not, because whether the United States defines Ethereum as a security does not affect the independent decision-making of the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission.”

He added that the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission has its own set of procedures for determining whether particular crypto assets are securities and whether retail investors can trade them.

“It will not be affected by different opinions between various departments in the United States, or ultimately their own unilateral definition,” he continued.

In addition to China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, and Harvest Global Investments have launched crypto ETFs through their Hong Kong subsidiaries on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 30 under the tickers CAM, BOS, and HGI.

EigenLayer releases EIGEN white paper, bans airdrop for US users

EigenLayer released a white paper on April 29 detailing its new token, EIGEN, designed for apps needing intersubjective agreement, like prediction markets and gaming. The token will exclude certain regions, including the U.S. and Canada, from its airdrop.

The protocol has allocated 5% of EIGEN’s total supply to users who have already restaked ETH on their network, based on a snapshot from March 15. Further tokens will be distributed to participants of “Season 2,” which started after the snapshot, though the end date has not yet been announced.