Welcome to the NiceHash crypto news digest. Let's see what happened these last few days.

Pepecoin craze causes Ethereum gas prices to skyrocket as meme coin surges 650%

The recent Pepecoin (PEPE) craze has made Ethereum a lot more expensive to use. The daily median gas price, or transaction cost, reached 95 gwei and rising, with the frog-themed meme coin driving millions in investments. The surge in gas prices indicates a strong demand for the Ethereum network, primarily from meme-coin traders using the Uniswap Decentralized Exchange (DEX).

Pepecoin's value has soared by over 650% since the beginning of its upward movement on April 29th, and has now a Fully Diluted Market Cap of over 1 Billion USD.

Coinbase launches international exchange for institutional crypto derivatives trading in eligible non-US jurisdictions

Coinbase has announced the launch of the Coinbase International Exchange (CIE), a new institutional platform for crypto derivatives trading. CIE will initially list Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures and settle all trades in the Coinbase-backed stablecoin USDC. The platform is available to institutional clients in eligible, non-US jurisdictions but not to retail customers.

The launch follows Coinbase obtaining a Class F license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, allowing it to operate as a digital asset exchange and digital asset derivatives exchange provider.

Florida and North Carolina pass bills restricting CBDC usage and acceptance

Both Florida and North Carolina have voted in favor of state bills aiming to restrict the use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Florida's bill excludes a CBDC from the legal definition of money, thereby removing certain legal protections and making its use riskier.

North Carolina's bill, which initially targeted banning cryptocurrencies for payments, now prohibits state agencies and the General Court of Justice from accepting payments in CBDC and participating in any CBDC tests by Federal Reserve branches.

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