Shaquille O’Neal cleared to settle Astrals NFT lawsuit, Bitcoin $100K target still in play, and more: Hodler’s Digest Former NBA star Shaquille ONeal has been granted final court approval to settle a class-action lawsuit for $11 million with Astrals non-fungible token (NFT) buyers. Florida federal court judge Federico Moreno granted approval of the settlement between ONeal and the class group led by Daniel Harper in an April 1 order made available on April 8. The deal created a fund of up to $11 million for eligible class members and awarded $2.9 million in attorney fees and costs. All those who purchased Astrals NFTs from May 2022 to Jan. 15 and those who purchased the projects native GLXY tokens up until mid-January are eligible. Read more
South Korean police bust illegal gaming arcade LARPing as a legit Bitcoin mine, fake soldiers rob women of crypto in China. Asia Express. In a scam that combined a fake relationship, fake crypto and real doorbells, a woman in Xuzhou, a city in eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province, lost over $55,000 to a man who pitched USDT investments and sent a cash collector to her home. Five suspects have been arrested and the investigation is ongoing. According to a notice published via the official WeChat account of the local police, the victim was first contacted by a man claiming to be an active-duty soldier. He gained her trust by invoking military rules that supposedly prohibited the use of WeChat, and directed her to download a separate app for private communication. As their conversations grew more frequent and familiar, the man shared a fabricated story about a friend who had joined the state-run Tobacco bureau after retiring from the military and had access to internal data. He claimed they had already earned substan...
A crypto analyst eyes Bitcoin’s potential retrace to $70K, a crypto investor funds a SpaceX flight, and more: Hodler’s Digest BitMEX co-founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes says US President Donald Trump’s tariffs may rattle the global economy in some ways, but that same disruption could be exactly what Bitcoin needs to rally. Global imbalances will be corrected, and the pain papered over with printed money, which is good for BTC, Hayes said in an April 3 X post. His comments come just a day after it was announced that the Trump administration will hit all countries with a 10% tariff starting April 5, with some countries facing even larger rates, such as China facing a 34% tariff, the European Union 20%, and Japan 24%. Read more
9GAG founder’s new “MemeStrategy” firm will buy Bitcoin for reserves, jailed Bithumb CEO paid $3.5M in salary and bonuses. Asia Express The creator of meme culture pioneer 9GAG is diving headfirst into Bitcoin and blockchain, acquiring a publicly listed Hong Kong company with plans to turn it into a crypto and AI venture. Ray Chan, co-founder of 9GAG, has acquired a controlling stake in Howkingtech International Holdings Limited and plans to convert the company into a Web3 outfit. Chan has proposed renaming the firm to MemeStrategy, a nod to MicroStrategy (now Strategy), which popularized the corporate Bitcoin accumulation playbook. He will serve as chairman and CEO, pending shareholder approval, and several members of the 9GAG team have joined the board. Read more
A crypto analyst is eyeing off a sooner timeframe for Bitcoin all-time highs, XRP may retrace up to 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest Bitcoin will break past its $109,000 all-time high sooner than expected despite recent volatile US macroeconomic conditions, according to a crypto analyst. The market may be underestimating how quickly Bitcoin could surge potentially hitting new all-time highs before Q2 is out, Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts told Cointelegraph. He said this forecast stands regardless of whether or not there is more clarity on US President Donald Trumps tariffs and potential recession concerns. Read more