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Russia seen as largest Bitcoin mining beneficiary if Trump's tariffs hit in full, industry expert says Despite President Donald Trump's embrace of crypto and desire to make the U.S. a "Bitcoin mining powerhouse," companies in the industry have been rushing to adjust their short and long-term plans in an attempt to weather the impact of the president's tariff policies, with Russia potentially the main beneficiary. Trump's tariff announcements hit both traditional and crypto markets hard between February and early April, especially following "Liberation Day," when he laid out reciprocal import tariffs with a baseline of 10% and more than 50% in some cases. However, a 90-day tariff pause for most countries, except China, subsequently offered some relief that has continued into May. The trouble is, most Bitcoin mining hardware is still designed outside of the U.S. The industry has long been dominated by Antminer, a product line of China-based Bitmain Technologies with over 80% market share. Therefore, raising import tariffs on the required equipment severely impacts the industry's bottom line and the share prices of publicly listed Bitcoin mining firms in the country. The current environment is perhaps exemplified by Riot platforms selling bitcoin for the first time in 15 months this April to help finance operations — a break from its typical "hodl" strategy amid rising costs. "As of today, we are facing a 12.6% tariff from units shipping from Asia to the U.S.," Luxor Technology Chief Operating Officer Ethan Vera recently told The Block. "We expected this to increase in July from 26.6% to 38.6% depending on country of origin. There is of course a chance that these tariffs are re-negotiated ahead of the 90-day pause." Luxor is a Bitcoin mining technology and services company that operates mining pools, offers ASIC brokerage, custom firmware, and hashrate derivatives. Although the U.S. is its largest market, Luxor services mining companies in 32 countries. If the tariffs are implemented, the firm expects to see a reduction in demand from the U.S., and machines going to other countries. Vera warned that if tariffs are enacted on the industry's supply chains in full, he expected the largest beneficiary to be Russia as the global mining hashpower landscape begins to reshape and U.S. growth decelerates. This is principally as Russian mining firms will be able to procure machines for less, and China-based capital will increasingly flow in that direction, Vera explained, adding that capital providers from the U.S. and Europe would begin investing more heavily in Canada, Northern Europe, Ethiopia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay. BitFuFu, a bitcoin mining company that offers cloud mining services and mining hardware hosting, told The Block that while the U.S. remains one of the most important regions for Bitcoin mining, thanks to its abundant energy resources and relatively supportive regulatory environment, emerging markets with access to low-cost energy — particularly in regions like parts of Africa — could start to benefit as miners look to diversify their operations and manage costs. Contrasting short-term plans When the tariffs were first announced, Luxor "raced" to get as many deals moving as possible, according to Vera. Since the pause, it has still been helping miners procure machines and import them into the U.S., just with less urgency than before and with little sign of supply chain disruption so far. However, the firm expects to see a large increase in volume during the first week of July ahead of the 90-day expiry, amid uncertainty on whether or not the window will be extended or tariffs implemented. BitFuFu seems less concerned in the short term, confirming that its plan to increase investment in mining facilities and machines in the U.S. remains unchanged, despite the majority of its hardware being sourced from Southeast Asia, adding that the 90-day pause had no "material impact." However, the company procured thousands of Antminer's latest S21 series machines ahead of the tariff announcements, not all of which have been energized, easing any short-term pressure as it also seeks to acquire additional operational sites to support hashrate expansion. "While tariff levels can vary, we are closely monitoring the situation and evaluating potential impacts," a spokesperson said. "The cost of mining hardware, including tariffs, is just one component of the total mining costs," they added. "The cost of electricity is, by far, the largest cost for mining bitcoin, which is why we prioritize placing our machines at sites we control — so we can better manage returns. Currently, all our secured, self-operated U.S. sites are already running at full capacity. In addition, we generate the majority of our revenue from our cloud-mining business, where we lease hashrate to customers. This provides us with greater flexibility to manage our profitability across cycles." Meanwhile, Bitmain spin-off Bitdeer, a bitcoin mining company that offers cloud mining, hosting, and infrastructure services, said it continues to navigate the evolving tariff landscape, particularly the newly imposed tariffs on mining hardware from Southeast Asia. "During the 90-day pause, we are balancing short-term procurement strategies with long-term investments, including plans to introduce 'Made in USA' Sealminer machines in the latter half of this year," Bitdeer Head of Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives Jeff LaBerge told The Block. He added that its global operations meant it can redirect machines to its self-mining facilities around the world to help mitigate any potential profitability risks. Long-term tariff impact Longer-term, Vera said Luxor was excited about the prospect of machines being produced in the U.S., but warned it could take years to fully onshore Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturing, echoing similar views to BitFuFu, who is seeing some manufacturers beginning to increase their U.S.-based production. "We think that final assembly in the U.S. is possible today, and many manufacturers are doing it," Vera said. "However, the raw materials and components largely come from Asia so the machines will still end up carrying a higher cost. For a machine to be produced mostly from components sourced from the U.S., we expect it will take at least a few years before that is at scale." "Tariff policies will inevitably raise the capital cost for purchasing mining rigs, which could temporarily curtail mining expansion in the U.S.," the BitFuFu spokesperson added. "However, mining economics are highly dynamic. If higher costs push less efficient miners out of the market, we could see a decrease in mining difficulty, which would help improve profit margins for the remaining operators." Regarding the course of action Luxor would like to see the Trump administration take next, it is pushing for Bitcoin mining ASICs to receive an exemption similar to HTSUS 8471 on certain imports of computers, laptops and servers. "We think it's important given the administration's campaign stance on helping the domestic industry and improving the mining industry in the U.S.," Vera said, adding that the firm is engaged with several groups advocating for fair treatment of Bitcoin miners in the U.S. "We hope to see progress toward easing tariff pressures to vitalize the industry and attract more investment into the U.S. mining ecosystem, ultimately creating more growth opportunities," the BitFuFu spokesperson said. "For the time being, we are observing the administration's actions." Meanwhile, Bitdeer's LaBerge argued that shifts in vendor preferences and sourcing strategies are already becoming evident. "Tariff policies are expected to accelerate domestic manufacturing efforts, reshape the distribution of global hashpower, and drive growth in emerging mining markets beyond North America," he said. 'No credible reports' of Bitcoin mining industry trying to game US Customs controls Tariffs are not the only disruption to the U.S. Bitcoin mining industry in recent months. In February, mining sector news publication Blockspace reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was ramping up seizures of Bitcoin mining machines at ports of entry, citing documents including a notice of seizure of $5 million worth of goods from the Federal Communications Commission requesting the CBP to requisition MicroBT and Canaan units. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began seizing Bitmain products last year because they contain chips from the now trade-restricted company, Sophgo. However, the exact motivation for expanding the order to include MicroBT and Canaan products, especially given that Canaan is a listed stock in the U.S. and MicroBT has a manufacturing pipeline in the country, was unclear. Meanwhile, amid recent allegations that some Bitcoin mining firms were increasingly underreporting ASIC shipment values to game U.S. customs following Trump's tariff announcements, Bitdeer's LaBerge played down the likelihood. "On CBP reporting, as a Nasdaq-listed company, Bitdeer has always maintained strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including customs import and export requirements," he said. "To our knowledge, neither Bitdeer nor any of our partners have engaged in such practices. We have not encountered any credible reports of others doing so either."
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Metaplanet buys additional 555 BTC, issues another $25 million in bonds for more Metaplanet, often dubbed Asia’s Strategy for its continued bitcoin accumulation, has purchased additional bitcoin worth about $53.4 million. In its latest disclosure on Wednesday, the Japanese investment firm said that it acquired 555 BTC for roughly $53.4 million at an average price of about $96,134 per bitcoin. According to CEO Simon Gerovich’s post on X, the company now holds 5,555 BTC, purchased for $481.5 million at an average price of $86,672 per bitcoin. “In Japanese, the number 5 is pronounced ‘Go,’ so today we’re shouting: Go go go go — to the moon and beyond!” Gerovich said on X. Metaplanet has been steadily accumulating bitcoin since unveiling its crypto strategy in April 2024. It aims to grow its holdings to 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and reached half of that target last month. Also today, it issued another series of ordinary bonds worth $25 million for additional bitcoin purchases. This marks the 13th batch of bonds the company has issued, made just a week after the 12th series that raised the same amount. U.S. expansion Alongside its crypto ambition, the Japanese firm eyes U.S. expansion. Last week, it announced that its board of directors had resolved to establish a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary in Miami, Florida. “We intend to accelerate this strategy by establishing Metaplanet Treasury Corp. in Florida, a rapidly emerging hub for Bitcoin-focused companies and financial innovation, recognized for its business-friendly policies and rising status as a global center of capital and technology,” the firm said last week. Metaplanet remains Asia’s largest public corporate bitcoin holder, and ranks 11th globally, according to Bitcointreasuries.net data. Michael Saylor’s Strategy remains on top of the list with 555,450 BTC. Metaplanet’s stock jumped 13.3% so far on Wednesday in Japan, though trading is still underway in the afternoon session.
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Florida indefinitely postpones two strategic bitcoin reserve bills Florida has postponed two bills that would have allowed investment in bitcoin from certain public funds in the state. According to the state legislature's website, on May 3, House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550 were "indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration. " HB 487, filed in February, aimed to authorize the state's chief financial officer to invest certain public funds in bitcoin. SB 550, also introduced in February, proposed similar measures. "The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills," Bitcoin Laws, a bitcoin legislation researcher, said in a post on X on Monday. With the withdrawal of the two bills, Florida appears to have stepped back from efforts to authorize state-level crypto asset investment legislation. Arizona’s SB 1374 and New Hampshire’s HB 302 have made the most progress among similar bills nationwide, according to data from Bitcoin Laws. Last week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1025, a bill that would have allowed the state's treasurer and retirement systems to invest up to 10% of their funds in crypto such as bitcoin.
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Wemade's Wemix token plunges 60% after South Korean exchanges announce delisting Wemix, the cryptocurrency from South Korean Web3 game developer Wemade, dropped over 60% on Friday after local exchanges announced plans to delist the token for the second time. Starting around 3 p.m. Friday in South Korea, the price of Wemix plummeted from $0.7225 to a low of $0.2757 in a matter of 15 minutes. It has since recovered to around $0.36 as of publication time, though it remained down 50% compared to the same time yesterday, according to CoinMarketCap data. The plunge appears to have been triggered by a collective announcement from major local crypto exchanges regarding their decisions to delist the token from their platforms. South Korea's five major exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — are the only platforms where users can deposit fiat to trade crypto, effectively representing the country's entire crypto market. Major decisions on specific tokens are made through DAXA, the Digital Asset Exchange Association, whose members include these five platforms. Wemix trading is set to cease on these exchanges starting June 2, with token withdrawals ending on July 2, according to the announcement. $6.2 million exploit The token, originally developed for Wemade's Web3 gaming ecosystem, was placed on an investment caution list by the major exchanges earlier this year, following a February exploit that resulted in the theft of $6.2 million worth of Wemix tokens from the cross-chain protocol Play Bridge. However, the Wemix Foundation waited four days before alerting users to the exploit, later explaining the delay as a measure to "prevent market panic." The token's price fell 40% during the four-day period, dropping to $0.42. DAXA said today that the Wemix Foundation insufficiently addressed the issues that caused the designation as an investment caution cryptocurrency, according to Bithumb's announcement. "As a result of comprehensively reviewing the issuing entity's credibility and security, we determined that the asset does not meet the criteria for maintaining transaction support," DAXA said. Wemix token was previously delisted from DAXA member exchanges in December 2022 after the actual number of circulating tokens exceeded the amount stated in its disclosure statement. It became the first native token in South Korea to be suspended by trading platforms twice, local news agency Yonhap reported. Wemix responds Following Friday's delisting announcement, the Wemix team released a statement apologizing to its community for the token's removal from local exchanges. "We want to clearly state that the foundation and Wemade have unwavering commitment and belief in the growth of the WEMIX ecosystem, regardless of the domestic exchanges' decision to terminate trading support," Wemix said. "The team will dedicate all available capabilities and resources to swiftly overcome the impact of the trading support termination and return to a normal trajectory." The project added that it will continue with its buyback of 10 billion Korean won ($7.1 million) worth of Wemix tokens, which was announced in March with the aim of restoring its market value. Wemade's stock closed down 17.45% at 23,650 won ($16.77) on Friday in South Korea, according to Google Finance data. It is down 32.1% year-to-date.
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Kraken launches crypto derivatives trading for UK professional investors in latest expansion for the firm Crypto exchange Kraken has launched derivatives trading in the United Kingdom, the company’s second-largest market. The product is available only to "Professional Clients," as defined by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. Kraken began "quietly" rolling out the offering in recent weeks, according to Alexia Theodorou, Kraken’s head of derivatives. "As a new product, we rolled it out gradually just to make sure that it reached a few specific clients first," she said. "Now it's open to 100% of our clients who need to go through a specific onboarding process for derivatives." Derivatives represent roughly 70% to 75% of total crypto trading volume, Theodorou said. While derivatives and spot volumes are "currently on par" on Kraken, she added that "crypto derivatives are growing at a faster pace than spot," in general. "That's why we are doubling down on derivatives, given the trends and ratios that we see as more and more institutional clients are entering the space," said Theodorou. "We see it as a big investment from our end in the UK, given how important the UK is for Kraken. Opening up our flagship derivatives product to eligible UK clients is a big thing for us." The derivatives will be offered through the Kraken Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), a regulated platform operated by Crypto Facilities, which became the first crypto firm to secure an MTF license from the FCA in 2020. Access will be provided through Kraken’s futures broker in Bermuda. Kraken acquired Crypto Facilities in 2019 in a deal valued at over $100 million. The firm offers a number of exotic products, including multi-collateral perpetual contracts, which Kraken was the first to offer. These contracts are “a very capital efficient way of trading for institutional clients,” Theodorou said. “It gives them the ability to trade using many collaterals and leverage, but also gives them the ability to start trying out more strategies with their spot trading, be it hedging or any other market neutral strategies that they might want to execute.” Theodorou said that it’s early days for crypto derivatives and that in equities markets, derivatives often represent 10 to 15 times more trading volume than spot. A lot of this comes down to bespoke geographical regulations, which have so far prevented Kraken from expanding into major markets like the U.S., Korea, and even some European countries. “Even though the spot crypto market only now is starting to get regulated with MICA and other jurisdictions across the world, derivatives have always been regulated,” Theodorou said. “There are specific licenses that you need to hold to open up to specific countries.” Kraken has recently acquired a MiFID II entity in Cyprus and U.S.-based NinjaTrader, paving the way for future expansion of its derivatives offering in those regions. The firm has also moved beyond crypto by adding U.S. equities trading to its mobile and web platforms. “It's a matter of priority then on what other jurisdictions we want to start offering this regulated product through our licensing efforts,” Theodorou said. Kraken, which is reportedly looking to go public, generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024.
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Blockchain forensics firm Crystal Intelligence plans to acquire Scam Alerts, a web3 fraud notification platform currently operated by crypto transaction monitoring firm Whale Alert. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of May. Once completed, Scam Alerts will become a standalone, non-commercial entity within Crystal Intelligence, according to a release shared with The Block. "Too often, scam victims are left with no place to turn," Navin Gupta, CEO of Crystal Intelligence, said in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is about giving them a way to speak up and be heard. Every report submitted contributes to a clearer picture of how these scams operate, where they’re spreading, and who they’re targeting. That kind of insight is incredibly valuable for prevention and for the investigators and enforcement agencies who are trying to keep up with an increasingly complex threat landscape.” Crystal Intelligence aims to streamline how crypto fraud victims report scams as well as to aggregate individual fraud reports, the release continues. More broadly, the company seeks to improve cryptocurrency adoption by lowering the prevalence of scams within the space. Whale Alert will act as an advisory partner following this acquisition. Crystal Intelligence intends to launch a comprehensive data collection that supports numerous languages and provides a better victim support structure. Additionally, Crystal plans to bolster collaboration with law enforcement worldwide, with Scam Alert set to work closely with local blockchain communities globally. "Localization for us means more than just language; it’s about cultural context, regional fraud patterns, and trusted community partners," said Crystal COO Marina Khaustova in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is our direct response to the urgent need to address the growing issue of fraud." Navin Gupta joined Crystal as its CEO in February 2024 after previously serving as the managing director of the crypto firm Ripple. Crypto-related financial crimes appear to be on the rise, a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrime arm shows. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received around 150,000 complaints involving cryptocurrency and calculated losses to exceed $9.3 billion. This represented a 66% increase compared to 2o23, with individuals 60 years or older losing around $2.8 billion from crypto-related internet crime, The Block previously reported.
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Binance founder CZ wants crypto-AI agents to have real utility as 99.99% of their tokens are ‘useless’ Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, says he wants crypto-AI agents with tokens to demonstrate real utility, stating that nearly all of them are useless. “Today there are so many different AI agents with a token but agents don’t have a utility. I want to see real agents that have real utility that can really help you, with tokens. There are AI token launchpads where you click a button, and you have an AI with your own name. That token is useless — 99.99% of them are useless,” said CZ in a fireside chat at Token2049 in Dubai. “What we want to see is real AI agents that can use things.” CZ said AI will completely revamp the crypto user experience and how people interact with blockchains. This could include the app experience, customer support and risk monitoring among other improvements. “It’s all going to change,” he said. Binance's founder said it was unfortunate that the crypto industry developed before AI did. He said that it needs to change to an AI industry — embracing the benefits of the technology. He noted that he’s using AI heavily in his educational platform, Giggle, particularly in translating text to other languages. However, the flip side is that AI can easily adopt cryptocurrency. “The currency for AI is crypto,” CZ said. “AI is not going to swipe a card, get an SMS code, that doesn’t work for AI. It’s going to be crypto.” CZ said the internet data that has been used to train AI agents has now been exhausted. Going ahead, this data could be captured in a privacy-preserving way using blockchain technology, he suggested. He added that users should be able to monetize the data that they create. On the speed of development, CZ noted that crypto companies exploded much faster than internet companies did back in the day — and that AI companies are going to rise at an even faster rate. But with blockchain tech, they can more easily monetize. Helping countries adopt crypto When it comes to broader adoption, CZ said he’s speaking with around a dozen countries on helping them understand how to encourage crypto’s growth in their regions. He said there was a big shift in the last six months or so, since around the time of the US election. He referenced the new administration’s pro-crypto stance and Elon Musk’s reported idea of using blockchain for government efficiency. He said other parts of the world are also exploring similar ideas, such as the UAE looking at decentralized IDs. Today, blockchain is a single dimension for trading/financials. We can expand blockchain to multiple dimensions,” he said. CZ specified that the countries reaching out to him are looking at how to regulate crypto. Typically, these are quite advanced conversations about specific issues on regional adoption. He said regulators generally want to manage everything locally, such as having local wallets and custody solutions and local order books. Only he argued that this approach doesn’t particularly work. “If you divide each country by their own order book, liquidity is gonna suck,” he noted. On crypto reserves, he said countries are incentivized to create them earlier because they may have to buy at higher prices if they are late to the table. He recommends using professional custody solutions if they’re starting with smaller amounts, with the notion of moving to their own cold storage solution if they grow to holding larger amounts. While he highlighted a few countries that are embracing crypto, such as Hong Kong and Bhutan, he noted that Europe doesn’t seem to be in the conversation (except for Montenegro). “It’s kind of missing on the map,” he said.
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SEC ends investigation into PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin without enforcement The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its investigation into stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), the payment giant said in its latest disclosure. In a Form 10-Q filed on Tuesday, PayPal said that the SEC informed the company in February that the agency was closing the inquiry surrounding a 2023 subpoena related to PYUSD "without enforcement action." In November 2023, PayPal received a subpoena from the SEC requesting information about its PYUSD stablecoin. "The subpoena requests the production of documents," the company said at the time. Such subpoenas typically serve as a way for the SEC to gather information and do not necessarily result in legal action or enforcement. The latest disclosure comes on the heels of a partnership announcement between PayPal and Coinbase. The pair announced last week that they have partnered to eliminate trading fees for PYUSD, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade PYUSD on Coinbase without incurring platform fees, and to redeem PYUSD at a 1:1 ratio for USD directly on the exchange. PayPal launched the PYUSD in August 2023 through a third-party issuer. However, the stablecoin's market presence continues to be dwarfed by rivals Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. PYUSD has a market capitalization of $879.9 million, compared to USDT’s $148.4 billion and USDC’s $62 billion, according to The Block's price page. To boost adoption, PayPal expanded PYUSD to Solana in May 2024 and later partnered with crypto custodian Anchorage Digital to help develop a stablecoin reward program. It has also partnered with MoonPay to expand payment options for purchasing PYUSD.
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South Korea's ruling party pledges spot crypto ETF trading, expanded bank access as election looms: report The People Power Party (PPP), a major right-wing political party in South Korea, has pledged to expand banking access for crypto exchanges and allow trading of spot crypto exchange-traded funds within this year, as it seeks to court the crypto sector ahead of the upcoming presidential election. In a Monday meeting at the National Assembly, the party unveiled seven initiatives to foster a crypto asset ecosystem, local news outlet Edaily reported. The party first pledged to scrap the "one exchange, one bank" rule, which financial authorities had enforced to curb money laundering and monitor suspicious transactions by requiring crypto exchanges to partner with a single bank for real-name verified accounts. The PPP also pledged to permit spot crypto ETF trading within this year. Park Soo-min, a lawmaker, said that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted strong interest and large trading volumes, adding that South Korea "cannot afford to delay any longer," according to the report. Both the PPP and the Democratic Party have previously called for lifting the ban on spot crypto ETFs. The PPP’s crypto proposals come as South Korea prepares to elect its new president on June 3. Yoon Suk-yeol, the country’s 20th president, was removed from office on April 4 after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment over a controversial martial law declaration in December. As part of the crypto initiatives announced Monday, the PPP also plans to legalize security token offerings and introduce a regulatory framework for stablecoins in line with global standards. It also intends to propose a bill called the "Digital Asset Promotion Basic Act." To carry out its initiatives, the PPP intends to set up a special crypto committee under its presidential candidate. The committee is expected to lead efforts to promote crypto, support industry innovation and rebuild investor confidence, according to the local media report. South Korea’s financial authorities are moving to ease crypto restrictions. In January, the Financial Services Commission said it would gradually lift a ban that prevents institutional investors from investing in cryptocurrencies. The agency is also pursuing follow-up legislation to the country’s first crypto regulatory framework, focusing on stablecoin rules, token listings and disclosure requirements.
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US spot bitcoin ETFs see $591 million in net inflows as BTC holds above $94,000 Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. experienced $591.3 million in net inflows on Monday, extending their streak of inflows to seven days. BlackRock's IBIT, the largest spot bitcoin ETF by net assets, was the only ETF of its kind to record net inflows, drawing in $970.9 million, according to SoSoValue data. Ark and 21Shares' ARKB saw net outflows of $226.3 million, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded $86.9 million in outflows. Grayscale's GBTC, Bitwise's BITB and VanEck's HODL also logged outflows. The total trading volume across the 12 ETFs shrank to $2.4 billion on Monday, down from $3.3 billion on Friday. Their cumulative net inflows reached $39.02 billion, the highest level since Feb. 24. The continued inflows into the ETFs coincided with a relatively steady bitcoin price. Bitcoin inched up 0.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $94,359 at the time of writing, after briefly rising above the $95,000 level earlier on Monday, according to The Block's price page. Notably, spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $3 billion in weekly inflows last week, marking the highest such value since November 2024. Meanwhile, spot ether ETFs reported $64.1 million in net inflows, extending their inflow streak to three days. Ether edged down 0.02% to change hands at $1,793.
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Solana DeFi protocol Loopscale hit with $5.8 million exploit two weeks after launch Loopscale, a Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, became 2025's latest hacking victim on Saturday, losing over $5.8 million, or 12% of its TVL, to an exploit affecting one of its markets. "The root cause of the exploit has been identified as an isolated issue with Loopscale’s pricing of RateX-based collateral," the protocol said on X. "There is an ongoing investigation into how this happened, who did this, and how we can most effectively recover funds." Loopscale, which launched on April 10, raised $4.25 million in VC funding from Solana Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and others in 2021. The protocol was known as Bridgesplit at the time, and originally proposed an NFT-based yield product. Loopscale's order book-based lending platform is different from pool-based lending protocols, such as Aave or Solend, offering more predictable terms and eliminating the rate volatility common in variable-rate lending protocols. The protocol was audited by OShield, which found several critical vulnerabilities when it conducted the audit between January and February of this year. "Loopscale has been audited and is currently undergoing additional audits. All critical and high-risk issues identified have been fixed," the protocol's FAQ reads. Another audit, by Sec3, is reportedly in progress. "Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected," Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne wrote on X. Loopscale did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block. The exploit adds to a lengthening list of 2025 crypto hacks and exploits. Bybit's record $1.46 billion hack in February has been joined in recent weeks by a $7 million oracle exploit affecting KiloEX, a $49 million loss from stablecoin neoback Infini, and more. Loopscale initially restricted its platform's features, but re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing on Saturday evening. This is a developing story
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Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin winding down its software division Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin is shutting down its primary software development unit, Gitcoin Labs, according to an announcement on Friday. The decision was made in part because a “path to profitability” was unrealistic, Gitcoin co-founder Kevin Owocki said in a statement. “The financial overhead of Grants Lab has outpaced its financial runway in the current environment,” Owocki said on X. “This decision was made in consultation with the top stewards of Gitcoin and lead of Grants Lab … From the perspective of Gitcoin Governance, is for Grants Lab to not submit another budget to Gitcoin’s governance for H2 2025.” The remaining funds will go towards paying severance “to all whose employment is affected,” Owocki noted. Native token GIT is up around 4% at press time. Gitcoin is a platform that empowers communities to fund and support open-source projects and public goods in the web3 ecosystem, primarily through its Grants Program. The platform has distributed over $60 million using a mechanism co-created by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called Quadratic Funding. The project is part of the wider “regen” movement, short for regenerative finance (a play on degen), which is focused on staying true to crypto’s founding cypherpunk ethos. It has backed notable projects, including Optimism, Polygon, Sei and Celo. “We're not retreating — we're refocusing,” Owocki said. “Gitcoin will continue, but with a leaner team aligned around a more focused Gitcoin Grants program and managing its portfolio of assets. And Gitcoin remains a vibrant, resilient community with many years of runway, and which is more than any one team or product.” The move comes about a year after a strategic overhaul of the community-led project, which saw it take a more streamlined and capitalistic approach. In February 2024, Gitcoin condensed several constituent DAOs, sunsetted its Layer 2 Public Goods Network, and invested in money-making opportunities like for-profit projects and yield strategies. As part of the latest shift, Gitcoin will shut down Grants Stack, a tool for managing grants programs, as well as wind down the Allo Protocol, its blockchain system for democratic capital allocation. The project, however, does intend to continue maintaining the Human Passport digital verification system. "To our partners and users: the tech you rely on isn’t disappearing overnight. We’re working to ensure a smooth transition, including evaluating tech handoffs and continuing support where we can," Gitcoin wrote. "Today marks a big shift for us at Gitcoin — and while it’s a tough day, I’m feeling incredibly hopeful about what’s ahead and the opportunities to build on the foundations we've laid and the momentum we've built," Gitcoin Grants Program lead Mathilda DV said on X. "The Grants Stack era is coming to a close, but the Gitcoin Grants Program isn’t going anywhere. In fact, we’re doubling down on it." Notably, the project has also announced that the Grants Program is funded until "2029ish"
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Lutnick's Cantor plans $3 billion bitcoin venture with SoftBank and Tether: FT Brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald is planning a $3 billion bitcoin investment project with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Cantor is currently led by chair and CEO Brandon Lutnick, son of former CEO Howard Lutnick who resigned earlier this year to assume the role of U.S. Secretary of Commerce under the Trump administration. The reported bitcoin initiative involves Lutnick's special purpose acquisition company, Cantor Equity Partners, using the $200 million it raised in January to establish a new entity called 21 Capital. According to the FT report, Tether is set to contribute $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to 21 Capital. Japanese investment giant SoftBank would contribute $900 million in bitcoin, while Bitfinex, the crypto exchange owned by the same company that owns Tether, reportedly plans to supply $600 million worth of the cryptocurrency. With crypto contributions worth billions of dollars, 21 Capital aims to emulate the success of Michael Saylor-led Strategy's bitcoin investment approach by creating a "publicly listed alternative," the FT report said. Strategy issued stocks and speculative debt to purchase bitcoin, with its current holdings standing at 538,200 BTC. Its stock price has risen 159% in the past year, according to Google Finance data. The reported investments would eventually see the three companies' bitcoin holdings converted into shares of 21 Capital at $10 per share, implying a valuation of $85,000 per bitcoin. Separately, Cantor's vehicle will raise a $350 million convertible bond and a $200 million private equity placement for additional bitcoin purchases, the report said. The FT report said the deal is scheduled to be officially announced in the coming weeks, while noting that it could still be revised or abandoned. The Block has reached out to Cantor, Tether, SoftBank and Bitfinex for comment. The report of Cantor's potential bitcoin foray comes as the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has brought favorable changes for the crypto industry, promising friendlier crypto policies while rescinding enforcement actions against various companies.
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RAY token up 8% as Raydium rolls out Pump.fun competitor ‘LaunchLab’ Raydium, Solana’s biggest DEX by cumulative volume, unveiled an anticipated token launch tool to rival popular memecoin factory Pump.fun. Dubbed LaunchLab, the platform enables users to launch tokens and integrates directly with Raydium’s liquidity pools, while also allowing third-party platforms to set transaction fees. The move marks the latest phase of escalation between the two Solana-based products, which previously worked together in a strong mutual partnership. Reports of Raydium’s new platform first surfaced last month. Details on the project, apparently in development for months, came as Pump.fun launched its own DEX called PumpSwap. Pump.fun, previously a major contributor to Raydium’s revenue, had relied on Raydium for secondary market trading. Before PumpSwap, tokens created on Pump.fun automatically migrated to Raydium after crossing $69,000 in market capitalization. PumpSwap’s debut on March 20 changed this dynamic and directly competed with Raydium’s automated market maker (AMM). Within its first 10 days, PumpSwap accumulated $2.5 billion in trading volume and now, less than a month after launching, has garnered over $31.7 billion in all-time volume, according to DefiLlama data. Early reports suggested LaunchLab would closely resemble Pump.fun but with some twists. Among these changes is the allocation of 25% of transaction fees to repurchase RAY, Raydium’s native token. Following the LaunchLab announcement, RAY's price climbed about 8%, outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market, per price data from The Block. Pump.fun also plans to launch a native token after its AMM.
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OKX to officially expand in US following February's $500 million DOJ settlement Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced today that it will launch a centralized crypto trading platform and its OKX wallet in the U.S. market. With the expansion, OKX established its regional headquarters in San Jose, California, and named Roshan Robert, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as its U.S. CEO. "U.S. customers now have access to our high-performance platform, and we will be rolling out new features throughout the year as part of our vision to build a crypto Super App," Robert said in a statement. The release said users of OKCoin, a U.S.-based crypto exchange affiliated with OKX, will be migrated to the OKX platform. The exchange plans to gradually introduce its services to new U.S. customers through a phased rollout, with a nationwide launch planned for later in 2025. OKX’s expansion in the U.S. comes amid positive momentum in the country’s crypto industry, fueled by President Donald Trump's push for pro-crypto policies and regulations. $500 million settlement The company's U.S. expansion follows a $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, under claims of servicing domestic customers without a proper license. In February, the DOJ announced that it has reached a settlement with OKX operator Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. The exchange, however, referred to Aux Cayes as "one of many" OKX affiliates. The Justice Department’s investigation involved Aux Cayes failing to obtain the proper license to operate a money transmitting business for U.S. customers, OKX said at the time. Despite having placed a policy preventing U.S. citizens from joining the platform, the DOJ claimed that OKX pursued U.S. customers, with one employee allegedly instructing them to provide false information to bypass restrictions. The company agreed to pay over $500 million, including $84 million in penalties and approximately $421 million in forfeited fees earned from U.S. customers. OKX said that the U.S. customers involved are no longer on the platform and that there were no allegations of customer harm.
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JPMorgan rolls out GBP blockchain payments, extending EUR and USD offerings JPMorgan's blockchain division, Kinexys (formerly Onyx), has rolled out British pound-denominated blockchain deposit accounts in the U.K., marking a key expansion of its real-time settlement infrastructure following earlier euro and dollar offerings. "The new GBP-denominated blockchain accounts enable clients to conduct seamless cross-border transactions, including 24/7 foreign exchange," JPMorgan said in a statement shared with The Block on Monday. "Clients can access funds on demand with weekend processing and extended same-day FX settlements, offering enhanced flexibility, speed and efficiency." With the GBP addition, JPMorgan's corporate clients can now move funds between pounds, euros and dollars around the clock — regardless of traditional market hours. The London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) SwapAgent and global commodities firm Trafigura are the first clients to open GBP accounts with Kinexys. The launch comes as Kinexys continues to grow its blockchain-based services. Since its debut in 2019, the platform has processed more than $1.5 trillion in total transaction volume, with average daily activity exceeding $2 billion and payments volume growing tenfold year over year, JPMorgan said. That's still just a small fraction of the roughly $10 trillion in daily transactions that JPMorgan's payments division handles. "This is one of the first blockchain offerings of its kind in the U.K. and the first to have clients actually live, opening GBP blockchain accounts in London," a JPMorgan spokesperson told The Block. SwapAgent, LSEG's post-trade unit, is incorporating the GBP blockchain accounts into a pilot for its digital settlement services. "Integrating the innovative Kinexys Digital Payments blockchain deposit accounts into our SwapAgent offerings could allow us to operate beyond traditional branch cut-off times and manage settlements in a programmable manner in the future," Nathan Ondyak, CEO at SwapAgent, said in a statement. Trafigura will use the GBP accounts to enable real-time payments across financial hubs in London, New York and Singapore. The firm also plans to adopt programmable payment tools to automate liquidity management and transaction execution. Kinexys' programmable payments feature allows clients to automate treasury actions through a self-serve "if-this-then-that" interface — designed to improve cash flow efficiency and control.
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SEC and Binance file joint motion for another 60-day pause in legal dispute The Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, have asked the judge overseeing their legal dispute to continue keeping the case on hold as lawyers on both sides hold "productive discussions." According to a joint court filing submitted Friday, the SEC requested the pause be extended "...In light of these continued discussions and the time required for the staff to seek authorization from the [SEC] as necessary to approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation." Binance's lawyers agreed that "...continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy." Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the parties' original request to stay the case in February, following a similar joint motion. The approval of another 60-day pause would mean the next joint status report would land in mid-June. Though some of the SEC's claims against Binance were partially dismissed by Judge Jackson last June, the majority of the claims were upheld, though it remains unclear how the changing leadership of the SEC will affect the case. Friday's filing references "discussions concerning how the efforts of the crypto task force may impact the SEC’s claims." The SEC's crypto task force is headed by Republican Commissioner Hester Pierce and has been holding roundtables with industry figures in a move towards more transparent regulation of the crypto industry. "We invite builders, enthusiasts, and skeptics to engage with us to figure out what the final rules should be and what interim steps might help to foster innovation in the meantime," Pierce said in February, shortly after the task force's creation.
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US Senate Democrats condemn DOJ for dropping crypto unit, calling it 'nonsensical' U.S. Democratic Senators issued strong criticism toward U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a letter on Thursday, for his decision to shift the Department of Justice away from crypto enforcement priorities and disband the crypto enforcement team. The six Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), said in the letter that the decisions giving "a free pass" to crypto money launderers are "grave mistakes" that would enable sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, scams and child sexual exploitation. Blanche, who served as President Donald Trump's defense lawyer in 2024, directed the immediate shutdown of the DOJ's crypto litigation division, in line with the current administration's friendlier approach to crypto regulation. The Thursday letter specifically took issue with Blanche's announcement that the DOJ would "no longer target" crypto exchanges and mixing services. It cited previous statements and rulings to argue that mixers are mainstays for cybercriminals, including North Korean hackers, in laundering stolen crypto assets. "Mixers are also a favorite tool of drug traffickers and those who trade child sexual abuse material," the letter said. "It makes no sense for DOJ to announce a hands-off approach to tools that are being used to support such terrible crimes." The lawmakers called Blanche's latest announcement to have the DOJ no longer prosecute digital asset crimes and Bank Secrecy Act violations "similarly nonsensical." "By abdicating DOJ’s responsibility to enforce federal criminal law when violations involve digital assets, you are suggesting that virtual currency exchanges, mixers, and other entities dealing in digital assets need not fulfill their AML/CFT obligations, creating a systemic vulnerability in the digital assets sector," the letter said. "Drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters, and adversaries will exploit this vulnerability on a large scale." The letter added that Blanche's decision to dismantle the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) can exacerbate the problem, as it was instrumental in leading a department-wide effort to tackle crypto crimes. "Further, NCET operates as a critical resource for state and local law enforcement who often lack the technical knowledge and skill to investigate cryptocurrency related crimes," the lawmakers wrote. "Disbanding NCET will make the work of these state and local law enforcement agents that much harder." Recently, U.S. crypto firm SafeMoon cited the DOJ's directive to deprioritize crypto enforcement in an attempt to have charges against the company and its CEO dropped, which include securities violations, wire fraud and money laundering. Among moves to deregulate crypto, earlier today, Trump signed a resolution to repeal the Internal Revenue Service rule, which required "decentralized finance industry participants" to operate like traditional securities brokers, mandating that they collect and report user trading data. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James also sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to pass legislation on crypto regulation, mentioning in particular that a framework is "all the more critical" following the disbanding of the NCET.
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Quantum Cats NFT floor price plunges 54% post-Taproot Wizards mint The floor price of Bitcoin NFT Quantum Cats halved in value last week, falling from 0.087 BTC on March 30 to 0.04 BTC as of Saturday, April 5. Meanwhile, the floor prices of other notable Bitcoin NFT collections remained relatively flat in comparison. For example, NodeMonkes and Bitcoin Puppets declined by just 5% and 8%, respectively, over the same period. The significant and isolated ~54% decline in Quantum Cats’ floor price is linked to the recent Taproot Wizards mint that began on March 25. Quantum Cats holders were given a discount for the Taproot Wizards mint, thus incentivizing people to buy and hold them prior to the mint. Specifically, collectors who owned pairs of "entangled" Quantum Cats were given a 50% discount on the mint price, from 0.2 BTC to 0.1 BTC. However, after the Taproot Wizards mint, those who bought and held Quantum Cats solely to access the discount no longer had the same incentive to keep the NFTs, thus prompting them to sell in a classic example of a "sell the news/event." This event has now brought Quantum Cats' floor price closer to its peers, such as NodeMonkes and Bitcoin Puppets, as opposed to the relatively significant premium it commanded from late December 2024 due to anticipation and hype of the aforementioned Taproot Wizards mint. This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.
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Taurus launches interbank digital asset network to streamline settlement, collateralization Swiss fintech firm and infrastructure provider Taurus on Wednesday launched Taurus-NETWORK, an interbank platform designed to connect financial institutions globally for seamless collaboration on digital assets. The network aims to unlock new use cases, such as collateralized lending, real-time settlement and operational automation, while reducing counterparty risk. Built for clients of Taurus-PROTECT, the company’s institutional-grade custody solution, the new network creates a permissioned ecosystem of regulated institutions, according to a release shared with The Block. It enables secure interaction between participants without relying on third parties to process or unwind transactions. "Network participants retain control of their assets and never rely on Taurus to enter or unwind transactions," Vassili Lavrov, Taurus head of product infrastructure, said in the release. The network currently includes over 35 institutions across 10 countries. It enables members to maintain full control over their digital assets while collaborating across jurisdictions in line with local regulatory requirements. Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank and Swissquote are joining the Taurus-NETWORK as founding members at launch. Taurus said more features and partnerships will be announced throughout 2025. The company, founded in April 2018, is a global provider of enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure including custody, tokenization and trading services. It has relationships with institutions including Deutsche Bank, State Street and the entity formerly known as Credit Suisse, which led Taurus's $65 million Series B round before being acquired by UBS. "Taurus-NETWORK is a pivotal milestone in Taurus' mission to reshape the digital asset industry," Yann Isola, head of product financial services, said. "By bringing together institutions and facilitating secure, efficient and automated operations, we are unlocking new opportunities for growth and innovation. This is just the beginning as we are planning to release innovative solutions on a regular basis." Taurus-NETWORK introduces a collateral management system that allows members to pledge funds or assets for instant credit within the network. This enables banks to participate in syndicated loans, while exchanges can implement off-exchange trading processes without moving funds outside their Taurus-PROTECT setup. Settlement speed is optimized across both fiat and blockchain rails using an advanced orchestration engine. Compliance and regulatory checks are embedded into the platform. The Taurus-NETWORK supports automatic enforcement of the travel rule, proof-of-reserves and ownership verification, significantly reducing manual compliance workloads. The network also automates over 90% of typical operational burdens, such as identity management and address whitelisting, enabling instant transaction confirmation and cryptographic proof of identity. Participants interact directly from their own Taurus-PROTECT custody instances, regardless of infrastructure.
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Base and stablecoins set stage for Coinbase to become ‘mission-critical’ crypto infrastructure, Cantor Fitzgerald says Traders and investors are recovering from the market onslaught over the past week. The price of bitcoin is still trading under $80,000, but the world's largest cryptocurrency has held up relatively well compared to traditional equities. Institutional crypto adoption remains stalled due to regulatory uncertainty, leaving crypto markets largely driven by retail traders and hedge funds. Analysts suggest bitcoin may be evolving into a hedge against U.S. economic isolation and could rebound faster than other risk assets. One stock poised to benefit greatly from institutional adoption, according to Cantor Fitzgerald, is Coinbase. "We believe institutionalization of crypto, like the internet, is a decade- or multi-decade-long trend, with the first barrier to enabling this trend to take off being on the regulatory front," Cantor analysts Brett Knoblauch and Thomas Shinske wrote Tuesday in a note to clients. "We expect we will soon see a 'ChatGPT' moment when it comes to web3, and there is, in our view, no better way to play this dynamic than COIN given it has its hands in virtually every aspect of the crypto ecosystem." It is for this reason that Cantor expects Coinbase's business to be perceived less like a trading platform and more as "a mission-critical infrastructure layer of the crypto economy." In particular, the analysts said, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 Base and relationship with stablecoin issuer Circle are instrumental in changing the narrative. Base positions Coinbase strongly by offering faster, cheaper transactions and seamless user onboarding into onchain ecosystems, the analysis said, helping it outpace other Ethereum L2 solutions. As user growth fuels developer interest and dapp creation, Base’s momentum could drive a long-term flywheel effect that significantly benefits COIN — an edge the market may be undervaluing. The L2 saw 4.15 million new unique addresses on March 30, its highest single-day jump in users following a parabolic increase that began in the preceding two weeks, according to Basescan. However, both the transaction count and active addresses on Base remained stagnant. "This discrepancy indicates that a significant portion of the new address growth may be inorganic or at least driven by short-term incentives or bot-generated activity," according to The Block's Research team. "In cases where address generation grows rapidly without a matching uptick in actual usage, it often suggests the creation of multiple addresses by a single user or bots." Meanwhile, the largest component of subscription and services revenue is stablecoins, which generated $910 million of revenue for Coinbase in 2024, up from $694 million in 2023. Cantor says Circle and Tether will maintain a similar share of the stablecoin market well into the future and predicts the stablecoin market can exceed $1 trillion by 2030. This could result in Coinbase's stablecoin revenue increasing by 5-10x, depending on where short-term yields go. As such, the firm initiated coverage on COIN with an "overweight" rating and $245 price target, suggesting about 53% upside from the stock's current levels. "We would note that our valuation multiple represents, in our view, a 'down year' in terms of volumes, revenue, and earnings," the Cantor analysts wrote in the note. "We believe if seasonality holds true, crypto markets will be down in 2026. As such, we believe we are applying a reasonable multiple on what could be trough earnings for COIN. Should 2026 divert from historical seasonality, we see significant upside to our 2026 estimates and thus valuation." Coinbase shares are trading higher by 4% to $163.76 in Tuesday's session. The stock is down about 36% in the year-to-date period. Of note, Secretary of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald for nearly 35 years. "Under Lutnick's leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald began managing the reserves backing Tether's USDT stablecoin in late 2021. Lutnick has been a vocal supporter of Tether, frequently defending it against criticism," The Block's RT Watson reports. "Further strengthening these ties, Cantor Fitzgerald also acquired a 5% ownership stake in Tether." As President Donald Trump’s administration continues its friendlier approach to crypto, Coinbase's CFO expressed optimism last month about renewed discussions with the SEC to potentially allow the company to introduce a security token and international crypto products to the U.S. market.
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Crypto prices plummet, Strategy's $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses, crypto attorney sues to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity and more It's Monday! The week started off with more of the crypto market in the red, with ether's price falling to lows not seen since 2023. It's not all looking bleak, though — we might be closer to finding out more information on Bitcoin's creator, and a high-profile crypto figure is guiding blockchain industry efforts abroad. In today's newsletter, $1.6 billion in leveraged bets evaporate as digital asset prices continue to fall, Michael Saylor's Strategy discloses around $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses, a crypto attorney sues the Department of Homeland Security to find out more about Satoshi Nakamoto and more. Meanwhile, the stablecoin issuer Tether is deciding whether to launch a new stablecoin just for institutions. Let's get started. Crypto prices plummet as $1.6 billion in leveraged bets evaporate The crypto market experienced a sharp 10% drop on Monday, with ether falling to its lowest price point since 2023. At least $1.6 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, though the real figure may be higher due to incomplete exchange data. The selloff followed the announcement of historically high U.S. tariffs and related global macroeconomic uncertainty. DeFi users scrambled to protect ETH-backed loans as ether dipped below $1,500. A whale lost $106 million on a 67,570 ETH position, and even the alleged ZKasino scammer saw a $27.1 million loss on a leveraged bet. Despite the turmoil, analysts predict a potential short-term rebound driven by oversold conditions and upcoming U.S. economic data releases. Strategy discloses around $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses Strategy reported $5.91 billion in unrealized losses on its bitcoin holdings in Q1 2025 due to a sharp market downturn driven by macroeconomic pressures. The firm paused bitcoin purchases between Mar. 31 and Apr. 4 amid zero demand for its equity offerings, MSTR and STRK. Strategy purchased 80,715 BTC at an average price of $94,922 per BTC in Q1, but the firm faced its steepest quarterly loss since 2018, when bitcoin fell 12% to $84,000. Strategy currently holds 528,185 BTC — nearly 3% of the total supply. Crypto attorney sues Homeland Security to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity Crypto lawyer James A. Murphy filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to seek documents that could reveal the identity of Bitcoin’s creator after his FOIA requests went unanswered. Murphy, known as 'MetaLawMan' online, argues the public deserves to know what the government might know about Satoshi Nakamoto. The lawsuit references a 2019 interview in which DHS Special Agent Rana Saoud allegedly claimed to have met four individuals involved in Bitcoin's creation, suggesting potential government knowledge of Nakamoto’s identity. Murphy emphasized the importance of transparency amid growing federal interest in bitcoin. CZ joins Pakistan Crypto Council as advisor Former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has been appointed as a strategic advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council to support crypto education, infrastructure and adoption efforts in the nation. The Pakistan Crypto Council, established by the government in March 2025, aims to position the country as a leader in blockchain innovation amid global momentum driven by U.S. crypto policy shifts. CZ stated he advises several governments on crypto regulation and blockchain use, maintaining a non-political stance and solely on crypto. Despite legal troubles in the U.S., the world's largest crypto exchange Binance recently secured $2 billion in funding from Abu Dhabi's MGX. Franklin Templeton leads $8 million seed round for stablecoin startup Cap Cap, a blockchain startup building a yield-generating stablecoin and lending platform, raised $8 million in a seed round led by Franklin Templeton. The protocol leverages Ethereum’s EigenLayer and the MegaETH Layer 2 to enable users to mint cUSD using USDC or USDT, which can then be lent out to institutions for yield while being secured by restaked ETH. Cap's model involves institutions borrowing user-supplied stablecoins in exchange for interest, though borrowers must take out a kind of "loan insurance" to protect lenders amid potential loan defaults.
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Standard Chartered sees bitcoin as a hedge against tariff risks amid 'US isolationism' Bitcoin could benefit from rising tariff risks as signs of "U.S. isolationism" begin to shape market sentiment, according to Standard Chartered. "There is a lot of noise at the moment, but as per my Friday email, I think bitcoin will become a hedge against tariff risks this time around," Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said in a Sunday note emailed to The Block. "U.S. isolationism is akin to increased risks of holding fiat, which will ultimately benefit bitcoin," he added. The note followed bitcoin's drop below $80,000 over the weekend. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $77,000, according to The Block's bitcoin price page. Kendrick pointed to $76,500 — the top of the Nov. 6 daily candle, formed the day after the U.S. election — as a key support level. He acknowledged the market drawdown but noted that bitcoin continues to outperform most of the so-called Magnificent Seven or Mag7 tech stocks, trailing only Microsoft and Google since tariff-related headlines earlier this week. Mag7 index + bitcoin and ether percentage change since tariff announcement Source: Standard Chartered In last week's note, Kendrick said bitcoin could be viewed as a "U.S. isolation" hedge and called bitcoin the "strongman," noting it had held up better than most tech stocks during the recent selloff. The updated framing — from a general "U.S. isolation" hedge to a more specific "tariff risk" hedge — reflects Kendrick's interpretation of recent developments. He added that the recent crypto selloff would likely fade and that bitcoin could return to its Friday close of around $84,000, barring any broader risk-off moves in traditional markets. Kendrick has been among the more bullish voices on bitcoin, previously forecasting a price target of $200,000 by the end of 2025. He sees bitcoin reaching $300,000 by end-2026, $400,000 by end-2027, and $500,000 by end-2028 — a level he expects it to hold through 2029. Last week, Kendrick also initiated coverage on Layer 1 blockchain Avalanche, projecting that its native token AVAX could rise more than 10 times to $250 by the end of 2029 from its current price of around $15. The forecast was driven by Avalanche's recent Etna upgrade, which made the network cheaper and more attractive for developers. Kendrick is less bullish on Ethereum, having cut his 2025 ether price target by 60% last month to $4,000, citing factors such as Base's growing market share. Ether is currently trading at around $1,500, down more than 15% over the past 24 hours
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Bitcoin dips below $80,000 after dropping over 3% in two hours, dragging crypto market downward The crypto market experienced a significant dip on Sunday as international markets began to open to an uncertain macroeconomic environment, sending the price of bitcoin below $80,000 for the first time since early March. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell over 3% in just two hours on Sunday; it's currently down a total of 3.4% in the past 24hours, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price page. Its rival Ethereum has fared even worse, having fallen nearly 8% in the past 24 hours. The ETHBTC ratio of the two leading tokens' prices is currently near its five-year low, according to TradingView data. The Block's GMCI 30 Index performance since the start of the month. The top 30 cryptocurrencies in total are down over 6% over the past day, according to The Block's GMCI 30 index. Year to date, the index is down over 32%. Bucking the trend, Pi Network (PI) has gained about 1.52% over the past day, and ZCash is up 0.7%, according to The Block's price data. The significant dip comes as international markets begin to open after a weekend in which U.S. President Trump made no indication that he plans to ease up on the significant tariffs he imposed on most other nations last Wednesday, triggering the worst stock performances since 2020. Injective CEO Eric Chen previously told The Block that Bitcoin may be holding up better than altcoins "...because its market structure has fundamentally changed post-ETF, with demand now coming from retirement accounts, macro funds and corporate treasuries like MicroStrategy (MSTR) and GameStop (GME)."
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Blur’s decline fuels OpenSea’s market share surge amid broader NFT struggles At the beginning of 2022, OpenSea’s share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume stood at a dominating around 97%. Just two years later, the platform seemed to have dwindled amid fierce competition as its market share fell to just under 20%, even falling as low as 13% in the summer of 2024. In the 10 months since, however, the OpenSea market share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume has steadily climbed and is standing at over 51% as of the time of writing. As impressive as this comeback story looks at face value, it does not tell the whole story. OpenSea's "comeback" in terms of market share for marketplace volume is less about the OpenSea protocol itself doing well and more about its main competitor, Blur, underperforming on a relatively competitive basis. Since its latest peak in December 2024, Blur’s monthly NFT volume has declined consistently, with an average monthly rate of decline of 55%. Over the same period, OpenSea's monthly NFT volume has been more varied. It declined by 48% from December to January but then increased by 20% in February, likely due to the announcement of its SEA token. It is worth pointing out that both OpenSea and Blur saw similar month-over-month declines in March, with the former down 67% and the latter down 62%. The takeaway is that Ethereum NFT volumes have declined significantly over the last three months, with the entire sector performing horribly. OpenSea’s resurgence in terms of market share, while somewhat notable, is likely due to Blur’s competitive relative underperformance and should not mask either platform's woes or overemphasize their "wins." This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.
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Standard Chartered says ‘HODL’ bitcoin, sees $88,500 return this weekend as it becomes a 'US isolation' hedge Bitcoin could be heading back to $88,500 as early as this weekend from its current price of around $83,100, according to Standard Chartered. As the broader traditional finance market selloff continues, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, bitcoin has shown strength and can now be viewed as a "U.S. isolation" hedge, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. "I [previously] argued that bitcoin trades more like tech stocks than it does gold most of the time. At other times, and structurally, bitcoin is useful as a TradFi [traditional finance] hedge (e.g., March 2023 SVB [Silicon Valley Bank] collapse). Over the last 36 hours, I think we can also add 'U.S. isolation' hedge to the list of bitcoin uses," Kendrick wrote in an email to The Block on Friday. By calling bitcoin a "U.S. isolation" hedge, Kendrick is likely suggesting that the cryptocurrency could gain value in scenarios where the U.S. appears increasingly isolated from the global economy, such as recent moves to impose tariffs. Last week, Kendrick argued that bitcoin trades more like a tech stock than gold. At the time, he also introduced a hypothetical Mag7 index called Mag7B, which swapped Tesla for bitcoin. He said this revised basket delivered higher returns and lower volatility than the original lineup of seven mega-cap tech stocks. In today's note, Kendrick said that over the last 36 hours, as TradFi markets bled and Mag7 stocks tumbled, bitcoin and ether showed relative strength. "Strongest performers were MSFT [Microsoft] and BTC," he said. "Same again so far today in BTC spot and tech futures." Thursday's price action across the Mag7 index + bitcoin and ether Source: Standard Chartered The above chart shows that while big tech stocks like Apple and Meta dropped nearly 9% on Thursday, bitcoin and Microsoft held up better than the rest. "Bitcoin is proving itself to be the best of tech (upside when stocks go up) and a hedge in multiple scenarios," Kendrick said. "A break back above the critical $85,000 level looks likely today, post payrolls. That opens up a move back to the $88,500 pre-tariff level from Wednesday (likely this weekend)." Kendrick's note comes amid growing investor anxiety over renewed tariff risks and fears of a U.S. recession. Amid the chaos, Kendrick's closing recommendation is simple: "HODL."
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Analysts argue post-tariffs bitcoin market presents buying opportunity President Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2 hammered global equities and crypto markets alike — but the event may have dispelled looming uncertainty tied to bitcoin and digital assets to some degree — analysts told The Block on Thursday. S&P 500 futures slid over 2%, erasing over $2 trillion in market capitalization shortly after Trump unveiled some of the steepest tariffs in U.S. history, according to The Kobeissi Letter. Bitcoin rallied to about $88,000 before the news, fueled by rumors of a delay. BTC swiftly retraced these gains after the tariff news and dropped to $82,000. The top cryptocurrency costs around $83,00 per coin as the total digital asset market cap dipped over 4% in the last 24 hours, per The Block’s price page. Previous reporting noted that major altcoins like Ethereum and Solana fell by over 6% on Wednesday. These tokens remain at multi-month lows. While Trump’s large-scale tariffs rattled just nearly every financial market, much-anticipated clarity on U.S. commerce policy “creates buying opportunity as uncertainty fades,” wrote Valentin Fournier, Lead Analyst at BRN, in a Thursday email. “Despite near-term volatility, uncertainty is decreasing, and institutional buying pressure is returning. With key catalysts aligning, we expect Bitcoin to rebuild momentum and make another attempt at $90,000 in the near future," Fournier wrote. Fournier does not stand alone in this outlook. David Hernandez, Crypto Investment Specialist at 21Shares, told The Block that bitcoin’s resilience to tariffs relative to equities could reignite institutional demand and renew buying activity. “Although the tariff rates were slightly higher than expectations, the announcement provided much-needed clarity on the scope and scale of the policy. Markets thrive on certainty, and with speculation now largely removed, institutional investors may see an opportunity over the coming days to take advantage of compressed valuations.” U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded funds already notched an upbeat in netflows. The group, led by BlackRock, saw $218 million in inflows on Wednesday. The Block's data showed net outflows of $157 million the day before. “However, Ethereum continues to see outflows, reflecting investor skepticism. ETH remains 55% below its cycle high, with no clear signs of reversal,” Fournier said, pointing to lackluster demand for crypto’s second-largest asset by market cap. Embrace volatility As observers weighed how institutional adoption would impact crypto volatility and price changes, Thomas Perfumo, Global Economist at Kraken, challenged the idea that Wall Street’s entrance has large dulled digital asset price swings. Perfumo argued that the “crypto market’s pattern of boom-and-bust cycles is dead” narrative has “overlooked the asset class’ nascency in terms of adoption.” “Yes, Bitcoin's long-term trend of price volatility is in decline, but I believe the market cycle is here to stay for a while longer,” Perfumo said in a note shared with The Block. “People often prejudice high volatility as a negative signal. But volatility is just a number — it is neither "good" or "bad." In the case of crypto, price volatility is the manifestation of mainstream adoption of a digitally scarce asset class… An enormous amount of untapped demand chasing assets like Bitcoin with fixed supply will drive volatility until adoption matures and decelerates. That demand will not matriculate in a straight, orderly fashion. It will ebb and flow, showcasing what happens when enormous demand meets unmovable supply. I believe this pattern will persist until we've reached a critical mass in adoption, penetrating more deeply into the early majority of the technology adoption lifecycle,” Perfumo added.
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Crypto traders in 'wait-and-see' mode ahead of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement Bitcoin price held above $83,000 late night Monday as investors brace for U.S. President Donald Trump's next tariff announcement, expected to be made later this week. The world's largest cryptocurrency is currently trading at $83,172, up 1.8% in the past 24 hours leading up to 11:27 p.m. ET on Monday, according to The Block's bitcoin price page. Ether gained 1.74% to trade at $1,837. Other major cryptocurrencies gained in price during the past day, though not significantly. XRP edged up 0.41% to $2.11 and Solana gained 0.2% to $126.4. BNB, Dogecoin and Cardano also rose. "Right now, the market is in a wait-and-see mode, as the details of the tariffs have yet to be disclosed," said Presto Research Analyst Min Jung. Trump is expected to make the announcement of several "massive tariffs" on April 2, also referred to as "Liberation Day," according to CNN. Trump's imminent unveiling of the reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners may cause a chain reaction that could potentially trigger a global trade war, The Guardian recently reported. "There's a mix of sentiment — some investors believe the impact may be less severe than initially feared, viewing the recent dip as a potential 'buy the dip' opportunity," Jung said. "However, many traders are still opting to remain on the sidelines until there's greater clarity. The market's next move will largely hinge on the tone and substance of the actual announcement." BTC's worst Q1 since 2018 The crypto bull-run that started around Trump's election last November struck an impasse after the U.S. President announced sweeping tariffs to be imposed on foreign goods. Mirroring the equities market's downturn, crypto experienced a significant correction in the first quarter of 2025. This went largely against investor's expectations that the Trump administration's pro-crypto policy efforts would extend the bull cycle throughout the first quarter. "What we saw post November was a classic 'buy the rumor, sell the news' narrative," said Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent. "What has been announced in the U.S. post Jan. 20 sets a longer term stage for institutional adoption and a friendly regulatory environment. These changes are material over time and not in themselves influencing price and demand in the short term." Bitcoin, after peaking above $108,000 in January, plummeted to sub-$80,000 levels last month, coinciding with the implementation of substantial tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. Moreover, the latest Consumer Price Index data came in hotter than expected, raising concerns surrounding the Federal Reserve withholding interest rate cuts for an extended period of time. According to Coinglass data, bitcoin price fell by 11.82% during the first quarter of 2025, making it the worst first-quarter performance since the first quarter of 2018. "Everyone expected Trump's pro-crypto stance to spark immediate results, but the reality is, policy rollout takes time," said Enmanuel Cardozo, market analyst at Brickken. "The global economic uncertainty fueled a risk-off vibe all around, plus the market had already priced in Trump's win by late 2024." However, Cardozo said a recovery in the second quarter is "definitely on the table," with the Federal Reserve largely expected to cut rates within the second quarter, while Trump's team delivers more concrete results in pro-crypto policies. "With institutional flows picking up, the momentum could build," Cardoza said. "Bitcoin could potentially test $100,000 again if we break past the $88,668 resistance, but a dip isn't off the table if macro factors stall."
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Metaplanet issues $13.3 million in new bonds to buy more bitcoin as Nikkei dips 4% Metaplanet issued ¥2 billion ($13.3 million) worth of zero-interest bonds to fund its bitcoin acquisition plan following a meeting of its board of directors, according to a disclosure filing. The debt security will be allocated via Metaplanet’s EVO FUND, allowing investors to redeem bonds at full face value by Sept. 30, 2025. Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, said the firm was “buying the dip!” in a post on X. Bitcoin was down roughly 2%, trading under $81,800 per The Block’s price page. Metaplanet is Asia’s largest BTC holder, having spent an estimated $260 million on bitcoin since last year. Its most recent purchase, as of writing, increased the firm’s total reserve to some 3,200 BTC — ranking Metaplanet 10th in a cast of the world’s largest corporate BTC holders led by Michael Saylor's firm, Strategy, per BitcoinTreasuries data. The Tokyo-listed giant also added Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, to its advisory board. “It’s a positive story for BTC where Metaplanet sees the long-term value in owning bitcoin” said Paul Howard, Senior Director at crypto market maker Wincent, about the news. While Howard perceived Metaplanet’s expanded BTC buying power as bullish, the company’s stock dropped over 9% after the announcement, according to Google Finance data. Metaplanet stock fell amid a broader decline in Japan’s Nikkei 225, which dipped 4% in anticipation of fresh tariffs from President Trump on April 2. Howard expects other stock markets to follow suit. “Almost all global markets are seeing the impact of the tariffs from the U.S., so the Nikkei, one of the first large markets to open, will always reflect this position before other markets open. The expectation is other markets will follow suit on opening,” Wincent’s Senior Director told The Block. Aran Hawker, CoinPanel CEO, shared a similar outlook, adding that macroeconomic factors looked likely to kneecap bitcoin and risk-assets in the short term. “As for the Nikkei dip — whether it's being driven by the post-holiday catch-up (Liberation Day) or concerns about a new wave of Trump-era tariffs — it's clear that global macro signals are jittery right now. That sort of backdrop tends to pull capital toward lower-risk assets, at least in the short term,” Hawker opined.
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PumpSwap DEX crosses $10 billion in cumulative volume 10 days after launch PumpSwap, the new decentralized exchange (DEX) from the creators of memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, has processed $10 billion in cumulative volume in its first ten days since officially launching, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard tracking the exchange. Pump.fun launched the DEX on March 20 to allow successful memecoins to migrate directly to PumpSwap, bypassing Raydium, among the leading Solana-based exchanges and automated market makers (AMMs). Raydium, in January, processed a quarter of total DEX volume, according to The Block's data, more than any other exchange. PumpSwap's already established itself as a dominant player among Solana DEXs. Yet on Saturday, PumpSwap processed 67.4% of the volume processed by several major leading Solana DEXs, with Raydium claiming the second-largest market share at 18.2%. No other exchange claimed more than 5% of the market, according to the dashboard. PumpSwap has generated over $20 million in protocol fees and its liquidity providers have received over $5 million in fees, according to the dashboard. Nearly 700,000 wallets have already accessed the protocol. Despite the success of PumpSwap, Pump.fun has lately seen volume across its exchange fall as demand for memecoin trading cools. Pump.fun's team has previously teased plans for a native token launch. Meanwhile, Raydium is working on a memecoin launchpad of its own called LaunchLab, likely intended to compete with Pump.fun, The Block previously reported.
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Crypto markets slump as latest US inflation data weighs on sentiment Cryptocurrency markets extended this week's capital bleed as the global digital asset capitalization fell 5% to $2.84 trillion on Friday, following more macroeconomic data showing slightly higher inflation in the U.S. Numbers for the Core Personal Consumer Price Index — the Federal Reserve’s go-to inflation indicator — came in hotter than expected. U.S. Core PCE for February rose to 0.4% month-over-month, beating the 0.3% forecast from analysts. Yearly Core PCE also surpassed expectations, rising to 2.8% against an estimated 2.7% increase. Matt Mena, Crypto Research Strategist at 21Shares, told The Block that Friday’s PCE outcome was conservative despite the upbeat inflation data. "While this isn’t exactly bullish for risk assets, it’s also not overtly bearish — it lands slightly on the cautious side of neutral," Mena said. "Even so, markets are holding up well. S&P 500 futures are steady and continue to trade comfortably above the key psychological support level of 5700." Conversely, crypto leaders like ether, SOL and XRP fell further after an already difficult trading day. ETH dropped to $1,880, SOL dipped below $130, and XRP revisited $2.19, according to The Block’s price page. The GMCI 30 Index tracking crypto’s top 30 assets retraced 5.5%. Bitcoin, on the other hand, retraced modestly compared to altcoins. The price of bitcoin changed hands around $84,200 at time of writing, down 3.6%. "Bitcoin continues to demonstrate its resilience," Mena said. "This is precisely the type of macro environment it was built for: a non-sovereign, inflation-resistant asset that can weather all market cycles and protect portfolios through times of uncertainty." Q2 uncertain but bullish signs persist Crypto assets retained macro sensitivity heading into the year’s second quarter. Data shows that past cycles have delivered relief for Bitcoin in the second quarter, but analysts said changing trade and policy landscapes could mean this time is different. "Historically, Bitcoin has exhibited a higher degree of correlation with traditional risk assets during Q1 (where we peak in correlation) while in Q2, it can react more to geopolitical events and policy shifts," Bitfinex analysts wrote in a report. "While Q2 has often been a bullish period for Bitcoin, the present macroeconomic environment—characterized by trade tensions and inflationary concerns—suggests that heightened sensitivity may persist." Mena said incoming regulatory clarity represented by new leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission and momentum with stablecoin rules may alter investor sentiment in the coming months. The White House publicly backing a U.S. Bitcoin reserve also paints a bullish picture. "Crypto is no longer a fringe issue — it’s a central part of the policy conversation," Mena said. "As the regulatory picture continues to improve and geopolitical risks begin to cool, the stage may be set for digital assets to reenter a period of sustained growth and broader adoption." Despite recent volatility and market turbulence, Mena expects Bitcoin to nearly double by the end of 2025. "Looking ahead, several key catalysts could reignite momentum across the digital asset space — potentially pushing Bitcoin out of its current consolidation zone and through major resistance levels at $90K, $95K, and $100K," Mena said. "A breakout above those levels could open the door for a run past its previous all-time high of $108.5K, with a potential move toward $150K by year-end."
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Sei Foundation explores takeover of bankrupt 23andMe in 'boldest DeSci bet yet' One day after 23andMe received clearance from a judge to put itself up for sale, the Sei Foundation said it is in "the process of placing its boldest DeSci bet yet" by exploring the acquisition of the genetic testing company. "We believe user data sovereignty is a matter of national security," the Sei Foundation, which supports the Layer 1 blockchain Sei, wrote Thursday in post on X. "When an American biotech pioneer faces bankruptcy, personal genomic data of millions becomes vulnerable to parties that may not share the same values of transparency and open access." The Sei Foundation says this is to "defend the genetic privacy of 15 million Americans and ensure their data is protected for generations to come." 23andMe announced on March 23 that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "Under bankruptcy rules, any sale would need to bring in more than the company owes creditors — at least $214 million — before anything could be paid to shareholders," Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, the company won permission from a judge to try to sell its assets, the most valuable of which are information about customers’ medical and ancestry-related data. 23andMe launched in 2006, and since going public in 2021, the company has never turned a profit. DecSci is the use of web3 infrastructure in the scientific process. It aims to make scientific work more transparent, accessible and collaborative by placing data onchain or funding research pursuits with cryptocurrency. In January, the Sei Foundation launched Sapien Capital, a $65 million venture fund to back DeSci startups building on the Sei blockchain. What exactly would Sei do with 23andMe? The firm laid out three use cases for its vision: Deploy 23andMe on Sei blockchain, return data ownership to users through encrypted transfers, and allow users to choose how their data is monetized and share in the revenue. "This isn't just about saving a company, it's about building a future where your most personal data remains yours to control," the Sei Foundation said in its post on X. "We'll be sharing updates in the near future." 23andMe's stock jumped 45% to close at $0.77 a share on Thursday with a $21 million market cap. The price of the SEI token was up about 1.1% in the 24 hours before publication time to $0.21, according to The Block's price data. The token has a fully diluted value of $2.1 billion.
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USDC stablecoin supply surpasses all-time high, topping $60 billion market cap The supply of USD Coin stablecoin has crossed the $60 billion market cap threshold — a milestone that underscores its increasing adoption. On Wednesday, stablecoin’s supply hit an all-time high of 60.2 billion — a 100% year-over-year increase from $30 billion in March 2024. The total stablecoin market cap reached all-time highs, surpassing $230 billion. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, issued by Circle and backed by a consortium that includes Coinbase. It remains the second-largest stablecoin, trailing Tether’s USDT, with a market cap exceeding $144 billion. The distribution of USDC across multiple blockchains shows Ethereum as the dominant network, holding the majority with $36 billion. Solana follows with a substantial $10 billion. Other blockchains include Base with $3.7 billion, Hyperliquid with $2.2 billion, Arbitrum with $1.8 billion, and Berachain with $1 billion. Throughout the year's first quarter, Circle has minted substantial amounts of USDC on the Solana blockchain, notably in several tranches of 250 million. By March 20, USDC issuance on Solana had surpassed $10 billion. Circle has also been making strides in expanding the stablecoin's reach and improving its infrastructure. This month, it announced the official launch of USDC in Japan through a partnership with SBI VC Trade. The firm also revealed plans to upgrade bridged USDC on the Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, Linea, to natively issued USDC, marking the industry's first bridged-to-native transition. Furthermore, it rolled out an upgraded version of its cross-chain transfer protocol on Avalanche, Base and Ethereum, with plans to extend support to Linea, Arbitrum and Solana soon. This upgrade reduces USDC transfer times between blockchains from minutes to seconds.
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Binance suspends employee for allegedly profiting off of insider information Crypto exchange Binance has suspended an employee for allegedly using insider information on a crypto project to gain unfair profits. According to its X post on Tuesday, a staff member of the Binance Wallet team purchased a significant amount of a token project that he knew would soon hold a Token Generation Event, and sold part of his holdings to gain significant profits. The employee exploited privileged information he had gained from his previous business development role at BNB Chain, said Binance, clarifying that the Wallet team itself would not have access to private information relating to the project. "This behavior constitutes front-running based on non-public information obtained from his previous role and is a clear breach of company policy," Binance said. "As a result of this behavior, the staff member was suspended immediately and pending further disciplinary action." While Binance did not reveal the name of the crypto project, multiple users on X pointed out that the project in question is Binance Smart Chain memecoin UUU (U DEX Platform) token. X user "pycharts" posted a screenshot that appears to show a wallet address selling over 6 million UUU tokens at around 7 a.m. on March 23, causing the token price to crash significantly. The X user's screenshots linked the wallet address to Freddie Ng, an employee of Binance Wallet's BD and Growth team. In response to pychart's X post, Binance's official Chinese language account wrote that it has noticed the "feedback" and has launched an internal investigation, the result of which would be announced to the public in a timely manner. Meanwhile, the global exchange said in today's statement that it will "proactively cooperate" with the relevant authorities in the staff member's jurisdiction and seek legal action with applicable laws. Binance also announced that it will distribute a reward of $100,000 to four whistleblowers who reported the alleged violation to its official whistleblowing channel.
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Daily ETH burn hits all-time low as Ethereum's on-chain activity dips The amount of ETH burned as a result of transaction fees hit an all-time low on Saturday, signaling a significantly reduced demand for Ethereum's blockspace. Ethereum's EIP-1559 change, which simplified the transaction fee process, also requires that the network burn all ETH used to pay the base transaction fee. The mechanism was designed to reduce inflationary pressure and potentially make Ethereum a deflationary asset during periods of high network activity. Just 53.07 ETH, worth about $106,000 at current prices, was burned on Saturday, according to The Block's data, an all-time low value. The supply of ETH is expected to grow 0.76% per year taking the burn rate from the last 7 days into account, according to Ultrasound.money data. The low burn rate coincides with declines in other measures of activity on Ethereum, such as active addresses. The seven-day moving average of active addresses recently fell to the lowest value since Oct. 2024, according to The Block's data. New address creations, transaction counts, and daily volumes have also declined over recent weeks. Standard Chartered recently sharply lowered its 2025 price target for Ethereum from $10,000 to $4,000, as the network's Layer 2s grow in number and scale. "Layer 2s, and Base in particular, now extract super-profits from the Ethereum ecosystem," Standard Chartered's global head of digital assets research,
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Treasury removes Tornado Cash from OFAC sanctions list, bitcoin bull Metaplanet appoints Eric Trump to advisory board and more The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons. It's Friday! According to a Dune Analytics dashboard, Polymarket apparently predicts events with up to 94% accuracy. However, with some of its users evidently being flat-earthers, I wouldn't place too much emphasis around the decentralized platform's prophecies. In today's newsletter, OFAC removes Tornado Cash from its sanctions list, Metaplanet appoints Eric Trump to its advisory board, USAID could follow Elon Musk's DOGE in considering blockchain technology and more. Meanwhile, the total stablecoin market cap surpasses $230 billion amid institutional interest and President Trump's policies. Let's get started. Treasury removes Tornado Cash from OFAC sanctions list The U.S. Treasury Department has lifted sanctions on crypto mixer Tornado Cash after an appeals court ruled that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in November 2024. A U.S. District Court in Texas then ordered the reversal of sanctions on Tornado Cash in January following that appeals court ruling. Tornado Cash obscures the origins of cryptocurrency transactions by pooling and redistributing funds and was originally sanctioned in August 2022. OFAC had accused the platform of being used by cybercriminals, including notorious North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group, to launder illicitly obtained cryptocurrency. However, while the Treasury remains concerned about significant state-sponsored hacking, Tornado Cash and its associated wallet addresses have now been removed from the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, according to a Friday release. "Digital assets present enormous opportunities for innovation and value creation for the American people," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. "Securing the digital asset industry from abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors is essential to establishing U.S. leadership and ensuring that the American people can benefit from financial innovation and inclusion." Metaplanet appoints Eric Trump to advisory board Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has appointed the U.S. President's second son, Eric Trump, to its Strategic Board of Advisors. Trump, also an ambassador for DeFi project World Liberty Financial, is charged with assisting the company in advancing its mission to expand its bitcoin treasury, according to Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich. "Eric Trump brings a wealth of experience in real estate, finance, brand development and strategic business growth and has become a leading voice and advocate of digital asset adoption worldwide," the firm said. The Tokyo-listed company announced its bitcoin accumulation strategy last year and aims to acquire 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025. Following its most recent purchase of 150 BTC on Tuesday, Metaplanet now holds 3,200 BTC — making it the 10th largest corporate bitcoin holder globally. USAID could follow Elon Musk-led DOGE unit's idea to adopt blockchain technology Trump administration officials have crafted a proposal to rebrand USAID and leverage blockchain technology as part of a more transparent procurement process, according to a document purportedly circulating the State Department obtained by Politico. A section of the proposal on creating "modernized, performance-based procurement" processes suggests "all distributions would be secured and traced via blockchain technology to radically increase security, transparency and traceability" in U.S. aid programs. However, it is not clear how exactly this would work and what type of blockchain technology would be used — whether that is a public, private or hybrid model. It's also unclear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio or other senior Trump officials have approved the proposal, which does not constitute any concrete plans and acknowledges that some changes may require congressional approval. The news follows the Elon Musk-led DOGE unit, which recently recommended a slew of cuts to USAID, in exploring options for putting federal government systems onchain. Strategy upsizes STRF deal to $722.5 million to buy more bitcoin Strategy has announced the pricing of its STRF perpetual preferred stock offering on Friday, upsizing the deal from $500 million to $722.5 million to buy yet more bitcoin. Strategy will offer 8.5 million STRF shares at $85 per share, with the sale set to close on March 25. Net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other expenses are estimated at $711.2 million. The STRF sale follows its previously announced plan to raise up to $21 billion via its perpetual strike preferred stock, STRK, and $42 billion in equity and fixed-income securities offerings. Strategy currently holds 499,226 BTC, valued at over $41 billion, with an average purchase price of $66,360 per bitcoin. Strategy's $79 billion market cap trades at a significant premium to its bitcoin net asset value, with some investors airing reservations about the firm's premium to NAV valuation and its increasingly numerous bitcoin acquisition programs in general. LG to shut down NFT platform almost nobody knew it had After three years, global electronics giant LG is set to shut down its NFT platform, LG Art Lab, by June to "explore new opportunities" amid a wave of similar closures in the struggling crypto niche Once representing the new frontier of digital assets, the NFT market has been in substantial decline during that time, with weekly trade volumes recently dropping below $100 million from a peak of $3.2 billion in 2021. Launched in September 2022, LG Art Lab allowed users to trade NFTs and display digital art on its smart TVs, though few seem to know it even existed, including me as an LG TV owner. The closure follows Kraken's shuttering of its NFT marketplace in February and Nike's wearable NFT startup RTFKT last December. Looking ahead to next week UK CPI inflation data are out on Wednesday. U.S. jobless claims and GDP figures are released on Thursday. UK GDP and U.S. PCE numbers follow on Friday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak on Monday, followed by U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr. 1inch, EigenLayer, Ethena and the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance are all set for token unlocks. Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.
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Regulator halts Ethena’s USDe stablecoin offering in Germany over concerns The German financial supervisory agency Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, or BaFin, stopped the Frankfurt-based Ethena Labs subsidiary Ethena GmbH from publicly offering its USD-pegged stablecoin USDe. The halt was due to BaFin identifying "serious deficiencies in Ethena GmbH 's USDe token authorization," instructing Ethena GmbH to freeze its USDe asset reserve, according to a German release translated into English. The "token authorization process" refers to how cryptocurrency issuers can offer assets under the European Union's digital asset legal framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), also called "MiCAR." As the MiCA legal text states: "Issuers of asset-referenced tokens other than credit institutions that issued asset-referenced tokens in accordance with applicable law before 30 June 2024, may continue to do so until they are granted or refused an authorisation pursuant to Article 21, provided that they apply for authorization before 30 July 2024." Ethena's terms of service, last revised on January 2025, said that Ethena GmbH submitted an application to create a public USDe offering with BaFin as of Jul. 29, 2024. Since this was before MiCA's July 30, 2024 deadline, MiCA's grandfathering provision let Ethena GmbH issue USDe "during the authorization process." However, BaFin claims that Ethena GmbH has been offering USDe in Germany since June 28, 2024, and has been offering a "large portion" of its 5.4 billion USDe token supply outside of Germany before that same date. "Ethena GmbH took advantage of a transitional arrangement under the European MiCAR regulation to enter the German market," BaFin said in its statement. BaFin also said it had "well-founded suspicion" that the Ethena Labs subsidiary publicly offered the Ethena Staked sUSDe token as a security "without the required securities prospectus" in Germany, the agency's release continues. Ethena Labs responds "Since its inception, Ethena has been exploring various options and jurisdictions when it comes to regulatory frameworks globally that would be conducive to our business, and as a result we have multiple entities within our structure facilitating minting and redemption. A MiCAR authorization via Ethena GmbH was one of various options we have been pursuing," Ethena Labs wrote on the social media platform X Friday. "We were informed today that Ethena GmbH’s application under the MiCAR regulatory framework will not be approved," the firm continued. "While we are disappointed by this decision, we will continue to evaluate alternative frameworks." Ethena Labs stated that no assets have been frozen, and BaFin's move will not impact USDe listings, token minting, or redemptions facilitated by Ethena BVI Limited, the firm's subsidiary that also issues USDe. The Block's Data Dashboard shows that USDe is the third largest USD-pegged stablecoin by market supply, trailing Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT.
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Cosmos gets native EVM framework as it open-sources Evmos Cosmos’ Interchain Foundation (ICF) has funded the open-sourcing of Evmos, the native EVM framework for its multichain ecosystem containing over 200 appchains. This framework, previously developed under the Evmos project, will now transition to being maintained as “Cosmos EVM” within the official Interchain software stack, including the Cosmos SDK, the foundation said. This means the Cosmos ecosystem now has a standardized Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) version. This development allows Cosmos blockchains to integrate Cosmos EVM for full EVM compatibility, including support for JSON-RPC and Ethereum wallet compatibility via a lightweight EVM configuration for native ERC-20 tokens. The integration strengthens cross-chain interoperability between the broader EVM ecosystem and Cosmos, particularly through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. As part of this shift, Evmos co-founder Federico Kunze Küllmer will step away from his role as a core contributor to Evmos while continuing to advise the ICF on Cosmos EVM’s interoperability and modular architecture, Evmos noted. Kunze Küllmer's firm Altiplanic, the core contributor to the Evmos codebase, will no longer be contributing to the project. Evmos was first conceptualized in 2016 as Ethermint and went live on mainnet as a Cosmos-based chain in 2022 to introduce EVM in the Cosmos ecosystem. The same year, Evmos developers raised $27 million in a token sale round led by Polychain Capital. Since the start of this decade, EVM has become the most widely adopted standard for smart contracts and is now found across a number of blockchains aiming to replicate Ethereum’s traction.
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GLIF protocol launches token, distributes 94 million GLF in airdrop as it expands beyond Filecoin GLIF, Filecoin's largest DeFi protocol, has officially launched its native token, GLF, and is distributing 94 million tokens to users in an airdrop. The distribution accounts for 9.4% of the total GLF supply, rewarding users who accumulated GLIF points through protocol activity. GLIF had initially allocated 100 million tokens for the airdrop but adjusted the figure based on participation. The remaining tokens will be returned to the community rewards pool and distributed at a later date. For now, GLF is primarily a governance token, but GLIF is working on expanding its utility. "We are building a loyalty program, inspired by existing programs like airline miles," GLIF founder and CEO Jonathan Schwartz told The Block. The token, he added, will eventually offer additional benefits. While details remain undisclosed, Schwartz said GLIF is developing at least one "really novel mechanism to introduce to the crypto/DeFi world" on the benefits side. GLIF expands beyond Filecoin The token launch comes as GLIF moves to expand beyond Filecoin into other decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs). GLIF enables FIL holders to earn rewards through liquid leasing, a mechanism that lets them lend tokens to Filecoin storage providers, who use the FIL as collateral to offer storage services. Lenders, in turn, receive rewards. Depositors in GLIF receive iFIL, a liquid leasing token that can be traded or used in DeFi protocols while still generating yield. The model has helped establish GLIF as Filecoin's dominant DeFi protocol with over $102 million total value locked, and the team is now looking to apply a similar system to other DePINs. However, GLIF has not disclosed which networks it will support first. "We are in discussion with the foundations of a number of different protocols/networks at the moment," Schwartz said. The team's criteria for expansion, he explained, are based on demand from its existing users, the technical feasibility of integrating new networks and the economic risks involved. Many of Filecoin's storage providers are also some of the largest miners across DePIN networks, Schwartz said, pointing to a trend in which operators optimize hardware to simultaneously contribute storage, compute power and other resources across multiple blockchains — a practice known as "double" or "triple" mining. By integrating with the networks these miners are already supporting, GLIF expects to scale quickly, Schwartz said, though he declined to specify which networks are under consideration. GLIF is also looking at DePIN networks outside of storage, including those in the energy sector. "We are also interested in supporting a few networks that look much much different from Filecoin," Schwartz said. "Even if it means slightly tweaking our model or introducing new types of protocols to support them."
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Standard Chartered cuts 2025 ether price target by 60% to $4,000 Standard Chartered has sharply lowered its 2025 price target for ether from $10,000 to $4,000, citing several factors, including Ethereum Layer 2 Base's growing dominance. "Layer 2s, and Base in particular, now extract super-profits from the Ethereum ecosystem," Standard Chartered's global head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, said in a statement to The Block on Monday while sharing his new report titled Ethereum — Midlife Crisis. "We estimate that Base (the dominant Layer 2) has removed $50 billion of market cap from Ethereum alone," Kendrick said. Ethereum has essentially "commoditized itself" within its self-created Layer 2 framework, with a growing share of transaction fees now bypassing the Layer 1 chain, according to Kendrick. "The solution would be to tax Layer 2 super-profits in the same way governments sometimes charge super taxes for foreign-owned mining companies that extract excess profits. Unless that happens, ETH-BTC will keep going down," Kendrick said. However, he does not see taxation as a likely shift, leaving ether's long-term trajectory uncertain. Ether is currently trading at around $1,900, over 60% down from its all-time high of approximately $4,878 in November 2021, according to The Block's ether price page. Why ether has underperformed Changes made to Ethereum over the past few years, "while perhaps necessary, have been value destructive," according to Kendrick. These include The Merge, which removed Ethereum's unique proof-of-work status among smart contract peers; the Layer 2 concept that gave away value for free; and Dencun, which further empowered Layer 2s and created "super-profits" for them, Kendrick said. Base, in particular, which crypto exchange giant Coinbase incubated, is passing all of the profit (fee revenue minus data recording fees) it extracts to Coinbase, "its corporate owner," Kendrick said. "Layer 2s result in (1) lower GDP on the Ethereum mainnet and (2) lower fees, at least in the near term," Kendrick said. "However, the longer-term goal is to improve scalability and make fees more competitive, which should lead to more sustainable market share for Ethereum (and potentially increase future GDP and fees)." Blockchain GDP is a measure that treats a blockchain like a nation-state, where the blockchain’s activity mirrors economic output, and its native token represents the local currency. What could turn ETH around? While Ethereum still dominates on several metrics — with shares of more than 50% of total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) assets, 57% of stablecoins, and 80% of tokenized assets — its dominance has been waning for some time. For ETH to regain momentum, several factors could play a role. The continued expansion of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), where Ethereum holds an 80% market share, could boost demand for the network, according to Kendrick. Additionally, upcoming technical upgrades, such as Pectra in 2025, may improve scalability and fee dynamics. Another potential solution would be for the Ethereum Foundation to implement economic reforms, such as taxing Layer 2 networks that benefit from Ethereum's infrastructure. However, Kendrick sees this as an unlikely shift. Looking ahead Despite lowering its near-term outlook, Kendrick still expects ether to appreciate over time, forecasting a price of $7,500 by 2028-2029. However, without a fundamental change in Ethereum's fee structure or market positioning, he sees ether continuing to lag behind bitcoin, with the ETH/BTC ratio projected to decline to 0.015 by 2027, which would be the lowest level since early 2017.
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Only 10% of Americans support increasing federal funding for crypto; majority oppose reserve: Poll A new survey of 1,169 likely U.S. voters from Data For Progress, a polling firm that generally examines support for left-leaning causes, found a majority of voters oppose a crypto strategic reserve that would use government spending to acquire and hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. 51% of the survey's respondents said they oppose the proposed reserve, while 34% supported it. 15% said they were unsure, according to the poll. Notably, self-identified Republicans narrowly supported the proposal, 41-40, while Democrats opposed it 59-29, showing a stark ideological divide. Though the poll's question states the crypto strategic reserve would "use government spending," President Trump's executive order authorizes the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to explore "budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies impose no incremental costs on American taxpayers." Though Trump administration officials have used the words "reserve" and "stockpile" somewhat interchangeably, the terms signify key differences. Voters were also asked their opinion on whether the federal government should increase, decrease, or maintain funding levels for nine potential priorities for the federal government. 45% of the poll's respondents said the government should decrease federal funding for cryptocurrency and blockchain development, ranking it lowest, below funding for AI research and space exploration. Voters were also most likely to say they didn't know whether or not to increase or decrease funding for cryptocurrency development compared to the other policy priorities. Despite supporting the strategic crypto reserve by a slim majority, 36% of Republican respondents said the government should decrease federal funding for cryptocurrency and blockchain development, with only 12% supporting an increase. 31% of Republicans said funding should be kept at the same level, with 20% responding that they don't know. Respondents under the age of 45 were the most likely to say the government should increase federal funding for cryptocurrency development, with 18% expressing support, compared to just 6% support among respondents over the age of 45. The highest-ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Gerald Connolly, recently pressed the U.S. Treasury department to cease its plans for a strategic crypto reserve, The Block previously reported.
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Ethereum developers to launch new 'Hoodi' testnet ahead of much-anticipated Pectra upgrade Ethereum Foundation developers will launch a new testnet called Hoodi, according to an All Devs Call on Thursday. The new "long-lived" testnet is expected to launch next week, on March 17. The move came about a week after Ethereum researchers and developers convened to discuss the fallout from the problematic Holesky and Sepoli hard forks, which both encountered issues. Last week, the researchers discussed whether to "shadow fork" the Holesky testnet to continue probing the much-anticipated Pectra upgrade. Holesky, one of Ethereum's two main testnet networks, lost finality due to a configuration bug approximately two weeks ago during a Pectra upgrade activation. Although the network regained finality on Monday, it is not entirely usable for all research purposes. The Pectra upgrade aims to improve Ethereum's useability and scalability. It includes plans to drive down the cost of data availability by increasing the number of "blob" transactions for Layer 2s, vastly increasing staking limits and introducing account abstraction, which greatly expands the functionality of smart contracts and wallets. Pectra could be activated on the Ethereum mainnet as early as April 25, approximately 30 days after the upgrade is planned to be deployed on the new Hoodi testnet. The Ethereum Foundation plans to invest significant resources into this network and run a "similar validator count" as the Ethereum mainnet. According to the call on Thursday, the developers agreed to launch a new testnet rather than pursue other proposals. Hoodi is set to specifically give researchers a dedicated network to test validator exits, which would not be possible on Holesky due to a backed-up exit queue. Holesky and Sepolia will operate to test other research concerns. "This option was chosen to avoid client teams writing custom code to clear the Holesky exit queue, which could lead to further bugs and delay work on Pectra fixes and Fusaka implementations," according to the call meeting notes.
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Top Democrat pressures Treasury to halt Trump's plan for a strategic bitcoin reserve Top Democrat of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Rep. Gerald Connolly pressed the U.S. Treasury Department to cease its plans to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve following President Donald Trump's pursuit of a national bitcoin reserve and personal crypto holdings. In a letter sent to Treasury on Thursday, the Virginia Democrat cited "glaring conflicts of interest" in Trump's push for a reserve. Connolly said Trump did not consult Congress and did not "seek congressional authorization" to create the reserve. “The creation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve is poised to enrich the President and his closest allies at the expense of American taxpayers," Connolly said. "I urge you to cease all plans to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve, and request that you provide a briefing to the staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.” The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. The words "reserve" and "stockpile" have been used interchangeably over the past few months, but sources have noted there are key differences between the two as to whether the U.S. government will proactively acquire cryptocurrencies. In Trump's executive order, the reserve would be capitalized by bitcoins held by the Department of the Treasury that were forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset seizures. The stockpile includes digital assets other than bitcoin forfeited in criminal or civil proceedings. The order stipulates that the government will not purchase additional assets for the stockpile and may convert stockpiled altcoins into long-term bitcoin holdings. The way Trump went about announcing his plans confused many. Ahead of issuing the executive order, Trump posted on Truth Social that he planned to create a crypto strategic reserve to include SOL, XRP and ADA. He later clarified that the reserve would also include bitcoin. Connolly also highlighted alleged conflicts of interest regarding Trump's dabbling in certain crypto projects. World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by Trump, was launched last year, and holds about $76 million worth of cryptocurrencies today down from a high near $380 million before a series of sales. It is also engaging in an ongoing sale of its WLFI tokens. Connolly also pointed to Trump's eponymous memecoin. The president and First Lady launched TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins days ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration. Connolly asked the Treasury to send a list of steps the Trump administration has made to address conflicts of interest and any safeguards in place. The lawmaker asked for a response by March 27.
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Senate Banking Committee votes to advance stablecoin bill, collecting support from both Democrats and Republicans The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance a monumental stablecoin bill, advancing it to the full Senate and gaining support from Democrats along the way. Introduced in February by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., the "GENIUS Act" (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins) aims to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, defining when issuers fall under state or federal oversight. It has bipartisan support from Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. The Senate Banking Committee voted Thursday 18-6 to advance that bill. Democrats Sens. Mark Warner and Andy Kim were among others to support the bill "The GENIUS Act is a bipartisan step forward in ensuring stablecoins are safe and reliable tools in the financial system," said Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., at the beginning of Thursday's markup. A handful of lawmakers in Washington have worked on a bill to regulate stablecoins for years, but those efforts, like other crypto-related bills to regulate the industry, have not come to fruition. Now, almost two months into Donald Trump's presidency, Congress is seemingly prioritizing crypto, including investigating claims of industry-wide debanking and repealing the controversial "DeFi Broker rule." Work is also underway in the House to regulate stablecoins. Though the GENIUS Act is not a companion to the House's version, lawmakers say it shows an effort among Republicans to work on key issues. The GENIUS Act has garnered support from some in the crypto industry, including the Blockchain Association which called the bill "a thoughtful step forward for commonsense, response guardrails for stablecoin innovation," in a post on X on Wednesday. On the other side of the aisle, some Democrats have expressed unease toward the GENIUS Act. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's staff circulated a memo outlining their opposition to the bill, which they say "fails" to protect consumers, competition and national security, according to Politico. The memo also includes arguments that the bill would allow firms, such as big tech companies, to issue their own currencies, Fortune reported. Warren offered several amendments on Thursday, including one involving firms being able to issue their own stablecoins. Big tech billionaires like Elon Musk could use their own currencies to compete with the U.S. dollar, Warren said. "My most pressing concern is Elon Musk's attempt to build an empire that rivals the power of most nation states," Warren later added. In the past, some Democrats have been critical of companies' previous plans to launch a stablecoin. Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, looked to launch stablecoin Libra, later renamed Diem, a few years ago, but quickly prompted concern among regulators and lawmakers who were hesitant about a stablecoin with ties to the social media company. The committee voted 13-11, therefore not agreeing to Warren's amendment. Tensions flare Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto raised concerns over Democrats showing up to the markup and holding a quorum for the committee but not Republicans. "We're taking the time to talk about our amendments, but there's no debate," the Nevada Democrat said. "And there's some very good amendments here by the way, and I'm hopeful that we have a good product coming out of here, but it is the Democrats now holding the quorum here instead of the Republicans." Cortez Masto called the bill a "great start" but said it was not ready for prime time. "There are many that want to provide a good product at the end of the day, but it looks like to me — the die is already cast, you get what you get," she said. Sen. Warren called the markup a "show trial" and criticized the lack of debate. However, Warren also showed willingness to work on the bill and said it had a "strong base." "This feels like show trial here that we get up and we read our little part about each of the amendments and the Republicans, clearly a majority of the Republicans have already decided their vote without even hearing anyone make an argument for why this might be an amendment that would be appropriate for this bill," Warren said. Sen. Bill Hagerty, one of the authors of the bill, countered and said the bill had gone through a "very robust bipartisan process." "We're going to continue to work to improve this," he said. "I've already acknowledged my willingness to do that here today to the extent that there are additional technical corrections, or in many cases, valid issues are being raised that I think are far more appropriate for a market structure piece of legislation." In the House, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., criticized the GENIUS Act on Tuesday during a hearing focused on stablecoins and said it needed to be amended "vigorously." "I read the GENIUS Act over in the Senate — I'm a little weary about anything called genius coming out of the United States Senate — but there were so many problems with that and I'm hopeful, hopefully my colleagues, Mr. Hill, and others will amend that vigorously because it had huge, huge problems," Lynch said
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Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve a 'watershed moment' despite recession fears, K33 analysts say The potential U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is still a "big deal" and not a "nothing burger," despite the perception of President Trump's recent executive order being "ruined" by returning recession fears, according to K33. Relentless selling and de-risking in crypto and equity markets has continued to hit prices this week, with bitcoin reaching new yearly lows of around $76,555 and ether $1,775 on Tuesday — its lowest point since November 2023. ETH continues to outperform to the downside, with the ETHBTC ratio reaching its lowest level since December 2020, K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde and Senior Analyst David Zimmerman noted in a Tuesday report. Meanwhile, the GMCI 30 index, representing a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, is down 26% year-to-date at 134.92. The analysts noted that Trump seems indifferent about recession risk, determined to lower U.S. 10-year yields to help the government manage its refinancing needs. Combined with the uncertainty of the President's back-and-forth tariff announcements, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have hit lows not seen since mid-September. However, bitcoin has remained positive since the presidential election with around 13% gains, outperforming the negative Nasdaq and S&P returns in the same period. Lunde and Zimmerman said this is justified as Trump has delivered on his crypto promises by first establishing a crypto working group and then announcing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve last week. "We fundamentally disagree with pundits attributing the recent selloff to an underwhelming U.S. reserve," the analysts wrote. "This reserve is a watershed moment for Bitcoin. This is a huge leap forward in legitimizing BTC as a global store of value and is a massive disconnect from its recent performance driven by other market forces. While global market uncertainties may need time to be resolved, we perceive current price levels and the period ahead as a solid opportunity." Bitcoin acquisition strategy expected by May President Trump signed an executive order on March 6 to create a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, established from the approximate 200,000 BTC ($17 billion) already owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil proceedings, minus those that still need to be returned to victims of crime. Therefore, the bitcoin reserve is expected to hold approximately 103,500 BTC at its launch, with 94,636 BTC seized from the Bitfinex hackers likely to be returned to the crypto exchange shortly, the analysts said. Additionally, Trump directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided they have no incremental costs to American taxpayers. The executive order also established a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile consisting of cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. However, the government will not acquire additional assets for the stockpile beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings. While information on budget-neutral acquisition measures for the bitcoin reserve has been vague, the K33 analysts expect some clarity by May 5, with Bessent set to deliver an evaluation of legal and investment considerations within 60 days of the executive order. Potential budget-neutral strategies include U.S. Treasury Exchange Stabilization Fund surpluses, selling special drawing rights issued by the IMF or a gold certificate revaluation, they noted. "The most influential global superpower has just flagged an end to seized bitcoin sales; neither current nor future seized assets will be sold," the analysts said. "Further, it’s exploring strategies to acquire more. This could set an example for other nations while marking a new era for bitcoin. Thus, we believe the current environment is favorable for accumulating long-term exposure as short-term uncertainties materialize and get fully digested in the market." Sen. Cynthia Lummis reintroduced a bill to create a bitcoin reserve on Tuesday
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Base activity declines from January peak but remains top Ethereum L2 Transaction activity on Coinbase's Base network has moderated from its January peak, with the 7-day moving average declining from nearly 12 million transactions on Jan. 6 to approximately 7.5 million at the time of writing. Despite this 38% reduction, Base continues to maintain a commanding lead over other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, including established platforms like Arbitrum and Optimism. This performance is particularly noteworthy as most competing Layer 2 networks have experienced either stagnant growth or declining transaction volumes during the same period. Ethereum Layer 2 solutions remain crucial for addressing the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization. These networks process transactions off the main Ethereum chain while inheriting its security, significantly reducing fees and increasing throughput for users. Base, launched by Coinbase in August 2023, leverages the OP Stack technology developed by Optimism and has quickly established itself as a leading scaling solution in the ecosystem. The network's continued dominance may be attributed to Coinbase's extensive user base of over 100 million verified users, providing a natural onramp for both retail and institutional participants. While transaction counts have moderated, Base continues to show signs of ecosystem growth, with nearly 3.5 million unique addresses now participating in the network. This metric potentially signals continued user onboarding, though it's important to recognize that address counts can be artificially inflated and should be viewed alongside other activity indicators. The decline in transactions, paired with growth in addresses, could suggest a shift from high-frequency trading activity to broader but less intensive application usage. The Base ecosystem is currently dominated by decentralized exchanges and lending protocols, with Aerodrome, Uniswap, Morpho Blue, Save and Pendle leading in total value locked (TVL). This concentration in DeFi applications mirrors the development patterns seen on other Layer 2 networks, with financial services typically driving early adoption. The presence of established protocols like Uniswap alongside newer platforms specifically built for Base demonstrates a maturing ecosystem that balances proven solutions with innovation. This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends
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Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda says agency may abandon Regulation ATS proposed rule that loops in crypto exchanges Acting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mark Uyeda said he directed the agency's staff to review a proposed rule change that would expand the definition of an "exchange" in a way that could potentially loop in decentralized crypto projects, marking the latest change the SEC has made under the new Trump administration. The rule, called Regulation ATS, which has been worked on for years at the SEC and revisited in April 2024, was pulled in a different direction when former SEC Chair Gary Gensler took office, Uyeda said on Monday at the 2025 Annual Washington Conference of the Institute of International Bankers. Uyeda said "communication protocols" would have been included in the definition of an exchange and that the agency didn't clearly define it. "Effectively, the vastly expanded definition of an 'exchange' would have picked up various protocols used with respect to crypto assets," Uyeda said. "In my view, it was a mistake for the Commission to link together regulation of the Treasury markets with a heavy-handed attempt to tamp down the crypto market." "... in light of the significant negative public comment received on the definition of exchange with respect to crypto, I have asked SEC staff for options on abandoning that part of the proposal," he added. Under the proposed rule, DeFi projects would have to make regular filings with the SEC and be subject to mandatory disclosures. Some in the crypto industry had criticized the rule's expansion and said it could "destroy" decentralized exchanges. Uyeda's move on Monday marks the latest under the new administration. During the previous Biden administration, former Chair Gensler said most cryptocurrencies, aside from bitcoin, were securities. However, with Gensler's exit and the Trump administration's arrival, the SEC has rapidly reversed course on several key crypto policies. In a matter of just a few weeks, it has rescinded controversial crypto accounting guidance, dropped enforcement actions against major crypto industry players, created a crypto task force and issued a statement on memecoins
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Crypto exchange Kraken gears up for IPO as soon as the first quarter of 2026 The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, legally known as Payward Inc, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as the first quarter of 2026, though the company could still change course. Bloomberg was first to report the news citing people familiar with the matter. "We recently disclosed 2024 financial highlights to be more transparent about our business, which is something we started by being first to publish proof of reserves and we're going to continue to prioritize going forward," a Kraken spokesperson told The Block. "We'll pursue public markets as it makes sense for our clients, our partners and shareholders." Kraken, which recorded over $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024, has mulled plans to go public as far back as 2021. It also explored raising over $100 million in a pre-IPO funding round in mid-2024. The exchange now joins Gemini, eToro and other crypto firms in considering a public listing under a more favorable Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which would have to approve any potential plans for going public. The agency's attitude toward and enforcement of crypto has shifted under the auspices of the pro-crypto Trump administration. Kraken's 2026 plans for an IPO comes after the SEC dropped its case against the firm for alleged securities law violations on Mar. 3.
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Analysts see boost in bitcoin with China's new fiscal and monetary stimulus China ramped up fiscal and monetary stimulus on Wednesday, pledging increased efforts to boost consumption and mitigate the effects of an escalating trade war with the United States. Such central bank stimulus measures often lead to increased global liquidity, which can spill over into various risk assets, including bitcoin. Historically, expansive stimulus policies in major economies have coincided with bullish trends in cryptocurrency markets. A study by S&P Global found that both bullish and bearish trends in the crypto market have occurred during periods of ultra-loose monetary policy and significant tightening. In September 2024, bitcoin surged 12.3%, marking one of its best September performances. This rally aligned with China’s previous stimulus efforts, which included cutting short-term interest rates and reducing banks' reserve requirements to support its housing and equity markets. Additionally, TradingView data indicates a positive correlation between bitcoin’s price and the People's Bank of China’s (PBOC) balance sheet over the past eight years. A Nexo spokesperson highlighted the potential implications of China's latest stimulus for alternative assets. "In previous instances when China has ramped up monetary stimulus and injected excess liquidity into the system, in 2015 and in 2020, excess liquidity found its way into alternative assets," the spokesperson told The Block. "Such stimulus could have broader implications for global markets, increasing appetite across equities and alternative assets." However, the Nexo spokesperson also cautioned that China’s strict regulatory controls limit direct participation in crypto markets. "State-backed alternatives may absorb some of the liquidity, or capital could flow into traditional safe-haven assets like gold," they added. On Wednesday, China’s annual government work report announced a 5% GDP growth target, a fiscal deficit target of 4% of GDP, and a focus on boosting private consumption through various measures. "China remains in a slow positive economic momentum, not a boom," Nansen Principal Research Analyst Aurelie Barthere told The Block. "So far, Chinese developments do not weigh as much as U.S. policy changes for crypto markets, despite positive signaling around AI investment by the central government." China braces for Trump tariff impact According to Reuters, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, speaking at the opening of the annual meeting of China's parliament, warned that "changes unseen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace." The ongoing trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten China’s industrial sector. This challenge is compounded by weak domestic consumption and a deteriorating, debt-laden property market, making China’s economy increasingly vulnerable. On the global growth front, analysts remain cautious in terms of risk asset appreciation. "From a pure macro perspective, bitcoin's performance appears to be most dominated by global growth expectations," Bitwise European Head of Research Europe André Dragosch noted. "And those expectations have recently been repriced to the downside because of rising tariff uncertainty." Cryptocurrency and financial markets analyst Richard Ptardio also warned of potential volatility ahead. "With U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision looming, it is time to brace for further turbulence," he told The Block. "A prolonged consolidation for bitcoin might be the best we can hope for over the coming months."
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Metaplanet purchases $13.4 million worth of bitcoin, boosts holdings to 2,391 BTC Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has bought an additional $13.4 million worth of bitcoin as the company maintains a positive outlook for the world's largest cryptocurrency. The Tokyo-listed firm purchased an additional 156 BTC for 2 billion yen (or about $13.4 million) at an average price of about $85,890 per bitcoin, Metaplanet CEO Mark X wrote on X on Monday. In a statement on Monday, the company noted that the latest purchase of 156 BTC boosted its total holdings to 2,391 BTC, acquired for about $196.3 million at an average price of $82,100 per bitcoin. Metaplanet has been on a bitcoin buying spree since it announced its bitcoin acquisition strategy in April 2024. Last week, it disclosed that it bought 135 BTC. In December, the company officially designated its bitcoin treasury operations as a core business line. The company has repeatedly said that it aims to hold 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and 21,000 BTC by the end of 2026. Metaplanet’s stock closed up 21.15% at 4,010 yen on Monday in Japan amid a broader crypto market rally. The Nikkei 225 index was up 1.7% today. Bitcoin gained 6.5% in the past 24 hours to trade at $91,891 at the time of writing, after briefly surging beyond the $94,000 level earlier today,
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