Ethereum-Based CryptoPunks Lead NFT Market with $1.2M Weekly Sales

In a significant week for the NFT market, CryptoPunks, built on the Ethereum blockchain, have once again demonstrated their dominance with over $1.2 million in sales across ten transactions. The highlight of the week was the sale of CryptoPunk #3873 for 165 ETH, underscoring the enduring cultural and financial appeal of these digital collectibles. This performance highlights the continued relevance of Ethereum-based NFTs even as the Web3 space matures.

CryptoPunks Dominate NFT Market with $1.2M in Weekly Sales

A big week for NFTs as CryptoPunks maintained their leadership in digital collectibles. During the past seven days, CryptoPunks sold for more than $1.2 million through ten specific sales. These outstanding statistics represent both the financial worth and cultural appeal of these NFTs while showing continued popularity despite Web3’s maturity phase. The top-selling NFT was CryptoPunk #3873, which exchanged hands for 165 ETH, equivalent to a value of $260k.

Ethereum Price Eyes Upside Break

Ethereum price started an increase from the $1,550 zone and broke above the $1,580 and $1,600 levels. It is now trading above $1,600 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $1,590 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it clears the $1,650 resistance zone.

Ethereum may be ready for a breakout despite bearish sentiment – Here’s why!

Ethereum remains structurally resilient with whale accumulation rising fast, showing strong conviction from high-net-worth entities. Recently, an address acquired 12,010 ETH worth approximately $18.39 million. Simultaneously, Ethereum continues to anchor the DeFi stack, commanding a TVL of nearly $190 billion across protocols. Despite these bullish on-chain underpinnings, ETH seems to be consolidating, with the RSI NEAR oversold levels.

Buterin Proposes RISC-V to Boost Ethereum Efficiency

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed swapping out the Ethereum Virtual Machine’s (EVM) current contract language for RISC-V. The goal is to enhance execution speed and efficiency, allowing Ethereum to better compete with high-performance smart contract platforms. Buterin outlined several long-term challenges, including developing reliable data availability sampling, maintaining decentralized and competitive block production, and advancing zero-knowledge proof systems for the EVM. He believes adopting RISC-V could significantly improve performance, especially for zero-knowledge operations, while maintaining healthy competition in block production.

Vitalik Buterin Proposes RISC-V Upgrade for Ethereum

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a bold change to the network’s execution layer by suggesting a switch from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contract language to the RISC-V instruction set architecture. In a proposal shared on April 20, Buterin outlined key bottlenecks that Ethereum must address to remain scalable and competitive, including improving data availability sampling, ensuring healthy competition in block production, and optimizing zero-knowledge proof generation. Buterin sees RISC-V as key to advancing Ethereum’s zero-knowledge capabilities, which are increasingly critical to its future.

Bybit Tracks $1B+ in Stolen Crypto From Lazarus Group Hack

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed that over two-thirds of the $1.4 billion stolen in a February cyberattack remain traceable. Nearly 70% of the stolen funds can still be tracked, while 27.6% have disappeared and 3.8% have been frozen. The untraceable funds primarily flowed through mixers and then moved to peer-to-peer (P2P) and over-the-counter (OTC) platforms via cross-chain bridges.