GM, this is The Crypto Explorer reporting for duty with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and a whole lot of Monday morning swag!

Here’s what we got for you today:

• 📵 US Senator proposes crypto ban!

• 🤑 Paypal to enable on-chain crypto transfers via Venmo

• 🧱 Around The Block: The cost of mining one Bitcoin in 2023

📵 US Senator Proposes Crypto Ban!

Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing for a full ban on Crypto in the US.

Her argument:

Criminals are drawn to crypto assets, so she wants to close the loophole to protect Americans from scams.

As expected, some members of the crypto community believe Elizabeth Warren's logic is flawed and raises some concerns.

• Just because some criminals use crypto for illegal activities doesn't mean that we should ban it altogether. There would still be criminals!

• While she's at it, she should probably ban US dollars too, as 99% of crimes are done with USD, not Crypto.

(But seriously we can't just ban everything that criminals use. Otherwise, what's next? Banning black clothing because some bank robbers wear it? 🙄)

It's no surprise she's having trouble finding co-sponsors.

Meanwhile, in related news, Hong Kong tells banks to play nice with crypto firms.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority urges banks to provide banking services to licensed crypto firms in an effort to establish Hong Kong as a crypto-friendly hub.

This is a sharp contrast to the US where regulators are cracking down on the crypto industry.

🤑 Paypal to Enable On-Chain Crypto Transfers via Venmo

PayPal has announced that it will allow on-chain transfers from Venmo accounts starting May 2023.

This means that starting May 2023, you can buy Crypto from Venmo and send it to other Venmo (and PayPal) users or to your hardware wallet.

With this new feature, users buy crypto from Venmo and send it to other Venmo users, PayPal users, or their hardware wallet.

It's a highly requested feature so a lot of users are happy to see this.

🧱 Around The Block: The Cost of Mining One Bitcoin in 2023

• ⛏️ Bitcoin mining: The mining cost for one Bitcoin in the US rises from $5K to $17K in 2023.

• 😵 Crypto scam report: Certik says April’s crypto scams, exploits, and hacks lead to a $103M loss.

• 🥵 $4M fine: SEC serves $4M in fines to Coinme over ‘misleading’ UpToken ICO.

• 🗞️ Grayscale report: 2 reasons why Bitcoin Ordinals are ‘positive’ for BTC.

That's all we have for today.

We'd love your feedback.

In any case, see you tomorrow, or on Twitter, if you're there: @danielakpobare

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research