Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have surpassed Ethereum NFTs in sales over the past week, following a rise associated with a growing number of Ordinals-based NFT collections.

Law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom are set to gain new powers to seize cryptocurrency assets used in crime cases, including terrorism, starting April 26. This follows the approval of secondary legislation this week, which builds upon the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) has crossed the $100 billion mark in market capitalization after a 9% year-to-date growth that further solidified its dominance within the stablecoin landscape.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin NFTs Overtake Ethereum’s in Weekly Sales
• UK Law Enforcement Gets New Crypto Seizure Powers
• Tether’s USDT Hits $100 Billion Market Capitalization
• AI-Focused Tokens Outperform Wider Crypto Market

Bitcoin NFTs Overtake Ethereum’s in Weekly Sales

Bitcoin-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have surpassed Ethereum NFTs in sales over the past week, after a rise associated with a growing number of Ordinals-based NFT collections.

Fueled by the popularity of the "NodeMonkes" collection, Bitcoin NFT sales skyrocketed 80% to $168.5 million, according to data from CryptoSlam, surpassing the $162 million recorded by Ethereum NFTs, the long-dominant platform for non-fungible tokens.

Launched in January 2023, Ordinals provide a way to encode data directly into the smallest unit of Bitcoin, the satoshi, with each satoshi being worth 0.00000001 BTC. While technically distinct from traditional NFTs, Ordinals offer similar functionality, allowing for the ownership and trade of unique digital assets.

Uncategorized Ordinals, which aren’t part of any specific collection, led the sales charts with over $43 million across 47,000 transactions. Following closely behind was the NodeMonkes collection, boasting over $41 million in sales, a significant 170% increase from the previous week.

UK Law Enforcement Gets New Crypto Seizure Powers

Law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom are set to gain new powers to seize cryptocurrency assets used in crime cases, including terrorism, starting April 26. This follows the approval of secondary legislation this week, which builds upon the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The 2023 act gave law enforcement the authority to freeze and seize cryptocurrencies involved in criminal activity.

The newly approved secondary legislation expands on these powers by establishing a civil recovery regime for crypto assets and introducing crypto asset confiscation orders, which allow authorities to seize not only the cryptocurrency itself, but also "crypto-related items," defined as anything containing information that could aid in the seizure of crypto assets.

Tether’s USDT Hits $100 Billion Market Capitalization

Leading stablecoin Tether (USDT) has crossed the $100 billion mark in market capitalization after a 9% year-to-date growth that further solidified its dominance within the stablecoin landscape.

Tether’s USDT is a stablecoin tracking the performance of the U.S. dollar that has been outperforming rivals including Circle’s USDC, having a market capitalization $71 billion above that of its rival.

The cryptocurrency’s growth has further solidified its position as the third-largest by market capitalization behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, and comes after a wider cryptocurrency market rally. Tether is available across 14 different blockchains.

Tether defends that its USDT token is backed 1:1 through its reserves, which are primarily made up of short-term U.S. Treasury Bills and other cash equivalents, although they also include Bitcoin and gold.

The company's Q4 report revealed holdings exceeding $80 billion in T-Bills, with its assumed Bitcoin holdings of over $3 billion.

AI-Focused Tokens Outperform Wider Crypto Market

Beyond the leading cryptocurrencies, a basket of AI-focused crypto assets has widely outperformed the wider market so far this year, moving up 134%.

The next best performance came from meme-inspired cryptocurrencies, which rose 111% so far this year, ahead of Metaverse and gaming-focused tokens, which are up 56%.

The worst performances came from exchange tokens and staking-focused tokens, which rose 11% and 8% respectively, as of March 1.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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