OVERVIEW

Bitcoin’s Puppet Master: Cambridge Reveals All 🔍

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:

Source: Santiment

And here’s a look at crypto’s total market and altcoin market cap charts:

Source: TradingView

ON-CHAIN ANALYSIS
Bitcoin Mining by the Numbers 🔢

The University of Cambridge released their massive report on Bitcoin mining. You can read the full behemoth here, but if you want the TL;DR, here it is:

Energy Usage ⚡️ 

• Power Hungry: Bitcoin mining devours about 138 TWh of electricity per year​ – roughly 0.54% of global electricity use (up 17% from last year). In other words, half a percent of the world’s power is spent crunching hashes.

• Surprisingly “Green” Mix: Just over 52% of Bitcoin’s electricity comes from sustainable sources (renewables + nuclear) Who knew miners were into green energy? Renewables alone make up 42.6%, with hydropower (23.4%) leading the pack​. Add wind (15%), solar (3%), and a dash of other renewables (0.5%), plus about 9.8% from nuclear, and you get a slim majority of “clean” power.

Costs & Hashrates #️⃣ 

• Cost Breakdown: Electricity is the #1 expense, accounting for >80% of miners’ operational costs​. Miners reported a median electricity price of $45 per MWh and an all-in cost around $55.5/MWh​. In plain English: miners are getting power at dirt-cheap industrial rates, yet energy costs still eat most of their budget.

• Record-Breaking Hashpower: This one is kind of crazy. The Bitcoin network’s hashrate has exploded to about 796 exahashes per second (EH/s). For perspective, it’s a ~60% jump in one year (nearly +295 EH/s)​. Remember when China’s 2021 crackdown halved the hashrate overnight? Those days are a distant memory – the hashrate not only recovered, it more than quintupled from the post-ban low, reaching an all-time high.

World Mining Stats ⛏️ 

Nation Hashrate Count, Source: Cambridge – Click to enlarge.

• The Cambridge survey reveals a massively skewed mining geography. The United States is by far the biggest Bitcoin mining hub – about 75.4% of global hashrate comes out of the US.

• Canada, has 7.1%. In other words, North America (USA+Canada 82%) owns the lion’s share of Bitcoin’s hash power.

• Paraguay clocks in around 3.4%, Norway contributes about 2.8%, Kazakhstan shows 2.6%

• Notably absent is China – officially 0% in the survey, post-ban, though unreported “stealth” mining there and in Russia likely means their true shares are higher​.

4 Pools Control 75% Of The Total Hashrate 🤯 

Hashrate Distribution, Source: Cambridge – Click to enlarge.

• Foundry USA (35.8%), Antpool (19.5%), ViaBTC (13.5%), and F2Pool (9.4%).

• ASIC manufacturing sector is an oligopoly: the top three makers – Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan – account for over 99% of mining machines in operation, with Bitmain alone grabbing an 82% market share.

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NEWS
Celsius CEO On Track For 20 Years 🚨

Remember this guy? 🤔 

Alex Mashinsky, Source: Wikipedia

That’s Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of one of 2022’s fantastical crypto company crashes, Celsius. He’s facing a 20 year sentence. 😱 

He already plead guilty in December 2024. And the US wants him to be put away for 20 years. If you don’t remember, here’s what he did as Terra, Voyager, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, FTX, and everything and everybody under the son was panicking and trying to get out ASAP:

January 2022: Mashinsky kicks off the year lying through his teeth, claiming Celsius has “billions in liquidity” and is “the safest place for your crypto.” Investigators later uncover a $1.2 billion hole in the balance sheet.

March 2022: Mashinsky overrules his CFO’s pleas to cut exposure to speculative assets like Terra’s UST. Instead, he doubles down, funneling customer funds into uncollateralized loans to hedge funds like Three Arrows Capital.

May 2022: The Terra crash obliterates $1.4 billion of Celsius’s portfolio. Mashinsky, undeterred, makes reckless trades with customer Bitcoin, including a $500 million bet based on “bad information” that tanks instantly.

June 1–10, 2022: As Celsius teeters, Mashinsky withdraws $8 million of his personal non-CEL crypto from the platform. He leaves customer funds locked in, knowing a freeze is imminent.

June 7 livestream: He gaslights investors, calling withdrawal concerns “misinformation” and urging them to “keep the faith.” Behind closed doors, losses pile up to $800 million.

June 12, 2022: Celsius halts withdrawals, stranding $4.7 billion in customer assets. Days later, he spins the freeze as a “temporary measure” in a blog post, claiming bankruptcy filings will be a “defining moment” for Celsius’s comeback.

July 2022: Celsius files for Chapter 11, revealing a $2.85 billion shortfall. Prosecutors uncover Mashinsky’s $42 million CEL token cash-out over two years, much of it in 2022 as the platform bled.

People Were Hurt And Pissed

If 20 years seems like a long time as a minimum sentence, it’s because of the sheer number of victim impact statements: around 200 statements 400 pages long.

Sentencing for Mashinsky is scheduled for May 8. 📆 

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
Crypto News 📰

🙏 MANTRA Chain Promises Transparency After Painful Liquidation Event

Following a brutal liquidation event that rocked the MANTRA community, the project’s leadership vowed to double down on transparency and governance improvements. CEO JPM will provide detailed recovery plans at TOKEN2049 next week, including burning his personal OM holdings. They’re sorry, exhausted, and committed to fixing this mess. MANTRA.

🏖️ Bankera Founders Spent ICO Cash on Luxury Properties

Here’s another reminder that promises of “blockchain banking” from 2017 usually meant someone else’s villa on your dime. A fresh investigation reveals that Bankera founders blew through €100 million of ICO funds meant for a blockchain bank on lavish villas in France, beachfront resorts in Vanuatu, and other extravagant real estate. Meanwhile, unlucky investors watched their tokens plummet from millions to virtually worthless. Protos.

💳 Mastercard Rolls Out Stablecoin Payments

Mastercard is diving deep into stablecoins, teaming up with crypto giants like OKX and Nuvei to integrate stablecoin spending seamlessly across millions of merchants worldwide. The new tech allows users to spend crypto directly from wallets, simplifies merchant acceptance, and streamlines remittances, effectively blending digital assets into everyday payments. Presser.

🚀 Standard Chartered: BTC $120k in Q2

Standard Chartered’s crypto guru Geoffrey Kendrick says it’s prime time to snag some Bitcoin, forecasting a new all-time high of around $120,000 by Q2 – driven by strategic moves away from U.S. assets and increasing institutional demand. Kendrick’s sticking to his $200,000 year-end target, saying Bitcoin’s growing status as a superior hedge compared to gold. TheBlock.

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
AI, Stablecoins, & Privacy News 🕵️ 

💡 Zashi 2.0 Drops Major UX Upgrade for Easier Private Transactions

Zashi wallet just turned one and celebrated by launching version 2.0, featuring a new wallet status widget to simplify shielding reminders, syncing, and restoring. Navigation is smoother, backup flows clearer, and now privacy feels less like homework and more like second nature. Zcash.

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
Metaverse, NFT, & Gaming News 🎮️

🎉 Decentraland Throws Virtual Prom & Pride PJ Bash

Decentraland’s is hosting its first-ever Prom & Pride PJ Party, May 21-22, where avatars can rock cozy rainbow jammies or dazzling prom fits. Highlights include community film screenings, “promposals,” a wearable design contest (7,500 MANA up for grabs), and new emotes like slow dances. Decentraland.

🎮 Etherscape Proves Sustainable Web3 Gaming Isn’t a Myth with Enjin

Congrats Web3 gaming, your economy just got a bit less casino and a lot more sustainable. Etherscape, powered by Enjin, is setting the standard for stable gaming economies with its innovative Community Wallet. Rather than dumping tokens, 25% of in-game revenue goes back to players weekly, ensuring rewards that don’t implode. Enjin.

NEWS IN THREE SENTENCES
DeFi, DEX, & Lending Protocol News 🏦

🥞 PancakeSwap Infinity Launches: More Pools, Lower Gas

PancakeSwap Infinity (formerly v4) is live, introducing multiple liquidity pool types, dynamic fees, and hooks for customization – plus gas savings of up to 99%. Liquidity providers now have more ways to make money without giving half to Binance Smart Chain fees. PancakeSwap.

⚡ Bancor Launches “Arb Fast Lane” on Arbitrum for Hyper-Efficient Arbitrage

Arbitrage just got a serious upgrade. Bancor just dropped its Arb Fast Lane infrastructure on Arbitrum, turbocharging arbitrage across DEXes with 200x faster execution. The protocol maintains price equilibrium and liquidity throughout Arbitrum’s thriving DeFi scene, setting the stage for Carbon DeFi’s future rollout. Bancor.

🔚 Synthetix Shuts Down Solo Staking, Moves Users to New Pool

Synthetix officially pulled the plug on legacy SNX staking positions, moving stakers into the new “420 Pool” as part of a broader system upgrade. If your C-Ratio was healthy (160% or above), you have six months to recover your stake; otherwise, it’s toast. The new pool will also introduce debt forgiveness and boosted rewards. Synthetix.

🦄 Uniswap Adds UNI Rewards Visibility

The Uniswap web app now displays total UNI reward APR directly in liquidity pools, thanks to Gauntlet’s governance-approved incentive program. Users can easily sort pools by reward APR before adding liquidity, helping them avoid the existential dread of hunting blindly for profitable opportunities. It’s a small UI tweak that saves LPs from pulling out spreadsheets. Uniswap.

LINKS
Links That Don’t Suck 🔗

😡 Ledger scammers are sending letters to steal your recovery phase

🤦 SEC delays decisions on XRP and Dogecoin ETFs

🦆 Duolingo is adopting an ‘AI-first’ approach, says CEO Luis von Ahn

😱 Trump’s first 100 days ‘worst in history’ despite crypto promises

👍️ Arizona passes several Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 UK announces draft rules for crypto industry, touts greater collaboration with U.S.

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