Yes, crypto is a movement. But, the kinks are the issue. They have always been. Innovation comes with the turf, though. This will continue for a while. Meanwhile, we saw several trends and major news stories this past week…..
- Tokenization is once again taking center stage;
- The SEC still has a love-hate relationship with crypto;
- SBF’s jail time remains unclear;
- The North Koreans are pro-crypto in the wrong way;
- Plus, the Trezor hack wasn’t as bad as it initially seemed;
These are your decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin is Marginal at $69k
Bitcoin prices have remained marginal. Prices hit a $61,546.50 low to currently range at $69,036.31 (as of 3/25/24).
The altcoins are also having a quiet week. Ethereum (ETH) is at $3,547.17, Solana (SOL) at $192.59, Avalanche (AVAX) at $58.73, Polkadot (DOT) at $9.61 and Chainlink (LINK) at $19.19.
SBF’s Lawyers Sought a Reduced Sentence
The lawyers of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, continued to push for a soft landing.
Citing legal precedence, the lawyers argued for a five to six-year sentence rather than the 40–50 years sought by prosecutors.
The Libre Tokenization Ecosystem Officially Launched
Libre, an institutional-focused tokenization platform, officially opened its doors to investors. Working with behemoths, including Hamilton Lane and Brevan Howard, Libre added blockchain access to a BlackRock money-market fund.
DigiFT Unveiled RWA Depository Receipt Tokens
In related news, DigiFT, a premier exchange for real-world tokenized assets, launched Treasury Bill depository receipt tokens. Additionally, the launch enables the on-chain value of US Treasury Bills.
Coinbase will Soon Launch Dogecoin Futures Trading
Dogecoin is fast gaining status as a memecoin with the announcement of an offering by Coinbase.
The cryptocurrency exchange revealed that Dogecoin Futures will launch on April 1.
In related news, data from L2BEAT, an Ethereum Layer-2 research platform, shows the total value locked (TVL) for Base, the Coinbase native chain, reached $1 billion.
Also, data from CryptoQuant, a crypto trading data analytics platform, iterated that its “Coinbase premium” indicator has turned negative, indicating an increasing weakening demand for Bitcoin.
WisdomTree Received NYDFS Approval for its Crypto App Launch
The Bitcoin ETF industry got another plus. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approved WisdomTree’s crypto app. Also, the regulator granted WisdomTree approval for a trust charter that enables the asset behemoth to provide digital asset services.
Moreover, per the approval, WisdomTree can issue and manage stablecoins and their reserves.
Gensler–Crypto Firms Deliberately Avoid Registration, Disclosure
No love (is) lost between Gary Gensler, the current SEC Chairman, and the crypto community.
In a speech at an event at Columbia Law School, Gensler iterated the tendency for crypto firms to find all possible means of little to zero registration. Also, the SEC Chair indicated that the crypto markets needed cleaning out.
In related news, in its 2025 budget request to Congress, the SEC requested (for) an additional $158 million to boost crypto regulatory activities.
Also, in the SEC’s ongoing DEBT Box case, Judge Robert J. Shelby of the District Court for the District of Utah accused the regulator of a “gross abuse of power” and ordered the regulator to pay DEBT Box’s legal costs.
Furthermore, Genesis, the bankrupt crypto lender, agreed to pay the SEC $21 million in charges involving the (alleged) unregistered sale of securities via the Gemini Earn program.
The SEC’s decision on the VanEck Ethereum Spot ETF application was postponed, according to a filing dated March 20.
OpenSea Launched the Seaport 1.6 NFT Marketplace
According to a March 20 blog post, OpenSea, the premier NFT exchange, revealed the launch of Seaport 1.6, its most advanced NFT marketplace yet.
Seaport 1.6 features Ethereum Dencun upgrades, with (other) capabilities such as Seaport Hooks, liquidity sourcing, and more.
Polkadot Unveiled its Community Token
Things got pretty interesting within the Polkadot ecosystem with the launch of the $PINK, a community-driven token.
To encourage improved community participation, communities received allocations of the volunteer-developed token across parachains.
Additionally, the total token supply shall not exceed 2.3 billion.
Polygon Successfully Completed the Napoli Hardfork
In alignment with the Ethereum Dencun upgrade, Polygon, a premier Ethereum Layer-2 chain, announced the successful completion of its Napoli Hard Fork.
Also known as the RIP-7212 upgrade, developers aimed to improve scalability and speed on the Polygon network.
United Nations-North Korean Hackers Stole $3 Billion in Crypto Since 2017
According to a March 21 South Korean Yonhap News Agency report and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) study, North Korean crypto hackers (may) have stolen up to $3 billion. A panel under the UNSC sanctions committee is investigating 17 crypto hacks, possibly linked to the Lazarus Group.
Additionally, the report iterated that hacking, phishing, and other activities account for about half of the hermit nation’s revenue.
Trezor‘s Hacked “X” Account was the Cause of a Phishing Attempt
According to SatoshiLabs, the firm behind the Trezor hardware wallet, a breach of its X (formerly Twitter) handle was part of a series of events that led to a phishing attempt.
Consequently, SatoshiLabs indicated that user funds were safe and no one lost tokens.
Binance will No Longer Support the USDC TRC20 Token Standard
Following increased regulatory scrutiny of the Tron ecosystem, Binance revealed that come April 15, it would no longer support USDC tokens under the TRC20 standard.
The move comes after a February announcement by Circle, the USDC stablecoin issuer.
Circle had given customers a February 2025 deadline to migrate their TRC20 USDC tokens to other ecosystems.
Additionally, Binance indicated it will discontinue TRC20 USDC deposits from April 5 at 02:00 (UTC).
