 Bolt is acquiring Wyre, a crypto services startup, for $1.5B. This deal is considered the largest merger in the crypto sector not to involve a SPAC. More: - Bolt Financial Inc., founded by Ryan Breslow, is a payments service provider with a one-click checkout service for merchants.
- The company raised a total of $1.3B in venture capital at an $11B valuation.
- Merger and acquisition activity in the U.S crypto sector is on the rise. Deals totaled about $1.25B in the first quarter of 2022, which is a pace to beat 2021's record $4.9B.
- Bolt's competitors include Fast, PayPal Holdings, and Apple. By comparison, Apple still has millions of merchants, and Bolt has a few hundred.
WSJ 
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 Bitcoin mining and environmental sustainability: Blockstream and Block Inc, a cryptocurrency storage company, is developing a solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility that will be powered by Tesla technology. More: - The solar-powered site relies on excess daylight to power bitcoin mining operations located in Texas with a goal to achieve zero-emission energy during the mining process.
- The mining site constructed will be powered by Tesla's solar photovoltaic cell array that will also come with a 12 MWh megapack.
- Tesla's megapack is a lithium-ion battery that offers energy storage and support.
- The mining facility will be outfitted with 3.8 megawatts (MW) of electrical capacity.
- The facility will also be equipped with a data center that will offer performance metrics based on power input, number of BTC mined, storage performance, total uptime, expenses, ROI, and more.
Coin Telegraph
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 Peter Thiel called Warren Buffett a "sociopathic grandpa from Omaha" during the Bitcoin Conference in Miami. The presentation in Miami was the latest and boldest public attack on financial industry leaders that are attempting to block cryptocurrency. More: - During this slideshow presentation, Theil covered criticism from various financial leaders and said, "This is what we have to fight for bitcoin to go 10x or 100x from here."
- He criticized Buffett for topping the "enemies list" of people that are trying to stop the progress and mass adoption of cryptocurrency.
- Addressing the crowd during the well-known Bitcoin Conference, Thiel said: "Enemy No. 1," then called Buffett "the sociopathic grandpa from Omaha."
- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is based in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Theil also called out JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, citing that their opinions of crypto are biased.
- Both Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase representatives declined to comment on the event, but a BlackRock spokesperson stated that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could potentially lead to mass adoption of the digital currency.
CNBC
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 Teucrium has gotten the green light from the SEC and approval on its bitcoin ETF. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed NYSE Arca and Teucrium to issue a bitcoin future exchange-traded fund. More: - Both Teucrium and NYSE Arca filed the application under the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, filing a 19b-4 form with the SEC. Meanwhile, other companies that have been approved by SEC applied under the Investment Company Act 1940, which has a different regulatory path.
- Under the SEC 1933 Act, companies like Teucrium and NYSE Arca may retain a spot for a bitcoin ETF.
- For example, under this act, Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) can potentially convert its GBTC into an ETF.
- The SEC rejected all spot bitcoin ETF applications to date, citing market manipulation and lack of regulation, with some exceptions, such as companies like ProShares, Valkyrie, and VanEck, being approved to list and trade bitcoin futures ETFs in the U.S. so far.
Coin Desk
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 A message from MALWAREBYTES Top trends in remote work and collaboration. Remote work has changed our use of tools across cloud collaboration, cybersecurity, backup, and other solutions. We asked people who look after security* for their organizations what is changing in their environment: - 78% report an increase in the use of cloud storage platforms
- 76% saw in increase in the use of video conferencing
- 73% noted an increase in the use of identity management and cloud access tools
- 72% reported an increase in the use of instant messaging
- 71% noted an increase in the use of cybersecurity and antivirus tools
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Near Protocol raised $350M in venture capital from a list of investors, including FTX Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and others. Its native token jumped 23% in 24 hours on the news. More: - The NEAR crypto token was launched in May 2020 and is now the 16th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, valued at around $19.
- Near Protocol's value proposition is that it comes with high speed and low cost, has a proof of stake consensus mechanism, scaling technology called "sharding," and has the capability of achieving finality.
- Finality in crypto means that a transaction can no longer be altered or canceled.
- The fresh funding will be used to grow the company.
- In Jan. 2022, Near also raised $150M.
Decrypt
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 A KPMG crypto and blockchain leader, Kareem Sadek, predicts that the federal review of the crypto sector could boost Canadian engagement. Ottawa is conducting a $17.7M review on the opportunities in the crypto space, which could lead to widespread adoption of crypto within Canada. More: - KPMG believes that more firms, including financial services and retail investors, will start showing interest in the crypto sector this year.
- Sadek notes: "Retail investor interest in crypto assets started with early adopters years ago, and since then, we've seen a steady wave of institutional interest in the space – from pension funds and insurers to hedge funds and family offices – with almost one third telling us they have direct or indirect exposure to the asset class."
- Based on a survey, the breakdown of investors in the crypto space within Canada is as follows:
- 36% of investors hold crypto-related equities
- 29% have ownership in digital assets
- 29% of investors invest in crypto through hedge funds as a limited partner
- 57% are considering crypto-related investments between 2020-and 2021, with 71% devoting less than 2% of their portfolio into crypto assets.
- Age group breakdown: 18-24 (37%) and 25-34-year (31%) year-olds have higher interest rates in purchasing crypto assets than the 55-64 bracket (15%).
- Geoff Rush, Partner at KPMG, adds: "Nearly seven in 10 financial services companies told us they are considering offering crypto-asset services, and 6 in 10 told us they are going from analyzing opportunities and developing crypto asset strategies to building crypto asset products and services and onboarding clients, so this is a notable change."
BNN Bloomberg
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Quick Hits - Cryptocurrency will find a natural home in the forthcoming metaverse.
- Could ApeCoin be the standard token for the metaverse?
- Meta's new "Zuck Bucks" is the latest digital currency to enter the market.
- Improbable raised $150M to build its own Web3 based business focused on the virtual worlds.
- Here is the list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies that will be used in the virtual world.
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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