Bitcoin futures trading volume reached a record high, according to a tweet from leading derivative market CME Group about their products; CME says its Bitcoin futures hit an all-time-high of over 22,500 contracts on April 4, equivalent to about 112,700 BTC; the previous high was recorded February 19, 2019 and was reportedly over 18,300 contracts, equivalent to 64,300 BTC - Link0 Comments

According to a new report from Gregory Matthew, a researcher at Inwara, the most funds raised in the blockchain and digital asset space in Q1 2019 were by companies in UAE and the Cayman Islands; of the total $790M raised, Cayman Islands accounted for 15% and UAE accounted for 21 percent; American companies raised 8% of the quarterly total - Link0 Comments

Bitrefill has launched 'Thor Turbo,' a Lightning application that speeds up the initialization process for channels; while a typical channel takes six confirmations at ten minutes per confirmation, Thor Turbo allows users to open a turbo channel which bypasses the waiting period; Turbo channels are purchasable via Bitrefill and payable in five different cryptocurrencies - Link0 Comments

According to a local report, the early June G20 meeting in Fukuoka, Japan is expected to set up regulations for cryptocurrencies relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorism financing; the G20 nations, represented by central bank governors and finance ministers, are expected to reach an agreement with particular emphasis on the anti-anonymity at the time of transaction - Link0 Comments

Speaking to CoindeskKorea, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox stated that not everyone can be a cypherpunk and exceptionally passionate about crypto; but, in regions with subpar banking systems and inefficient financial services such as Venezuela, everyone could begin using cryptocurrencies as an alternative if they are easy, cheap, and fast to use; the sentiment of Wilcox resembles that of bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antonopoulos, the author of Mastering Bitcoin and Mastering Ethereum, who said at the Deconomy conference held in Seoul that it will be significantly more difficult for the adoption of cryptocurrencies to increase in regions with advanced, cheap, and efficient financial services like South Korea - Link0 Comments