Ethereum Shapella Upgrade, El Salvador Issues First Digital Asset License

Market Update March CPI showed cooling inflation, with the index rising 0.1% month-over-month instead of 0.2% expected and 5.0% yearly vs. 5.1% expected. The Dow gained 0.39%, while the S&P and Nasdaq were up 0.30% and 0.09%, respectively. The beat reinforces the case for the Fed being near the end of its rate-hiking cycle. Still, the market’s muted reaction may indicate investors may be waiting for today’s Fed minutes to gauge the likelihood of another 25-bp hike for the Fed’s next decision in May. $BTC is trading near $30k, losing 0.5% in the last day. Open interest on $BTC has risen to $10 billion, its highest level in five months since the fallout of FTX. Open interest measures the value of all unsettled derivates positions. Funding rates are positive among top exchanges, indicating traders are net bullish. Higher leverage levels tend to amplify moves in either direction from potential liquidated positions, as short-sellers and longs have been adding to positions that need to unwind when the price moves against them. $ETH is outperforming $BTC (+0.2%) as it is hours away from its highly anticipated Shapella upgrade. The upgrade will go live around 6:30 pm EST, enabling the first withdrawals off staked ether and finalizing the network’s switch to proof-of-stake. Sent