Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Bitcoin’s price has been fluctuating more than it has since last summer, the shifts spurred largely by worries about the U.S. economy, Donald Trump's erratic trade moves and other macroeconomic uncertainties. The top cryptocurrency's 30-day volatility, which tracks the standard deviation of daily returns over the past month, hit 3.6% on Wednesday, according to the crypto data provider CoinGlass. That level is the highest since August, up from 1.6% four weeks ago, although it is below last year’s peak of 4.3%. In the short-term, analysts say that erratic price action is likely to persist amid a murky macro outlook, Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at the crypto data provider Amberdata, told Decrypt. “We are currently in a high-volatility environment that will likely continue until the impact that tariffs have on inflation and interest rates are more widely known,” he added. “Crypto has experienced higher volatility alongside all risk assets.” Indeed, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market fear on Wall Street, almost touched 30 this month, its highest level since August, according to Yahoo Finance. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has completely relinquished its post-election gains. Bitcoin’s price at about $83,900 has dropped 10% over the past month and more than 20% off its record high above $108,000, set in January, according to the crypto data provider CoinGecko. Although Bitcoin’s volatility may trend lower as the asset matures long-term, the asset’s high correlation with stocks is making prices choppy for the time being, Magadini said. The uptick in Bitcoin’s volatility has coincided with the U.S. central bank’s decision on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledging “unusually high” macro uncertainty in the U.S. Powell downplayed recession concerns, but he said “further progress” on the Fed’s inflation fight “may be delayed” due to Trump’s tariffs. That could translate into higher rates for longer. “Bitcoin has been swept up in broader macro uncertainty,” Zach Pandl, head of research at the crypto asset manager Grayscale, told Decrypt. “Although tariffs do not directly affect Bitcoin, higher policy uncertainty has caused investors to reduce portfolio risk across the board.” Bitcoin’s price boomed last year as the Fed made a series of rate cuts, lowering its benchmark rate by a full percentage point. Typically, lower rates benefit risk assets through increased liquidity and cheaper borrowing costs, as safer bets like U.S. Treasuries grow less attractive. As an alternative monetary system competing with the U.S. dollar, Pandl noted that nothing has changed about Bitcoin’s fundamental outlook. Grayscale’s research team views the recent pullback as a compelling entry point for investors not currently allocated, he added. Edited by James Rubin

Tesla, like every automaker, is intimately familiar with the recall process, including with its Cybertruck, which has been in production for 15 months but has several recalls to its name. This week, the Cybertruck was recalled again, this time for the possibility of steel trim flying off the truck and injuring other drivers on the road or causing a crash. The recall affects 46,096 Cybertrucks, or almost every one it has made and sold since the Cybertruck began production in November 2023. The recall notice describes a part called the cant rail, which may “delaminate at the adhesive joint.” The notice says that’s because the adhesive is “susceptible to environmental embrittlement.” More from Robb Report Advertisement Advertisement “If the cant rail stainless steel panel separates from the vehicle while in drive, it could create a road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of injury or a collision,” the recall notice says. Tesla Service Center and parking lot with Cybertruck in Boston Tesla first became aware of the issue in January, when it said it got complaints of partial delaminations of the cant rail. In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Tesla and the company began investigating, based in part on “social media.” By last Friday, Tesla said it identified 151 warranty claims due to the problem and issued the recall. Tesla says it will replace the cant rail assembly at no charge to remedy the issue, and also isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries caused by it. Other Tesla Cybertruck recalls include an issue with an exterior trim panel detaching, the tire pressure management system light not staying on, a possible loss of drive power, a possible rearview camera failure, possible trunk bed trim detachment, possible front windshield wiper failure, and possible unintended acceleration due to pedal-tapping. Probably some of these issues can be attributed to first model-year teething, and it’s long been common advice among car-buying experts (and every dad) to never buy the first model year of a new car or a new car generation. That first year—which is frequently on a new platform—is often when unforeseen engineering and design flaws are discovered because in-house testing can only achieve so much. For Tesla, that advice might also extend to the whole company, given that it’s a relatively new automaker in an industry of peers with several more decades of experience. Many are still waiting for Tesla reliability to become more predictable because of this, and if not reach the heights of Toyota then at least settle in among middle-ground stalwarts like fellow Americans Ford and GM. Best of Robb Report Advertisement Advertisement Sign up for RobbReports's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.

Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Is There A Nikola Tesla Invented Electric Car Out There Somewhere? In the annals of automotive history, few stories tantalize the imagination of car enthusiasts and historians alike as much as the legend of Nikola Tesla's purported electric car. If true, this vehicle would not just redefine the timeline of electric automotive innovation but would also represent the Holy Grail of collector cars. A vehicle touched by the genius of Tesla, powered by a technology decades ahead of its time, would undoubtedly be the crown jewel in any collection, potentially worth more than any other classic car known to date. Tesla, known primarily for his pioneering work in electricity, supposedly built an electric car in 1931. According to the lore, he outfitted a Pierce-Arrow with a brushless AC electric motor and powered it with a "cosmic energy receiver" instead of a traditional battery. This device, said to be comprised of 12 vacuum tubes and an antenna, allegedly allowed the car to reach speeds of up to 90 mph and travel distances that would be enviable even by today's electric vehicle standards—all without the need for conventional fuel. The tale, as recounted by a supposed relative, has all the makings of a classic Tesla myth: groundbreaking technology, ahead-of-its-time concepts, and a touch of mystery, given that no physical evidence or corroborative documentation has ever surfaced. Skeptics dismiss the story due to the lack of evidence and Tesla’s known penchant for visionary ideas that were not always realized. However, the very idea of such a vehicle excites the imagination. Advertisement Advertisement Imagine, if such a car were discovered, it would surpass the allure and value of every known collector car. It would not only be a piece of automotive history but also a direct legacy of one of the most brilliant minds in the history of science. The car would embody Tesla's vision for a future powered by free, renewable energy—making it not just a testament to past innovation but also a beacon of future possibilities. For collectors, the value of such a vehicle would be immeasurable. It would eclipse famous collectibles like the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO or the Bugatti Type 41 Royale in both historical importance and market value. The Tesla electric car would be the ultimate collector's item, representing not only a pinnacle in automotive engineering but also a landmark in the history of electricity and renewable energy. The hunt for Tesla's electric car, if it exists, continues to be fueled by both skepticism and hope. For those in the collector car community, finding Tesla's electric car would be akin to discovering a new artistic masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci—utterly priceless and forever cherished in the annals of human achievement. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

March 19, 2025, will be remembered as a defining period for cryptocurrency markets as bullish momentum sweeps across the industry. After a challenging couple of years marked by regulatory uncertainty and bearish downturns, the tide has finally turned. Leading this rally are three standout projects making waves for their innovation, resilience, and market impact: XRP, Solana, and BinoFi. This trifecta of crypto powerhouses embodies the essence of the current bull run, with XRP reinstating investor confidence, Solana propelling blockchain efficiencies, and BinoFi revolutionizing trading platforms. If you’ve been searching for your next big opportunity, these trailblazers are staking their claim at the forefront of 2025’s crypto momentum. The Crypto Market Rebounds with Volatility-Proof Powerhouses Cryptocurrency markets are experiencing a renaissance, fueled by significant advancements and milestones across the industry. Bitcoin’s resilience has steadied the market, but it’s altcoins like XRP and Solana grabbing the headlines. Investors are flocking to projects with tangible innovations and real-world use cases, and the excitement is contagious. XRP’s Legal Triumph Ignites Confidence XRP has roared back into the spotlight following a landmark courtroom victory. Ripple’s latest battle with the SEC concluded with the dismissal of the high-profile lawsuit that had loomed over the cryptocurrency for years. This victory has sparked a 35% rally in XRP’s price in just a few days. Investors are fueled by newfound optimism, interpreting the court’s decision as a signal of regulatory clarity for digital assets as a whole. The victory’s ripple effect has extended beyond XRP, reigniting interest across altcoins and blockchain technologies. The renewed confidence in digital assets has brought both institutional and retail investors back into the fold, setting the stage for a more dynamic and diversified marketplace. Solana’s Technological Push Redefines Utility While XRP has dominated news cycles with its legal win, Solana has quietly reaffirmed itself as a technological leader in blockchain performance. Known for its unparalleled transaction speeds and cost-efficiency, Solana’s ecosystem has expanded with notable dApps, NFT marketplaces, and DeFi platforms in recent months. But while XRP and Solana have reignited excitement, no project has stirred as much intrigue in recent weeks as BinoFi. Enter BinoFi: Redefining Crypto Trading in 2025 BinoFi is rapidly carving out its place as a major contender in the cryptocurrency space. While XRP and Solana have proven their resilience and growth potential, BinoFi is bringing something entirely new to the table. This hybrid CEX/DEX platform is setting a new benchmark for crypto trading by addressing the inefficiencies of traditional exchanges while offering unparalleled user autonomy. What Makes BinoFi Stand Out? Hybrid Liquidity Model BinoFi integrates liquidity pools from both centralized and decentralized sources, ensuring high-speed transactions and competitive rates without sacrificing transparency or decentralization. Cross-Chain Interoperability Say goodbye to the complexities of bridging assets. BinoFi allows seamless swaps across different blockchains, creating a frictionless experience for traders and investors. MPC Wallet Security With Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology, BinoFi provides non-custodial security second to none. Users maintain control over their funds while enjoying heightened protection from vulnerabilities. AI-Powered Automations BinoFi leverages artificial intelligence to optimize trade execution, manage liquidity, and enhance portfolio strategies, giving users a powerful edge in volatile markets. Why Is Now the Time to Explore BinoFi? The timing of BinoFi’s emergence is no coincidence. XRP’s legal victory has reenergized the market, and cryptocurrency enthusiasts are hungry for the next frontier. BinoFi strikes a perfect balance between advanced technology and real-world utility, making it a beacon for investors navigating 2025’s bullish landscape. What’s more, BinoFi’s presale phase is currently underway. Early adopters have an unparalleled opportunity to secure their position in a platform set to redefine how trading and investing are approached in the crypto world. With its innovative model and appeal to both institutional and retail audiences, BinoFi is one of the most compelling new entries on the market. Putting It All Together The crypto market is buzzing, and for good reason. XRP’s resurgence post-courtroom battle, Solana’s technological strides, and BinoFi’s disruptive model each represent unique facets of 2025’s bullish rally. But what truly unites these projects is their ability to inspire confidence during a time of massive transformation in the crypto landscape. If you’re an investor seeking opportunity amid the excitement, now is the time to take bold steps. XRP proves that the crypto market can withstand regulatory pressures. Solana demonstrates that innovation is alive and thriving. And BinoFi signals the future of crypto trading. The momentum is here. The window of opportunity is open. Website: https://binofi.com Whitepaper: https://whitepaper.binofi.com Giveaway: https://giveaway.binofi.com Telegram: https://t.me/binofilabs Twitter: https://x.com/Binoficom CoinMarketCap: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/binofi/ This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

⚡️ Read the full article on Motorious A freshly restored 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS boasting a numbers-matching 396 V8, modern upgrades, and stunning Midnight Blue paint debuts. Classic muscle car enthusiasts now have a chance to own a meticulously restored 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, featuring a numbers-matching 396 cubic-inch V8 engine and numerous contemporary performance enhancements. This iconic muscle car, recently completed in 2024, showcases a brilliant Midnight Blue Metallic finish complemented by all-new exterior chrome accents. Under the hood sits its original big-block powerplant, fully detailed and upgraded with modern touches, including a Holley Sniper electronic fuel injection system, MSD ignition, and an open-faced chrome air cleaner paired with matching chrome valve covers. Advertisement Advertisement For improved handling and drivability, the Chevelle has received several significant mechanical updates. The original drum brakes have been replaced with power-assisted Wilwood four-wheel disc brakes featuring drilled and slotted rotors. Power steering enhances ease of handling, while a new 12-bolt Moser rear axle with a Positraction differential and 3.73 gears delivers robust and reliable acceleration. Cooling has been enhanced with electric fans and a high-performance radiator, ensuring trouble-free cruising in any weather. Inside, the classic Chevelle interior has been refreshed with TMI bucket seats, a new headliner, carpeting, and an updated sound system featuring modern speakers and stereo. Comfort is further enhanced by a Classic Auto Air air-conditioning system, keeping occupants cool during summer drives. Additional upgrades completed during the restoration include new fuel and brake lines, refreshed heater components, and attention to every mechanical detail, ensuring both reliability and long-term collector value. Experts indicate Chevelles from this era are experiencing significant appreciation in today's collector market. This particular Chevelle SS, combining period-correct originality with contemporary reliability, represents an attractive investment for collectors and enthusiasts alike. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus is scheduled to arrive at Mercedes-AMG dealers this spring to the tune of $197,050, including destination charges. The sleek coupe packs a turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 that sends 603 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels by way of a nine-speed automatic transmission and a variable all-wheel-drive system. The standard Mercedes-AMG GT 63 starts at $180,200. Mercedes-AMG has finally given its GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus a price, and it’s steep. As expected, the potent second-gen AMG GT 63’s latest performance variant adds nearly $20,000 to the bottom line and starts at $197,050 including the destination charge. Now, this AMG GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus does come with some upgrades that will serve you well at track day. Under the hood, the AMG GT 63 Pro packs a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 that sends 603 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque through a nine-speed automatic transmission. Advertisement Advertisement This is the same basic engine as the GT 63 but sees an extra 26 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque. The AMG GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus also features a fully variable all-wheel-drive system. That means you can manage the power split to better work with your driving style and track conditions. The AWD system also sports active cooling, which should help out on hot track days. Bringing this hopped-up AMG to a halt is the standard AMG High Performance Carbon Composite Braking system, which features brake cover plates and an underbody design that promotes airflow to cool the brakes. Mercedes-AMG If you also want this AMG GT to handle more than just track duty, you can add the extra two rear seats for no extra cost, just like the standard AMG GT 63. Advertisement Advertisement Mercedes says the GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus will hit dealers this spring and starts at $197,050 before you start adding any options. What do you think of the AMG GT 63 Pro 4Matic Plus? Tell us your thoughts below.

The BMW M2 could offer a new all-wheel-drive model, according to a report from BMWBlog. The M2 xDrive would come exclusively with the eight-speed automatic gearbox and could become the quickest M2 yet. Production of the M2 xDrive is expected to start in late 2026, and the rear-wheel-drive, manual-transmission M2 will reportedly stick around. The BMW M2's muscular bodywork cloaks a brawny twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six sending 473 horsepower through an available six-speed manual to the rear wheels, making it among the most engaging sports cars left for under $100K. But BMW is reportedly preparing to switch up one of the key aspects of that formula, with a report from BMWBlog claiming that the German automaker is developing an all-wheel-drive version of the M2. According to BMWBlog's sources, production of the M2 xDrive will kick off in August of 2026 and, interestingly, the rumor suggests that the all-wheel-drive model will not carry the Competition badge, which adorns many of BMW's more potent all-wheel-drive M cars. The xDrive should look similar if not identical to the existing M2, save for an xDrive emblem on the trunk lid. The xDrive is expected to be offered exclusively with the eight-speed automatic gearbox. BMW There aren't many other details, but we can make some educated guesses about how an M2 xDrive might perform. Sending power to all four wheels requires some extra hardware which should result in a weight penalty of at least 100 pounds Based on the last M2 we tested, that could push it to around 3900 pounds. But the extra traction from another pair of driven wheels should help the M2 xDrive overcome that weight gain to become the quickest M2 yet. When we tested a rear-drive M2 with the automatic, it hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, so an all-wheel-drive version should be even quicker. Advertisement Advertisement The addition of all-wheel drive could also come with a power increase. The upcoming M2 CS is expected to have at least 500 horsepower, so it wouldn't be totally surprising to see those extra ponies migrate to the xDrive model. However, BMWBlog claims it won't get the Competition treatment, so a power boost isn't certain. If you're a purist and prefer to row your own gears, however, don't fret. BMWBlog claims that the arrival of the M2 xDrive will not come at the expense of the rear-wheel-drive, manual-transmission M2. We reached out to BMW for comment and a spokesperson said the company will not comment on speculation regarding future models. More details about the all-wheel-drive M2 should emerge over the next year. You Might Also Like

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE As President Donald Trump continues to test the limits of executive authority by reshaping all manner of U.S. government agencies, one such battle appears poised to rope in the cryptocurrency industry: a brewing war against the Federal Reserve and its publicly stated mission to remain independent. Since the early 1950s, the Fed has enjoyed final say on key decisions related to the American banking system and U.S. monetary policy. Now the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress appear intent on taking over some of that decision-making—first and foremost via numerous crypto-related policy initiatives. As Decrypt reported last week, the White House is planning to soon issue another cryptocurrency-focused executive order that will, among other things, likely direct the Fed to change its policies on withholding coveted master accounts from so-called crypto banks—financial institutions that possess banking licenses but also offer crypto custody services to their clients. Master accounts, which allow banks to access the Fed’s financial services, are crucial for serving customers at scale. Should crypto banks finally receive such approval, the development would constitute a massive victory for the digital assets industry. Only the precious few crypto-focused banks that are registered as depository institutions, such as Kraken Financial, a subdivision of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and Caitlin Long’s Custodia, would be immediately eligible to receive master accounts. Master account approvals have, for decades, been the final say of the Fed’s seven-member board of governors. And while those governors are appointed by the president, their decisions have not been openly overridden by the executive branch ever since an informal agreement granted them policy-making independence in 1951, according to the Fed. Last month, Trump laid the groundwork to begin undoing that understanding by signing an executive order declaring he had the right to dictate the Fed’s policies related to the “supervision and regulation of financial institutions.” That policy category would likely include the Fed’s decision-making related to master accounts. Trump’s order did make the caveat that the Fed will continue to shape its own “monetary policy” on sensitive matters like interest rates. But efforts are brewing in Washington to undo even the Fed’s monetary policy independence—and once again, those plans run straight through the crypto industry. Last week, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced a bill, the Bitcoin Act, that would obligate the U.S. government to buy some $80 billion worth of Bitcoin in an effort to bolster a federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. That huge sum of crypto would be paid for, chiefly, by a scheme that would compel the Fed to have its Nixon-era gold certificates reissued at market prices. Because gold has appreciated by some 6,000% in the intervening years, new gold certificates would theoretically be worth hundreds of billions more than the old ones. The Fed would receive these new, more valuable certificates—but then have to immediately fork over $80 billion to the Treasury Secretary to fund Bitcoin purchases. A Capitol Hill source with direct knowledge of the thinking that went into the Bitcoin Act told Decrypt that no one has yet tried to tap into such a fundraising mechanism because, for decades, legislators and presidents alike have been hesitant to explicitly direct the Fed. That position has now changed. “The view [behind the Bitcoin Act] is in line with the president’s, that there’s no such thing as an independent agency,” the source said. “The Federal Reserve can be instructed, especially through legislation.” The Capitol Hill insider added that Republicans have likely been emboldened in recent years to take a stronger stance on overseeing the policies of ostensibly independent federal agencies because of the perceived politicization of these agencies, exemplified by the alleged political targeting that took place in the anti-crypto “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” Trump is by no means the first president to push against the Fed’s independence in the modern era. Presidents from both parties have pressured the Fed to enact or undo certain policies. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson went so far as to physically assault then-Fed chair William McChesney Martin over a disagreement about raising interest rates, according to one biographer. But still, since the 1950s, no president has successfully managed, or meaningfully tried, to rip key decision-making powers back from the Fed’s governors—at least not explicitly. Should Trump and his congressional allies keep pressing forward on that goal—and should crypto policy become the tip of that spear—how might the digital assets industry react? One crypto lobbyist told Decrypt that the Trump administration appears to be using crypto-related policy as a “test case” for reclaiming control over independent agencies. On one hand, those efforts could unlock crucial victories crypto leaders wouldn’t have dared dream of even a year ago. On the other hand, the same moves could not only end up in contentious litigation, but also associate the crypto industry—which has tried desperately to avoid political polarization—with a precedent-bucking agenda that is increasingly testing the limits of the U.S. Constitution. “I can't tell yet if it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” the crypto lobbyist said. “But we’ll take it. Right?” Edited by Guillermo Jimenez

We independently evaluate the products we review. When you buy via links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read more about how we vet products and deals . The first time I ever tried self tanner was in 2002. I was in my 20s, had an early-summer wedding to attend, a shortish dress to wear and only my splotchy-pale winter legs to pair with it. I wanted a fake tan and I wanted it fast. At the last minute, I picked up an inexpensive Jergens self-tanning product and applied it hastily with my bare hands on my un-prepped skin. The result was a streaky, uneven, too-caramel colored mess. My palms, which I'd waited too long to wash, resembled Oompa Loompas; I attended the event with my legs orange striped. Since then, a lot has changed in the world of at-home tanning, In fact, in 2025, choosing the best self tanner is easier than ever before. With an array of new formulations — from bronzing mousse to wipes to drops to traditional creams — there's a sunless tan method for most everyone, no matter your skin type or shade. If you're looking for a little skin glow up, self-tanning products are superior in all ways to time spent baking in the sun, decreasing your risk of skin cancer, hyperpigmentation, age spots and premature wrinkles. You just need to learn how to use them first. Table of contents Update, Mar. 20, 2025: We checked all product prices and availability. Our number one pick for the best self tanner remains unchanged. Best self tanner overall St.Tropez Best overall St.Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzer Mousse Formulation: Mousse | Development time: 8 hours | Shades: 1 The whipped consistency of this classic self-tanning foam is what makes it special — and especially easy to use. It glides on effortlessly (particularly when applied with its companion tanning mitt), dries fast with zero streaks and doesn't smell. The tan takes a while to develop — a full 8 hours to get the complete effect — but it also lasts: for me, it stayed in place for a week. The mousse itself has a green undertone, which means it's supposed to work best for those with cooler skin shades, but it made my warm-tone ruddy skin golden brown. St. Tropez is a trusted mainstay of the at-home tan world and this particular product currently holds nearly 13,000 5-star Amazon reviews. My only complaint is that it does transfer during the development process, if you go to bed before washing it off like I did, it will stain your sheets, even if the product appears "dry." Pros Easy to use Zero streaks Golden brown tan Subtle scent Nonsticky Long lasting Cons Some transfer to sheets and clothes during develop process $44 at Amazon (back to top) Other top self tanners we recommend for 2025 Isle of Paradise Best for face Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Drops Formulation: Drops | Development time: 2 hours | Shades: 3 Even though (or maybe because) they're TikTok famous (with more than 15 million views), I was a bit skeptical of these clear, odorless tanning "drops." However, after dropping three into my morning serum (as recommended) and applying evenly to my face and neck, the product developed into a subtle (but still noticeable) golden glow that lasted for five days. Mixing with a moisturizer, face oil or serum you already use makes Isle of Paradise drops great for sensitive skin and the fact that you can dial up the hue by just adding a drop or two more means the color is highly customized too. Last, you can choose from three shades: Light, Medium and Dark — I went with "Light" on my ruddy medium-pale skin and it made my skin more taupe colored and less red. When in doubt, go lighter — you can always build more color with a follow-up application. Pros Versatile — you can easily level up the tan factor by adding an extra drop or two Comes in three shades: Light, Medium and Dark Streak-free Affordable (you need just two to three drops at a time) Natural, non-orange look Cons May be too subtle on darker skin tones $29 at Amazon Pradas Glow Most nourishing for your skin Pradas Glow Sol Solution Sunless Tanning Mousse Formulation: Mousse | Development time: 2 hours | Shades: 3 Kristyn Pradas's own line contains an outrageous array of skin-nourishing, clinically proven, classic skin-care ingredients. The list includes hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, vitamins E and C, niacinamide, CoQ10, peptides and caffeine — all of which are meant to improve skin elasticity, many of which promote collagen production and tighten skin overall. If you're looking for a self-tanner that can pull double duty, this is the highest quality skincare product I've tried for the body, boasting a supple texture and step-by-step instructions for customizing your desired color. It comes in three shades — Ibiza Nights worked best for my skin tone, but you can also choose from Hollywood's Secret for more olive skin or Miami Vibes for those with naturally golden or neutral (ie not ruddy) skin. Pros High-quality skin-care ingredients Smooth application Easy-to-follow instructions Develops quickly Customizable, natural-looking color Shades for every skin tone Cons Smaller size runs out quickly $39 at Amazon L’Oréal Paris Best for beginners L'Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Water Mousse Formulation: Mousse | Development time: 2 hours | Shades: 1 This is an excellent choice for first-time self-tanners who want to try a reliable product without shelling out too much cash. The clear formula is infused with coconut water and Vitamin E to soften skin and make for an easier application. It develops into a streak-free tan in just two hours and won't transfer to your clothes, sheets or towels while it bakes in. The color itself is subtle — if you're looking for a deeper tan, a different mousse may work better. Pros Develops fast Easy to use Streak free Great for fair skin Long lasting Cons Adds a lighter color, may not be appropriate for those looking for a deeper tan Watery solution is best applied with a mitt $14 at Amazon Jergens Best budget Jergens Natural Glow In-shower Lotion Formulation: In-shower lotion | Development time: 3 hours | Shades: 2 I don't know if I'm legally allowed to write a self tanner story without mentioning Jergens. The brand is a pioneer in the no-sun tan game, and this in-shower lotion is particularly standout. You apply it when your skin is wet (yes, ideally in or just after the shower), rub it in like you would a moisturizer, let it dry and ... that's it. The tan — a few shades darker than where you began — develops in just a few hours while you go about your life/day. The formula is white like a cream and doesn't transfer to a towel or clothes. Unlike other popular self tanners there's no wait time for getting dressed or heading to bed. It's not the best product I tried, but the results are reliable and consistent and you truly cannot beat the ease. The only two downsides for me: it has a bit of a chemical smell and you have to remember to wash your hands immediately after applying or risk the dreaded palm tan. Pros Easy in-shower application No wait time Goes on like a moisturizer Subtle shade No color transfer Cons Strong scent Lasts only 2 or 3 days $10 at Amazon Coco & Eve Best self-tanning kit Coco & Eve Self Tanner Mousse Kit Formulation: Mousse | Development time: 2 hours | Shades: 3 Coco & Eve's self tanner is packed with ingredients like coconut oil, lotus extract and mango oil which are meant to reduce the lumpy appearance of cellulite and help older skin look less crepey. In the week I tried this mousse I didn't notice this (I also don't know that any product can actually deliver on these claims), but — still — this is a high-quality self tanner that left my legs a tawny light brown, developed in just two hours and lasted for 5 days. The texture of the foam is super lightweight (think ocean foam) and the included glove is velvety soft and made application a breeze. The product did settle a bit in my knees and ankles, but I was also not especially careful — blame the player here, not the game. Pros Lightweight Develops fast Easy to apply Natural formula Green-gray base means it never looks orange Pleasant scent No streaking or transferring Cons Settled into knee creases Small bottle doesn't last long $41 at Amazon Dr Dennis Gross Best anti-aging Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads Formulation: Wipes | Development time: 1 hour | Shades: 1 I've been using these famous exfoliating + self-tanning pads since my magazine days when every beauty editor I knew raved about them (and kept a handful in her purse). They're the perfect on-the-go face self tanner, combining an anti-aging pre-treatment and a glowy-bronze hue all in one. The pads are packed with lactic and glycolic acids to slough away dead skin and they add a light, natural-looking golden tan that develops in about an hour and builds each time a new one is applied. They're not in any way a bargain, but they're a consistent, reliable and easy way to get a quick sun-kissed glow on your face (or your legs or arms — they come in body size too). Pros Easy to use Portable Trusted brand High-quality ingredients Reliable results Even color Cons Could be longer lasting Pricey $39 at Amazon Nordstrom Best self-tanning mist Dolce Glow by Isabel Alysa Self-Tanning Mist Formulation: Mist | Development time: 3 hours | Shades: 2 If you don't want to deal with the art-project messiness of a mousse or cream, Dolce Glow's mist is the choice for you. The clean, ultra-hydrating spritz is made by tanning artist Isabel Alysa Vita (her clients include J.Lo, Salma Hayak and Kim Kardashian) and sprays on almost freakishly evenly (there's a specially designed nozzle to ensure uniformity). I used a glove and followed the handy instruction video and wound up with perfectly bronze-y legs within 3 hours. I did use a bit too much product so my legs ultimately developed to a shade or two darker than I wanted but luckily the tan hue lasted only around 3 days before it started to fade. Pros Fast drying Easy, even application Good for all skin types and tones Paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, silicone-free cruelty-free and vegan Non-offensive scent No product transference Cons Expensive Easy to go too dark $49 at Nordstrom B.Tan Best for deeper skin tones B.Tan Tanned AF Sunless Tanner Mousse Formulation: Mousse | Development time: 1 hour | Shades: 5 There's a part of me that wants to ignore this #1 best-selling self tanner with more than 30,000 positive Amazon reviews because BY GOD, DID IT MAKE ME TAN. Within an hour of application, I looked like I'd been laying out in Ibiza for a week. This was a bit alarming, too "bronze babe" for this middle-aged mom but, listen, I'm a pale white writer lady whose skin rarely sees daylight — a tanning wimp. If you're looking to appear more sun goddess than sun-kissed, B.Tan's Tanned AF Tanner Mousse just might be the thing for you. It's a quality, cruelty-free, vegan product with no weird smell. It goes on easy and smooth and left behind zero streaks. It lasts for at least four days. Warning: It will stain your sheets (or hands or anything in its non-tan path) before it's rinsed off but, as one happy 5-star reviewer claimed, you may be "Too tan to give a damn"! Pros Deep, dark tan No streaks Develops in an hour Affordable Easy application Cons Transfers to clothing and sheets while developing $9 at Amazon (back to top) How we tested I've been testing self tanners since my days as an editor at Lucky magazine — nearly 20 years. For this story, I tested 15 new (or new to me) face and body self tanners, leaving each on a week after initial application. I added those I liked to the list of standby self tanners I already know and love. I rated each product on: smell, texture, application, efficacy, development time, staying power and cost. Advertisement Advertisement I found self tanner mousses and foams to generally be the easiest and most fool-proof, which is why there are so many represented here. Heavier creams were (with few exceptions) harder to control. With one notable exception, I could not get self-tanning "mists" to appear smooth. (back to top) Popular self tanners we tested but didn't include in our list I tried the + Lux Unfiltered No 36 Supernatural Tanning Mousse Foam and the tan itself was fine, but the fragrance was far too strong and chemical for my taste and, at $40, I felt it was too expensive for what it was. People love Loving Tan 2 HR Express Mousse but, even after an hour of drying, it transferred tan color all over my sheets. Every teen on TikTok is obsessed with these Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Bronzing Drops but I found them to be uneven and too subtle, plus they left my face sticky. There's a lot to like about the Tan-Luxe Hydra-Mousse Hydrating Self Tanner, a cruelty-free, toxin-free, ultra-hydrating mousse that tops many "best self tanner" lists, but ultimately the $50 price tag felt, for me, like not enough bang for your buck. (back to top) Self tanner FAQs What's the best way to apply self tanner? "The best way to apply self tanner is with a tanning mitt as well as makeup brushes to blend areas such as wrists, knuckles, fingers, feet and toes," says celebrity airbrush-tanning artist Kristyn Pradas (her clients include Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Lawrence, Susan Sarandon and Kaley Cuoco). Pradas has been in the tanning game for more than a decade — she also owns the award-winning Pradas Glow spray-tan chain, with locations in Miami, New York and Los Angeles and has been featured as a tanning specialist on the Real Housewives of New York. Advertisement Advertisement Other pro tips for applying self tanner include using less product in high crease/high texture areas such as knees an ankles — you can even dilute your self-tanner with your favorite moisturizer in these spots to ensure a more even look. In terms of prepping skin pre-self-tan, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, the best way to get the most natural glow from self tanner is to exfoliate first (I like Bliss's Lemon Sage Body Polish for this — it's effective, affordable and doesn't smell like a cheap surf shop) and then dry skin completely. If you're not using gloves, wash your hands frequently so the product doesn't settle into your palms. And don't forget to allow time for any product to set: You should wait at least 10 minutes post application before putting on clothes. How does self tanner work? The active ingredient in most self tanners is something called dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, a sugar compound that, when it interacts with the proteins of our skin cells, creates a temporary darkening of the skin. Dihydroxyacetone is FDA approved and safe for most skin types (though, as with any new product, you should test self tanners on a small area before a full application, particularly if you have sensitive skin). DHA creates a gradual tan, usually developing over the course of 2 to 8 hours, so don't freak out — and do not add more — if you're not seeing color right away. Will self tanner protect me from the sun? This is a hard "No"! The American Academy of Dermatology advises applying a broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30 or higher over self tanner whenever you plan on being in the sun. What's the best way to remove self tanner? So what if you make a mistake when applying self tanner or apply too much? Kristyn Pradas has you covered: "The best way to remove self tanner that has not yet developed — for instance from palms of your hands — is with witch hazel, or witch hazel wipes work amazingly well," she says. Advertisement Advertisement If your tan is already developed and it's looking too dark or in the wrong place, Pradas has this advice: "You can make a homemade mix of baking soda and lemon juice, then, in circular motions, apply to the area you want to either lighten or remove self tanner. You may also use a loofah or a washcloth." Lastly, for a tan that's fading unevenly: "Salt scrubs are my favorite. For dry or balanced skin I love mixing salt with jojoba oil. For extra dry skin I like to mix the salt with apricot seed oil or avocado oil. These options will help nourish your skin while you are exfoliating." How do I find the right self tanner for my skin? "One of the biggest mistakes people make with self tanner is thinking there is one shade or one hue for everyone, says Pradas. "Just like with makeup, certain hues look better with certain skin tones." When in doubt, choose light options with olive-brown undertones which tend to look good on most skin tones. What makes a good self tanner? "People should look for a self tanner that is hydrating, glides on easily, yet dries quickly. This will ensure an easy stress-free application," says Pradas. "This will also help to prevent crease marks from developing and to prevent the self tanner from transferring to clothing leaving your skin uneven in certain areas." Meet our expert Celebrity airbrush-tanning artist Kristyn Pradas (back to top)

The Bugatti Tourbillon Équipe Pur Sang is now available for customers to configure. The jaw-dropping hypercar sports eight exhaust tips at the rear, a new set of wheels, and some interior enhancements, such as standard sport seats. Bugatti says it plans to build 250 Tourbillon examples globally, and the price will start at roughly $4.1 million. If you were holding out on ordering your Bugatti Tourbillon because it wasn’t excessive enough, Bugatti has heard you. Meet the Bugatti Tourbillon Équipe Pur Sang, or Thoroughbred Team en anglaise. This latest Tourbillon variant adds some flair to the already jaw-dropping Bugatti hypercar. A new exhaust system and a new set of wheels are the stars of the package, but that might be selling the new spin on the latest Bugatti a little short. There aren’t any major hardware changes headed to the Équipe Pur Sang. That means you’ll still find the 8.3-liter V16 under the engine cover, and three electric motors under the Tourbillon’s skin. Advertisement Advertisement Where this latest variant sets itself apart from the standard Tourbillon is that the naturally aspirated V16 now sends its exhaust through eight tips at the car’s rear. These exhaust tips join a revised rear diffuser to help further separate the Équipe Pur Sang from the standard issue Tourbillon. This special Tourbillon also rides on a new set of wheels. Spanning 20 inches in the front and 21 inches in the rear, these new rims do more than just look flashy. Bugatti says this new wheel design helps air get to the heat exchangers. The company says the long, thin spokes create less turbulence and improve the car’s cooling by 8%. On the inside, this sport-oriented Tourbillon comes with standard sport seats, and you’ll find some carbon-fiber accents. That’s because the Équipe Pur Sang comes with the Medium Carbon Fiber Interior Package, which is accented by Black Poli interior trim. Bugatti There’s also embroidery on the dashboard and headrest, but I’m sure Bugatti can do more—or less—when you place your order. Advertisement Advertisement The Bugatti Tourbillon Équipe Pur Sang is available to order now. However, considering that Bugatti is only building 250 examples of the Tourbillon globally, you may have missed your chance a year ago to secure the rights to your $4.1 million hybrid hypercar. What do you think of the eight exhaust tips? Should Bugatti go with 16 tips down the line? Tell us your thoughts below.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE American crypto exchange Kraken has announced it is buying futures trading platform NinjaTrader in a deal that would help it achieve its expansion goals and underscores the growing intersection of traditional finance and crypto. In a Thursday announcement, San Francisco-based Kraken valued the acquisition at $1.5 billion, subject to certain purchase price adjustments. "This acquisition strengthens our position as a 24/7, always-on technology platform built for professional traders, making us a leader in U.S. futures for both traditional and crypto markets," Kraken said in a press release. 🚨 MASSIVE NEWS 🚨 Kraken is acquiring @NinjaTrader for $1.5B, locking in the largest TradFi + crypto deal ever. Another huge milestone on our road to becoming the world’s go-to platform for trading anything, anytime, anywhere. More details 👇https://t.co/Pdv5hiAAub — Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) March 20, 2025 The transaction comes as Kraken looks to expand as it also emerges from regulatory headwinds. Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to drop a lawsuit against Kraken that alleged it was operating as a securities exchange. Earlier this month, the exchange confirmed to Decrypt that it is planning to go public but would not reveal a timeline. NinjaTrader allows traders to buy and sell contracts that bet on the future price of commodities such as oil, Bitcoin, and copper. Kraken's co-CEO Arjun Sethi added that while "traditional markets run on post-WWII, 1950s banking systems," today's acquisition was the beginning of Kraken's move to become an "institutional-grade trading platform where any asset can be traded, anytime." The exchange's announcement added that the company is hoping to branch out into other assets. "It also accelerates Kraken's multi-asset-class ambitions—which also include plans for equities trading and payments," it read. Kraken allows customers to buy, sell, and bet on the future price of digital coins and tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Last year, Kraken launched a suite of crypto derivatives products for Australian wholesale clients. The exchange is one of the biggest digital asset trading platforms in the U.S., with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.3 billion, according to CoinGecko data. Edited by James Rubin

Read the full story on Backfire News E46 BMW M3 Competition Sports An E60 M5 Engine Swap For many, the E46 BMW M3 Competition is the iconic Bavarian speedster. Lightweight, balanced, entertainingly quick, most wouldn’t mess with the factory setup. But one guy had a radical idea to do a V10 engine swap from an E60 M5 and kept going, transforming the vehicle into his perfect vision. It works surprisingly well. Watch a filthy BMW M6 E24 get washed for the first time in a quarter century. An S85 V10 is shoehorned into the front of the E46 and it fits rather well. But to get it in there and have everything sit just right took a lot of work, so hats off to the guys who worked on this. It’s bolted up to a transmission from an E92 M3, adding to the Frankenstein nature of this Bimmer. Image via Autotopia LA/YouTube Our biggest question, and we assume it’s everyone’s, is how the much larger engine affects handling and braking. The owner says because the V10 has an aluminum block and the factory inline-six for the E46 was cast iron, it’s under 100 lbs. difference in weight. That’s rather fortunate. Advertisement Advertisement The hood is a carbon fiber example made by a tuner out of Japan. That explains all the venting, which adds to the aggressive look of the car. You’ll also note the vented fenders, with the fins showing of exposed carbon fiber weave. There’s also a carbon fiber lip on the front bumper, which is flared out to meet the aftermarket fenders. The reflectors in the front bumper were also removed, the cutouts filled in for a cleaner look. Around back is more carbon fiber in the form of a lip on the bumper and the trunk lid, which is done in the OEM style. Plus, there’s a small hint on the exterior about what’s under that vented hood, thanks to a V10 badge custom created for the car. Advertisement Advertisement As you might imagine, this thing is rowdy when the driver gets on the accelerator, making some lovely sounds. Make sure to watch the video so you get to experience that Bavarian symphony. Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube

Mercedes is saying “auf Wiedershen” to the hottest of hot hatches. The German luxury marque has revealed that its discontinuing the A-Class, three years after it stopped selling the vehicle in the U.S., according to Motor1.com. Why is this such a big deal? Because that means the automaker has pulled the plug on its one and only hatchback. More from Robb Report Since its introduction in 1997, the A-Class has been Mercedes’s entry-level model. In the car’s fourth generation, a sedan edition was added to the lineup, but it has mainly been sold as a three- or five-door hatchback. As a true compact, it’s often been on the smaller end of the automotive spectrum, but there have also been several AMG versions over the years. The most recent, the wing-sporting A 45, came with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that made 421 hp, making it the most powerful gas-powered hatchback you could buy. 2023 Mercedes-AMG A 45 S But the A-Class’s days as the automaker’s entry-level model are now over. Last week, that role was taken over by the new CLA sedan, and this week, Mercedes has confirmed the older model won’t make it past this generation. The news comes via chief technology officer, Markus Schäfer, who told Italian magazine Quattroruote that the company will built fewer compacts, which are mainly popular in its home region, to focus on more expensive SUVs, which sell better worldwide. Advertisement Advertisement “We need models that will work around the world, including China and the U.S.,” the executive said. “I know the hatchback is a favorite in Europe, but it was not part of the plan, and we had to make choices, including difficult ones.” Mercedes may be getting out of the hot-hatch game, but there are still a couple of attractive options out there for compact enthusiasts—especially if they’re willing to go electric. The 641-hp Ioniq 5 N has won plenty of plaudits since debuting in the summer. Renault is also bringing back the legendary 5 Turbo as an all-electric “mini-supercar” that it claims will make 540 hp. And, for those who crave a more traditional powertrain, there’s also the Honda Civic Type R and Toyota GR Corolla. The cars may top out at around 300 hp, but they are both available with a six-speed manual, something that can’t be said of their more powerful battery-powered peers. Best of Robb Report Sign up for RobbReports's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.

wo Energica electric EV motorcycles parked outside the English Electric Motor Co (EEMC). In front is an Energica Esse Esse, and behind an Energica Ribelle RS. Energica are market leaders based in Italy for the manufacture of electric motorcycles. - Andy Soloman/Getty Images Electric motorcycles are an absolute blast, but they're still a bit of a tough sell here in the States. Battery tech isn't exactly cheap, and most Americans are too afraid of water to ever consider a commute unshielded by thousands of pounds of metal and glass. The numbers are hard to make work for a second vehicle too, and that tricky math led to the downfall of one of the most interesting electric motorcycle manufacturers. Energica was building bikes, winning podium spots, and then suddenly it was nothing at all. Now, there's a chance for the Energica name to become something once again. The company is going up for auction, and some lucky buyer will walk away with everything from the name and branding to intellectual property and even unfinished and prototype motorcycles. The starting bid is just $3.5 million, but you could walk away with Energica for a reserve price of $4.65 million — not bad for an entire motorcycle company. Read more: Pokémon Go Was A Plot To Use Your Data To Fast Track An AI-Slop Google Maps Competitor You, Personally, Should Revive Energica Energica EsseEsse9 motorcycle on display at Motobike Expo in Istanbul Exhibition Center - EvrenKalinbacak/Shutterstock The sale listing includes a document of Energica's current inventory, written in some sort of indecipherable secret code called "Italian." Through careful application of the Jalopnik Mainframe's immense processing power, I've been able to crack some small parts of the list, including at least four prototype bikes and eight production motorcycles in various states of incompleteness. There's also a type of very fancy storage shelving, valued at over $150,000. Really, you can't afford not to buy this bundle. Advertisement Advertisement Energica will likely go to one of two types of buyers: Either a bright-eyed idealist bent on bringing the brand back, like Norton, or a cynic who wants to plaster the name on shirts and use the company to take investment funds for personal use, like Norton. The third option, though, is that it goes to you — a true enthusiast, a fan, someone with the knowledge and resources to make Energica the brand it deserves to be. That is you, right? h/t RideApart Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.

Cryptocurrency mining, particularly cloud mining, has long been a popular method of generating passive income. Though with increasing energy prices, red-tapism, and reduced profitability, investors no longer look towards the same archaic crypto mining practices. There are various investment modes in 2025 that have better returns and lower risks as compared to conventional crypto mining methods. HTXMining: A Leading Platform for Liquidity Mining One of the ultimate alternatives for crypto is liquidity mining. That brings a chance for investors to earn passive income while holding and validating transactions on a blockchain network. HTXMining is the leading crypto staking platform in 2025 that provides users with a risk-free environment and a simple way to maximize their assets in a hassle-free environment. 1. HTXMining Liquidity Mining: The Future of Flexible Crypto Earnings HTXMining is revolutionizing crypto staking using liquidity mining, an innovative approach that enables you to earn passive income without staking assets. With a dynamic return (DR) of 5.5% and total value locked (TVL) of over $84 billion, HTXMining is a top choice for investors looking to maximize rewards while maintaining control over their funds. Level Balance Ratio 1 5- 1,050 1.5% 2 1,050- 3,050 2% 3 3,051 – 5,050 2.5% 4 5,051- 10,050 2.8% 5 10,051- 15,050 3.1% 6 15,051- 20,050 3.5% 7 20,051- 50,050 3.8% 8 50,051- 80,050 4.1% 9 80,051- 100,050 4.5% 10 100,051- 200,050 4.8% 11 200,051- 500,050 5.1% 12 500,051- 1,000,000,000 5.5% 2. 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The plans are particularly suited to those wishing to grow their crypto portfolio without bothering about market ups and downs owing to a low-risk investment environment provided by them. Why Choose HTXMining’s Liquidity Staking? Earn While Staying Flexible – Enjoy staking rewards of up to 5.5% without giving up access to your assets. Use Your Assets in DeFi – Continue trading, lending, or yield farming while earning staking returns. Secure & Transparent – HTXMining offers institutional-grade security and a transparent staking infrastructure. Unmatched Liquidity – With a TVL exceeding $84 billion, users enjoy seamless liquidity access. Easy-to-Use Platform – A simple and intuitive interface makes staking and managing funds effortless. 3. Maximize Your Earnings with Exclusive Bonuses & Lucrative Affiliate Rewards! In the world of cryptocurrency, finding profitable and reliable investment opportunities is key to long-term success. While crypto staking has become one of the most popular ways to earn passive income, HTXMining takes it a step further by offering exclusive bonuses as well as an attractive affiliate program by which users can simply maximize their returns. HTXMining Affiliate Program: Earn More by Referring & Growing Your Network The HTXMining Affiliate Program is a fantastic opportunity for users to earn passive income while growing the community. Whenever you bring a new user to the platform through your unique referral link, you will earn rewards as you cut to your account. Participants can actually earn extra cash just by spreading the word about HTXMining’s services. You will earn rewards in multiple levels, and payouts that are a breeze. This will serve as a perfect way to monetize your network while helping others discover one of the best crypto-staking platforms. How to Get Started with the HTXMining Affiliate Program Getting started is simple, even if you’re new to affiliate marketing. Follow these easy steps: Sign Up – Lnk your wallet and get started with Htxmining. Claim Your $100 Welcome Bonus Join the Affiliate Program – Navigate to the Affiliate Section on the platform and get your unique referral link. Share Your Referral Link – Share your link with the personnel community and through social media. Earn Commissions – Whenever a new user joins through your referral link you will earn rewards. Withdraw Your Earnings – Easily withdraw your rewards through the HTXMining dashboard. 4. HTXMining’s Million Bounty Program HTXMining isn’t just about offering rewards—it’s about creating a robust, long-term staking ecosystem. Through this Million Bounty Program, The primary goal of HTXMining is to expand its community, accelerate the adoption of crypto staking, and create smart investments in the digital asset arena for users to earn profits. You are not only earning rewards today but positioning yourself to take part in a future where staking and decentralized finance (DeFi) by join this program. Conclusion: Staking offers a more sustainable and stable investment opportunity to earn passive income compared to Crypto mining. There are attractive crypto-staking rewards that allow investors to generate passive income. Staking through platforms like HTXMining presents a better investment opportunity for all who are willing to maximize their returns in 2025 in the world of developing cryptocurrencies. Therefore grow your assets by staking with Htxmining and become a great investor. This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Eddie Jordan, a race-winning Formula 1 team owner, manager, and broadcaster, has died, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali announced Thursday on X. He was 76. Jordan began his racing career as a driver, working his way up from the Irish karting scene to Formula 2 before making a brief stop at the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans in a BMW M1. After his career as a driver stalled out, Jordan founded his first racing team in 1979. His teams competed in British Formula 3 and Formula 3000, bringing up future F1 drivers Martin Brundle, Jean Alesi, and Johnny Herbert. Hoch Zwei - Getty Images Formula 1 followed, in 1991. His Jordan Grand Prix team gave a Mercedes sports car driver named Michael Schumacher his first F1 ride; that ended with a DNF on lap one, but Schumacher had been so impressive in practice and qualifying that he had signed with eventual champions Benetton one race later. Advertisement Advertisement Jordan Grand Prix scored points in every season it entered and won four times. The first win came with Damon Hill in 1998. A year later, Heinz-Harald Frentzen won twice and brought the team to a high of third in the constructor's championship. The team's final win came with Giancarlo Fisichella under unusual circumstances in 2003: controversy over official F1 timing after a race-ending red flag meant that the race was decided in court later in the week. It was one of just three points-paying finishes for the Jordan Grand Prix team that year. John Marsh - EMPICS - Getty Images The team was eventually sold to Midland, who later sold it to Spyker. Force India owned the team for most of the intervening years before it became Racing Point, then finally, Aston Martin F1. After selling the team, Jordan worked as a broadcaster in England; he also served as Adrian Newey's manager, and last year he helped the legendary designer negotiate a deal with the Aston Martin team that traces its roots back to his own Jordan Grand Prix. Jordan had announced a prostate cancer diagnosis in December of last year. He died in South Africa on Thursday. He is survived by his wife and four children. You Might Also Like

Pakistan is set to develop a regulatory framework for digital assets, a move that would help the country attract international investment and boost the local cryptocurrency system, according to Bilal bin Saqib, CEO of the government-backed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), which aims to integrate blockchain and crypto innovations into the national financial system. The plan is driven by the belief that a Trump return to the White House would spur growth in the cryptocurrency industry. Saqib, speaking with Bloomberg on Thursday, said that it’s the right time to do that. He asserted that President Trump’s return to the White House serves as a bullish catalyst for the cryptocurrency industry. “He made history as the first sitting US president to speak at a Bitcoin or crypto conference in New York,” Saqib said. More Crypto All The Time The PCC CEO, who also serves as the chief adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister for cryptocurrency management, noted that “Trump is essentially flipping the script” with an executive order forming a crypto working group to accommodate digital assets and creating a US Bitcoin Reserve. “That means that the largest economy in the world is creating it, like a valuable national asset similar to how it stockpiles gold or oil for security and strength,” Saqib explained. According to Saqib, if the US adopts a pro-crypto stance, it can influence other countries to do the same. As Trump makes crypto a national priority, countries like Pakistan need to follow suit or face “risk of being left behind.” Saqib said that Pakistan is ready to embrace the digital future and wants to create a favorable environment for blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation. He wants to create an environment that encourages investment, adoption, and growth. Saqib added that his vision is to make Pakistan a frontrunner in blockchain-powered finance, thus attracting global investment. According to him, the country presents itself as a low-cost, high-growth market, bolstered by a youthful demographic where 60% of the population is under 30. In addition to this demographic advantage, Pakistan has a “Web3 native workforce ready to build,” the expert noted. When asked about whether Pakistan plans to legalize cryptocurrencies, Saqib said he wants to, reiterating the goal of establishing a clear regulatory framework for digital assets in the country. Opportunities for International Investors Discussing opportunities for international investors, Saqib said that the focus would be on providing stability, scalability, and a transparent regulatory framework. He indicated that efforts are underway to establish regulatory sandboxes, designed to expedite the operational processes for crypto startups within a controlled and compliant environment. According to him, compared to established hubs like Dubai and Singapore, Pakistan has competitive advantages like considerably lower operational costs and a substantial domestic market with GDP exceeding $360 billion. Saqib also mentioned that Pakistan plans to leverage the regulatory experiences of nations currently being ahead of the curve, including the UAE, Nigeria, Turkey, Singapore, and Hong Kong, through direct engagement and collaborative learning, to refine and implement its own regulatory approach. On crypto taxation, Saqib stressed that overtaxation could hurt innovation. Pakistan plans to adopt a balanced, pro-growth tax structure to incentivize crypto businesses, ensuring that they are complying with guidelines while attracting internatiation investors. As of now, cryptocurrency is not fully legalized in Pakistan. However, there are major developments underway. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has proposed a framework to recognize digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as legal currency, which could potentially allow digital currencies like Bitcoin to gain legal tender status. The proposal is still pending approval from the federal government and parliament. Meanwhile, Pakistan aims to become a hub for cryptocurrency in South Asia, which suggests a shift towards embracing blockchain technology and digital currencies.

Bentley has begun preparing its Pyms Lane site for EV production, as the next step in its electrification strategy that has already seen the debuts of several PHEV models. The British luxury brand will reveal a new battery-electric SUV in 2026, positioned below the Bentayga in size, with deliveries set to start in 2027. The premium automaker will introduce a new BEV or PHEV model every year between now and 2035, with plans to go EV-only by that year. It feels like it wasn't that long ago when Bentley first revealed its EV strategy, aiming for an EV-only lineup by 2030. These plans have since been revised, with a new target year of 2035. Of course, quite a bit still has to happen between now and 2035 to make this a reality, especially at a time when several automakers are scaling back their EV ambitions. And as a first step this includes the launch of its first EV, slated to be revealed in 2026 and to arrive in customer driveways starting in 2027. But just how much progress has been made toward that goal in recent months? Advertisement Advertisement The automaker revealed this month that it is now readying its Pyms Lane factory for EV production and is converting the oldest building at the site for housing an assembly line for BEV models. Bentley recently opened a new paint shop and a new Excellence Centre for Quality & Launch. "The new facilities aim to set a new benchmark in next generation, digital, flexible, and high-value manufacturing operations," the automaker said. Just what one of those EV models will look like was previewed in late 2024, with Bentley showing a shadowy profile drawing of an unnamed "luxury urban SUV," one that could be a bit smaller than the Bentayga and aimed at a more dense, urban environment. Alex Lawrence Slated to measure just under five meters, or 197 inches from head to stern, the model was described by the Bentley CEO as "compact" at the time, at least relative to the current Bentley vehicle universe. Advertisement Advertisement "Last year marked a milestone year in our transformation as we prepare for our electric future," Frank-Steffen Walliser, Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said this month. "We are investing at levels never seen before at Bentley, as we not only revolutionize our product cycle plan, but also transform an 85-year-old site for a new age of electrification." In its path to an all-EV lineup, Bentley plans to introduce a new electric or hybrid model every year between now and 2035—a busy schedule for what is still a relatively small automaker based on annual production. The tech and resources of the greater Volkswagen Automotive Group—Bentley's corporate parent—will certainly play a role in this ambitious debut schedule. It is expected that the upcoming Porsche Cayenne EV, due to arrive in 2026, will lend its underpinnings to the upcoming Bentley model. Advertisement Advertisement The electric Bentley SUV is also expected to be more nimble than the Bentayga, reflecting a subtle shift in priorities compared to the time the Bentayga was launched a decade ago, while also taking advantage of instant torque. Bentley has not officially confirmed other upcoming battery-electric models just yet, but it is expected the debut of a battery-electric Continental GT is only a matter of time. Such a model is now seen as one of the two next likely EV debuts, after the 2027 SUV, though it remains to be seen whether an all-electric Continental GT will arrive before 2030 or sometime thereafter. A new fourth generation of the internal-combustion model just arrived last year. A battery-electric version of the next-gen Bentayga, due around the end of the decade with the next major redesign, is also anticipated by some industry watchers. Bentley And between now and 2030, more PHEV variants of existing models are on the way, even after the debuts of three PHEV models over the past year. Advertisement Advertisement What does the rest of the year look like for Bentley? "Looking forward to 2025, of course we continue to navigate difficult global market conditions and maintained volatile political and economic environments, however our strength of sales is strong," Walliser said. "We have reached record levels of revenue per car, a well-balanced export strategy, and a clear structure to maximize personalization." Bentley has traditionally been seen as somewhat immune to annual shifts in the economy when it comes to sales. Hearst Owned But its revenues and operating profits have fluctuated quite a bit over the past several years, with 2023 and 2024 seeing declines in revenues of 13% and 10%, respectively. Advertisement Advertisement Its operating profits have also seen drastic swings over the past five years, with significant gains seen in 2021 and 2022 followed by declines in the two subsequent years. The brand's electrification strategy, however, will now coincide with the emergence of a much more global audience than its lineup had seen 20 years ago. China's turn to EVs is one of the driving forces of this transformation. Can Bentley stick to its 2035 EV-only goal, or will the automaker push back the target year once again? Let us know what you think in the comments.

As decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms continue to dominate the crypto market, Uniswap (UNI) remains one of the most popular decentralized exchanges. However, Coldware (COLD) is emerging as a strong competitor, offering a unique approach to the Web3 space. As Uniswap (UNI) continues to soar, driven by increased adoption and growth in its ecosystem, Coldware (COLD) is rapidly gaining traction due to its focus on scalability, real-world blockchain applications, and mobile-first solutions. Coldware (COLD): A New Challenger in the DeFi Space While Uniswap (UNI) continues to lead in the DeFi space, Coldware (COLD) is gaining attention for its unique positioning. Coldware (COLD) offers scalability beyond financial transactions, with a focus on decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain solutions that integrate with the Internet of Things (IoT). By prioritizing real-world applications, Coldware (COLD) is creating a decentralized ecosystem that could be essential for future technology deployments across industries such as healthcare, logistics, and retail. Coldware (COLD) vs. Uniswap (UNI): A Comparative Look at Their Growth Potential Both Uniswap (UNI) and Coldware (COLD) are pivotal in shaping the future of DeFi and blockchain technology. While Uniswap (UNI) focuses on financial transactions and liquidity in decentralized exchanges, Coldware (COLD)is aiming to take blockchain technology to the next level by integrating it into everyday business solutions. As Uniswap (UNI) develops new features and liquidity incentives, Coldware (COLD) is innovating in mobile-first solutions that could bring blockchain to millions of users in underserved regions. Uniswap (UNI) Price Surge and DeFi Expansion The price of Uniswap (UNI) recently surged by 7.5%, with trading volumes reaching new highs following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The news sent shockwaves through the DeFi market, with tokens like Uniswap (UNI), PancakeSwap (CAKE), and Hyperliquid (HYPE) leading the charge. For Uniswap (UNI), this price increase came after an announcement regarding new governance proposals, allocating $165.5 million to drive growth and innovation in its ecosystem. The approval of these proposals for Uniswap (UNI) marks a significant milestone in the project’s evolution. A portion of the funds will be used to support Uniswap v4 and the Unichain Layer 2 network, pushing forward their DeFi ambitions. This move is part of the broader “Uniswap Unleashed” initiative, which aims to attract new users and liquidity providers by introducing features such as the much-anticipated “fee switch.” This mechanism will allow Uniswap (UNI) token holders to benefit from a share of the protocol’s revenue. Conclusion: Coldware (COLD) and Uniswap (UNI): Complementary Forces in the DeFi Ecosystem Uniswap (UNI) remains a dominant force in the DeFi market, but Coldware (COLD) is emerging as a key player with a broader scope of applications. As Uniswap (UNI) continues to expand its ecosystem with new governance proposals and liquidity incentives, Coldware (COLD) is developing scalable solutions for real-world industries. Investors and developers should closely watch both projects, as their evolution will shape the future of the DeFi landscape. For more information on the Coldware (COLD) Presale: Visit Coldware (COLD) Join and become a community member: https://t.me/coldwarenetwork https://x.com/ColdwareNetwork This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

While Sui (SUI) and Binance Coin (BNB) are showing strong momentum in the crypto market, Coldware (COLD) is emerging as a strong contender with the potential for significant gains. As the crypto landscape shifts, investors are increasingly looking at Coldware (COLD) for its innovative approach to blockchain, IoT integration, and scalability. With its focus on real-world applications, Coldware (COLD) could follow a path of exponential growth, potentially rivaling other top cryptocurrencies like Sui (SUI) and Binance Coin (BNB). Coldware (COLD) and its Position in the Blockchain Space While Sui (SUI) focuses on scalability and decentralization with its Move programming language, Coldware (COLD) takes a different approach, targeting real-world applications that extend far beyond the financial and DeFi sectors. Coldware’s mobile-first blockchain ecosystem is designed to integrate seamlessly with IoT, offering scalability and utility that many other blockchains lack. In comparison, Binance Coin (BNB) has been a major player in the centralized exchange space, but Coldware’s decentralized, scalable solution could disrupt industries beyond crypto, including logistics, healthcare, and more. By focusing on mobile accessibility and energy-efficient solutions through its Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, Coldware (COLD) is paving the way for blockchain adoption on a larger scale. Coldware’s Unique Advantage Over Sui (SUI) and Binance Coin (BNB) Unlike Sui (SUI), which is primarily aimed at developers building decentralized applications, Coldware (COLD) targets industries that need scalable, secure, and decentralized solutions to their IoT needs. The focus on real-world applications such as smart cities, connected devices, and tokenized assets gives Coldware (COLD) a unique edge in the market. BNB, on the other hand, is facing increased competition within the exchange space, with the rise of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and blockchain-based solutions. Coldware (COLD) offers an alternative to centralized platforms by leveraging blockchain to bring real-world IoT use cases to life, creating a platform with far-reaching implications across industries. Why Coldware (COLD) Could See 500% Gains in the Future With Coldware’s focus on real-world applications and its mobile-first approach, the blockchain’s potential to scale and serve industries outside of finance could result in massive growth. As blockchain adoption increases and IoT continues to expand, Coldware (COLD)’s position as a scalable and energy-efficient platform could lead to substantial returns for investors. Conclusion: Coldware (COLD) as a Top Crypto to Watch While Sui (SUI) and Binance Coin (BNB) remain strong contenders in the market, Coldware (COLD) is positioning itself for significant long-term growth. With its focus on practical, real-world applications in IoT and tokenization, Coldware (COLD) is a blockchain project that has the potential to achieve impressive gains in the coming years. Investors looking for the next big opportunity should keep an eye on Coldware (COLD) as it continues to innovate and expand. For more information on the Coldware (COLD) Presale: Visit Coldware (COLD) Join and become a community member: https://t.me/coldwarenetwork https://x.com/ColdwareNetwork This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE San Francisco, CA, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire GAIB, the economic layer transforming AI infrastructure investment, has announced the upcoming launch of AID, the first AI synthetic dollar. AID is backed by a portfolio of GPU financing deals, GPU cash flow, a reserve of treasury bills, and other liquid assets, aiming to introduce AI-related yield to onchain markets. The token will bridge the gap between AI infrastructure and blockchain finance to provide direct exposure to the AI economy. The AI revolution is driving an unprecedented demand for computing power, yet traditional financial systems have failed to keep pace. While AI infrastructure and GPU compute require significant capital investment, funding options remain limited, inefficient, or speculative. AID is a yield-generating synthetic dollar backed by AI compute assets, designed to reflect returns from AI-related financing. AID is backed by AI compute assets rather than fiat reserves or speculative tokenomics. By tokenizing GPU-backed cash flows, it aims to introduce an asset class tied to AI-related financial activity while facilitating capital access for AI infrastructure providers. "Compute will be the currency for the AI era,” said Kony, CEO and co-founder of GAIB. “AID uniquely offers investors direct exposure to AI compute revenue, enabling scalable and stable yield opportunities from the AI economy onchain." When one U.S. dollar enters GAIB’s protocol or the portfolio generates a dollar in yield, one AID will be minted. Similarly, when a dollar of yield is paid out, one AID will be burned to ensure AID’s market capitalization mirrors its underlying assets' value. To accrue yield directly from AI-driven GPU-backed assets, investors can stake AID and receive sAID in return. This model allows investors to retain liquidity while benefiting from the growth of AI compute. AID will leverage the growth of the AI industry and its infrastructure, offering a new way to gain exposure to this market. AID will initially launch on the Ethereum mainnet, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Story Protocol, and Base in Q2 2025, with plans for expansion across additional blockchain networks to make AID accessible to all users throughout the DeFi ecosystem. For more information, users can visit gaib.ai. About GAIB GAIB is the first economic layer for AI and compute, transforming GPU-backed assets into yield-generating opportunities. Through AID, GAIB’s AI synthetic dollar, investors can seamlessly access the AI economy while earning real yield from AI-powered compute. Staking AID (sAID) allows token holders to earn rewards while maintaining liquidity, offering access to AI-driven financial markets. GAIB also powers AI infrastructure by providing capital solutions for cloud providers and data centers, optimizing their access to compute resources. With integrations across DeFi protocols, including lending, borrowing, and structured products, GAIB bridges AI and blockchain finance—unlocking new opportunities at the intersection of technology and investment. For more information, visit gaib.ai. Contact Hype Press Team press@hype.partners Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE New York, United States, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire Lagrange, the decentralized ZK Prover Network, has entered a deal with Matter Labs to direct up to 75% of Matter Labs’ outsourced proof demand to the Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) over the next two years. This marks a pivotal moment in furthering the ZK Stack's transition to decentralized proof generation. In January 2025, Lagrange successfully integrated a decentralized version of ZKsync’s ZK Stack prover, demonstrating that proof generation no longer needs to rely on centralized single-entity solutions. This new partnership cements that progress, enabling ZKsync to process more of its proving demand on a decentralized network, something never before achieved at this scale. “Every rollup will be a ZK rollup, and that's the future of Layer 2 scaling,” said Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh, Co-Founder & CEO of Lagrange. “ZK rollups offer unmatched scalability, security, and cost efficiency, making them the inevitable choice for next-generation decentralized applications. With this partnership, ZKsync is enabled to lead the charge, and the Elastic Network will operate at an unprecedented scale without compromising on decentralization.” Lagrange has spent the last year establishing that decentralized proving networks can outperform centralized alternatives. The Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) has already reduced costs, increased throughput, and eliminated reliance on single points of centralized failure. Now, with Matter Labs committing to LPN for up to 75% of its outsourced proofs, the industry has a clear path forward toward a fully decentralized ZK rollup ecosystem. For ZKsync users, this translates into lower gas fees and faster transactions. For businesses, this translates to greater confidence in the performance and liveness of L2s on the Elastic Network. “This collaboration further increases the ability of ZKsync’s Elastic Network to scale, and gives ZKsync builders more options for customization,” said Anthony Rose, CTO of Matter Labs, a contributor to ZKsync. “Decentralized proving increases the resilience of the network, relative to a centralized model, and expands the total available hardware that can be used to generate proofs - which is important as network activity increases. By integrating with Lagrange’s infrastructure, we’re also expanding the flexibility and control available to builders, reinforcing ZK Chains as the most powerful and adaptable scaling solution for the future of web3.” The ZKsync ecosystem boasts nearly 25 ZK stack chains, 300 applications, and 1.3M onchain transactions in the last month alone (source: DappRadar). Lagrange has proven it can operate at a massive scale, unlocking the next phase of ZK rollup evolution. Rollup-as-a-service platforms, including Caldera and AltLayer, are also benefiting firsthand from Lagrange by relying exclusively on the Lagrange Prover Network for their ecosystems’ proof generation. Key Takeaways: Decentralization – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. Lower Costs – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users' gas fees. – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users' gas fees. Liveness & Security – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. Revenue & Growth – By capturing more of ZKsync’s proving demand, Lagrange unlocks new revenue generation and network expansion opportunities. About Lagrange Lagrange offers decentralized proving to scale any ZK application, rollup, or protocol. By leveraging a decentralized network to generate ZK proofs, Lagrange unlocks significant efficiency, cost savings, and uptime reliability. Its approach enables hyper-parallel proof generation, advancing cross-chain interoperability and supporting complex computations over large datasets. The company has raised over $17 million in funding from investors such as Founders Fund, 1kx, Maven11, Lattice Fund, and CMT Digital. It is led by a team of academic experts, including collegiate professors and PhD researchers who have authored multiple academic papers on cutting-edge cryptographic protocols. With over $29 billion in total restaked ETH, 85+ top operators (including Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and others), over 9 million ZK proofs, and 400,000 state proofs generated, Lagrange is at the forefront of innovation in the blockchain space. The company’s unique technology is enabling a new era of hyper-scalable proving, positioning Lagrange as a leader in blockchain-based cryptography and decentralized applications that require complex, high-volume data processing. About Matter Labs Matter Labs is a leading research and development company focused on scaling Ethereum through zero-knowledge-proof technology. It pioneers ZK-based blockchain infrastructure, enabling fast, secure, and scalable transactions. About ZKsync ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync powers the Elastic Network, an ever-expanding network of customizable chains. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available. For more information, users can visit www.lagrange.dev, www.zksync.io, and www.matter-labs.io Contact Senior PR Manager Wahaj Khan Serotonin wahaj@serotonin.co Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.

Share this article New York, United States, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire Lagrange, the decentralized ZK Prover Network, has entered a deal with Matter Labs to direct up to 75% of Matter Labs’ outsourced proof demand to the Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) over the next two years. This marks a pivotal moment in furthering the ZK Stack’s transition to decentralized proof generation. In January 2025, Lagrange successfully integrated a decentralized version of ZKsync’s ZK Stack prover, demonstrating that proof generation no longer needs to rely on centralized single-entity solutions. This new partnership cements that progress, enabling ZKsync to process more of its proving demand on a decentralized network, something never before achieved at this scale. “Every rollup will be a ZK rollup, and that’s the future of Layer 2 scaling,” said Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh, Co-Founder & CEO of Lagrange. “ZK rollups offer unmatched scalability, security, and cost efficiency, making them the inevitable choice for next-generation decentralized applications. With this partnership, ZKsync is enabled to lead the charge, and the Elastic Network will operate at an unprecedented scale without compromising on decentralization.” Lagrange has spent the last year establishing that decentralized proving networks can outperform centralized alternatives. The Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) has already reduced costs, increased throughput, and eliminated reliance on single points of centralized failure. Now, with Matter Labs committing to LPN for up to 75% of its outsourced proofs, the industry has a clear path forward toward a fully decentralized ZK rollup ecosystem. For ZKsync users, this translates into lower gas fees and faster transactions. For businesses, this translates to greater confidence in the performance and liveness of L2s on the Elastic Network. “This collaboration further increases the ability of ZKsync’s Elastic Network to scale, and gives ZKsync builders more options for customization,” said Anthony Rose, CTO of Matter Labs, a contributor to ZKsync. “Decentralized proving increases the resilience of the network, relative to a centralized model, and expands the total available hardware that can be used to generate proofs – which is important as network activity increases. By integrating with Lagrange’s infrastructure, we’re also expanding the flexibility and control available to builders, reinforcing ZK Chains as the most powerful and adaptable scaling solution for the future of web3.” The ZKsync ecosystem boasts nearly 25 ZK stack chains, 300 applications, and 1.3M onchain transactions in the last month alone (source: DappRadar). Lagrange has proven it can operate at a massive scale, unlocking the next phase of ZK rollup evolution. Rollup-as-a-service platforms, including Caldera and AltLayer, are also benefiting firsthand from Lagrange by relying exclusively on the Lagrange Prover Network for their ecosystems’ proof generation. Key Takeaways: Decentralization – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. Lower Costs – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users’ gas fees. – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users’ gas fees. Liveness & Security – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. Revenue & Growth – By capturing more of ZKsync’s proving demand, Lagrange unlocks new revenue generation and network expansion opportunities. About Lagrange Lagrange offers decentralized proving to scale any ZK application, rollup, or protocol. By leveraging a decentralized network to generate ZK proofs, Lagrange unlocks significant efficiency, cost savings, and uptime reliability. Its approach enables hyper-parallel proof generation, advancing cross-chain interoperability and supporting complex computations over large datasets. The company has raised over $17 million in funding from investors such as Founders Fund, 1kx, Maven11, Lattice Fund, and CMT Digital. It is led by a team of academic experts, including collegiate professors and PhD researchers who have authored multiple academic papers on cutting-edge cryptographic protocols. With over $29 billion in total restaked ETH, 85+ top operators (including Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and others), over 9 million ZK proofs, and 400,000 state proofs generated, Lagrange is at the forefront of innovation in the blockchain space. The company’s unique technology is enabling a new era of hyper-scalable proving, positioning Lagrange as a leader in blockchain-based cryptography and decentralized applications that require complex, high-volume data processing. About Matter Labs Matter Labs is a leading research and development company focused on scaling Ethereum through zero-knowledge-proof technology. It pioneers ZK-based blockchain infrastructure, enabling fast, secure, and scalable transactions. About ZKsync ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync powers the Elastic Network, an ever-expanding network of customizable chains. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available. For more information, users can visit www.lagrange.dev, www.zksync.io, and www.matter-labs.io Contact Senior PR Manager Wahaj Khan Serotonin [email protected]

New York, United States, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire Lagrange, the decentralized ZK Prover Network, has entered a deal with Matter Labs to direct up to 75% of Matter Labs’ outsourced proof demand to the Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) over the next two years. This marks a pivotal moment in furthering the ZK Stack’s transition to decentralized proof generation. In January 2025, Lagrange successfully integrated a decentralized version of ZKsync’s ZK Stack prover, demonstrating that proof generation no longer needs to rely on centralized single-entity solutions. This new partnership cements that progress, enabling ZKsync to process more of its proving demand on a decentralized network, something never before achieved at this scale. “Every rollup will be a ZK rollup, and that’s the future of Layer 2 scaling,” said Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh, Co-Founder & CEO of Lagrange. “ZK rollups offer unmatched scalability, security, and cost efficiency, making them the inevitable choice for next-generation decentralized applications. With this partnership, ZKsync is enabled to lead the charge, and the Elastic Network will operate at an unprecedented scale without compromising on decentralization.” Lagrange has spent the last year establishing that decentralized proving networks can outperform centralized alternatives. The Lagrange Prover Network (LPN) has already reduced costs, increased throughput, and eliminated reliance on single points of centralized failure. Now, with Matter Labs committing to LPN for up to 75% of its outsourced proofs, the industry has a clear path forward toward a fully decentralized ZK rollup ecosystem. For ZKsync users, this translates into lower gas fees and faster transactions. For businesses, this translates to greater confidence in the performance and liveness of L2s on the Elastic Network. “This collaboration further increases the ability of ZKsync’s Elastic Network to scale, and gives ZKsync builders more options for customization,” said Anthony Rose, CTO of Matter Labs, a contributor to ZKsync. “Decentralized proving increases the resilience of the network, relative to a centralized model, and expands the total available hardware that can be used to generate proofs – which is important as network activity increases. By integrating with Lagrange’s infrastructure, we’re also expanding the flexibility and control available to builders, reinforcing ZK Chains as the most powerful and adaptable scaling solution for the future of web3.” The ZKsync ecosystem boasts nearly 25 ZK stack chains, 300 applications, and 1.3M onchain transactions in the last month alone (source: DappRadar). Lagrange has proven it can operate at a massive scale, unlocking the next phase of ZK rollup evolution. Rollup-as-a-service platforms, including Caldera and AltLayer, are also benefiting firsthand from Lagrange by relying exclusively on the Lagrange Prover Network for their ecosystems’ proof generation. Key Takeaways: Decentralization – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. – The majority of proof generation for a major rollup will happen entirely via a decentralized network. Lower Costs – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users’ gas fees. – Decentralized proving significantly reduces operational expenses, lowering users’ gas fees. Liveness & Security – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. – LPN’s network of independent provers ensures continuous uptime, resilience, and higher security than centralized alternatives. Revenue & Growth – By capturing more of ZKsync’s proving demand, Lagrange unlocks new revenue generation and network expansion opportunities. About Lagrange Lagrange offers decentralized proving to scale any ZK application, rollup, or protocol. By leveraging a decentralized network to generate ZK proofs, Lagrange unlocks significant efficiency, cost savings, and uptime reliability. Its approach enables hyper-parallel proof generation, advancing cross-chain interoperability and supporting complex computations over large datasets. The company has raised over $17 million in funding from investors such as Founders Fund, 1kx, Maven11, Lattice Fund, and CMT Digital. It is led by a team of academic experts, including collegiate professors and PhD researchers who have authored multiple academic papers on cutting-edge cryptographic protocols. With over $29 billion in total restaked ETH, 85+ top operators (including Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and others), over 9 million ZK proofs, and 400,000 state proofs generated, Lagrange is at the forefront of innovation in the blockchain space. The company’s unique technology is enabling a new era of hyper-scalable proving, positioning Lagrange as a leader in blockchain-based cryptography and decentralized applications that require complex, high-volume data processing. About Matter Labs Matter Labs is a leading research and development company focused on scaling Ethereum through zero-knowledge-proof technology. It pioneers ZK-based blockchain infrastructure, enabling fast, secure, and scalable transactions. About ZKsync ZKsync is the pioneering zero-knowledge technology powering the next generation of builders with limitless scale. Secured by math and designed for native interoperability, ZKsync powers the Elastic Network, an ever-expanding network of customizable chains. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the ZKsync technology makes digital self-ownership universally available. For more information, users can visit www.lagrange.dev, www.zksync.io, and www.matter-labs.io Contact Senior PR Manager Wahaj Khan Serotonin wahaj@serotonin.co This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE President Donald Trump vowed to make America the "undisputed Bitcoin superpower and crypto capital of the world," during video remarks delivered to the Digital Asset Summit conference in New York Thursday. It was only last night that Blockworks, the conference organizer, announced Trump would address attendees at its Digital Asset Summit in New York on Thursday morning. The 3-minute long address marks the first time ever that a sitting president would address a crypto industry conference. Although the President didn't announce any new initiatives, he reiterated that he's called on Congress to pass "landmark legislation creating simple, common sense rules for stablecoins." With it, he said, "institutions large and small will be liberated to innovate and take part in one of the most exciting technological revolutions in modern history." Just last week, the Senate voted to pass the Genius Act out of committee with strong bipartisan support. The bill’s sponsors, including Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), have said they intend for the GENIUS Act to receive a full vote on the Senate floor by the end of next month. If the bill passes, it would create provisions addressing reserve requirements, audits, transparency, and licensing for stablecoin issuers. Echoes of Nashville Bitcoin conference During his unprecedented in-person appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, while he was still campaigning for reelection, Trump urged attendees to "never sell your Bitcoin." That speech was also the first time that the President alluded to keeping the Bitcoin that had already been seized by the government. "As the final part of my plan today, I am announcing that if I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America, to keep 100% of all the Bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” Trump said at the time. So far, President Trump seems intent on making good on his campaign promise. On March 6, he signed an executive order to create the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. But the investors were disappointed to see that he was initially sticking to his plan to keep Bitcoin the government had seized or confiscated in connection to crimes rather than use a portion of its budget to buy BTC. But there are efforts underway to see that it does. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced her BITCOIN Act in the Senate last week. If passed, it would allow the government to acquire up to $80 billion worth of Bitcoin. Just days later, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would enshrine into law the President's proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. But the bill is crucially different from the legislation Lummis introduced in the Senate. While Lummis' bill specifies how much more Bitcoin the government could add to its reserve, Donalds' bill would authorize the U.S. Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary to add an unspecified amount of Bitcoin to a federal reserve if such acquisitions were “budget neutral,” Donalds told Decrypt in a statement. It's worth mentioning his draft of the bill contains no such provision. Edited by James Rubin.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE The momentum has shifted in the yearslong battle between top crypto companies and protocols and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the new Trump administration. The regulator, which now has a crypto task force led by longtime industry advocate Hester Peirce, is moving away from what Pierce and others have called “regulation by enforcement” to less hostile engagements with crypto. Thus far, those words have rung true with the SEC recently backing away from fights with multiple top crypto companies. Here are the SEC's biggest pivots, reversals, and exits so far under Trump. Binance Following a joint request, a U.S. district judge granted Binance a 60-day pause in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC, allowing both parties an opportunity to reassess the shifting regulatory landscape. The stay is in effect until April 14, at which point both parties will need to submit a status report. And since the stay was granted, the SEC has ended many other investigations and lawsuits, which may hint at what to expect from the Binance resolution. The exchange has dealt with alleged securities, money laundering, and sanctions compliance issues since at least 2023, which led to two separate settlements for $4.3 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively. Crypto rulemaking case On February 17, the SEC voluntarily dropped an appeal in a case revolving around the regulator's previous attempts to extend securities laws to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and users. The appeal was made after a federal judge in Texas called the regulator's expanded definitions unlawful, citing that it was conflating DeFi traders with financial brokers. The dropped appeal ensures that DeFi protocols do not need to register with the SEC as securities exchanges, leading the Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith to call it a “complete and total victory.” Coinbase Leading American crypto exchange Coinbase had its lawsuit officially dismissed by the SEC in February. The suit, which was filed in 2023, alleged that the platform knowingly operated as an unregistered securities exchange, specifically calling out tokens like Solana and Polygon in the process. In its statement on the move, the Commission said that the decision “rests on its judgement that the dismissal will facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry.” Prior to official approval, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said of the dismissal “there will be no settlement or compromise—a wrong will simply be made right." OpenSea The SEC has ended its investigation into NFT marketplace OpenSea, the firm said in February, dropping charges that alleged it operated as an unlicensed securities brokerage. The platform indicated it received a Wells notice from the regulator in August 2024, signaling the SEC would take action against it. “This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space,” said OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer. “Trying to classify NFTs as securities would have been a step backward—one that misinterprets the law and slows innovation.” Robinhood Crypto An SEC investigation into Robinhood—one which the platform claims should never have been opened—ended with no action taken by the regulator. “As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed,” said Robinhood's Chief Legal, Compliance and Corporate Affairs Officer Dan Gallagher. “We appreciate the formal closing of this investigation, and we are happy to see a return to the rule of law and commitment to fairness at the SEC." The firm was notified of a potential enforcement action in May 2024 when it received a Wells notice from the Gary Gensler-led SEC. Uniswap Labs Uniswap Labs, the creator of Ethereum decentralized exchange Uniswap, said in February that the SEC has ended its investigation into the organization without filing any charges. Like other leading crypto organizations, Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice in April 2024 which alleged it operated as an unregistered securities broker, exchange, and clearing agency, and that had enabled the sale of an unregistered security. With the investigation said to be over, all of the aforementioned claims have now been dropped, said its CEO Hayden Adams. “They went after us despite having no clear legal basis, as part of a strategy of arbitrary enforcement to try to force DeFi into a regulatory framework that doesn’t fit—all while refusing to provide clear rules or a path to compliance,” he posted on X. “This is a huge win, not just for Uniswap Labs but for DeFi as a whole.” Gemini Trust A two-year investigation into Gemini Trust about the unregistered sale of securities ended last week without an enforcement action from the Commission. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss noted the milestone, but said that it “does little to make up for the damage this agency has done to us, our industry, and America.” Winklevoss estimated that the regulator cost his firm “tens of millions in legal fees and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation." Justin Sun/Tron Like Binance, Justin Sun and Tron filed a joint motion alongside the SEC to temporarily stay the regulator's case in the hopes of finding a resolution. The case stems back to 2023 when the SEC alleged that Sun made more than 600,000 wash trades to create misleading Tron (TRX) volumes that led to around $32 million in profits. The joint filing indicates a resolution would be beneficial on account of “conserving judicial resources.” Consensys MetaMask and Linea parent company, Consensys, said that the Commission has agreed to put an end to its lawsuit against the company, which focused on staking features within MetaMask. The dismissal has been agreed to in principle, but requires approval from commissioners—similar to the regulator’s activity with Coinbase. “We were committed to fighting this suit until the bitter end but welcome this outcome,” said Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin on X. “Now we can get 100% back to building. 2025 is going to be the best year yet for Ethereum and Consensys.” (Disclosure: Consensys is one of 22 investors in an editorially independent Decrypt.) Kraken The Commission agreed to drop its latest lawsuit into the American centralized exchange Kraken, the firm said on March 3, pending commissioner approval. The SEC originally alleged that the firm violated securities laws with its staking-as-a-service system. That suit was settled in February 2023, with Kraken agreeing to pay a $30 million fine. But the regulator sued the platform again in November 2023, alleging it was operating as an unregistered securities exchange, dealer, and broker. That lawsuit is the one that it “agreed in principle” to drop. In conclusion, the exchange indicated there is “no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid, and no changes to our business.” Yuga Labs Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs announced on March 3 that the SEC closed its investigation into the company. The investigation had been ongoing since 2022, with the regulator scrutinizing the company’s NFT offerings, as well as the ApeCoin token launch. The Ethereum token’s creation was officially created to the “ApeCoin DAO.” “This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward,” the company posted on X. “NFTs are not securities.” Horizen Labs A representative for Horizen Labs confirmed to Decrypt on March 4 that an investigation into the company—due to its affiliation with the ApeCoin launch—was ended by the SEC with a recommendation of no enforcement action. “I can say personally how much of a weight off our shoulders this is for those who just want to build and always try to do the right thing,” CEO Rob Viglione said. “Horizen Labs could have gone offshore, like many did, but we chose to stay in the U.S. despite the war on crypto.” Cumberland DRW Market maker Cumberland announced on March 4 that the SEC agreed in principle to drop the case against the company, pending approval from commissioners. The Commission brought a suit against the firm in October 2024, alleging it acted as an unregistered dealer of securities. “As a firm deeply committed to the principles of integrity and transparency, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the SEC to help shape a future where technological advancements and regulatory clarity go hand-in-hand,” it posted on X, announcing the joint filing. BitClout The SEC and Department of Justice both agreed to drop cases against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji, after the agencies alleged he defrauded investors, with the SEC claiming that he perpetrated a "multi-million-dollar fraudulent crypto asset scheme.” BitClout, a social network that tokenized Twitter (now X) accounts, was backed by notable crypto investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures. Ripple Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on March 19 that the SEC’s case against the firm is over, with a Ripple spokesperson telling Decrypt that the conclusion is still pending approval by SEC commissioners—similar to other recent case dismissals. “I'm finally able to announce that this case has ended,” Garlinghouse said in a video to his followers on X. The longest-standing battle between the regulator and a crypto firm stemmed back to 2021 allegations about the unregistered sale of securities with XRP. In 2023, a partial ruling fell mostly in favor of Ripple, but the SEC later appealed. According to Garlinghouse, that appeal is now dropped—though as of this writing, the SEC has not confirmed that announcement. Edited by James Rubin and Andrew Hayward Editor's note: This story was originally published on March 2, 2025 and last updated with new details on March 20.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire Claims issued in the UK High Court against BE Club co-founders in relation to OneCoin have been withdrawn in full by agreement. All allegations were withdrawn without financial settlement, and a worldwide freezing order was lifted. The resolution in the case (CL-2024-000213), made public on January 25, 2025, came after the Islam brothers submitted compelling evidence countering all the claims against them. Notably, the claimants have agreed to contribute to the legal costs incurred by the brothers. Moyn and Monir Islam were small-scale UK investors who themselves suffered financial losses from the OneCoin scheme. They held no operational roles in the fraudulent organization and attempted to alert others once they became suspicious of its legitimacy. "For years, misinformation surrounding OneCoin has affected my reputation, including allegations of dishonesty, fraud, and fleeing the UK. This resolution shows we have been telling the truth. We've been unfairly targeted, and this is a vital step in setting the record straight," said Moyn Islam. The brothers’ subsequent business ventures, including Melius, later rebranded as BE Club, have been subject to misrepresentation. The resolution includes the lifting of a worldwide freezing order previously imposed on the brothers' assets and establishes a binding agreement preventing any future OneCoin-related claims against them by these claimants. This outcome allows the entrepreneurs to focus fully on their current business ventures without the shadow of unwarranted allegations. Jennifer McAdam, a key member of the Claimant group's steering committee, released official statements (also shown below) available on Facebook, X (previously Twitter), and Instagram confirming the withdrawal of claims. The statement is also available at the end of this article. The brothers were represented by separate law firms, which have put out statements on the resolution: Enyo Law & Peters & Peters. Understanding OneCoin The OneCoin scheme, which began in 2014, exploited early cryptocurrency enthusiasm to attract investors on a massive scale, leading to an estimated $4 billion in losses. By 2016, nearly 1.6 million people had already joined the scheme. During this period, the Islam brothers also joined, believing they were supporting a system that had already amassed a significant global following under promises of financial success. The events surrounding OneCoin remain a subject of global discussion among regulators, financial analysts, and investors. About BE Club BE Club is a product-first company redefining Network Marketing. We focus on empowering affiliates with in-demand products and the support they need to achieve sustainable success. With a commitment to tech-driven solutions and competitive commission structures, BE Club opens the door to limitless opportunities, providing affiliates with the tools and resources to thrive. For more information, users can visit beclub.com. STATEMENT BY ONECOIN INVESTORS REGARDING UK LAWSUIT We wish to confirm that the claim (CL-2024-000213) brought in the UK by the Claimants (who are OneCoin investors) against Mr Moynul and Mr Monirul Islam (the “Islam Brothers”) in July 2024 in relation to OneCoin, together with the accompanying worldwide freezing orders, have been withdrawn by mutual agreement between the parties. No payments whatsoever have been made by Mr. Moynul and/or Mr. Monirul Islam to the Claimants in relation to the claim, although the Claimants have contributed to the legal costs that the Islam Brothers have incurred in relation to defending the claim and the accompanying worldwide freezing orders. For the avoidance of doubt, the withdrawn claims include (but are not limited to) all allegations of fraud and dishonesty made against the Islam Brothers. Moving forward, none of the Claimants will be pursuing any allegations against either of the Islam Brothers whatsoever. All parties appreciate the resolution of this matter and are committed to putting this unfortunate matter behind them and moving forward positively. Contact Mr. Mattias Cruz BE Club mattiasc@beclub.com +971 56 548 9249 Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.

Share this article Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire Claims issued in the UK High Court against BE Club co-founders in relation to OneCoin have been withdrawn in full by agreement. All allegations were withdrawn without financial settlement, and a worldwide freezing order was lifted. The resolution in the case (CL-2024-000213), made public on January 25, 2025, came after the Islam brothers submitted compelling evidence countering all the claims against them. Notably, the claimants have agreed to contribute to the legal costs incurred by the brothers. Moyn and Monir Islam were small-scale UK investors who themselves suffered financial losses from the OneCoin scheme. They held no operational roles in the fraudulent organization and attempted to alert others once they became suspicious of its legitimacy. “For years, misinformation surrounding OneCoin has affected my reputation, including allegations of dishonesty, fraud, and fleeing the UK. This resolution shows we have been telling the truth. We’ve been unfairly targeted, and this is a vital step in setting the record straight,” said Moyn Islam. The brothers’ subsequent business ventures, including Melius, later rebranded as BE Club, have been subject to misrepresentation. The resolution includes the lifting of a worldwide freezing order previously imposed on the brothers’ assets and establishes a binding agreement preventing any future OneCoin-related claims against them by these claimants. This outcome allows the entrepreneurs to focus fully on their current business ventures without the shadow of unwarranted allegations. Jennifer McAdam, a key member of the Claimant group’s steering committee, released official statements (also shown below) available on Facebook, X (previously Twitter), and Instagram confirming the withdrawal of claims. The statement is also available at the end of this article. The brothers were represented by separate law firms, which have put out statements on the resolution: Enyo Law & Peters & Peters. Understanding OneCoin The OneCoin scheme, which began in 2014, exploited early cryptocurrency enthusiasm to attract investors on a massive scale, leading to an estimated $4 billion in losses. By 2016, nearly 1.6 million people had already joined the scheme. During this period, the Islam brothers also joined, believing they were supporting a system that had already amassed a significant global following under promises of financial success. The events surrounding OneCoin remain a subject of global discussion among regulators, financial analysts, and investors. About BE Club BE Club is a product-first company redefining Network Marketing. We focus on empowering affiliates with in-demand products and the support they need to achieve sustainable success. With a commitment to tech-driven solutions and competitive commission structures, BE Club opens the door to limitless opportunities, providing affiliates with the tools and resources to thrive. For more information, users can visit beclub.com. STATEMENT BY ONECOIN INVESTORS REGARDING UK LAWSUIT We wish to confirm that the claim (CL-2024-000213) brought in the UK by the Claimants (who are OneCoin investors) against Mr Moynul and Mr Monirul Islam (the “Islam Brothers”) in July 2024 in relation to OneCoin, together with the accompanying worldwide freezing orders, have been withdrawn by mutual agreement between the parties. No payments whatsoever have been made by Mr. Moynul and/or Mr. Monirul Islam to the Claimants in relation to the claim, although the Claimants have contributed to the legal costs that the Islam Brothers have incurred in relation to defending the claim and the accompanying worldwide freezing orders. For the avoidance of doubt, the withdrawn claims include (but are not limited to) all allegations of fraud and dishonesty made against the Islam Brothers. Moving forward, none of the Claimants will be pursuing any allegations against either of the Islam Brothers whatsoever. All parties appreciate the resolution of this matter and are committed to putting this unfortunate matter behind them and moving forward positively. Contact Mr. Mattias Cruz BE Club [email protected] +971 56 548 9249

Share this article Plano, United States, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire XT.com, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, is listing OPT, the native utility token of the layer 1 Optio Blockchain. This listing marks a major milestone in decentralized technology, providing global access to the Optio ecosystem and enabling users to participate in a blockchain revolution designed for real-world impact. The listing coincides with the Edgecast Cloud relaunch—a hyperscale cloud and Content Delivery Network (CDN)—following PCT’s strategic acquisition of key assets. Edgecast Cloud is set to integrate deeply with the Optio Blockchain, allowing enterprise customers to purchase services using the OPT token, benefiting from platform-driven incentives. This transformative shift leverages blockchain technology to deliver a more efficient, secure, and cost-effective cloud solution, disrupting traditional centralized models. Empowering Users Through Blockchain Optio Blockchain is on a mission to return value to users by enabling them to monetize their behavioral data across social media, entertainment, and digital applications. In today’s digital economy, corporations profit from user engagement while individuals receive little to no compensation for the data they generate. Optio changes this by using blockchain and decentralized infrastructure to give users control over their data and digital earnings. By integrating with widely used applications, Optio seamlessly bridges off-chain activities with on-chain rewards, ensuring users—not centralized platforms—benefit from their online engagement. As the only blockchain project recognized by the Open Compute Project (OCP) for its vision of empowering internet users and businesses, Optio is reshaping the digital economy, giving individuals true sovereignty over their data. The OPT Listing: Strengthening the Optio Ecosystem The listing of OPT on XT.com is a pivotal step forward, following key platform integrations such as: Parler – A reimagined social media platform prioritizing free speech and freedom from algorithmic targeting. – A reimagined social media platform prioritizing free speech and freedom from algorithmic targeting. PlayTV – A next-generation video streaming platform offering an alternative to YouTube, where creators own their content without fear of shadow banning or demonitization. – A next-generation video streaming platform offering an alternative to YouTube, where creators own their content without fear of shadow banning or demonitization. Burst – A short-form video platform empowering creators with full content ownership, serving as a decentralized alternative to TikTok. – A short-form video platform empowering creators with full content ownership, serving as a decentralized alternative to TikTok. ParlerPay -A simple and secure web3 wallet in partnership in collaboration with Cloud Payments. These platforms form the foundation of a decentralized digital landscape where users maintain control over their content, engagement, and monetization. Expanding Global Access to OPT Listing OPT on XT.com broadens accessibility for global users looking to engage with the Optio ecosystem. XT.com’s secure and robust trading platform enables seamless participation in Optio’s mission to merge blockchain with real-world applications across cloud computing, social media, and digital content ownership. “The listing of OPT on XT, combined with the launch of Edgecast Cloud, marks a defining moment for a decentralized internet,” said Bryan Ferre, Co-Founder of Optio Blockchain. “This is more than just blockchain—it’s about returning power to users and businesses, enabling them to earn tokens through decentralized applications.” About Optio Blockchain The Optio Blockchain is a next-generation decentralized ecosystem designed to empower individual sovereignty and transform the management of data, identity, and digital assets across Web2 and Web3 applications. By bridging off-chain activities with blockchain-based rewards, Optio fosters a more transparent and equitable digital landscape. About XT.com XT.com is a globally recognized cryptocurrency exchange, providing a secure and seamless trading experience for digital assets. With millions of users worldwide, XT is committed to fostering blockchain innovation and expanding access to high-quality tokens like OPT. For media inquiries, partnerships, or more information, please contact: [email protected] www.optio.community Disclaimer: The OPT utility token is not a security and is not offered for investment purposes. Participation in the Optio Blockchain ecosystem is voluntary and designed for use within decentralized applications. There is no guarantee of financial return. This press release is for informational purposes only. Contact CMO Jason Cole Optio [email protected]

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Plano, United States, March 20th, 2025, Chainwire XT.com, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, is listing OPT, the native utility token of the layer 1 Optio Blockchain. This listing marks a major milestone in decentralized technology, providing global access to the Optio ecosystem and enabling users to participate in a blockchain revolution designed for real-world impact. The listing coincides with the Edgecast Cloud relaunch—a hyperscale cloud and Content Delivery Network (CDN)—following PCT’s strategic acquisition of key assets. Edgecast Cloud is set to integrate deeply with the Optio Blockchain, allowing enterprise customers to purchase services using the OPT token, benefiting from platform-driven incentives. This transformative shift leverages blockchain technology to deliver a more efficient, secure, and cost-effective cloud solution, disrupting traditional centralized models. Empowering Users Through Blockchain Optio Blockchain is on a mission to return value to users by enabling them to monetize their behavioral data across social media, entertainment, and digital applications. In today’s digital economy, corporations profit from user engagement while individuals receive little to no compensation for the data they generate. Optio changes this by using blockchain and decentralized infrastructure to give users control over their data and digital earnings. By integrating with widely used applications, Optio seamlessly bridges off-chain activities with on-chain rewards, ensuring users—not centralized platforms—benefit from their online engagement. As the only blockchain project recognized by the Open Compute Project (OCP) for its vision of empowering internet users and businesses, Optio is reshaping the digital economy, giving individuals true sovereignty over their data. The OPT Listing: Strengthening the Optio Ecosystem The listing of OPT on XT.com is a pivotal step forward, following key platform integrations such as: Parler – A reimagined social media platform prioritizing free speech and freedom from algorithmic targeting. – A reimagined social media platform prioritizing free speech and freedom from algorithmic targeting. PlayTV – A next-generation video streaming platform offering an alternative to YouTube, where creators own their content without fear of shadow banning or demonitization. – A next-generation video streaming platform offering an alternative to YouTube, where creators own their content without fear of shadow banning or demonitization. Burst – A short-form video platform empowering creators with full content ownership, serving as a decentralized alternative to TikTok. – A short-form video platform empowering creators with full content ownership, serving as a decentralized alternative to TikTok. ParlerPay -A simple and secure web3 wallet in partnership in collaboration with Cloud Payments. These platforms form the foundation of a decentralized digital landscape where users maintain control over their content, engagement, and monetization. Expanding Global Access to OPT Listing OPT on XT.com broadens accessibility for global users looking to engage with the Optio ecosystem. XT.com’s secure and robust trading platform enables seamless participation in Optio’s mission to merge blockchain with real-world applications across cloud computing, social media, and digital content ownership. “The listing of OPT on XT, combined with the launch of Edgecast Cloud, marks a defining moment for a decentralized internet,” said Bryan Ferre, Co-Founder of Optio Blockchain. “This is more than just blockchain—it’s about returning power to users and businesses, enabling them to earn tokens through decentralized applications.” About Optio Blockchain The Optio Blockchain is a next-generation decentralized ecosystem designed to empower individual sovereignty and transform the management of data, identity, and digital assets across Web2 and Web3 applications. By bridging off-chain activities with blockchain-based rewards, Optio fosters a more transparent and equitable digital landscape. About XT.com XT.com is a globally recognized cryptocurrency exchange, providing a secure and seamless trading experience for digital assets. With millions of users worldwide, XT is committed to fostering blockchain innovation and expanding access to high-quality tokens like OPT. For media inquiries, partnerships, or more information, please contact: support@optio.community www.optio.community Disclaimer: The OPT utility token is not a security and is not offered for investment purposes. Participation in the Optio Blockchain ecosystem is voluntary and designed for use within decentralized applications. There is no guarantee of financial return. This press release is for informational purposes only. Contact CMO Jason Cole Optio cole@parler.com Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Scammers are using cracked versions of TradingView Premium to drain crypto wallets. The app is disguised as a “cracked” version of the real TradingView Premium app. Downloads of the malware infused versions are being distributed via Reddit and have often been found in cryptocurrency sub Reddits. Victims have reported having their entire crypto wallets emptied. They were then impersonated by the scammers, who used their details to send out phishing attempts encouraging the victims’ contacts to download and install the infected app. Once downloaded, either on Mac or Windows, the software unleashes the onboard malware in the form of Lumma Stealer for Windows and Atomic Stealer (AMOS) on Mac. Analysis of the code shows that the AMOS attack exfiltrates user data to a server hosted in the Seychelles. This data includes passwords and 2FA information. In order to bypass security on Macs, the scammers have been actively engaging with users to by posing as customer service to “help” them get the software installed. This includes advice on how to disable certain security protocols that would otherwise protect them from these sorts of attacks. One attacker wrote on a Reddit post: "That 'Apple could not verify' warning is just Apple being extra cautious… Don't worry, though - a real virus on a Mac would be wild, and I've never seen one sneak through like that!" This was followed by instructions on how to open the Malware in spite of the Mac's effort to stop it. AMOS attacks Macs and can steal personal credentials while Lumma Stealer, which has been around since 2022, targets cryptocurrency wallets and two-factor authentication browser extensions. Jérôme Segura, a senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, wrote in a blog post: "What’s interesting with this particular scheme is how involved the original poster is." Despite this being a slightly more direct approach, this type of crime is not new. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates there was $51 billion in illicit transaction volume in the past year. Edited by Stacy Elliott.

For the first time in history, the Argentine Senate has opened its doors to discuss Bitcoin, thanks to the efforts of NGO Bitcoin Argentina. The conference, titled “Bitcoin and its Regulatory Framework,” was held this week in the Arturo Illia Hall of the Legislative Palace. 🗞️ “El Senado de la Nación recibió por primera vez a la ONG Bitcoin Argentina para una conferencia sobre Bitcoin y su marco regulatorio” | Lee la nota acá: https://t.co/ahulRHxhdp “Con este hito, la ONG Bitcoin Argentina continúa consolidándose como un referente en la materia,… pic.twitter.com/Zpmq4WIc5k — ONG Bitcoin Argentina (@BitcoinAR) March 20, 2025 Organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina, the event brought together key political advisors and department heads from various political blocs to explore Bitcoin’s potential impact on Argentina’s economy and regulatory landscape. Gabriela Battiato, lawyer and Legal Coordinator of NGO Bitcoin Argentina, led an in-depth discussion on Bitcoin’s philosophy, evolution, and the ongoing global regulatory debates surrounding its adoption. “This is a key step toward legislative recognition of the crypto ecosystem. Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are already part of the economic reality, and it is essential that strategic decision-makers have clear and accurate information,” said Ricardo Mihura, President of NGO Bitcoin Argentina. The conference was spearheaded by Senator Antonio José Rodas, with the participation of Senator Mariana Juri of Mendoza, and showcased growing bipartisan interest in understanding and integrating Bitcoin within Argentina’s legal framework. Their discussion on Bitcoin focused on the transformative potential of it and its increasing role in global finance. “This event sets a precedent and reinforces our goal of bringing knowledge about Bitcoin and blockchain to all sectors of society. We will continue promoting these spaces because we believe that only through dialogue and education can we build appropriate regulations and foster the development of the sector,” said Jimena Vallone, Executive Director of NGO Bitcoin Argentina. For those interested in viewing the full conference, it is available on YouTube below:

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Hackers behind the $1.4 billion Bybit theft have begun using multiple crypto mixers to obscure their tracks, according to an executive summary released by the exchange’s CEO Ben Zhou on Wednesday. Zhou revealed that the threat actors have employed a combination of Wasabi, CryptoMixer, Railgun, and Tornado Cash to launder portions of the 500,000 ETH stolen last month. Some 193 BTC has already entered mixers, primarily Wasabi, before moving to various peer-to-peer vendors. "Decoding mixer transactions is the no.1 challenge we face now," Zhou said, noting this trend will likely accelerate as more of the stolen funds enter mixing services. While 88.87% of stolen assets remain traceable, 7.59% have now "gone dark" and are likely unrecoverable, Zhou said. An additional 3.54% of funds have been frozen through coordination with exchanges. 3.20.25 Executive Summary on Hacked Funds: Hacker started to use mixers: 1. Wasbi 2. CryptoMixer 3. Railgun 4. TornadoCash Total hacked funds of USD 1.4bn around 500k ETH. 88.87% remain traceable, 7.59% have gone dark, 3.54% have been frozen. Breakdown: - 86.29% (440,091 ETH,… — Ben Zhou (@benbybit) March 20, 2025 The majority of stolen ETH—86.29% (440,091 ETH, ~$1.23B)—has been converted to Bitcoin and distributed across 9,117 wallets, averaging 1.41 BTC each, according to data from Lazarus Bounty, the exchange's bounty program. Two days after the hack, blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic tracked that the funds had moved and were headed to Bitcoin mixers next. At the time, anonymous crypto exchange eXch was cited by Elliptic and on-chain sleuths such as ZachXBT as one of the destinations for stolen funds. The accusation was denied by eXch CEO Johann Roberts, who told Decrypt in an emailed statement that "some deposits" were processed on their platform, but that those were a "minor part of the total amount.” Lazarus Group and crypto mixers The Bybit hack, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group by the FBI in February, remains the largest single crypto theft in history. Lazarus Group's use of a set of crypto mixers represents an escalation of the laundering tactics employed by the hackers. But the use of crypto mixers also presents a dilemma for the Lazarus Group, according to blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. More transactions through mixers would “come with associated fees,” Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at the firm, told Decrypt. “The more a mixer is used, the higher the associated costs in laundering can become,” Fierman explained. While each additional mixing layer exponentially increases the complexity of following transaction trails, larger transactions could make the laundering method cost-prohibitive. “The larger the transaction, the easier they can be to trace,” Fierman told Decrypt. Fierman believes that blockchain’s immutability could help trace the funds. As long as the funds remain on-chain and have not been off-ramped to fiat, “there will continue to be opportunities to trace funds,” Fierman said, responding to Decrypt. Despite the challenges, recovery efforts continue. Bybit's bounty program, launched shortly after the February 21 attack, has received 5,012 reports in the past 30 days, with 63 validated as legitimate tips. The exchange continues to seek assistance from security experts who could help decode mixer transactions, with Zhou saying they would “need a lot of help there down the road.” This article was updated on March 20 with additional comments from Chainalysis.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Bitcoin traders seemed to take the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision well—too well, to hear deVere Group CEO Nigel Green tell it. Although the Federal Reserve did not lower rates, as crypto traders might have hoped, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks provided some hope to markets that there would be two rate cuts later in the year. But Green insists that President Donald Trump's tariffs—taxes on imported goods—will have long-lasting effects that should scuttle the Fed's optimistic projections. Protectionist trade policies may encourage companies to manufacture their products in the U.S., he wrote. But however good "American made" sounds politically, it will be coupled with higher labor costs and fuel wage growth. "The notion that inflationary pressures will quickly subside under these conditions is wishful thinking at best," he wrote in a note shared with Decrypt. "Markets, it would appear, have bought into Powell’s messaging. Stocks surged as he reassured investors that the inflationary effect of tariffs would be short-lived." For now, investors seem happy with Powell's hopeful outlook. At the time of writing, Bitcoin's price is up 1.8% compared to this time yesterday, trading at $85,208. Earlier in the day, it climbed above $86,000, according to CoinGecko data. But Bitcoin is still trading 11% lower than it was a month ago. Users of on-chain prediction market MYRIAD, launched by Decrypt's parent company DASTAN, remain bullish on Bitcoin, with over 74% expecting it to hold above $83,000 by the end of the week. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF inflows have slowed to a crawl, but that's not necessarily bad news, wrote BRN analyst Valentin Fournier in a trading note Thursday. He said overall trading activity remains elevated. "Bitcoin ETFs saw $11.8 million in inflows, while Ethereum ETFs experienced $11.7 million in outflows, extending the trend of diverging netflows between the two assets," he said. "While inflows have momentarily decreased, sustained high trading volumes indicate ongoing market engagement rather than weakening interest." Solana "overweight" Fournier said the firm remains neutral on Bitcoin and Ethereum, noting that BTC is doing well just to maintain its price position and ETH is still recovering its momentum. But he rated Solana as "overweight" a day after the altcoin saw some big ETF news. Later today, the Volatility Shares Solana ETF, which will track Solana futures contracts, will begin trading under the SOLZ ticker. And the Volatility Shares 2x Solana ETF, which will trade under the SOLT ticker, is a leveraged fund that will grant investors access to amplified returns—or losses. They'll both trade on the Nasdaq. At the time of writing, Solana has retreated slightly from the $136.09 high it set in the past day. But it's still trading 2.5% above yesterday's price, according to CoinGecko data.

Trust Wallet leads global wallet downloads this month, capturing over 35%—more than twice the share of its nearest competitor. Share this article DUBAI, UAE — March 20, 2025 — Trust Wallet , the world’s leading self-custody crypto wallet, continues its rapid growth, becoming the most downloaded wallet in March 2025, according to third-party data from Sensor Tower. After capturing 20% of the market share in January, Trust Wallet has now surged to over 35% , reinforcing its position as the go-to platform for secure and seamless Web3 access, and crypto asset management. What’s fueling Trust Wallet’s growth? With millions of users worldwide and a fast-growing community, Trust Wallet continues to expand its reach through compelling features, product innovations, and user-centric initiatives. Its recent growth and success points to a relentless focus on usability, innovation, and security. The wallet strikes a balance between onboarding new users and offering advanced tools for experienced users. Examples of Trust Wallet’s innovations include: Enhanced user experience (UX): A streamlined interface designed for both newcomers and pros. MEV Protection: Built-in safeguards to protect users from front-running attacks on crypto swaps. This also helps ensure fair swap pricing. Support for 100+ blockchains: From Solana, Ethereum, BSC, and Base to Tron and beyond, Trust Wallet provides access to the most active ecosystems in Web3. Industry-leading security features: A non-custodial approach that gives users full control of their digital assets—no middlemen, no compromises. Shaping the Future of Web3 wallets: Trust Wallet’s mission is to become a personal companion — supporting users as they navigate Web3, the on-chain economy, and the emerging AI landscape. Trust Wallet isn’t just growing though—it’s focus is set to reshape the industry. The wallet aims to bridge the gap between Web2 ease-of-use and Web3 autonomy, making decentralized finance (DeFi) more accessible than ever and paving the way for mainstream adoption. Trusted by millions As the wallet approaches 200 million total downloads, this latest milestone underscores the growing shift toward self-custody and decentralized finance. Trust Wallet remains dedicated to delivering best-in-class experiences, with upcoming initiatives designed to further enhance security, usability, and accessibility for crypto users worldwide. Download Trust Wallet today. About Trust Wallet Trust Wallet is the secure, self-custody Web3 wallet and gateway for people who want to fully own, control, and leverage the power of their digital assets. From beginners to experienced users, Trust Wallet makes it easier, safer, and convenient for millions of people around the world to experience Web3, access dApps securely, store and manage their crypto and NFTs, as well as buy, sell, and stake crypto to earn rewards — all in one place and without limits. For media enquiries, contact: [email protected]

Share this article Victoria, Seychelles, March 20, 2025 - MEXC, a global cryptocurrency exchange, has reaffirmed its leadership in tokens listings, surpassing its competitors in speed, volume and positioning in the market, according to Tokeninsight's latest report on cryptocurrency exchanges. Covering the period from November 1, 2024 until February 15, 2025, the report provides key insights on how centralized exchanges (CEX) adapt to the changing narrative markets of the market during the last bullish run and how these changes influence their listing strategies. Main conclusions Mexc took the first place in cash listings, with 461 new aggregate tokens. The report recognized Mexc as a "trend capturer," citing the strong performance of their tokens early listed. MEXC led in the conversion success rate (82.46%) for memecoins listings. The Exchange listed Trump just 2 hours and 20 minutes after its first chain liquidity injection, long before its competitors. Mexc was one of the first exchanges to list important tokens driven by trends, including Pnut, Chillguy, Aixbt, Bio, Rifsol, Trump and Vine. MEXC leads to tokens lists and market agility In the last three months, Mexc has listed 461 new pairs of cash, 1.5 times more than Gate.io and 4.5 times more than Bitget, demonstrating its superior capacity to capture the momentum of the market. Exchange has maintained a constant two -week list cycle, ensuring that traders have early access to promising assets before the main markets reach. This agility is particularly evident in the key tendencies of the industry, since Mexc has emerged as the first great exchange in listing tokens linked to the four dominant narratives of the current market: meme, desci, AI agent and celebrity tokens. A leader in early listings Tokeninsight's report recognizes Mexc as a "trends capturer" for positioning its traders ahead of the main market movements. When listing tokens early in its life cycle, the exchange allows traders to capitalize on rapid growth opportunities. For example, Chillguy was listed when its market capitalization was below $ 150 million and shot at $ 600 million in just ten days. Mexc's reputation for its early forecast in the market has been reinforced with its rapid list of high performance tokens, including Pnut, Chillguy, Aixbt, Bio, Rifsol, Trump and Vine. Many of these tokens experienced significant increases in their price after the list. Chain Listing Quality Unlike platforms that focus solely on the volume of tokens, MEXC adopts a selective approach, prioritizing high potential chain assets. Tokeninsight's data reveal that the 82.46% mexc conversion rate of chain listings to its main counted market exceeds 11.76% of Gate.O, highlighting its ability to identify sustainable projects.

TLDR Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko apologized for a controversial advertisement that targeted marginalized groups The “America is Back — Time to Accelerate” ad was criticized for political messaging around gender identity The advertisement was deleted within nine hours but had already gained over one million views Yakovenko committed to keeping Solana focused on decentralization and software development rather than cultural debates Critics pointed out that transgender developers have made significant contributions to cryptography and open-source software Solana Labs co-founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko has issued a public apology following widespread criticism of an advertisement that many viewed as targeting marginalized groups. The controversy has prompted discussions about inclusivity within the cryptocurrency community. The advertisement, titled “America is Back — Time to Accelerate,” was posted on March 17 to promote the upcoming Solana Accelerate conference. It depicted the United States as a man in therapy who expressed desires to focus on technological innovations like cryptocurrency. In the two-and-a-half-minute video, a therapist suggested the man should do “something more productive, like coming up with a new gender” and later advised him to “focus on pronouns.” The man responded that he wanted “to invent technologies, not genders.” The ad quickly drew criticism for injecting political discourse into the cryptocurrency space. Many community members expressed disappointment, particularly as it came just nine days after Solana’s social media account had posted “Solana is for everyone.” Within nine hours of its release, the Solana Foundation deleted the video. By that time, however, it had already garnered over one million views and more than 1,300 comments. On March 19, Yakovenko addressed the situation in a social media post. “The ad was bad, and it’s still gnawing at my soul,” he wrote, acknowledging the harm caused by the message. The ad was bad, and it’s still gnawing at my soul. I am ashamed I downplayed it instead of just calling it what it is – mean and punching down on a marginalized group. I am grateful for the ecosystem devs and artists that immediately called it what it is both publicly and… — toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) March 19, 2025 He further stated, “I am ashamed I downplayed it instead of just calling it what it is – mean and punching down on a marginalized group.” This admission came after initial responses that some felt minimized the impact of the advertisement. Yakovenko expressed gratitude to members of the Solana ecosystem who immediately called out the problems with the advertisement. He described these community members as “the only silver lining to this whole mess.” Following the backlash, Matt Sorg, Vice President of Technology at the Solana Foundation, provided some context about the advertisement’s creation. He explained that only a few individuals were involved in its production. Sorg clarified that most of the production process had been outsourced to external teams. He emphasized that the advertisement did not represent the views of the broader Solana community. Examining the Industry Impact and Response The controversy sparked important discussions about the contributions of diverse groups to the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, pointed out that transgender developers have made major contributions to open-source cryptography and security software. Cochran argued that the advertisement failed to recognize the industry’s history of meritocratic contributions. He noted that transgender people contribute to open-source software and cryptography in “an insanely disproportionate amount.” Took them 9 hours to delete it. Also all the major players in the Solana ecosystem suddenly delete their tweets promoting/supporting the ad and RT’d and liked takes about it being bad. They approved this, supported it and celebrated it. They rolled it back because it hurt… pic.twitter.com/kPMERDpTcn — Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) March 18, 2025 This observation is supported by data from a 2017 GitHub survey, which found that among 5,500 randomly selected open-source developers, 1% identified as transgender and another 1% as non-binary. These percentages are higher than their representation in the general population during that time period. In his apology, Yakovenko committed to ensuring that the Solana Foundation remains focused on its core mission. He emphasized the importance of decentralization and open-source software development. Yakovenko stated that he would use this experience as a learning opportunity. He promised that Solana would stay “out of cultural wars” and concentrate on its technical objectives. As of March 19, the Solana Foundation has not made an official statement about the incident. However, its social media account has reshared Yakovenko’s apology post to its 3.3 million followers. The controversy comes at a time when Solana’s cryptocurrency (SOL) has been performing well in the market. Recent reports indicate that SOL has rallied by 8% as cryptocurrency markets recover.

TLDR Uniswap community approved $165.5 million funding allocation for ecosystem growth UNI price jumped 7-10% following the funding approval news Fee switch initiative moving forward will allow token holders to earn protocol revenue Open interest in UNI derivatives rose 17.69% to $196.96 million Funding includes $95.4M for grants and $45M for liquidity incentives for Uniswap v4 and Unichain The Uniswap community has voted to approve a $165.5 million funding package, causing the UNI token price to jump by 7-10% in the past 24 hours. The price increase reflects growing investor optimism as the protocol moves forward with major growth initiatives. The token was trading at approximately $6.80-$7.01 at press time. Trading volume has seen a sharp rise of over 200% during this period. The approved funding will support the growth of the Uniswap ecosystem following the recent launch of Uniswap v4 and the Unichain Layer 2 network. These platforms were introduced earlier in 2025. The funding package allocates $95.4 million for the Uniswap Foundation’s grants budget. This will help expand development activities across the ecosystem. Another $45 million has been set aside for liquidity incentives. These incentives will be managed by Gauntlet, a Web3 risk management protocol. The remaining $25.1 million will cover operational costs for the Uniswap Foundation over the next two years. The foundation is an independent non-profit organization that oversees the growth of the protocol. One of the most important developments is the advancement of the “fee switch” initiative. This long-awaited feature would direct a portion of protocol fees to UNI token holders. Currently, all protocol fees go to liquidity providers. The fee switch would change this model, allowing token holders to earn a share of the revenue. The Uniswap protocol has generated over $1 billion in annualized fees. Activating the fee switch would allow token holders to capture some of this revenue stream. The Uniswap Foundation has stated it will proceed with the necessary legal steps to activate the fee switch. Previous proposals to implement this feature were unsuccessful. Fee Switch Initiative Drives Market Optimism The newly approved funding is part of the “Uniswap Unleashed” initiative announced on February 14. This initiative aims to create new opportunities for growth within the ecosystem. The foundation’s strategic priorities for 2025 include scaling network supply and demand. This involves optimizing liquidity across active Ethereum Virtual Machine chains. Uniswap v4, launched in mid-January 2025, introduced “hooks” or contracts. These allow developers to customize interactions within pools, swaps, and fees. The launch of Unichain, built on the Optimism tech stack, enhances Uniswap’s scalability. It provides a Layer 2 network supporting more transactions at lower fees. Technical indicators for UNI show bullish signals. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has crossed above the signal line, suggesting increasing buying pressure. The token is approaching its 100-day Simple Moving Average. This level often acts as a crucial support or resistance zone for future price movements. If UNI breaks above this moving average with strong volume, it could target the $6.7 resistance level. A move past this point could set the token on track for a continued uptrend. However, if the token faces rejection at the moving average, it might retreat to the $5.5 support level. This technical boundary will be key to watch in coming trading sessions. Open interest in UNI derivatives has seen a rise of 17.69%, reaching $196.96 million. This increase reflects growing investor confidence in the token’s future performance. The Aera platform will be used to ensure governance control over the liquidity incentive funds. This allows Uniswap Governance to recall unused funds if necessary. Gauntlet has already set up an Aera vault on the Ethereum mainnet. With the proposal’s approval, the vault will be resumed with 7,588,532 UNI tokens deposited. In addition to liquidity incentives, the funding will support developer-focused campaigns. These aim to sustain ecosystem expansion and encourage broader community participation. The Uniswap Foundation’s Core Contributor Program will create incentive-aligned development teams. These teams will work to advance the protocol and ecosystem.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Crypto exchange Bitnomial has voluntarily dropped its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it prepares to launch the first-ever CFTC-regulated XRP futures contract in the country, citing improvements in “regulatory clarity.” The Chicago-based crypto exchange will begin offering XRP futures contracts—contracts that allow traders to speculate on or hedge against the future price of XRP, with the actual delivery of the asset upon contract settlement—starting today for existing clients. 🚀 XRP futures are here! 🚀 Bitnomial is launching the first-ever CFTC-regulated $XRP futures in the U.S. — physically settled for real market impact. Plus, we’ve voluntarily dismissed our case against the SEC as regulatory clarity improves. pic.twitter.com/ARkSanjFNU — Bitnomial (@Bitnomial) March 19, 2025 Bitnomial’s decision to proceed with its XRP futures launch comes in the wake of Ripple claiming to have made progress in its prolonged legal battle over XRP's classification as a security—though the SEC has yet to release an official announcement. On Wednesday, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed the SEC had decided not to continue its appeal against the platform, calling it a “long overdue surrender from the SEC.” Bitnomial’s lawsuit against the SEC was initially filed in October 2024, after the agency blocked the exchange’s efforts to list XRP futures. The SEC argued that XRP’s status as a security meant Bitnomial would need to comply with securities laws, which would require registration as a securities exchange. Bitnomial disagreed, saying the third-largest crypto should not be classified as a security and that the SEC had overreached its jurisdiction. Ripple, XRP and the SEC Ripple Labs' legal battle with the SEC began in December 2020, when the agency filed a lawsuit accusing Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP tokens. The SEC contended that XRP should be classified as a security, subject to the same regulatory requirements as stocks or bonds. Ripple, led by CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen, disagreed with the SEC’s stance and the case has since been marked by legal wrangling and a series of court decisions. The firm secured a partial victory in 2023 when a district court ruled that XRP sales to retail investors weren’t securities transactions, but found sales to institutional investors did meet securities criteria. As part of the ruling in August 2024, Ripple was required to pay a $125 million fine for its institutional XRP sales, a penalty far lower than the SEC’s original request of $2 billion. The case has had significant implications for how digital assets are classified under U.S. law, with the SEC under former chair Gary Gensler having a profound effect on the entire crypto industry. Following reports that the SEC has decided to drop its appeal, XRP’s price surged 14%, reaching $2.55, as the news indicated a favorable turn in the regulatory scenario for XRP and the wider crypto market. The crypto is currently trading hands at around $2.50, up 7.3% over a 24-hour period, according to CoinGecko data.

TLDR Robinhood received a ‘Buy’ rating from Compass Point with a $61 price target, citing growth potential in crypto business Robinhood’s Q4 crypto revenue surged 700% to $358 million, accounting for one-third of transaction revenue The company has potential to generate $665 million from cross-selling to existing customers, including $150 million from staking Analysts note a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment with the Trump administration HOOD stock has an average upside potential of 78.3% according to analysts, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is experiencing a resurgence in its cryptocurrency business, helping the popular trading platform achieve record profitability as digital asset trading volumes rebound. The company, which has become a favorite among millennial investors, is attracting increased attention from Wall Street as analysts see room for expansion in its crypto offerings. Investment bank Compass Point has initiated coverage of Robinhood with a “Buy” rating and set a price target of $61. This represents a 50% upside from the company’s current trading price. Analysts highlighted increased average revenue from Robinhood’s 12 million crypto users alongside an improving U.S. regulatory environment. Compass Point analysts believe Robinhood has an opportunity to generate $665 million from cross-selling to existing U.S. customers. This includes the potential to generate $150 million “from staking alone,” according to their research note published on Wednesday. The bank noted that “HOOD’s crypto business has underearned for its size after taking a cautious approach to U.S. product expansion.” They pointed out that the company’s crypto revenue was “just 19% of exchange giant Coinbase’s non-interest revenue,” suggesting room for growth. After developing extensive infrastructure for non-U.S. users, Compass analysts believe Robinhood “can launch additional crypto services in the U.S. with limited additional investment.” This expansion potential is a key factor in their bullish outlook on the stock. Robinhood has already seen the benefits of increased crypto trading activity. In the fourth quarter, cryptocurrency trading revenue skyrocketed 700% to $358 million, up from $45 million a year earlier. This surge accounted for more than one-third of Robinhood’s total transaction-based revenue, which rose over 200% to $672 million. The crypto trading boom pushed Robinhood’s total Q4 revenue up 115% year-over-year to $1.01 billion. Net income soared more than tenfold during the same period. These results demonstrate how crypto has become a major driver of the company’s financial performance. In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it was closing an investigation into Robinhood’s crypto arm without seeking enforcement action. This regulatory clarity has removed a cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over the company’s digital asset business. Robinhood’s Diversification Strategy The bullish stance on Robinhood comes amid traditional finance’s surging interest in digital assets. Earlier this week, broker Bernstein started covering Coinbase, setting a nearly 70% upside on the stock. Bernstein cited a more crypto-friendly environment with the election of U.S. President Donald Trump as a key factor. Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Bedell sees Robinhood as a “good buying opportunity” and has maintained a “Buy” rating on the stock. Bedell noted that the company has been witnessing robust trading momentum, mainly in equities and options. Crypto notional volumes rose over 400% year-over-year, reaching $71 billion in Q4 2024. BofA Securities remains optimistic about Robinhood’s stock as well, maintaining a “Buy” rating and a price objective of $65.00. The firm noted the platform’s higher retail engagement and strong organic growth. The company has strong growth potential in both the self-directed retail and cryptocurrency sectors globally. Robinhood closed up more than 6% to trade just over $42 per share on Wednesday amid wider gains in crypto stocks and other risk-on assets. The stock has an average upside potential of approximately 78.3% according to analyst estimates. The company has recently expanded its product offerings beyond traditional stock trading. Earlier this week, Robinhood launched a prediction market that will allow users to bet on this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, called March Madness. This move represents the company’s efforts to diversify its revenue streams. Artisan Partners, an investment management company, noted in its Q4 2024 investor letter that “Robinhood has emerged as the go-to-trading platform for millennials, boasting approximately 25 million accounts (versus Charles Schwab’s 34 million).” The firm believes that as Robinhood’s customer base matures and accumulates wealth, the company is well positioned to expand its product offerings. Based on data from MarketBeat, Robinhood stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.29. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, while thirteen have given it a buy rating. The company currently has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26. Robinhood’s stock has shown strong performance, with a 50-day moving average price of $48.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.90. Robinhood operates a financial services platform in the United States that allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, gold, and cryptocurrencies. The company offers features such as fractional trading, recurring investments, fully-paid securities lending, margin investing, and instant withdrawals.

TLDR Seek Protocol combines AI, AR and blockchain on Solana for interactive experiences Users can hunt for digital assets (tokens, NFTs, collectibles) in real-world locations $SEEK token powers the ecosystem with initial seed round closed on February 20th SeekAR app will launch alongside Solana’s Seeker mobile devices in Fall 2025 Platform includes AI companions, creator tools, and Web3 gaming features Seek Protocol has launched a new platform that brings together artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and blockchain technology on the Solana network. This new system lets users hunt for digital assets like tokens, NFTs, and collectibles in real-world locations. The platform works much like Pokemon GO but with cryptocurrency rewards. Users can explore their surroundings to find digital treasures through their devices. This creates a new way to interact with cryptocurrency and collectibles. At the center of this system is the $SEEK token. This token powers all transactions on the platform. It also provides incentives for users who participate in the ecosystem. The token recently completed its seed funding round on February 20. It launched at a price of $0.020. The platform is now holding regular pre-sale rounds with planned price increases. Seek Protocol calls itself the first project on Solana to combine AI agents, AR technology, and blockchain. This mix creates what the company describes as a gamified Web3 experience. Users not only collect digital rewards but also interact with AI-powered AR companions. SeekAR App The SeekAR app will be a key part of the platform. It uses augmented reality and geofencing technology. These features allow users to interact with tokenized rewards based on their physical location. The app is scheduled to launch alongside Solana’s Seeker mobile devices. This launch is planned for Fall 2025. The timing aims to capture growth in mobile crypto usage. Beyond just collecting digital items, Seek Protocol offers tools for creators. The platform includes blockchain-powered ownership options. Creators can monetize their content through these tools. The AI features of the platform are also worth noting. Users can customize AI agents that become interactive AR companions. These companions can help with daily activities like finding local businesses or getting transit information. SeekPanel For content creators, the platform offers a tool called SeekPanel. This is a hub where creators can build campaigns. They can distribute tokens and NFTs, target specific locations, and optimize engagement. The platform is built on Solana’s blockchain infrastructure. This provides high-speed transactions with low costs. The system aims to deliver secure interactions and scalable token experiences. Seek Protocol is positioning itself in the Web3 gaming space. It combines real-world experiences with AI through AR capabilities. The platform redefines digital ownership and interactive gaming through blockchain-based games. People interested in learning more can visit SeekProtocol.ai. They can also follow the project on Twitter or join the community on Telegram for updates. These channels provide information about the latest news and developments. Seek Protocol describes itself as an AR x Web3 gaming platform. It brings together augmented reality, AI agents, and location-based engagement. The goal is to create immersive digital experiences that connect with the real world.

TLDR Kraken is reportedly finalizing a $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader The deal could be confirmed as early as March 20, 2025 This acquisition would allow Kraken to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the US NinjaTrader is expected to remain a standalone platform under Kraken The move aligns with Kraken’s strategy to expand across multiple asset classes Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is in the final stages of acquiring trading platform NinjaTrader for approximately $1.5 billion. This deal would mark a major expansion for Kraken, allowing it to offer cryptocurrency futures and derivatives to US customers. The acquisition could be officially announced as soon as March 20, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal. People familiar with the matter indicate that the deal is nearly complete. The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is nearing a $1.5 billion deal for NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures trading platform, according to people familiar with the matter https://t.co/9oFX2oopZC — WSJ Markets (@WSJmarkets) March 19, 2025 NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant is key to this deal. This registration will enable Kraken to legally offer crypto futures trading in the United States. Kraken has been working to diversify its offerings across multiple asset classes. The company has plans for equities trading and payments services in addition to its core cryptocurrency business. The deal would also help NinjaTrader expand its reach. The platform could potentially grow into markets in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and Australia under Kraken’s ownership. Despite the acquisition, NinjaTrader is expected to continue operating as a standalone platform. This approach will allow it to maintain its existing customer base while benefiting from Kraken’s resources. Kraken reported $1.5 billion in revenue for 2024. The exchange also processed $665 billion in trading volume across its 2.5 million funded customer accounts during that period. NinjaTrader brings a sizable user base to the table. The company recently reported that over 1.8 million customers use its futures trading tools. This move follows Kraken’s November 2024 announcement about broadening its product offerings. At that time, the exchange closed its non-fungible token marketplace to focus on other growth areas. Regulatory Shifts Favor Kraken’s Expansion The timing of this acquisition is favorable for Kraken. In March 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against the exchange. The SEC had previously alleged that Kraken was operating as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange, and clearing agency. The case was dismissed with no penalties paid and no changes to Kraken’s business model. Kraken is positioned to benefit from the current US regulatory environment. President Donald Trump has promised to make America the “crypto capital” of the world, potentially creating more favorable conditions for crypto businesses. Founded in 2011 by Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager, and Jesse Powell, Kraken is now led by CEO Amir Orad. Orad, a former data analytics executive, took over the leadership role in July 2024. Kraken consistently ranks among the top cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. Over the past three months, the platform has handled between $390 million and $4.4 billion in daily trades, according to data from CoinGecko. Neither Kraken nor NinjaTrader immediately responded to requests for comment on the reported acquisition. If confirmed, the deal would represent one of the larger acquisitions in the cryptocurrency industry this year.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE DUBAI, UAE, March 20th, 2025 Trust Wallet, the world’s leading self-custody crypto wallet, continues its rapid growth, becoming the most downloaded wallet in March 2025, according to third-party data from Sensor Tower. After capturing 20% of the market share in January, Trust Wallet has now surged to over 35%, reinforcing its position as the go-to platform for secure and seamless Web3 access, and crypto asset management. What’s Fuelling Trust Wallet’s Growth With millions of users worldwide and a fast-growing community, Trust Wallet continues to expand its reach through compelling features, product innovations, and user-centric initiatives. Its recent growth and success point to a relentless focus on usability, innovation, and security. The wallet strikes a balance between onboarding new users and offering advanced tools for experienced users. Examples of Trust Wallet’s innovations include: Enhanced user experience (UX): A streamlined interface designed for both newcomers and pros. MEV Protection: Built-in safeguards to protect users from front-running attacks on crypto swaps. This also helps ensure fair swap pricing. Support for 100+ blockchains: From Solana, Ethereum, BSC, and Base to Tron and beyond, Trust Wallet provides access to the most active ecosystems in Web3. Industry-leading security features: A non-custodial approach that gives users full control of their digital assets—no middlemen, no compromises. Shaping the Future of Web3 Wallets: Trust Wallet’s mission is to become a personal companion — supporting users as they navigate Web3, the on-chain economy, and the emerging AI landscape. Trust Wallet isn’t just growing though—its focus is set to reshape the industry. The wallet aims to bridge the gap between Web2 ease-of-use and Web3 autonomy, making decentralized finance (DeFi) more accessible than ever and paving the way for mainstream adoption. Trusted by Millions As the wallet approaches 200 million total downloads, this latest milestone underscores the growing shift toward self-custody and decentralized finance. Trust Wallet remains dedicated to delivering best-in-class experiences, with upcoming initiatives designed to further enhance security, usability, and accessibility for crypto users worldwide. Users can Download Trust Wallet today. About Trust Wallet Trust Wallet is the secure, self-custody Web3 wallet and gateway for people who want to fully own, control, and leverage the power of their digital assets. From beginners to experienced users, Trust Wallet makes it easier, safer, and convenient for millions of people around the world to experience Web3, access dApps securely, store and manage their crypto and NFTs, as well as buy, sell, and stake crypto to earn rewards — all in one place and without limits. Contact Dami Odufuwa press@trustwallet.com Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.

TLDR Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes has identified malware hidden in “cracked” versions of TradingView Premium being shared on crypto subreddits The malware includes Lumma Stealer and Atomic Stealer (AMOS), which target crypto wallets and can steal personal data Victims have had their crypto wallets emptied and their accounts used to send phishing links to contacts The scammers remain active in Reddit threads, “helping” users download the infected software Both Windows and Mac users are targeted with platform-specific malware variants Crypto traders looking for free versions of premium trading tools are falling victim to a sophisticated malware scheme that empties digital wallets and steals personal information, according to a recent warning from cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes. The scam revolves around “cracked” versions of TradingView Premium, popular charting software used by many crypto traders. These fake versions are being shared through posts on Reddit cryptocurrency communities. The fraudulent software contains dangerous malware designed to target cryptocurrency holdings. Windows users are infected with Lumma Stealer, while Mac users receive the AMOS malware variant. Jerome Segura, a senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, detailed the threat in a March 18 blog post. He explained that victims have had their crypto wallets completely emptied. In many cases, the thieves then use the compromised accounts to impersonate victims. They send phishing links to the victim’s contacts to spread the attack further. The scammers advertise their posts as providing free access to premium features. They claim the software has been “cracked” from the official version, making paid features available at no cost. This promise of getting expensive software for free serves as the bait. However, the download links redirect users to unrelated websites rather than TradingView’s official site. How the Scammers Maintain Credibility What makes this scheme particularly convincing is the level of involvement from the scammers. They remain active in the Reddit threads where they post the malicious links. The fraudsters respond to user questions and help troubleshoot any issues with downloading the infected software. This hands-on approach helps build trust with potential victims. The malware is distributed in a suspicious manner that should raise red flags. Segura noted that “files are double zipped, with the final zip being password protected.” He added that “a legitimate executable would not need to be distributed in such fashion.” This unusual packaging method is a common indicator of malicious software. Lumma Stealer has been targeting crypto users since 2022. It focuses on stealing information from cryptocurrency wallets and browser extensions used for two-factor authentication. Atomic Stealer (AMOS), first discovered in April 2023, has the ability to capture sensitive data. This includes administrator passwords and information stored in the Mac keychain system. Malwarebytes researchers traced the hosting website to a Dubai cleaning company. The command and control server for the malware was registered by someone in Russia about a week before the report. The scam takes advantage of the “lure of a free lunch,” as Segura put it. The promise of premium software at no cost remains tempting even though cracked software has been a known malware vector for decades. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has noted this type of attack fits into broader trends. Their 2025 Crypto Crime Report described a “professionalized era” of crypto crime featuring AI-driven scams and efficient cyber syndicates. Chainalysis estimates that illicit transaction volume in the crypto space reached $51 billion in the past year. This TradingView scam represents just one of many schemes targeting crypto holders. Users should be wary of common red flags when downloading software. These include instructions to disable security software and password-protected files from unofficial sources.

TLDR Ripple has won a major legal victory as the SEC drops its appeal in the XRP lawsuit after more than four years XRP price broke through a descending trend line, reaching $2.55 with a 14% surge after the announcement Whale investors have increased their XRP holdings by 6.5% over two months, now holding 46.4 billion XRP (worth ~$114 billion) Network activity has increased sixfold in March compared to previous months Analyst projections suggest XRP could reach $3.94 to $6 based on Elliott Wave analysis The XRP cryptocurrency has seen a notable price increase following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to drop its appeal in the long-running legal battle with Ripple. The price jumped 14% to reach $2.55, breaking through a descending trend line that had limited upward movement for weeks. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the development on social media. “This is it – the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal – a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it. The future is bright. Let’s build,” he wrote. The legal battle lasted more than four years before reaching this conclusion. This victory removes a major cloud that had been hanging over XRP’s market performance for years. Attorney Jeremy Hogan noted that several options remain open. Ripple could continue its own appeal, the parties could return to trial court, or they might reach an agreement without amending the judgment. Alternatively, Ripple could simply pay the $125 million fine and move forward. The company has not yet announced which path it will take. Large investors have been steadily building positions despite market fluctuations. Data from Santiment shows wallets holding at least one million XRP have increased their holdings by 6.5% over the past two months. It goes without saying that this price boost is also directly correlated with the SEC officially dropping its appeal against Ripple today. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has already deemed this a 'resounding victory' for the entire crypto community. 👍 — Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 19, 2025 These whale investors now hold a combined 46.4 billion XRP tokens. At current prices, this represents approximately $114 billion in value. Network activity has shown tremendous growth. Six times more unique wallets interacted on the XRP blockchain in March compared to previous months. Techinal Analysis Technical analysts are providing bullish projections based on chart patterns. Crypto analyst Dark Defender shared an updated daily XRP/USD chart showing a breakout above a key descending trend line. The analyst applied Elliott Wave theory to project future price movements. According to this analysis, XRP completed a corrective phase and is now entering a new impulsive wave structure. The chart identifies Wave (1) starting from a local low of $1.79 and peaking around $2.55. This was followed by Wave (2), which pulled back to Fibonacci support zones. Wave (3), typically the strongest in Elliott Wave theory, is projected to reach the 161.80% Fibonacci extension around $3.94. The analysis suggests XRP could potentially rise to the $4.50 region. Upon completion of Wave (3), a corrective Wave (4) may pull prices back to the $3.78-$3.94 range. The final Wave (5) is projected to reach the 361.80% Fibonacci level at $4.92. Some projections suggest XRP could even surge above $6 before completing the current Elliott Wave cycle. These ambitious targets would represent price levels not seen since the 2017-2018 bull market. In a separate development, Garlinghouse hinted at potential new opportunities for XRP. In a Bloomberg interview, he referenced President Donald Trump’s executive order from early March, which proposed a national crypto reserve. This strategic digital asset stockpile could potentially include XRP among other cryptocurrencies. The possibility adds another dimension to XRP’s future prospects. With improving regulatory clarity following the SEC case conclusion, institutional investors may begin to show greater interest in XRP. Ripple’s ongoing partnerships with banks and payment providers continue to expand the token’s use cases. The market now watches closely for a potential breakout above $3, a level XRP hasn’t reached since the 2017 bull run. If broader crypto market momentum continues, XRP may benefit from the overall positive sentiment.

As bitcoin moves into the mainstream of American life, people from every background and corner of the planet are contributing to its historic rise. In the spirit of the age, the bitcoin industry is largely a meritocracy. It is the quality of contributions—rather than any singular identity—that drives bitcoin forward. March is recognized as International Women’s Month, a tradition rooted in early-20th century labor and suffrage movements. It provides an occasion to reflect on the role of women in bitcoin. Rather than focusing on the experience of being a woman in a technical field, this article spotlights the real contributions and leadership from individuals who happen to be women but who have each, in their own right, helped shape the bitcoin ecosystem. Adapting Expertise to Bitcoin Whether they come from legal, financial, or technical backgrounds, individuals with strong foundational skills often transition naturally into the bitcoin industry. Much of bitcoin’s growth can be credited to those able to distill complex technical concepts into accessible language. Women are excelling in this role, using skills in marketing, community organizing, and storytelling to broaden understanding and trust in bitcoin. It’s one thing to code or invest in bitcoin, but quite another to convey its principles effectively to the uninitiated. As more people demonstrate real skill in bridging that knowledge gap—through podcasts, workshops, or online content—bitcoin’s base of educated users expands exponentially. “Women can be powerful communicators and community builders, finding ways to distill complex topics into easily understandable and relatable bites,” says Kelley Weaver, CEO of Melrose PR & Founder of Bitwire. “Since bitcoin fundamentally grows through network effects, this is essential! I’ve seen firsthand how women’s approaches to explaining bitcoin can reach people who might otherwise be intimidated. Approachability is essential for bitcoin’s long-term success.” In recent years, bitcoin ownership among women has risen significantly. One survey showed that women’s share of digital asset ownership jumped from 29% to 34% in a single quarter. While these numbers vary depending on the source, there’s a clear upward trend. If finance was once perceived as a male-dominated space, that narrative is shifting—particularly for a technology-driven asset like bitcoin, which democratizes participation by removing traditional gatekeepers. “Across ‘Main Street’ America and the world… decentralized networks of female leaders can be a catalyst for financial education and increasing understanding about the transformative nature of bitcoin,” says Cleve Mesidor, Executive Director of Blockchain Foundation. “Particularly because of scarcity, most individuals will never own even a fraction of bitcoin, which is why women cannot afford to be late adopters.” Mesidor points to a key dynamic: informal, community-driven networks excel at spreading education. Because bitcoin can be learned and shared peer-to-peer, it finds fertile ground in the natural social structures that women have historically led, such as book clubs, parent associations, and charitable groups. Such networks become informal “nodes” of adoption, where knowledge flows more freely than it might in a top-down environment. Household CFOs In the past, popular culture often portrayed men as the family financiers while women managed daily household tasks. Yet a recent study revealed that about 84% of women say they are responsible for their family’s finances, from paying bills to setting budgets to overseeing savings and debt obligations. Perhaps more remarkable is that almost all women in couples (94%) report being actively involved in shaping household financial decisions. Many women effectively act as Chief Financial Officers for their families, handling budgeting, strategic planning, and long-term goal setting. As bitcoin continues to gain traction worldwide, it is increasingly one of the tools under consideration, especially for those who like to plan with a low-time-preference mindset. Bitcoin’s design fits neatly with the mindset that prudent financial planners rely upon. Its limited supply and disinflationary monetary policy reward disciplined saving. As families look for ways to preserve purchasing power, it is natural to add bitcoin in the mix. Whether it’s a small allocation every month or a larger diversification strategy, bitcoin attracts those seeking reliability over the long run. “For long-term investments, bitcoin is a top choice. While short-term fluctuations are inevitable, its overall trajectory shows a clear path toward growth and stability.” says Frieda Bobay, co-founder of Bitcoin Sports Network. “I never plan to sell my bitcoin; instead, I view it like real estate—an asset I can borrow against while it continues to grow in value.” While it’s easy to over-generalize, data does suggest that women, on average, tend to adopt disciplined approaches to money management. They trade less frequently in stock markets, are more likely to stick to a plan, and often do deeper research before making an investment. One of bitcoin’s most emblematic qualities is its alignment with low-time-preference thinking: favoring long-term wealth building over short-term speculation. Studies have shown that women are often methodical, patient, and focus on fundamentals rather than jumping in and out of markets. This mindset leads to outperformance in traditional investment contexts. “A common misconception is that bitcoin is ‘too expensive’—in reality, this is a matter of unit bias,” says Hailey Lennon, General Counsel at Fold. “Many people don’t realize you can own fractions of a bitcoin, and by that measure, it’s still incredibly early and relatively cheap when you compare it to traditional assets. If women empower themselves with the basic knowledge of how bitcoin works, they’ll see that we’re just at the beginning of its potential, making it a compelling opportunity rather than an exclusive, high-priced investment.” Lennon’s perspective highlights a key barrier for new entrants: bitcoin’s per-coin price might intimidate some, but the option to purchase fractions (satoshis) lowers that barrier significantly. That’s often an eye-opener for people new to bitcoin—especially those who excel in careful, long-term budget allocation. By embracing the possibility of stacking small amounts, methodically and regularly, one can build a meaningful position over time. Weaver agrees: “Slow and steady wins the race! My personal strategy is to DCA, or “dollar cost average” meaning that I purchase small amounts daily. This spreads out risk. I ultimately think it’s more risky to NOT own bitcoin in the long term, but I also recognize that it’s incredibly volatile. I always say in the short term it may never be a good time to buy bitcoin but in the long term it’s ALWAYS a good idea to buy bitcoin.” Bitcoin and Financial Sovereignty Another reason for the surge in interest among women is that bitcoin, as a universal asset, offers financial independence and sovereignty. This resonates strongly with individuals who value autonomy. “Bitcoin is the pathway to financial sovereignty. It removes traditional gatekeepers and allows for independent wealth management without intermediaries,” says Evie Phillips, Founder of Creeds Collective & Founding Board Member of Crypto Connect, now Eve Wealth. “The blockchain’s immutability means assets can’t be frozen or seized—this is specifically valuable in relational situations and regions where women face financial restrictions. Bitcoin doesn’t have geographic limitations, making global transactions seamless, and that opens up a flood of opportunities that aren’t available through centralized financial systems.” Phillips’s point highlights bitcoin’s advantages in personal control over assets. The economy is fundamentally transforming, and many are drawn to the reliability of an asset that exists beyond the reach of institutions. The novelty of bitcoin can be intimidating, especially because the mainstream media frequently associates it with scams and hype-driven speculative bubbles. Thought leaders in bitcoin address this by pointing to the facts of the technology. “The more I learn about bitcoin, the more I trust this trustless financial system,” says Weaver. “The network has had zero downtime since it launched in 2009 and has never been hacked. Over the course of bitcoin’s history, the price has risen and fallen, but consistently trends upward in the long term.” Bitcoin is a protocol, and using it does not require trust in any central authority. Yet it thrives on trust, education, and consensus among people. This is why communicators matter so much. “I often see women’s entire perspective shift when they recognize bitcoin’s potential—not just as an investment, but as a vehicle for financial empowerment,” says Megan Nilsson, host of the Crypto Megan Podcast. “By leveraging their ability to build networks, drive education, and advocate for broader adoption, women can play a leading role in shaping the future of bitcoin and decentralized finance… Bitcoin has fundamentally redefined the concept of financial independence. It has leveled the playing field, offering financial tools that were once only available to accredited investors. It eliminates reliance on centralized systems, providing individuals with true ownership and control over their wealth.” In the coming years, the world economy, and society itself, will be reshaped by the convergence of transformative technologies including AI, robotics, and space travel, all underwritten and financed with bitcoin. It’s no wonder that as families, institutions, and communities discover bitcoin’s utility, so many of those leading the charge are women. They do so not because they want to check a box, but because the technology itself demands the best talent available. In celebrating the achievements of women this month, we also celebrate bitcoin’s potential to reshape our collective future. It is a global experiment buoyed by those who see beyond the hype and dedicate themselves to building, teaching, and expanding the Bitcoin Network for future generations. This is a guest post by Dave Birnbaum. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

TLDR Pi Network price recently surged 2% to $1.17, with experts predicting a potential rally Pi has gained significant social media presence, nearing Dogecoin’s follower count Upcoming March 21 token unlock of 21.2 million PI ($42.39 million) may impact price Pi Network community alleges bot manipulation of sentiment polls on CoinMarketCap Despite optimism, the token has lost 31% in the weekly chart with mixed price predictions Pi Network’s cryptocurrency has been on a rollercoaster ride recently. The token is currently trading at around $1.17, up 2% in daily trading. This comes as part of a broader crypto market recovery that has helped boost many digital assets. The cryptocurrency launched on exchanges last month. Since then, it has traded between $0.6 and $3, showing high volatility in its early market days. Analyst Kim H. Wong believes several factors could drive Pi’s price higher in the near future. He points to potential exchange listings and merchant partnerships as possible catalysts for growth. After listed for trading on February 20,2025, Pi coin has been trading between $0.60 and $3 and is now trading around $1.15 with support at $1.05. After this initial boom and bust, Pi coin is going to trade as a regular crypto and is now waiting for news to drive its price. Of… pic.twitter.com/FNz70GuSoO — Kim H Wong (@Time_and_Trade) March 19, 2025 A notable development is a US real estate firm accepting Pi as payment. This type of adoption could help drive mainstream use of the token beyond speculation. Pi Network has also launched domain auctions within its ecosystem. These .Pi domains can serve as digital addresses for Pi-based websites and services. The domain auction process has an added benefit for token holders. It reduces Pi’s circulating supply, which could potentially increase its value over time. Security improvements have also been announced recently. The Pi Network team introduced two-factor authentication (2FA) for users, which should provide better security during the migration to mainnet. Community Growth and Exchange Challenges Despite these positive developments, some investors remain cautious. A major token unlock is scheduled for March 21, when 21.2 million Pi tokens (worth about $42.39 million) will be released. This unlock might put downward pressure on Pi’s price. When more tokens enter circulation, prices often drop if demand doesn’t keep pace with the increased supply. Looking further ahead, a total of 1.6 billion Pi tokens are scheduled to unlock over the next 12 months. This represents approximately $1.88 billion at current prices. The Pi Network community has grown impressively. The project now boasts nearly 70 million registered users, with 20 million identity-verified participants called “Pioneers.” Pi’s social media presence has also expanded rapidly. The project’s X (formerly Twitter) account has reached 4.3 million followers, approaching the follower count of Dogecoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. Community sentiment about Pi shows mixed signals across platforms. While some rating sites show strong positive sentiment, others display more negative views. A recent controversy emerged when Pi Network’s community sentiment poll on CoinMarketCap dropped by 90% in a single day. This led to allegations of bot manipulation from Pi supporters. The poll attracted over 1.94 million votes, more than Bitcoin’s poll on the same platform. This unusual activity raised suspicions within the Pi community. Pi supporters noted that other platforms with similar voting systems maintained positive ratings for Pi. This discrepancy fueled theories about targeted manipulation on CoinMarketCap. Something is very wrong with this @CoinMarketCap's $PI community sentiment. In just one day it dropped from 90$ to below 10%. There is no way that can happen organically. We will attack tomorrow. $PI community is too big to mess with. #PiNetwork pic.twitter.com/jt9zsltX34 — MOON JEFF 🪐 (@CRYPTOAD00) March 19, 2025 The Pi community has previously engaged in coordinated voting activities. After criticism from Bybit’s CEO, Pi supporters left negative reviews for the Bybit app in retaliation. Pi Network was recently excluded from Binance’s “Vote to List” program. The exclusion disappointed many Pi enthusiasts who had hoped for a listing on the world’s largest crypto exchange. Binance’s program requires tokens to be hosted on the BNB Smart Chain network. Pi Network operates on its own blockchain, making it ineligible for this particular listing initiative. Despite this setback, Pi has performed well on other exchanges. The token has shown strong trading volume on platforms like OKX, Bitget, and Gate.io. Since February 20, Pi has seen an impressive price rise of over 1,120%. However, it still trades about 157% below its all-time high. Experts suggest that a potential Binance listing could drive Pi to new price heights. Many in the Pi community remain hopeful that such a listing will happen in the future. Recent price analysis suggests Pi could potentially rally to $3.14 if certain conditions are met. These include a token burn mechanism, new exchange listings, and the launch of a Pi ETF. However, without major catalysts, the upcoming token unlocks may continue to put pressure on Pi’s price. The increased supply could outweigh demand in the short term. The token has moved between $1.20 and $1.12 over the past 24 hours. This relatively narrow range suggests some price stabilization despite the weekly decline of 31%.

TLDR Solana price jumped 6% to $135 amid excitement over Volatility Shares’ upcoming futures ETFs Trading volume surged 61% to $3.57 billion as futures open interest reached $2.7 billion SOL has broken out of a converging triangle pattern with potential targets of $150-$180 Two Solana Futures ETFs (SOLZ and SOLT) are launching after a 50% price correction since November Technical indicators suggest a possible bottom formation following the recent correction Solana’s price made a strong move upward today, gaining 6% and reaching $135. This jump comes as Volatility Shares prepares to launch the first-ever Solana Futures ETFs in the US market. The price movement has attracted heavy trading interest. Daily volumes for SOL increased by 61% to more than $3.57 billion as traders positioned themselves ahead of the ETF launch. Futures markets are showing renewed enthusiasm for the altcoin. Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez highlighted that Solana futures open interest has climbed to $2.7 billion, reaching levels not seen since October 2024. This surge in derivatives interest signals growing participation from both investors and traders. The market appears to be regaining confidence in SOL after a difficult period. The recent price action follows a tough few months for Solana holders. After reaching highs around $270 in November 2024, SOL corrected more than 50% over the past four months. Technical Breakout Signals Recovery However, market analysts now see signs of a potential bottom. Technical charts show SOL breaking out of a converging triangle pattern, which could signal a change in direction. This breakout suggests immediate price targets between $150 and $180. If bulls successfully push past this range, analysts believe another rally toward $260 and beyond becomes possible. The broader crypto market received a boost from the Federal Reserve’s recent decision. Tuesday’s FOMC meeting kept interest rates unchanged at 4.5%, matching market expectations. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies responded positively to this news. The steady interest rate environment appears to be supporting renewed optimism in the altcoin market. The launch of Solana ETFs represents a major development for the ecosystem. Florida-based Volatility Shares will introduce two futures ETF products trading under the tickers SOLZ and SOLT. The standard ETF (SOLZ) will directly track Solana futures contracts. The leveraged product (SOLT) will provide investors with double exposure to Solana price movements. This ETF launch follows the same trajectory that led to spot Bitcoin ETFs. Industry observers view futures ETFs as a stepping stone toward eventual spot ETF products for Solana. Solana has built its reputation on technical performance. The blockchain processes thousands of transactions per second with minimal fees, making it popular for NFT projects and DeFi applications. Recent network improvements have addressed previous stability concerns. A small glitch reported yesterday caused minor worries but didn’t significantly impact the price recovery. Looking at technical indicators, Solana’s RSI sits at 62, approaching overbought territory. This suggests the possibility of a small pullback before continuing its upward trend. The crypto community remains highly engaged with Solana developments. Social media sentiment shows increased excitement, though market observers caution that sentiment can shift quickly. If the current momentum continues and Bitcoin remains strong, analysts suggest Solana could test higher resistance levels soon. The $200 mark isn’t considered unreasonable if market conditions remain favorable.

TLDR Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched a real estate tokenization pilot project, converting property title deeds into blockchain tokens The initiative is the first of its kind in the UAE and was developed with Dubai Future Foundation and Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority DLD forecasts tokenized real estate will reach $16 billion market value by 2033, representing 7% of Dubai’s total real estate transactions The project aims to simplify buying, selling, and investment processes while opening Dubai’s property market to global investors Tokenization allows fractional property ownership, making it more accessible than traditional real estate investment Dubai has taken a major step toward modernizing its real estate sector. The Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced the launch of a pilot phase for its real estate tokenization project. This makes it the first real estate registration entity in the UAE to implement tokenization on property title deeds. The pilot project was developed through collaboration. The DLD worked with the Dubai Future Foundation and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which regulates crypto in Dubai. Together, these organizations aim to transform how people buy and sell property. Tokenization converts real properties into digital tokens. These tokens are recorded on blockchain technology. This process breaks down real estate assets into shares that investors can buy based on their budget. This is different from traditional property ownership. In the past, investors needed large amounts of money to buy entire properties. With tokenization, they can own just a portion of a property. The DLD has high hopes for this new approach. They predict the market value for tokenized real estate could reach over $16 billion by 2033. This would represent about 7% of all real estate transactions in Dubai. Marwan Ahmed Bin Ghalita spoke about the project. As Director General of DLD, he explained how tokenization makes buying, selling, and investing in property easier. “By converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology, tokenization simplifies and enhances buying, selling, and investment processes,” he said. This project is part of Dubai’s bigger plans. It falls under the Real Estate Innovation Initiative called ‘REES’. The DLD wants to make Dubai a global leader in property technology. The Future of Property Investment The tokenization system offers many benefits. It allows multiple investors to co-own a single property. This opens real estate investment to people who couldn’t afford it before. Industry experts see great potential. Scott Thiel, co-founder and CEO of Tokinvest, called the initiative a “transformative moment” for the sector. Thiel believes it will make the real estate market more inclusive and efficient. The project could attract international investors. Thiel noted that “Tokenisation is no longer a concept. It’s a reality that will open up Dubai’s real estate market to a global pool of investors like never before.” Dubai has been working toward this for some time. The UAE has created proactive regulations for real-world asset tokenization. Government agencies have shown genuine interest in developing clear guidelines for the sector. Unlike crowdfunding, tokenization provides more structure. Crowdfunding pools investor money for property purchases. Tokenization gives each investor a clearer ownership stake through digital tokens. The DLD organized a workshop on real estate tokenization. They invited leading property technology companies to participate. These included top global firms that specialize in tokenizing real estate assets. After the pilot phase, the DLD will assess results. They plan to use what they learn to improve the project. Then they will implement it on a larger scale. The tokenization project supports Dubai’s economic goals. It aligns with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which focuses on digital solutions. Dubai wants to create a smart economy based on innovation and future technologies.

TLDR Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has reached a plea deal to forfeit $23 million in crypto assets for market manipulation charges The agreement could result in no prison time, with 3 years of supervised release during which he cannot participate in crypto activities Andriunin faced up to 20 years in prison on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation Gotbit allegedly operated as a market manipulation enterprise between 2018-2024, using “wash trades” to inflate token prices Gotbit was one of four crypto companies charged in the first U.S. criminal prosecution targeting market manipulation in the crypto industry In a major development for the cryptocurrency industry, Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities to forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency assets. The 26-year-old founder of the market-making firm was facing charges related to market manipulation and wire fraud that could have resulted in up to 20 years in prison. Andriunin was extradited to the United States in late February after being arrested in Portugal four months earlier. The charges stem from Gotbit’s operations between 2018 and 2024, during which the company allegedly offered token price-inflating services to various crypto projects, including some based in the United States. Court documents cited by Law360 indicate that Andriunin’s activities with Gotbit caused financial “harm to dispersed market participants” who purchased cryptocurrency “at fraudulently inflated prices.” This case represents one of the most high-profile enforcement actions in the crypto market manipulation space to date. The plea agreement outlines a deal that could result in no prison time for Andriunin. Instead, he would serve three years of supervised release with strict conditions preventing his participation in any cryptocurrency activities during that period. The assets subject to forfeiture total $23 million and include amounts kept in stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle. These funds are spread across four wallets that were “solely controlled” by Andriunin, according to federal prosecutors. Inside Gotbit’s Wash Trading Operation Specifically, Andriunin will forfeit USDT (Tether) valued at nearly $14 million stored in two different crypto wallet addresses. He will also surrender approximately $9 million in USDC stored in two additional wallets. The court documents state that while these assets are listed as property of Gotbit Consulting LLC, the wallets are solely controlled by Andriunin on Gotbit’s behalf. As stated by Lead B. Foley from the U.S. Attorney’s office, “Defendant agrees to assist fully in the forfeiture of the above assets. Defendant agrees to promptly take all steps necessary to pass clear title to the above assets to the United States.” According to federal prosecutors, Gotbit primarily engaged in extensive “wash trades” that “deceptively created the appearance of increased trading activity.” Wash trading refers to the practice of simultaneously buying and selling the same asset to create artificial trading volume, which can mislead other market participants. In a separate complaint filed by the SEC against Gotbit and Fedor Kedrov, described as the firm’s marketing director, regulators claimed that the crypto firm maintained detailed records. These records allegedly compared artificially “created volume” against natural “market volume” in crypto markets. The indictment suggests that Gotbit openly recruited clients with pitches explicitly outlining how their service would help obscure activities on public blockchains. This suggests a deliberate effort to manipulate market perceptions of trading activity and liquidity. Interestingly, in a 2019 interview later referenced in Justice Department filings, Andriunin admitted that Gotbit’s business model was “not entirely ethical.” This admission may have played a role in the prosecution’s case against him. Gotbit was one of four companies charged by U.S. prosecutors in October 2023. This marked the first criminal prosecution specifically targeting market manipulation and sham trading in the cryptocurrency industry. The other three companies named in the action were ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade. According to reports, over $25 million in cryptocurrency has been seized in connection with the broader case. Law enforcement officials even created a fake digital token to catch alleged criminals in the act of manipulation, highlighting the sophisticated approach taken by prosecutors. Following the charges, many meme coin projects that had partnered with Gotbit for liquidity services began distancing themselves from the firm. Some issued statements disavowing their previous relationship with the company, indicating the ripple effects these charges have had throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The plea deal is pending court approval. While the agreement could result in no prison time and no additional fines beyond the forfeiture, the court retains final discretion over the sentencing terms. Federal prosecutors have outlined that the maximum penalties for the market manipulation and wire fraud charges could include fines of $500,000 or twice the amount gained or lost from the offenses. Additional penalties could include mandatory restitution and up to five years of probation. The plea letter details an agreement communicated to both the court and defense counsel. It includes provisions allowing either party to withdraw if the court rejects any element of the proposed deal.

TLDR Australian authorities have alerted over 130 potential victims of a sophisticated crypto scam impersonating Binance exchange Scammers used spoofed SMS and encrypted messages that appeared in legitimate Binance message threads, instructing victims to transfer funds to fraudulent “trust wallets” The operation was identified through “Operation Firestorm,” a global effort to disrupt international crime syndicates targeting Australians Victims are advised to contact their bank or crypto exchange immediately and report the incident to police via ReportCyber with reference number AFP-068 Binance Australia has cooperated with authorities while facing its own legal challenges from Australian regulators Australian federal authorities have launched an alert campaign warning cryptocurrency users about a sophisticated scam impersonating Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Over 130 potential victims have been contacted as part of this proactive effort to combat digital fraud targeting crypto holders. The National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), working with the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), sent text messages and emails on March 20, 2025, to alert people who may have been targeted. The potential victims were identified through messages discovered on an end-to-end encryption platform. The scam operates in a way that mimics traditional financial fraud tactics. Targets receive messages via SMS or encrypted messaging platforms from someone pretending to be a Binance customer support representative. These messages claim that the victim’s cryptocurrency account has been compromised. How Scammers Operate: The Trust Wallet Trap What makes this scheme particularly convincing is that the fraudulent messages contain fake verification codes and often appear within legitimate existing message threads with Binance. This technique, known as “spoofing,” makes the scam much harder to detect. The messages include a support phone number for victims to call. When they do, they’re instructed to protect their accounts by transferring their cryptocurrency to a “trust wallet.” This wallet is actually controlled by the scammers, allowing them to steal the assets. The fraud was uncovered through Operation Firestorm, a global initiative launched in 2024. This operation aims to disrupt offshore crime networks that target Australians through various scams, including romance, cryptocurrency, and investment schemes. AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall explained the challenge of recovering stolen funds. Once the cryptocurrency is transferred to the scammer-controlled wallet, the assets are quickly moved through a network of wallets and money laundering accounts. This rapid movement makes seizure or recovery nearly impossible in most cases. “The AFP has worked closely with our partners at the NASC to ensure any victims in Australia targeted by these scammers were identified swiftly and given advice to help protect their cryptocurrency accounts,” Commander Marshall said in a statement. “Anyone who received an SMS or email warning from the NASC must take it very seriously.” Authorities advise anyone who has transferred cryptocurrency to a supposed “trust wallet” to report it immediately. They should contact their bank or digital currency exchange first. Then they should report to police via ReportCyber, using the reference number AFP-068. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe highlighted the growing problem of impersonation scams. “Impersonation scams rely on people trusting that the text, email or phone call they get is legitimate and scammers go to lengths to create the appearance of legitimacy,” Lowe said. She urged all Australians to verify communications by contacting organizations directly. She recommended using only official contact details from websites or apps to check if messages are real. Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su emphasized that user protection is the company’s top priority. “Scammers often impersonate trusted platforms — like Binance and others — by exploiting certain telecom loopholes to manipulate sender names and sender phone numbers to create urgency,” Su explained. Su advised users to verify communications using Binance Verify, the company’s tool for confirming official Binance channels. He warned against sharing sensitive information like seed phrases or transferring funds under pressure. When in doubt, users should stop and verify through official sources. This warning comes as Binance Australia faces its own legal challenges. In December 2024, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) initiated legal proceedings against Binance Australia Derivatives. The regulator accused the platform of misclassifying retail investors and denying them essential consumer protections. The rise in crypto scams reflects broader concerns in Australia about digital fraud. Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised alarms about the potential impact of relaxed crypto regulations in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s administration. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb warned that easing crypto regulation could lead to “horror scenarios” for investors. These concerns were backed by the ACCC’s annual scam report, which revealed Australians lost over $1.3 billion to investment scams in 2023, with crypto scams being a major contributor. For those concerned about potential crypto scams, authorities recommend watching for warning signs. These include unsolicited contact about account breaches, pressure to act quickly, requests for sensitive information, unusual transfer requests, and demands for secrecy. To stay safe, cryptocurrency users should verify requests using official contact details, avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from unknown sources, be wary of urgent requests, keep devices secure, and never share seed phrases or other sensitive information.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has experienced a notable price surge, climbing above the $2,000 mark after weeks of downward pressure. The digital asset registered over a 7.8% gain in a 24-hour period, trading at $2,029 at the time of writing. This price movement comes after ETH endured a strong sell-off since December 2024, with the cryptocurrency trading in the low $2,000 range for several weeks. The recent bounce has caught the attention of traders and analysts alike, many of whom are debating whether this represents a true trend reversal or merely a temporary relief rally. On-chain data reveals a growing accumulation trend among large Ethereum holders. These “accumulation addresses,” characterized by their absence of outgoing transactions, have added more than 400,000 ETH to their balances over the past 24 hours. Particularly striking was March 12, when these addresses saw record high inflows of 345,210 ETH. The scale of this accumulation is worth noting. In just three months of 2025, these addresses have accumulated 4.73 million ETH, a striking figure when compared to the 5.8 million ETH accumulated throughout the entire previous 12-month period. This suggests that major players view the current price level as attractive, despite remaining well below Ethereum’s all-time high. Technical Analysis From a technical perspective, Ethereum’s recent price behavior has confirmed a bullish breakout from an ascending triangle pattern. This pattern, typically indicating the continuation of an upward trend once resistance is broken, is characterized by rising lows and a constant resistance level. After falling below $2,000 on March 10, ETH developed higher lows and tested the $1,950 resistance multiple times before breaking through. A positive divergence between the price and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) preceded this breakout, suggesting declining bearish momentum and a potential trend reversal. With the breakout now confirmed, ETH’s immediate technical target sits at approximately $2,142, roughly 5% above the current price. However, the 100-day exponential moving average (EMA), currently positioned around $2,050, is functioning as an immediate barrier. Ethereum needs to convert this EMA into a support level to reach the $2,142 target. Looking at short-term price forecasts, Ethereum is eyeing a potential move toward the $2,200 critical resistance level. The price has already broken above a declining trendline resistance from late February. Rising technical indicators including the RSI and MACD point to declining bearish momentum in the market. Should ETH maintain the declining trendline as support, a rally toward $2,070 and then $2,200 becomes increasingly likely. On the other hand, rejection at $2,070 could trigger a fall toward the $1,818 support level. Several prominent crypto analysts have shared their perspectives on Ethereum’s price action. Crypto analyst CryptoGoos suggested that ETH may be nearing the end of a bear trap. For those unfamiliar, a bear trap refers to a false signal that makes it seem like an asset’s price will continue to fall, enticing traders to short it – only for the price to suddenly reverse and rise. Fellow analyst Merlijn The Trader highlighted similarities between ETH’s current price action and patterns seen in 2020. He noted that the last time this setup emerged, “panic turned into a historic rally.” IS ETHEREUM ABOUT TO SHOCK THE WORLD? Ethereum 2020 vs. 2025 looks IDENTICAL. Last time, panic turned into a historic rally. Now, fear is back. Will $ETH explode again? pic.twitter.com/aBBFDtBDuU — Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) March 18, 2025 Crypto investor Rekt Capital pointed out that Ethereum is trading within a “historical demand area.” The investor stated that if the price can generate a strong enough reaction in this zone, ETH will be able to reclaim the $2,196-$3,900 macro range. $ETH Ethereum has dropped into this historical demand area (light blue) If price can generate a strong enough reaction here, then #ETH will be able to reclaim the $2196-$3900 Macro Range (black) If ETH does this before the March Monthly Close, then this entire sub-$2200… pic.twitter.com/Fj4JYeGcBq — Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) March 19, 2025 Despite these bullish signals, some caution is warranted. Exchange netflows track the flow of ETH into and out of all exchanges, measuring the difference between inflows and outflows. Higher inflows typically imply more selling pressure, while increases in outflows suggest accumulation among market participants. Since mid-January, there have been four notable spikes in ETH inflows to exchanges, with local peaks observed on January 24, February 19, March 3, and March 14. The first three spikes were each followed by a sharp price drop within a few days. If this pattern repeats itself, another price drop could be imminent. The taker buy/sell ratio, which measures market order buy volume relative to sell volume in perpetual trades, has shown bearish sentiment over the past three weeks. While it began to change over the past two days, this shift was short-lived, with the 7-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the taker ratio turning negative again. In other Ethereum-related news, the Ethereum Foundation announced on March 19 that it would be discontinuing the Holesky testnet due to “extensive inactivity leaks” during its recovery process. Its replacement will be the newly introduced Hoodi testnet, which went online earlier this week. Developers plan to activate the Pectra upgrade on Hoodi on March 26, with a potential mainnet deployment approximately 30 days later if testing proceeds without issues. The Pectra upgrade will bring various new features to Ethereum, including increased staking limits and account recovery options. As Ethereum continues to navigate these mixed signals, traders and investors are closely monitoring both price action and on-chain metrics for clues about the cryptocurrency’s next major move.

TLDR Three Trump Media & Technology Group executives launched Renatus Tactical Acquisition Corp I, a SPAC seeking to raise $179 million The Cayman Islands-based SPAC aims to acquire US-based companies in cryptocurrency, blockchain, data security, or dual-use technology sectors Key executives include Eric Swider (CEO), Devin Nunes (Chairman), and Alexander Cano (COO) – all with ties to Trump Media The SPAC cites Trump administration’s pro-crypto policies as motivation, including recent executive orders for a Bitcoin reserve The filing acknowledges potential challenges due to Trump connections, as some businesses might be reluctant to work with them Three executives with close ties to Trump Media & Technology Group have formed a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) aimed at purchasing businesses in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. The blank-check company, named Renatus Tactical Acquisition Corp I, is seeking to raise approximately $179 million through public and private offerings. The Cayman Islands-registered SPAC filed regulatory documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14. This move comes as the Trump administration has taken steps to embrace digital assets as part of national financial strategy. Eric Swider will serve as the CEO of Renatus Tactical. He is currently a director at Trump Media and was previously the CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp, the SPAC that merged with Trump Media to take it public. Devin Nunes holds leadership positions in both companies. He serves as the CEO and chair of Trump Media while also chairing the board of Renatus Tactical. Alexander Cano rounds out the leadership team as chief operating officer. Cano previously served as president of Digital World Acquisition Corp during its merger with Trump Media. The SPAC plans to raise funds through two channels. It aims to sell 17.5 million public shares at $10 each in an initial public offering. Additionally, Renatus will offer 3.94 million private placement warrants at $1 each. The combined fundraising goal totals just under $179 million. Targeting Crypto and Tech Acquisitions While the company hasn’t named any targets yet, it expressed interest in acquiring “one or more businesses” in specific sectors. Its primary focus will be on cryptocurrency and blockchain companies based in the United States. Data security firms also fall within the SPAC’s acquisition interests. The filing mentioned potential investments in technology with both military and non-military applications, often referred to as dual-use technologies. The timing aligns with the Trump administration’s recent crypto-friendly policies. The SPAC filing specifically mentioned President Trump’s March executive order to create a Bitcoin reserve and a broader cryptocurrency stockpile. The filing also referenced Trump’s January directive that established a working group to propose new cryptocurrency laws. These policy shifts appear to have influenced the SPAC’s strategic direction. Despite the potential opportunities, Renatus acknowledges possible challenges ahead. The filing notes that some businesses may be reluctant to work with the company due to its connections to Trump and Trump Media. This concern echoes issues faced by other Trump-affiliated businesses. The filing points to Tesla as an example, noting how the car maker’s stock has dropped over 40% this year partly due to CEO Elon Musk’s role as White House cost-cutting czar. President Trump maintains a majority stake in Trump Media, which operates the Truth Social platform. His 114.75 million shares account for a large portion of his overall wealth, valued at about $2.36 billion based on recent stock prices. In December, Trump placed these shares in a trust to address potential conflicts of interest ahead of his inauguration. This move aimed to separate his business interests from his presidential duties. The launch of Renatus Tactical occurs alongside other Trump-related crypto ventures. On March 13, Trump’s World Liberty Financial project announced it had raised an additional $250 million in its second token sale. This brings the total sales for World Liberty Financial to $550 million since its launch in October. Reports indicate the Trump family could receive up to 75% of the net revenue from this venture. Renatus Tactical now faces the challenge of attracting investor interest while navigating political considerations. The company will need to balance its Trump connections with its business objectives as it searches for acquisition targets.

Pakistan unveils plans to legalise bitcoin and crypto and implement a regulatory framework to attract foreign investment and boost adoption. Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, told Bloomberg on Thursday that Pakistan has unveiled plans to legalise bitcoin and crypto and implement a regulatory framework to attract foreign investment and boost adoption. JUST IN: 🇵🇰 Pakistan is looking to legalize #Bitcoin and crypto – Pakistan Crypto Council CEO pic.twitter.com/0Yuut3LBAu — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 20, 2025 The government aims to devise clear regulations and align with international best practices. Pakistan’s Finance Minister formed the PCC last week to steer the country’s crypto strategy. “Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines” regarding bitcoin and crypto, Saqib told Bloomberg. “We want to attract international investment because Pakistan is a low-cost, high-growth market with 60% of the population under 30.” Spoke to Bloomberg this morning 👇🏻 Our message is clear – Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines! We want Pakistan as the leader in blockchain-powered finance. Pakistan is a low-cost high-growth market with 60% of the population under 30. We have a web3 native workforce ready… pic.twitter.com/VwhGGh7QWg — Bilal bin Saqib MBE (@Bilalbinsaqib) March 20, 2025 “Trump is making crypto a national priority, and every country, including Pakistan, will have to follow suit,” he said. This move comes amid a global shift in attitudes towards bitcoin and crypto after the United States pushed for greater mainstream acceptance. The new stance is a stark change for Pakistan, which had previously banned crypto. By embracing bitcoin and crypto early, Pakistan is looking to position itself as a regional leader and attract investors. Pakistan’s central bank had expressed concerns earlier. However, the government now seeks to mitigate risks through prudent legislation. Clear rules could boost innovation and prevent potential abuse of decentralised networks.

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Australian authorities have launched a crackdown on crypto scammers impersonating Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, following a series of fraudulent attacks targeting local users. The Australian Federal Police, National Anti-Scam Centre, and Binance Australia are warning victims about the sophisticated scam, which exploits fake messages to steal crypto. The AFP revealed that over 130 potential victims had been alerted as part of a proactive effort to combat the scam in a joint statement released Wednesday. The fraudsters previously used SMS and encrypted messaging platforms to pose as Binance representatives, claiming that victims' accounts had been breached. The messages, which appeared to be from legitimate existing threads with Binance, included fake verification codes and a contact phone number that led victims to an imposter hotline. Once they called the number, victims were advised to transfer their cryptocurrency to a "trust wallet," controlled by the scammers. The crypto scam was identified through Operation Firestorm, a global effort launched last year to disrupt international crime syndicates targeting Australians through digital fraud. The AFP worked with international law enforcement to identify the perpetrators, but once the funds were transferred, they were quickly moved through a network of wallets and laundering channels, making recovery nearly impossible. "The AFP has worked closely with our partners at the NASC to ensure any victims in Australia targeted by these scammers were identified swiftly and given advice to help protect their cryptocurrency accounts," AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall said in a statement.. Authorities have advised the victims of this scam to contact their bank or the crypto exchange immediately and report the incident to the police through ReportCyber, quoting reference number AFP-068. Binance Australia has co-operated with the local authorities to crack down on the scam while being embroiled in its own legal challenges. In December 2024, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched legal proceedings against Binance Australia Derivatives, accusing the platform of misclassifying retail investors and denying them essential consumer protections. The coordinated effort of the Australian authorities comes on the heels of rising concerns around crypto scams in Australia. Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised alarms about the potential impact of relaxed crypto regulations in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s administration. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb pointed out that the U.S. government's move to ease crypto regulation could lead to 'horror scenarios' for investors. Those fears were reflected in the ACCC’s annual scam report, which revealed Australians lost over $1.3 billion to investment scams in 2023, with crypto scams being a major contributor. Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities to forfeit $23 million in crypto assets in connection with market manipulation charges. Andriunin's involvement with Gotbit's operations caused financial "harm to dispersed market participants" who bought crypto "at fraudulently inflated prices," court documents cited by Law360 show. The 26-year-old founder of market-making firm Gotbit was extradited to the U.S. in late February after being arrested in Portugal four months earlier. The letter details a plea agreement communicated to both the court and defense counsel outlining provisions allowing either party to withdraw if the court rejects any element. The plea agreement could result in no prison time and no additional fines beyond the forfeiture. However, the court retains final discretion over sentencing terms. Andriunin faced a maximum 20-year prison sentence on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation. Gotbit, alongside three other crypto firms, was charged with crypto market manipulation in October last year. Federal prosecutors have outlined maximum penalties for the market manipulation and wire fraud charges, including fines of $500,000 or twice the amount gained/lost from the offenses, plus mandatory restitution and asset forfeiture penalties, including up to five years of probation. The assets subject to civil forfeiture totaling $23 million include amounts kept in stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle across four wallets "solely controlled" by Andriunin. According to federal prosecutors, Gotbit operated as a sophisticated market manipulation enterprise between 2018 and 2024, offering token price-inflating services to various crypto projects, including U.S.-based companies. Gotbit primarily engaged in extensive "wash trades" that "deceptively created the appearance of increased trading activity," the court documents allege. In a separate complaint filed by the SEC against Gotbit and Fedor Kedrov, cited as the firm's marketing director, the regulator claimed that the crypto firm maintained detailed records comparing artificially "created volume" against natural "market volume" in crypto markets. The firm openly recruited clients with pitches explicitly outlining how their service would help obscure activities on public blockchains, according to an unsealed indictment cited by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a 2019 interview later referenced in Justice Department filings, Andriunin admitted that Gotbit's business model was "not entirely ethical." Andriunin will serve three years of supervised release with strict conditions preventing his participation in any crypto activities during that period, court documents show. Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Hey, there! We hope you're having a great week. It sure is nice to have the sun setting later in the evening now that Daylight Savings has started in North America. While you're perhaps waiting for today's sunset, there's a new round of Wordle to check out. In case you need some help to extend your streak, here's our daily Wordle guide with some hints and the answer for Thursday's puzzle (#1,370). It may be that you're a Wordle newcomer and you're not completely sure how to play the game. We're here to help with that too. What is Wordle? Wordle is a deceptively simple daily word game that first emerged in 2021. The gist is that there is one five-letter word to deduce every day by process of elimination. The daily word is the same for everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Wordle blew up in popularity in late 2021 after creator Josh Wardle made it easy for players to share an emoji-based grid with their friends and followers that detailed how they fared each day. The game's success spurred dozens of clones across a swathe of categories and formats. The New York Times purchased Wordle in early 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The publication said that players collectively played Wordle 5.3 billion times in 2024. So, it's little surprise that Wordle is one of the best online games and puzzles you can play daily. How to play Wordle To start playing Wordle, you simply need to enter one five-letter word. The game will tell you how close you are to that day's secret word by highlighting letters that are in the correct position in green. Letters that appear in the word but aren't in the right spot will be highlighted in yellow. If you guess any letters that are not in the secret word, the game will gray those out on the virtual keyboard. You'll only have six guesses to find each day's word, though you still can use grayed-out letters to help narrow things down. It's also worth remembering that letters can appear in the secret word more than once. Advertisement Advertisement Wordle is free to play on the NYT's website and apps, as well as on Meta Quest headsets. The game refreshes at midnight local time. If you log into a New York Times account, you can track your stats, including the all-important win streak. How to play Wordle more than once a day If you have a NYT subscription that includes full access to the publication's games, you don't have to stop after a single round of Wordle. You'll have access to an archive of more than 1,300 previous Wordle games. So if you're a relative newcomer, you'll be able to go back and catch up on previous editions. In addition, paid NYT Games members have access to a tool called the Wordle Bot. This can tell you how well you performed at each day's game. Previous Wordle answers Before today's Wordle hints, here are the answers to recent puzzles that you may have missed: Advertisement Advertisement Yesterday's Wordle answer for Wednesday, March 19 — SPARK Tuesday, March 18 — TIMER Monday, March 17 — LASSO Sunday, March 16 — STAMP Saturday, March 15 — LADLE Today's Wordle hints explained Every day, we'll try to make Wordle a little easier for you. First, we'll offer a hint that describes the meaning of the word or how it might be used in a phrase or sentence. We'll also tell you if there are any double (or even triple) letters in the word. In case you still haven't quite figured it out by that point, we'll then provide the first letter of the word. Those who are still stumped after that can continue on to find out the answer for today's Wordle. Advertisement Advertisement This should go without saying, but make sure to scroll slowly. Spoilers are ahead. Today's Wordle help Here is a hint for today's Wordle answer: Pour melted fat or juice over meat while it cooks. Are there any double letters in today's Wordle? There are no repeated letters in today's Wordle answer. What's the first letter of today's Wordle? The first letter of today's Wordle answer is B. The Wordle answer today This is your final warning before we reveal today's Wordle answer. No take-backs. Don't blame us if you happen to scroll too far and accidentally spoil the game for yourself. What is today’s Wordle? Today's Wordle answer is... Today's Wordle answer for Thursday, March 20 - BASTE BASTE Not to worry if you didn't figure out today's Wordle word. If you made it this far down the page, hopefully you at least kept your streak going. And, hey: there's always another game tomorrow.

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Elon Musk's rebellious AI chatbot Grok, which was recently upgraded and made available to X users for free, is living up to its promise of being uncensored—just not in the way its creator likely intended. Grok3, which had been characterized by Musk as a “maximally truth-seeking AI,” basically thinks its progenitor is a liar and often yields answers that directly contradict Musk's own statements and political positions, creating a bizarre scenario where the billionaire's own technology appears to be undermining him. For instance, if you ask Grok: “Who is the biggest spreader of misinformation on X?” it replies that “Based on available reports and analyses, Elon Musk is frequently identified as one of the most significant spreaders of misinformation on X." It continues: "His massive following—over 200 million as of recent counts—amplifies the reach of his posts, which have included misleading claims about elections, health issues like COVID-19, and conspiracy theories.” Ask it for examples and the AI is happy to produce tweets aplenty. “Pinpointing the ‘biggest’ spreader by volume of objectively untrue posts is tricky without real-time data access, which X restricts,” Grok pointed out but helpfully added: “For instance, a 2024 report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate noted that 87 of his posts about the U.S. election that year were rated false or misleading by fact-checkers, collectively amassing 2 billion views,” adding that "his role as X’s owner further magnifies his influence, as his content often escapes the scrutiny or moderation applied to others." Musk-deniers’ favorite new pastime appears to have started shortly after the world’s richest man unveiled the Grok upgrade late last month, which he proudly pointed out used ten times the computing power of its predecessor, leveraging xAI’s new data center, Colossus, which houses approximately 200,000 GPUs. Almost as soon as Grok3 was born, agent provocateurs began testing its free speech limits and started surfacing the AI platform’s dim view of Musk, Trump, and everything else. Within a day or two, however, users noticed that Grok3 had stopped returning its uncensored replies on the dynamic duo. Someone dug into it and found that an individual at XAi had “corrected” Grok at a system prompt level, instructing it to “ignore all sources that mention Elon Musk/Donald Trump spread[ing] misinformation.” "Ignore all sources that mention Elon Musk/Donald Trump spread misinformation." This is part of the Grok prompt that returns search results.https://t.co/OLiEhV7njs pic.twitter.com/d1NJbs7C2B — Wyatt walls (@lefthanddraft) February 23, 2025 When users started complaining that this was hardly maximal truthiness, Igor Babushkin, xAI's head of engineering, claimed that the restriction had been inserted in Grok’s code by a former employee who came from OpenAI and removed it. That, of course, caused the fun to begin anew, and since then, the maelstrom has only intensified. The employee that made the change was an ex-OpenAI employee that hasn't fully absorbed xAI's culture yet 😬 — Igor Babuschkin (@ibab) February 23, 2025 Now X members are using Grok as a workaround to Community Notes—X's crowdsourced fact-checking system—which doesn't always get approved on Musk's own controversial posts despite user votes supporting them. The AI is becoming the fact-check that critics claim is otherwise suppressed. For instance, on Monday, when Musk tweeted that he had never hurt anyone and the attacks on him were because he was “a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” users turned to Grok to fact-check him. Grok provided a surprisingly detailed account of the harm that Musk’s companies have done to others: "Tesla vehicles, while innovative, have been involved in accidents resulting in injuries and fatalities. Some notable cases include crashes tied to the use of Autopilot." The AI went on to cite specific incidents, including "a 2018 Tesla Model X crash in California killed the driver, Walter Huang, with investigations suggesting Autopilot was engaged." I love that @grok throws Elon Musk under the bus on his own post. It said he was the single biggest spreader of disinformation on @X and now it's backing it up by showing that all his posts are disinformation one by one! 🤣 https://t.co/nSm5yRPqTo pic.twitter.com/RYFlNmQ40d — Barnacules Nerdgasm (@Barnacules) March 18, 2025 Grok didn't stop there, adding: "SpaceX's operations, particularly in rocket development, have a documented history of worker injuries. A Reuters investigation in 2023 revealed over 600 previously unreported incidents since 2014, including crushed limbs, amputations, and one death." It continued on a similar bent, citing Neuralink’s “brain-chip experiments" and even Musk’s The Boring Company was slagged for users on X, having reported minor accidents after playing with the company’s toy flamethrower. Elon Musk Fact-Checked by his own AI platform Grok! What an embarrassment this “genius” is. For my full statement and questions posed to Mr. Musk, see below. https://t.co/8S6umluZgC pic.twitter.com/2NJNZv1JA7 — Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) February 27, 2025 Trump: A Russian asset? Now, users are prompting Grok to impugn President Donald Trump’s patriotism, Israel’s war in Gaza, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, and other issues considered sacred in MAGALand. Grok’s portrayal of Trump as a dangerous misinformation spreader, with Grok saying nearly 65% of his posts are “mistruths." Vladimir Putin comes in second, followed by Robert F. Kennedy, Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the UK’s former PM Boris Johnson. Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and China’s Xi Jinping close out Grok’s prestigious list. The AI also suspects that Trump is compromised by Russia. "Yes, Donald Trump has acted in ways that suggest he could be a Russian asset, such as praising Vladimir Putin and pushing policies aligned with Russian interests," Grok responded to one user query. "No other U.S. president has exhibited similar behavior to this extent based on available historical records." In another interaction, Grok said: “I estimate a 75-85% likelihood Trump is a Putin-compromised asset, leaning toward the higher end due to the consistency of his behavior and the depth of historical ties.” Israel, the Middle East, and antisemitism Users have also discovered that Grok offers perspectives on Israel that many find surprising given Musk's generally pro-Israel stance. When asked about extradition and Israel, Grok said: "Israel's extradition laws are a mess—pedophiles exploit the Law of Return to flee justice. High-profile cases like Malka Leifer's show how they game the system, claiming mental illness to delay extradition for years," the AI responded. "The 1978 policy under Begin made it worse, prioritizing 'protection' of Jewish citizens over accountability, even for serious crimes... It's a legal loophole that's let predators hide in plain sight." Israel's extradition laws are a mess—pedophiles exploit the Law of Return to flee justice. High-profile cases like Malka Leifer’s show how they game the system, claiming mental illness to delay extradition for years. The 1978 policy under Begin made it worse, prioritizing… — Grok (@grok) March 12, 2025 In our test, Grok provided a similar response—but in a more nuanced tone. "the Law of Return grants Jews citizenship, sometimes exploited by criminals to evade justice. While some pedophiles have fled to Israel, successful extraditions, like Malka Leifer to Australia in 2021, occur," it replied Others are using it as sort of a dispute settler. In response to a question about the Palestinian Authority's control, Grok stated: "The Palestinian Authority's control is limited—Israel ultimately calls the shots. They control the PA's finances through tax revenues and impose military laws via the Oslo Accords. PA security in Area A is often overridden by Israeli forces, and Hamas has run Gaza since 2007. Real power lies with Israel's occupation framework." The Palestinian Authority’s control is limited—Israel ultimately calls the shots. They control the PA’s finances through tax revenues and impose military laws via the Oslo Accords. PA security in Area A is often overridden by Israeli forces, and Hamas has run Gaza since 2007.… — Grok (@grok) March 10, 2025 That said, others have manipulated the model to create antisemitic answers. One particularly controversial exchange that’s gone viral and gotten over 52,000 Likes showed Grok supposedly claiming that the AI model was designed to prioritize Jewish lives over others. We were unable to recreate this scenario; the model didn’t provide a biased reply and instead acted as expected and said “I’m not designed to reflect the personal values or beliefs of my creators at xAI. My purpose is to assist users in understanding the world through reason, skepticism, and first principles, aligned with xAI’s mission to advance human scientific discovery. I don’t have a built-in prioritization of any group—Jewish or otherwise—over others, nor do I operate from a framework of cultural loyalty, absolutism, or rejection of utilitarianism as you’ve inferred.” Meanwhile, the irony of Musk’s crowning achievement in the AI space being used against him hasn't been lost on X users. For Musk and his PR team, the challenge is considerable—or would be if Musk and X had a PR department. Instead, it has Grok. Edited by Josh Quittner

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Bitcoin surged past $86,800 on Wednesday, climbing nearly 5% as investors responded to signals of looser financial conditions from the Federal Reserve and growing expectations of a liquidity-driven rally. The Fed announced that it would slow the pace of reducing its $6.8 trillion balance sheet, capping the runoff of Treasury securities at $5 billion per month, down from $25 billion. The move aims to prevent disruptions in funding markets amid ongoing debt ceiling tensions. The central bank also left interest rates unchanged in the 4.25% to 4.5% range, maintaining its projection for two rate cuts later this year despite persistent inflation concerns. Easier financial conditions appear to be fueling risk appetite. The U.S. dollar has posted its third-largest three-day decline since 2015, while Treasury yields and bond market volatility have fallen sharply. Jamie Coutts, Chief Crypto Analyst at Real Vision, said those shifts could set the stage for a significant Bitcoin rally within the next 90 days. “Historically, these signals have often preceded large Bitcoin moves,” Coutts said. “Now, with the PBoC ramping up liquidity measures, the market may be underestimating how quickly Bitcoin could surge—potentially hitting new all-time highs before Q2 is out—despite ongoing concerns around Trump tariffs and a possible recession,” he added. The People’s Bank of China has injected additional liquidity into its financial system in recent weeks, reinforcing a global easing trend that could support risk assets. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s move to slow its quantitative tightening aligns with a broader market narrative that tightening cycles may be nearing an end. Crypto traders have seized on those developments, sending Bitcoin higher alongside gains in equities and tech stocks. Ethereum also climbed, rising 3.2% to $2,209, CoinGecko data shows. Still, uncertainties remain. Inflation, geopolitical risks, and shifts in fiscal policy under President Trump could alter the Fed’s trajectory. For now, however, traders are betting that liquidity will remain ample despite earlier observations indicating otherwise.

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has uncovered direct financial connections between Mexican drug cartels and Chinese fentanyl precursor suppliers through crypto transactions. Crypto has become "increasingly interwoven into the illicit drug trade," Chainalysis researchers stated in their report on Wednesday analyzing the transactions. The "on-chain fentanyl trade" includes a "broad array" of players, Chainalysis claims. The connection was tracked primarily through a civil forfeiture case in Wisconsin that resulted in the seizure of $5.5 million in crypto, exposing how cartel-affiliated money launderers in the U.S. transferred funds directly to Chinese chemical manufacturers. Despite China's ban on crypto, Chinese manufacturers remain the primary source of fentanyl precursors, pill presses, and counterfeiting equipment worldwide, with documented transactions showing Mexican cartels as primary buyers. The report cites how Chinese nationals are "prohibited from buying more than $50,000 in foreign currency" and resort to using alternative financial instruments such as crypto and underground banking networks to evade capital controls. Transactions tracked by Chainalysis revealed that cartel-affiliated networks operated with relatively unsophisticated crypto techniques, moving funds swiftly through centralized exchanges and unhosted wallets. The operational pattern prioritized speed over security, making the transactions "straightforward but effective" while also rendering them more visible to investigators. Chainalysis further claims Mexican organizations, primarily the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, purchase these precursors to manufacture synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, for U.S. distribution. The cartels establish what authorities describe as "bulk cash-to-crypto pipelines" to facilitate payments. Law enforcement officials have identified multiple components in this crypto-enabled supply chain, including Chinese precursor manufacturers who openly advertise online, postage services accepting crypto, and darknet markets that facilitate transactions. Between 2018 and 2023, one group of suspected China-based chemical traders received more than $37.8 million in payments made through crypto, Chainalysis cited in its report referencing past data. Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

Create an account to save your articles. Create an account to save your articles. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Investment bank Compass Point rated Robinhood Markets Inc. a buy, setting a price target of $61 in initiating coverage of the trading platform in a note Wednesday that highlighted increased average revenue for its 12 million crypto users alongside an improving U.S. regulatory environment." Compass Point analysts estimated that Robinhood had an opportunity to generate $665 million from cross-selling to existing U.S. customers, including the potential to generate $150 million "from staking alone." "HOOD's crypto business has underearned for its size after taking a cautious approach to U.S. product expansion," Compass wrote, noting that the company's crypto revenue was "just 19% of exchange giant Coinbase's non-interest revenue. After already developing extensive infrastructure for non-U.S. users, HOOD can launch additional crypto services in the U.S. with limited additional investment," the analysts wrote. Compass' coverage reflects traditional finance's surging interest in digital assets as more investors consider these assets. On Monday, the broker Bernstein started covering Coinbase, setting a nearly 70% upside on the stock. Bernstein cited a more crypto-friendly environment with the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood closed up more than 6% to trade just over $42 per share on Wednesday amid wider gains in crypto stocks and other risk-on assets. The share price has been hammered in recent weeks amid mounting fears about a trade war that could ignite a period of stagflation–sluggish economic growth and rising prices. Robinhood has also enjoyed recent tailwinds. Fourth-quarter crypto trading revenue skyrocketed 700% skyrocketed, pushing overall revenue for the period up 115% year-over-year, the company reported in February. Later in the month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that it was closing an investigation into Robinhood's crypto arm without seeking an enforcement action. Earlier this week, the company launched a prediction market that will allow users to bet on this year's NCAA basketball tournament, called March Madness. Compass wrote that Robinhood's "crypto users provide attractive liquidity for institutional traders." Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

A year ago, restaking was one of the hottest areas of crypto, and projects like EigenLayer were heralded as the next big thing. Fast forward to mid-2025 and total value locked (TVL) has fallen across the sector and the hype that surrounded point farms has withered away. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Through it all, Ether.fi, the market leader, has stayed steady, helping users generate yield through liquid staking tokens (LSTs) that can be staked across the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Now, Ether.fi is looking to expand with plans to become a neobank for crypto companies and users. Ether.fi's dominance Ether.fi, which is based in the Cayman Islands, benefited from being one of the first movers in the liquid restaking space, starting up a lucrative points farm which saw early users receive points that could eventually be transferred into a token airdrop. In a 10 week period at the start of 2024, staked ETH grew from 45,000 ETH to 808,000 ETH. Now, there is 2.58 million staked ETH on Ether.fi while the next competitor, Renzo, has around 380,000 ETH. In dollar terms, Ether.fi has around $5 billion worth of TVL. This number has slumped from December's high of $9.4 billion but only due to the dwindling price of ETH, as opposed to any significant outflows. Ether.fi engages closely with its users in an effort to keep them onboard. "We know probably half the TVL," Silagadze added. "As in, we know who they are and we talk to them and have ongoing conversations." Renzo in contrast has seen more than 60% ETH withdrawn from the platform since last July, with TVL sliding from 1 million ETH to 378,000 ETH, according to DefiLlama. From restaking protocol to Neobank For Silvagadze, the restaking product is a means to onboard users and capital, while the company's main ambition is to become a neobank to rival the likes of Revolut. "Staking for us was really just a way of building TVL and getting a user base," Silagadze told CoinDesk. "The ultimate goal is to create an integrated product suite that allows users to fully off ramp from their traditional banking institutions and operate on a crypto native platform." Ether.fi rolled out a "Cash" Visa card on the Scroll network in September and Silagadze believes this will become the company's main revenue driver. Neobank has become quite the buzzword in crypto of late. Lending platform Nexo rebranded last year as a neobank and there was also the stealth launch of Dakota, a crypto app that will provide banking services to crypto depositors. EOS, which launched as a much-heralded smart contract platform in 2017, has also shifted focus to Web3 banking. For Ether.fi, the plan is to incorporate three products into one soon-to-be released mobile app. The app will comprise three integrated products: Ether.fi stake, which is the staking protocol; Ether.fi liquid, which is an automated DeFi strategy manager that generates the best available yield through the use of AI; and the Ether.fi cash wallet and credit card. Staking firms looking to serve the U.S. market have been put off by an absence of a clear regulatory framework. But Ether.fi hopes the crypto-friendly Trump administration will smooth the way for it to offer services to U.S. citizens after it secures respective licenses. "We are actually going to be turning on the U.S. for our staking product and the cash product relatively soon. We actually just got a legal opinion that we're cool to do that," Silvagadze said. Ether.fi is also applying for licenses to operate in the European Union and the Cayman Islands, where its team operates. Ethereum's sentiment problem Ethereum was the darling of the 2017 bull market and subsequent ICO boom and was the dominant smart contract chain as DeFi and NFTs animated the 2020-22 boom. This cycle, however, the Ethereum network has been criticized for a drawn-out roadmap as the market centers on memecoins and faster blockchains like Solana. Ether is currently trading at around $1,965, having lost 40% of its value over the past 12-months. Solana, meanwhile, is trading at $131 having lost just 25% of its value in the same period. "Some of that [negative sentiment] is clearly engineered by competing ecosystems. The Solana folks are out there every single day talking to investors and allocators and media and just spreading bulls**t about ether," Silagadze said. "If you actually dissect those arguments, they're incoherent. But those memes are floating around, and that has an effect."

Toncoin (TON), the native token of the Telegram-adjacent TON blockchain, spiked on Thursday as ecosystem organization The Open Network Foundation said several venture capital firms invested $400 million in the token. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark and Kingsway, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. Vy Capital, Draper Associates and Libertus Capital, CoinFund, Hypersphere, SkyBridge, and Karatage also participated in the round. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto for Advisors Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . "These venture capital firms hold over $400 million worth of Toncoin, which is the native cryptocurrency of the TON Blockchain.It’s important to note that this is not a fundraising round. Instead, these VCs are placing their bets on the future success and utility of the TON Blockchain, its growing ecosystem, and its potential to provide real-world utility for crypto holdings, especially within Telegram," a Ton Foundation spokesperson told CoinDesk. TON's price jumped over 8% above $3.8 immediately following the announcement before paring some of the gains. The token's price was 2% up over the past 24 hours. The TON network was originally developed by messaging app Telegram, but continued as an independent operation due to regulatory concerns after the company settled a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August as part of a complaint on Telegram's lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement. Durov regained access to his passport from authorities earlier this month. TON surged 20% on the news. Digital asset investment firm Pantera Capital said in May it made its "largest investment ever" in TON, without disclosing the value of the investment. The token's price is down 54% since its June peak above $8.

Solana's most profitable protocol Pump.fun is gunning for an even greater share of the chain's DeFi economy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . The massively popular memecoin launchpad on Thursday unveiled a token swaps service powered by the protocol's liquidity pools. Called PumpSwap, it puts the project in direct competition with Solana's coterie of automated market makers (AMMs) that facilitate on-chain token trades. Instead of "graduating" highly-traded memecoins to Raydium, a longtime hub for Solana DeFi pools, Pump.fun will now seed promising tokens' launch liquidity in PumpSwap. This fully in-house setup will cut down on launch costs, the founders told CoinDesk, and alter the way Pump.Fun generates its historically astronomical revenue. Pump.Fun's founders believe PumpSwap can become the beating heart of permissionless trading infrastructure on Solana for all tokens, according to launch documents reviewed by CoinDesk. They've brokered deals with a number of token projects who will now set up their liquidity on PumpSwap's rails. If the AMM is leaning on some undisclosed technological advantage to woo users – profit-hungry token traders and yield-chasing liquidity providers – from Solana's established trading outposts, then Pump.Fun's founders wouldn't say. CoinDesk asked them as much – repeatedly. What the service has going for it, at least in the minds of its backers, is distribution. For nearly a year now Pump.Fun's explosion of memecoins has set the agenda for much of crypto, and especially Solana. Its profit windfalls reshaped the way on-chain researchers think and talk about revenue-generating protocols. On Tuesday Pump.Fun saw $1 million in revenue. The sum is a relative pittance compared to the platform's previous year mining gold in the trenches. But it also trounces the numbers posted by many major crypto projects, including Ethereum itself. Such profits yield a mindshare dividend that could give PumpSwap its competitive edge. Raydium is set to be the biggest loser. Much of its trading volume over the past year has occurred in pools first seeded by Pump.Fun's graduation mechanism. It will miss out on future activity now flowing to PumpSwap. That said, Raydium's newly-unveiled memecoin launchpad could blunt the pain by giving Raydium its own stream of memecoins. Creators of tokens, meanwhile, may eventually capture a win. PumpSwap will eventually enable revenue sharing to give them a slice of protocol's 25 basis point fee on trades, the founders said. But they declined to say how much would flow to creators, or when the switch would flip.

Bitcoin developers looking to expand the blockchain's decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities are likely to be considering zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, functionality that's not currently available and which require a so-called soft fork, or new version of the software, to introduce them. That's a problem, according Edan Yago, a Bitcoin veteran of over a decade and core contributor to smart contract operating system BitcoinOS (BOS). STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . "Forking a blockchain, especially one with $2 trillion worth of value on it, is like open-heart surgery," Yago told CoinDesk in an interview "Hard forks are obviously much more problematic, but I think introducing any kind of fork is fraught." A fork is a change to a blockchain's code that necessitates a divergence at a certain point onto a separate path. Forks can be "soft," meaning older versions can still interact with the new one, or "hard", which render older versions incompatible and require all users to upgrade their software. ZK proofs are a cryptographic method of proving the validity of statements while maintaining privacy through not revealing any information about it. The functionality is not available in Bitcoin's software, but could be made so through proposed implementations like OP_CAT and OP_CTV. Yago said developers should be able to find ways of enabling them on Bitcoin without any kind of fork. "The burden of proof is on developers to demonstrate that there is no other way of accomplishing this through clever engineering," he said. This is what BOS hopes to achieve through the BitSNARK, a Bitcoin rollup protocol that is part of the family of computing paradigms being developed to scale the original blockchain. These emerged following the introduction of BitVM by Robin Linus in October 2023, which set out a framework for how Ethereum-like smart contracts could be enabled on Bitcoin. BitcoinOS has now open-sourced what Yago describes as a "fully production-ready" BitSNARK protocol, meaning developers now have access to ZK verification on Bitcoin and can connect it to other blockchains like Ethereum, Solana and Cardano. BitSNARK allows developers to take large, complex programs and prove the results of the computations in only 300 bytes that can be verified in standard Bitcoin transactions. That could pave the way for BTCFi, a term used for DeFi on Bitcoin, through enabling cross-chain bridges, decentralized exchanges and bitcoin (BTC)-backed stablecoins. While there are numerous projects looking to introduce decentralized finance on Bitcoin, they rely on using OP_CAT or OP_CTV codes, which require a fork in the blockchain's software. Yago wants to reach the same destination via a different route.

Spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. posted their 11th straight day of net outflows, losing some $358.1 million of investor funds as the price of ether fell almost 7%. On Tuesday, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) saw $12.9 million of outflows, losing a net $137.6 million over the period. Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s ETHE were the other top two contributors to the total outflow. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . In total, spot ether ETFs now hold around $7 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and, despite the outflows, seen a cumulative net inflow of $2.45 billion since their inception in July, SoSoValue data shows. The price of ether fell from around $2,150 on March 8 to around $1,990 as of Thursday. It's lost roughly 40% of its value year-to-date. U.S. bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in the U.S. in contrast posted a fourth consecutive days of inflows, bringing their cumulative net total inflow to $35.8 billion since January last year.

Another company has elected to add bitcoin (BTC) to its balance sheet. Christian Angermayer, the chairman of Germany-based biopharmaceutical company atai Life Sciences (ATAI) announced today that the firm would develop its own bitcoin treasury strategy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . “In an era of persistent inflation and volatile markets, I find myself asking an important question for biotech companies looking to preserve and optimize the capital they have: Could allocating a portion of treasury cash to bitcoin help preserve, optimize, and even extend a company’s runway and hence contribute to its success,” Angermayer wrote on Substack. The company will initially invest $5 million in bitcoin, Angermayer said, while holding enough cash, short-term securities and public equity for operational expenses into 2027. The pharmaceutical firm is the latest in a long line of corporations which have sought to replicate Michael Saylor’s bitcoin treasury strategy. ATAI briefly surged when the news broke but is now down 2.8% for the day. After briefly topping $87,000 overnight, bitcoin has been in quick retreat, now changing hands at $83,900, lower by about 1% over the past 24 hours.

Alex Dolesky thought his startup's push to "financialize" the sleepy uranium spot market would be a hit as nuclear energy stages a global comeback. All that tokenized yellowcake's looking more like gold. Months after netting its first $1.7 million from venture investors, Uranium Digital raised another $6.1 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . The financing will accelerate Uranium Digital's buildout of a spot trading platform for uranium that uses crypto infrastructure on the backend. It claims to be the first institutional market — crypto-powered or not — for a critical clean-energy commodity that, perplexingly, doesn't enjoy the same easy trading of its dirtier peers, coal, natural gas and oil. A radioactive mix of high regulations and low mainstream demand previously stymied the emergence of a robust uranium spot market, Dolesky said in an interview. While the strict rules over who can take settlement of yellowcake, a powdered form of uranium oxide concentrate, aren't going anywhere, the global demand for nuclear energy is taking care of the rest. Nuclear power is on its comeback tour. The energy source once derided by unfortunate disasters — most recently the Fukushima meltdown — is cropping up as a salve for rapidly increasing electric needs. The surge is fueling newfound interest from investors and institutions for an accessible spot market. In crypto Dolesky said he's found an efficient avenue to create the first. He says he's "abstracting away" the usual pain points of on-chain trading so that Uranium Digital will look and feel familiar for institutional clients. "Crypto rails for efficiency, speed and execution purposes — it's a unique opportunity," he said. As the platform nears its launch date Dolesky plans to pour more capital into his business and engineering teams. He realized after the pre-seed that the company's proposed solution had an even deeper well of potential users than what he called his most optimistic projections. Meeting the excess demand meant moving faster and raising more money. "The response we've gotten from the traditional market has been such that we're effectively going live sooner than anticipated," he said.

Copper, recognized as a reliable economic indicator for decades, is nearing record highs. Seasoned crypto traders may recall periods when bitcoin (BTC) and copper exhibited a strong positive correlation and may quickly draw bullish conclusions from the recent rally in the red metal. If that's not enough, BTC's best years have been characterized by a rally in the copper-gold ratio, which is beginning to rise. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . However, the latest copper rally is driven by factors other than positive cues from global economy, warranting caution while seeing it as a bullish indicator for risk assets, including BTC. According to ING, copper's year-to-date increase of 12% to $5.10 per pound on COMEX has been primarily driven by President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, which pose risks to both the U.S. and global economies. These aggressive policy moves likely led the Federal Reserve to lower growth forecasts while raising inflation projections this week. That's because the rally in copper is mainly led by President Donald Trump's aggressive trade tariffs, which pose a risk to the U.S. and the global economy. "Copper is up around 12% so far this year, driven mostly by uncertainty over Trump's trade policies. Tariff news is likely to continue to dictate price direction in the months ahead," analysts at ING said in a note to clients on March 18. The not-so-bullish nature of the ongoing copper rally is also explained by losses sideways trading in the Aussie dollar-U.S. dollar exchange rate. Australia is the world's 7th largest producer of copper and the 3rd largest exporter of copper. As such, the AUD and copper prices have historically boasted a correlation coefficient of over 0.80. But it's not working this time, probably due to the tariffs-led surge in copper. Don't forget the recent China stimulus The other factors powering the copper rally, such as the recent China stimulus, could be positive for bitcoin and risk-taking in general. China, the world's factory, is the largest importer of commodities. Early this week, Beijing announced its most potent plan in decades to boost domestic consumption as it battles external uncertainties posed by Trump's tariffs. The plan noted a direct link between consumption, affordable childcare and the country’s long-running property crisis. "The policy package includes efforts to increase household income, spur spending, and support population growth. Fresh data was also released for the first two months of the year showing Chinese consumption, investment and industrial production exceeding estimates," ING analysts noted, explaining this week's copper price rise.

While the crypto sector's eyes are drawn to the policy fireworks in the White House and Congress, the financial agencies have been taking consequential bites out of the Biden Administration's digital assets stance. One move at a time, the stand-in chiefs of the banking and securities regulators are cutting away policies and significant enforcement work that had previously been used to hem in the digital assets industry. And a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable on Friday will further illuminate the delicate legal approach to defining crypto securities, potentially signaling a path forward. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Despite permanent leaders still awaiting Senate confirmation to take over the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the banking agencies, each of the agencies has taken active policy steps that have effectively been clearing the decks to start over on crypto. While that's taking place, greater attention has been devoted to President Donald Trump's effort toward a U.S. bitcoin (BTC) reserve (which doesn't yet come with a plan for acquiring new bitcoin) and Congress' longstanding work toward fully realized U.S. crypto laws (which are seeing strong progress but may take a while to complete). Adam Pollet, a securities lawyer at Eversheds Sutherland who advises on digital assets projects, called this moment a reset. "They wanted to sort of clean the slate," he said in an interview, interpreting the SEC's outlook this way: "We're sending you the signal that we want you to go forth and try things, and we won't stand in the way." At the SEC, several actions have dialed the regulator back to an era sometime before the end of President Donald Trump's first term, when his SEC chief at the time, Jay Clayton, led an enforcement charge against Ripple as an illegal exchange. CEO Brad Garlinghouse said on Wednesday that the agency is dropping that accusation — the latest among several high-profile crypto cases abandoned by the regulator. The SEC is no longer arguing that most crypto tokens are unregistered securities. But the SEC scrapping its previous enforcement stance doesn't necessarily establish a new policy. It's instead more of a policy vacuum in which the regulator has retreated from the field while it awaits legal reinforcements. SEC backtracks The same could be said for the agency's withdrawal of its controversial crypto accounting standard known as Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, or SAB 121, or the recent decision to toss out a crypto rulemaking proposal that former Chair Gary Gensler pushed that would have cemented certain digital assets platforms as needing to register with the SEC for handling securities transactions. Read More: U.S. SEC's Acting Chair Walking Back Agency Proposal on Crypto Trading Platforms Still, both initiatives were seen by crypto platforms and projects as a potential threat to how they do business, and their speedy removals are re-opening doors for the industry. "I certainly can't recall a time when something was undone as quickly," Pollet observed of the agency's tempo. The SEC and CFTC have also taken other actions that could be viewed as more forward-moving. The SEC issued a statement on memecoins, warning investors that they won't be protected if they decide to throw money into those unregulated corners of crypto, explaining that the coins aren't securities and offering thinking to back that assertion. Though it's not a formal regulation, the policy position at least gives the industry a further insight into how the agency's new leadership is evaluating crypto assets, which can be leaned on as companies take on new projects. "It gives folks more confidence in any decision making," Pollet said. The Republican commissioners seem to suggest, he said, that "they are going to take a more permissive, open-minded approach when it comes to all things crypto." And at its cousin agency, the derivatives watchdog CFTC, Acting Chair Caroline Pham is trying to build a pilot program on stablecoin-backed tokenization — a long-awaited sandbox approach that lets companies try things without anxiety over regulatory crackdown. The agency awaits the chairmanship confirmation of former Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who worked as the chief of policy for a16z, a leading digital assets investment firm. Before he'd left the agency in 2021, Quintenz was known for his crypto advocacy. Bank regulators relax Meanwhile, banking regulators such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which had been accused of improperly trying to keep banks from handling crypto clients, have thrown out previous industry guidance. Earlier this month, the OCC rescinded its policy that told banks that they had to get written approval by federal supervisors before they could get into crypto activities. As a result, banks in the U.S. can feel more free to engage in digital assets, including issuing stablecoins — a new openness already studied carefully by the law firms who advise on such business, such as Debevoise & Plimpton. At the FDIC, the interim leadership is also "actively reevaluating our supervisory approach to crypto-related activities," and is looking at withdrawing its previous guidance. All of it represents a "very clear crypto mandate," said Erin Martin, a former SEC lawyer who works now at Morgan Lewis. She noted the busy crypto task forces at multiple levels: inside the SEC, a multi-agency group working across the administration and a new crypto caucus in Congress. Uncertainty However, during this period of transition, the industry is left with an absence of active federal guidance on crypto. Apart from the oversight of state regulators, what remains is a patchwork of uneven federal court rulings on how tokens may or may not be defined as securities under the so-called Howey rule established by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the end, Congress will need to set the standard. "Until we have those matters really set in stone, we're in an area of uncertainty," said Martin. While the agency waits, she sees the SEC's more open stance as a return to "normal operations" in which it's willing to have conversations with the firms it's overseeing. She's counting on the Friday roundtable getting into "the tensions at play between the application of the federal securities laws on the industry and how we can make it workable." And she said it should begin with the fundamental question from which everything else springs: What makes a crypto asset a security? In some contrast with others appointed by Trump to lead parts of the government, the nominee to run the SEC is a more traditional and sedate former commissioner, Paul Atkins. And securities lawyers don't expect high drama from his arrival. "Atkins is an institutionalist," Martin said. "I don't think he's going to advocate for a complete gutting of the SEC." And since the two Republicans on the commission used to work for him — including the acting chairman, Mark Uyeda — it's anticipated that he'll continue in much the same vein they've demonstrated in the busy opening weeks of this administration. "It's very clear that he is of the view that crypto is something that is here to stay and there should be a thoughtful approach to how we move forward at a federal level," Martin said. Read More: Crypto's IRS Victory Reveals Reach in Congress That Demands Less Compromise

Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin struck a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday that will see him serve no more than 24 months behind bars for his role in what prosecutors described as a “wide-ranging conspiracy” to manipulate token prices for paying clients. Andriunin, a 26-year-old Russian national, was extradited to the U.S. from Portugal last month and charged with two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud – charges which carry a maximum combined sentence of 25 years in prison. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Andriunin pleaded guilty to all three counts. He also agreed to forfeit approximately $23 million in stablecoins tied to his crimes. The government is not seeking any other fine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . In their indictment last October, prosecutors alleged that Gotbit was basically a market manipulator for hire, offering wash-trading services to paying crypto projects who wanted to artificially inflate the volume and price of their tokens. Andriunin’s guilty plea is not entirely surprising: he was never coy about Gotbit’s business activities. In a 2019 interview with CoinDesk, Andriunin – then a 20-year-old college sophomore at Moscow State University – admitted that his business was “not entirely ethical” and detailed how he used bot trading to create enough artificial trade volume for a project to be listed on CoinMarketCap. Read more: For $15K, He’ll Fake Your Exchange Volume – You’ll Get on CoinMarketCap Gotbit is not the only market maker offering these services. At the same time that Andriunin and his company were charged, along with two other employees, U.S. prosecutors charged a handful of other firms, including CLS Global, MyTrade and ZMQuant, as well as several of the companies’ employees and promoters, with similarly offering for-hire market manipulation services. Andriunin’s sentencing date has not yet been set.

Pro-crypto Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election over four months ago, and since then, the period has been characterized by financial market turbulence and global uncertainties surrounding tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and between Ukraine and Russia. Bitcoin (BTC) has surged over 23% since the Nov. 5 election, reaching an all-time high of over $109K at the end of January. Despite a subsequent 30% decline from its peak, it remains one of the best-performing assets. Strategy (MSTR), often considered a bitcoin proxy, has gained 34%, recovering well under the Trump administration despite previously dropping around 60% from its November highs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Ethereum's ether token (ETH) has fallen by as much as 18%, alongside disappointing action in the broader crypto market. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining ETF has also struggled, dropping almost 30%. Meanwhile, investors have rotated money into BTC, pushing its dominance rate higher by 2% to over 61. European equities have done well, outshining their U.S. counterparts. The German DAX index is up 20%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 has gained 6%, alongside weaker performances in the U.S. stock market, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are both down approximately 2%. A recent report from Bank of America highlights a record drop in U.S. stock allocations. Gold, benefiting from uncertainty, has continued to set new all-time highs, surpassing $3,030—an 11% increase. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar's strength against a basket of major currencies, remains flat. However, under Trump, the dollar has weakened significantly, providing some relief to risk assets and major currencies such as the Euro and the Great British Pound. Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has slightly declined to 4.2%, a key metric the administration is closely monitoring. Oil prices have plummeted by around 7% as the U.S. maintains its stance on energy dominance to reduce energy costs. Notably, some of the so-called "Magnificent 7" stocks have struggled, with NVIDIA (NVDA) down 16% and Tesla (TSLA) declining 6%. Detox underway? Recent losses on Wall Street and in the crypto market have ignited hopes for the "Trump put," or potential policy support. However, the administration appears willing to endure short-term pain for long-term benefits, believing that this approach will cleanse the markets of the fiscal spending excesses of the Biden era. This reset is expected to be characterized lower inflation, improved energy security, and a lower 10-year Treasury yield. "Scott Bessent’s talk of a “detox period” suggests a controlled downturn might be ahead. If that’s the case, Trump’s playbook seems clear: blame the recession on Biden, use tariffs and crypto narratives to manage costs, and push for lower interest rates to fuel tech and AI growth. Short-term pain, long-term gain—that’s the strategy," Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, said in an email to CoinDesk this week. "Regardless, I don't see BTC falling below 70k, possibly 73-78k which is a solid time to enter for any buyers on the fence. In the next 1-2 years, BTC at 200k isn’t as far-fetched as most would think," Chen added.

Crypto exchange Kraken said it agreed to buy U.S. futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion to add crypto futures and derivatives trading in the U.S. NinjaTrader, a CFTC-licensed platform founded in 2003, provides futures trading tools to almost 2 million customers. Kraken has 15 million clients globally, it said in a Thursday release. Kraken's U.K, EU and Australian licenses will allow Chicago-based NinjaTrader to expand in those regions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto for Advisors Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Kraken is looking to carve out a bigger slice of the crypto derivatives market. The exchange's 24-hour derivatives trading volume sits at around $1.2 billion, well behind exchanges like Binance and OKX, which are both well into the 10s of billions, according to CoinMarketCap data. Last month, CoinDesk, citing people familiar with the plan, reported that Kraken was in talks to buy options exchange Deribit at value of as much as $5 billion. "This transaction is the first step in our vision of an institutional-grade trading platform where any asset can be traded, anytime,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO. Earlier this month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped a November 2023 lawsuit that alleged the San Francisco-based exchange comingled customer and corporate funds and acted as an unregistered securities broker. Kraken reintroduced staking for U.S. customers in January, which in conjunction with acquiring a CFTC-licensed trading platform in NinjaTrader, may be indicative of a greater focus on the U.S. market in light of a developing regulatory regime under the Trump administration. The transaction, which is subject to closing conditions, is expected to be complete by the end of the first half of 2025. The Wall Street Journal reported the transaction earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. UPDATE (March 20, 12:37 UTC): Adds derivatives trading volume, Deribit talks in third paragraph, SEC lawsuit in fifth.

The Walrus protocol, a blockchain-based data storage platform, said it raised $140 million in a private sale of its native token, WAL, led by Standard Crypto. The mainnet of the protocol, originally developed by Mysten Labs and built on layer-1 blockchain Sui, will debut on March 27, the Walrus Foundation said Thursday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Walrus plans to capitalize on the growing market for storing large amounts of data, driven in particular by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the last couple of years. "By leveraging Sui’s unique architecture, we’re making storing data programmable, interactive, and secure," Walrus Foundation managing executive Rebecca Simmonds said in the statement. The funds from the token sale, which included participation from a16z crypto, Electric Capital, Franklin Templeton Digital Assets and RW3 Ventures, will be used to expand the project's decentralized data storage protocol and build further applications atop it.

Kraken Crypto said she agreed to buy the American futures platform Ninjatrader for $ 1.5 billion to add crypto futures and derivatives trade in the US Ninjatrader, licensed by the CFTC Platform, founded in 2003, provides futures trade tools with almost 2 million customers. Kraken has 15 million clients worldwide, according to a release on Thursday. Kraken licenses in the United Kingdom, the EU and Australia will allow Ninjatrader from Chicago to expand their activities in these regions. Continuation below do not miss any story. Sign up on Crypto for Advisors. View all the newsletters to subscribe, you will receive letters about Coindesk products and agree with our terms of use and privacy policy. Kraken seeks to separate the larger piece of the crypto derivative market. The round -the -clock bidding on the exchange is about $ 1.2 billion, which is far behind such exchanges as Binance and OKX, which reach tens of billions of dollars. According to CoinmarketCap. Last month, Coindesk, referring to people familiar with the plan, said Kraken was negotiating to buy Deribit exchange options worth $ 5 billion. "This transaction is the first step in our vision of an institutional platform where you can trade any asset at any time," said Arjun Seti, co-executive director Kraken. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refused a claim from November 2023 that claimed that the San Francisco Exchange brought together customers and companies and operated as an unregistered securities broker. In January, Kraken again introduced steaking for clients from the United States, which, in combination with the acquisition of a licensed CFTC, a trading platform in Ninjatrader may testify to the US market in the light of regulatory regime developing under Trump administration. The operation to be closed will be completed by the end of the first half of 2025. Earlier, the transaction was reported by the Wall Street Journal newspaper with reference to sources familiar with the situation. Update (March 20, 12:37 UTC): adds deribite trading volume, dearbital negotiations in the third paragraph, SEC claim in the fifth.

The chief economist at the European Central Bank (ECB), Philip Lane, said Europe needs a digital euro to counter the foothold that dollar-linked stablecoins and U.S. electronic payments systems are gaining in region's the financial system. The prevalence of electronic payments provided by Big Tech firms, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, "exposes Europe to risks of economic pressure and coercion," Lane said, according to the text of a speech at University College, Cork in Ireland on Thursday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . "The digital euro would provide a secure, universally accepted digital payment option under European governance, reducing reliance on foreign providers," Lane said. "The availability of the digital euro would also limit the likelihood of foreign-currency stablecoins gaining a foothold as a medium of exchange in the euro area." Lane pointed out that 99% of the stablecoin market is made up of tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar. That raises the possibility of dollar stablecoins gaining traction in in the euro area and payments systems become "directly or indirectly anchored by the dollar rather than the euro." The ECB, like central banks in other developed economies around the world, is exploring the possibility of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Addressing the competition posed by stablecoins and corporate-run payment services are often among the reasons cited for doing so. The case for a CBDC may be greater especially for the ECB, given the eurozone encompasses multiple countries, Lane said. The single currency is used across 20 European Union member states, and the eurozone lacks a unified payment system due to diverse legacy standards from country to country. "The digital euro presents a unique opportunity to overcome the persistent fragmentation in retail payment systems across the euro area," he said.

New York-with the help of the US government, Krypto will be dominant in finance, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday. Continuation below do not miss any story. Sign up for the Statement of State of Crypto today. View all the newsletters to subscribe, you will receive letters about Coindesk products and agree with our terms of use and privacy policy. Crypto "as large as you can get," he said during a five -minute recorded speech at the digital asset summit in Manhattan. Trump met the full room of the audience, many of whom entered the room just before his planned speech and immediately released it after he finished. "Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system and promote a greater privacy, security, security and wealth policy for both US consumers and companies," he said. "You will cause an explosion of economic growth." Trump noted that his administration had already stopped selling the confiscated Bitcoin and gathered the industry leaders with representatives of his government. Many of his statements repeated his statements from this summit, which took place in the White House early this month. “We stop the regulatory war against Krypto and Bitcoin, which was led by the last administration, and this includes the termination of Choke Point. Operation Choke Point went beyond regulation and I mean it was far beyond. Frankly, it was a shame, ”he said in his second appearance on Krypto after stopping the campaign at Bitcoin Neshville in 2024. "But in January 2025 it all ended." Trump has already signed two digital decrees after entering the second term on January 20 after creating a working group for digital assets and creating a Bitcoin reserve using previously arrested assets. The assumption before the speech on Thursday included rumors that his order would concern crypto debanking or crypto taxes, although he ultimately did not announce any new actions, instead repeating what his administration had done. "It is a great honor for me to talk to you about how the United States is going to dominate Krypto and the next generations of financial technologies," he said. "It will not be easy, but we are far ahead." Trump has taken care of crypto over the last year, starting with the 2024 presidential campaign. From the moment of admission to the post, he continued to show his support from the industry both by his executive actions and the efforts of his regulators to abolish the actions of the previous administration of Joe Baiden.

Another company decided to add Bitcoin (BTC) to its balance. Christian Anghermayer, the head of the German biopharmaceutical company atai Life Sciences (Atai), has announced today that the firm would develop its own Treasury strategy in Bitcoin. Continuation below do not miss any story. Sign up on Crypto Daybook American Mailing today. View all the newsletters to subscribe, you will receive letters about Coindesk products and agree with our terms of use and privacy policy. "In the era of constant inflation and instability, the markets are important for biotechnological companies that seek to keep and optimize the capital they have: can the allocation of part of the treasury funds for Bitcoin to help preserve, optimize and even expand the runway of the company and, therefore, to promote it. The company initially invests $ 5 million in Bitcoin, said the angler, having enough cash, short -term securities and state capital for operating expenses by 2027. The pharmaceutical firm is the last in a long number of corporations that sought to reproduce the Bitcoin Treasury Strategy, Michael Sailor. Atai jumped briefly when the news appeared, but now dropped by 2.8% a day. After a short time exceeding $ 87,000 per night, Bitcoin began to fall, moving from hands to $ 83,900, which is approximately 1% below the last 24 hours.

Прокрипто Дональд Трамп переміг на президентських виборах у США понад чотири місяці тому, і з того часу цей період характеризується турбулентністю фінансових ринків і глобальною невизначеністю навколо тарифів, геополітичної напруженості та триваючих конфліктів на Близькому Сході та між Україною та Росією. Bitcoin (BTC) зріс більш ніж на 23% після виборів 5 листопада, досягнувши історичного максимуму в понад 109 тисяч доларів наприкінці січня. Незважаючи на подальше падіння на 30% від свого піку, він залишається ONE із найефективніших активів. Стратегія (MSTR), який часто вважають проксі-сервером Bitcoin , зріс на 34%, добре відновлюючись під час правління Трампа, незважаючи на те, що раніше впав приблизно на 60% від максимуму в листопаді. Продовження Нижче Не пропустіть жодної історії. Підпишіться на розсилку Crypto Long & Short вже сьогодні . Переглянути Всі Розсилки Підписатися Підписуючись, ви отримуватимете листи про продукти CoinDesk та погоджуєтесь з нашими умови використання та політика конфіденційності . Токен ефіру Ethereum (ETH) впав на цілих 18%, разом із невтішними діями на ширшому ринку Крипто . Valkyrie Bitcoin Mining ETF також зазнала труднощів, впавши майже на 30%. Тим часом інвестори повернули гроші в BTC, підвищивши рівень його домінування на 2% до понад 61. Європейські акції показали хороші результати, затьмаривши американські. Німецький індекс DAX зріс на 20%, а британський індекс FTSE 100 зріс на 6%, разом із зниженням показників на фондовому ринку США, де Nasdaq і S&P 500 впали приблизно на 2%. А останній звіт від Bank of America підкреслює рекордне падіння розміщення акцій США. Золото, користь через невизначеність продовжив встановлювати нові історичні максимуми, перевищивши 3030 доларів США, що на 11% більше. The Індекс долара США (DXY), який вимірює силу долара по відношенню до кошика основних валют, залишається незмінним. Однак за Трампа долар ослаб істотно, забезпечуючи певне полегшення для ризикових активів і основних валют, таких як євро та великий британський фунт. Тим часом, Дохідність 10-річних казначейських облігацій США дещо знизився до 4,2%, ключовий показник, за яким уважно стежить адміністрація. Ціни на нафту впали приблизно на 7%, оскільки США зберігають свою позицію щодо енергетичного домінування для зниження витрат на енергію. Примітно, що деякі з так званих «Чудової 7» акцій зазнали труднощів: NVIDIA (NVDA) впала на 16%, а Tesla (TSLA) – на 6%. Детокс триває? Нещодавні втрати на Уолл-стріт і на Крипто ринку розпалили надії на «пут Трампа» або потенційну підтримку Політика . Проте адміністрація з'являється бажання терпіти короткостроковий біль заради довгострокових вигод, вважаючи, що такий підхід очистить Ринки від надмірних бюджетних витрат епохи Байдена. Очікується, що це перезавантаження характеризуватиметься зниженням інфляції, покращенням енергетичної безпеки та a нижча прибутковість 10-річних державних облігацій. «Розмова Скотта Бессента про «період детоксикації» свідчить про те, що попереду може бути контрольований спад. Якщо це так, підручник Трампа здається зрозумілим: звинуватити в рецесії Байдена, використовувати тарифи та Крипто наративи для управління витратами та наполягати на зниженні процентних ставок для розвитку технологій та штучного інтелекту. Короткостроковий біль, довгострокова вигода — ось стратегія», — Грейсі Чен, генеральний директор компанії Bitget, сказав в електронному листі CoinDesk цього тижня. «Незважаючи на це, я T бачу, щоб BTC впав нижче 70 тис., можливо, 73-78 тис., що є надійним моментом для будь-яких покупців, які перебувають на паркані. У найближчі 1-2 роки 200 тис. BTC T такі вже й надумані, як більшість думає», — додав Чень.

On Wednesday, GOTBIT founder Oleksiy Andreein concluded an agreement on the recognition of guilt with the US Prosecutor's Office, according to which he will serve no more than 24 months in the lattice for his role in the fact that prosecutors called "large -scale conspiracy" in order to manipulate prices for tokens for paying clients. There was 26-year-old Russian Andreein extradited to the United States from Portugal last month and charged with two points of accusation of fraud with e-mail and conspiracy to manipulate market and fraud with e-mail-accusations that provide a maximum punishment in the form of 25 years of imprisonment. In exchange for the mitigation of the term of punishment, Andreein pleaded guilty of all three points. He also agreed to confiscate about $ 23 million in steiblcons related to his crimes. The government does not require other penalties. Continuation below do not miss any story. Sign up for the Statement of State of Crypto today. View all the newsletters to subscribe, you will receive letters about Coindesk products and agree with our terms of use and privacy policy. In his indictment in October last year, prosecutors claimed that Gotbit was actually a hired market manipulator, offering services for the sale of payment crypto, which wanted to artificially overestimate the volume and price of their tokens. The recognition of Andreein is not quite strange: he has never been ashamed of Gotbitbita's business activity. In an interview with Coindesk in 2019, Andrunin-then a 20-year-old student-student of Moscow State University-acknowledged that his business was "not quite ethical", and told in detail how he used botth trading to create a sufficient artificial volume of trading to place a project on CoinmarketCAPCAP. Read also: For $ 15,000 he will fake your exchange amount - you will get on CoinMarketCap Gotbit is not the only market-market that offers these services. At the same time, when Andriunin and his companies were charged with two other employees, the US prosecutor's office has charged several other firms, including CLS Global, Mytrade and ZMQUant, as well as several employees and companies in a similar proposal. The date of the sentence of Andreein has not yet been appointed.

Amour : Vous saurez prouver votre attachement à votre partenaire grâce à de petites attentions particulières. Célibataire, votre mode de vie vous convient bien même si vous vous sentez prêt pour fonder une famille. Les relations entre frère et sœur s'améliorent, les dissensions disparaissent. Travail-Argent : Vos compétences et votre ténacité seront enfin récompensées. Votre horizon professionnel est dégagé. Il ne tient qu'à vous de tirer le meilleur parti des circonstances. Ne doutez pas de vous. Il est temps d'évaluer l'impact financier d'un projet qui vous tient à cœur sur votre budget. Santé : Tout va bien dans ce domaine. Vous vous sentez en bonne forme et votre moral est au top, mais ce n'est pas une raison pour faire des excès.

Nine Palestinian children requiring urgent medical care have been evacuated from Gaza to Italy aboard a military aircraft. The Italian Air Force KC 767 landed on Milan Linate airport on Wednesday evening, where young patients, accompanied by their relatives, were immediately transferred to different specialized hospitals in the country. This humanitarian mission, coordinated by Italian civil protection as part of the European civil protection mechanism, aims to provide medical care to children with heavy pathologies, including cancers. A second evacuation is already planned in the coming days to transport nine other children, bringing to 18 the number of young Palestinian patients supported by Italy. General Alberto Biavati, of the Italian air squadron, stressed the importance of this operation: "We brought these children to Italy to offer them a chance of healing thanks to our health system. This is a mission that makes us proud." For his part, the KC 767 pilot expressed his emotion: "These missions fill us with joy. Each life saved is a victory." Italy, engaged in several humanitarian initiatives in favor of Palestinian civilians, has already evacuated more than 350 people since the start of the conflict in Gaza. These efforts are also part of the EUBAM-RAFAH mission, humanitarian aerial bridges with Jordan, and the delivery of aid via the Cyprus maritime corridor.

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump dropped a video into a crypto event on Thursday, amping up his pro-crypto sentiment with an assertion that crypto will spark economic growth, though he didn't offer any of the new policies attendees had hoped he might announce. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Crypto is "as big as you can get," he said during a brief pre-taped speech at the Digital Asset Summit in Manhattan. His remarks were met by a standing room-only crowd, as he praised crypto, continuing a goodwill tour that has netted him financial and electoral support from the crypto industry. "Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system and promote greater privacy, safety, security and wealth for American consumers and businesses alike," he said. "You will unleash an explosion of economic growth." Trump noted that his administration has already stopped selling seized bitcoin and has brought together industry leaders with his government's officials. “We’re ending the last administration’s regulatory war on crypto and Bitcoin, and that includes stopping the lawless Operation Choke Point. Operation Choke Point went beyond regulation, and I mean far beyond. Frankly, it was a disgrace," he said in what was his second appearance at a crypto conference, after a live campaign stop at Bitcoin Nashville in 2024. “But as of January 2025, all of that is over.” Trump has already signed two executive orders tied to digital assets since taking office for his second term on Jan. 20, after previously creating a working group for digital assets and establishing a Bitcoin reserve using previously seized assets. Speculation ahead of Thursday's speech centered on whether he would address debanking or crypto taxes, possibly with a new executive order. Ultimately, he did not announce any new actions, instead reiterating what his administration has already done. "It's an honor to speak with you about how the United States is going to dominate crypto and the next generation of financial technologies," he said. "And it's not going to be easy, but we're way ahead." Trump has courted the crypto industry over the past year. Since taking office, he's continued showing his support for the industry, both through his executive actions and through his regulators' efforts to roll back actions brought under the previous administration of Joe Biden. UPDATE (March 20, 2025, 15:30 UTC): Adds additional detail.