21 February 2025Macro/TradFiThe European Central Bank (ECB) has unveiled plans to develop a blockchain-based payment system for financial institutions to settle transactions in central bank money, potentially paving the way for a wholesale CBDC.The Fed's January minutes show the FOMC prioritizing inflation progress before rate cuts, citing pressures from proposed tariffs and immigration policies, keeping rates at 4.25%–4.50%.Metaplanet acquired 68.59 BTC at an average price of ~US$96,335, reaffirming its bullish outlook on Bitcoin as it targets 10,000 BTC by year-end.The SEC is launching the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to protect investors from bad actors in crypto and AI.The SEC acknowledged 21Shares' proposal to allow ETH staking for its Core Ethereum ETF. If approved, the ETF could generate additional returns and pass them to investors.The SEC acknowledged spot ETF filings from CoinShares for LTC and XRP ETFs. It had previously acknowledged similar filings from 21Shares, Bitwise, Grayscale, and Canary Capital.Nasdaq has proposed Rule 5712 to allow the listing and trading of digital asset-based investment interests. The rule would cover securities issued by entities holding digital assets and commodity-based investment interests linked to cash, derivatives, or other sources.Utah's ‘Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments’ bill advanced to a Senate committee on Feb. 18, bringing the state closer to allowing its treasurer to invest public funds in Bitcoin.The U.S. Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick, a crypto-friendly nominee, as the 41st Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick has led Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm that has acted as a custodian for Tether.CryptoL1/L2:Bitcoin's market dominance has surged to around 60%, rising 5% in the past month and 12% over the past year, reaching a multi-year high.Ethereum’s 7-day average transaction fees hovered around US$1 over the past week, hitting a low of US$0.77 on Feb. 15. This marks a 70% weekly decline and the lowest level since July 2020.The Hyperliquid EVM (HyperEVM) went live, introducing general-purpose programmability to the network. Its initial mainnet release supports native spot HYPE transfers and HyperEVM-based HYPE transactions.DeFi:EigenLayer, Polymarket, and UMA are collaborating on research for a next-gen oracle system, potentially leveraging EigenLayer’s infrastructure, restaking mechanism, and EIGEN token.Stablecoins:Cross-border payments firm MANSA secured US$10M in a funding round led by Tether. MANSA provides on-chain liquidity services using USDT to facilitate cross-border payments.Others:AR.IO, an Arweave-based network focused on permanent cloud data storage, launched its mainnet and token generation event on 20 Feb. Nansen, citing on-chain data, found that as of Feb. 18, 86% of traders had collectively lost US$251M on the Solana-based LIBRA memecoin.Universal, a crypto project developing a new wrapped token standard, raised US$9M in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.Latest Binance Research Publications Check out our latest publications:Monthly Market Insights - February 2025From Challenges to Opportunities: How DeSci Reimagines ScienceFull-Year 2024 & Themes for 2025Explore our Binance Research website for more project and macro research.For more frequent market updates and insights, follow us on Twitter @BinanceResearch.That’s a wrap!Binance ResearchAbout Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. 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