Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance. The content covers key news of the week, mining information, project trends, technology progress and other industry trends. This article is one of the weekly news articles, giving you an overview of the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headlines
▌Stacks Lianchuang: Bitcoin L2 is about to see a breakthrough
Trust Machines CEO and Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali believes that Bitcoin L2 is about to see a breakthrough, with the introduction of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol, the rise of BRC-20 tokens, and “smart contracts” through networks such as BitVM Increasingly sophisticated ways have contributed to Bitcoin, with people no longer just buying and holding Bitcoin, but using it.
▌U.S. SEC delays approval of VANECK spot Ethereum ETF
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delays approval of VANECK spot Ethereum Ethereum ETF, and stated that it will specify a longer period to decide whether to approve or disapprove the VANECK Ethereum ETF, as well as the process for the proposed rule changes to listing and trading rules.
▌Coinbase International will add support for FTM and RUNE perpetual futures
Coinbase International Exchange issued a document stating that it will Fantom and THORChain perpetual futures are newly supported on Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced. The FTM-PERP and RUNE-PERP markets will be opened at or after 17:30 on March 28, Beijing time.
▌Do Kwon will be released from prison in Montenegro, but will not be allowed to leave the country
Terraform co-founder Do Kwon will be released from prison in Montenegro, but will not be allowed to leave the country He will remain in the Balkans as he faces criminal charges brought by authorities in several countries. Montenegro's High Court on Friday ordered the seizure of Kwon's passport to prevent him from leaving the country. According to the court order, Kwon will leave Spuž prison on Saturday. Prosecutors opposed Kwon's extradition to South Korea, preferring that he be sent to the United States, where he could face a longer prison term if convicted.
Policy
▌U.S. crypto-friendly Rep. French Hill announces his candidacy for chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
Crypto-friendly Rep. French Hill has announced his candidacy for chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee to replace the current chairman, North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry, who has announced plans to retire in early 2025. French Hill currently leads the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee focused on digital assets, where he is working on crypto legislation on stablecoins, as well as another legislation to fully regulate cryptocurrencies.
▌Dutch authorities charge Alexey Pertsev with helping to launder $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash
Dutch authorities charge Alexey, developer of Tornado Cash Pertsev, claims he helped launder $1.2 billion through cryptocurrency mixers. On March 26, Pertsev will await trial in the Netherlands on charges related to money laundering and other financial crimes.
▌Israel sees transparency as key benefit of tokenizing government bonds
Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Finance entered into a deal with Tel Aviv Securities In partnership with TASE, a proof-of-concept for the issuance of DLT-based government bonds as security tokens was conducted. Today it released a detailed report on its tokenization efforts. The report notes that Israel sees transparency as a key benefit of tokenizing government bonds, as all market participants have the same visibility and can track issuances.
▌U.S. Congressman: Congress may pass a stable currency bill this year
U.S. Representative Patrick McHenry and Senator Cynthia Lummis both said that it is possible that Congress will pass a stablecoin bill this year, but they could not say when that would happen.
▌German regulator BaFin emphasizes that EU regulations such as MiCA are too detailed
Thorsten Pötzsch, Executive Director of Securities Supervision/Asset Management at BaFin The PhD discussed EU digital regulations in a presentation at the BVI Fund Operations Conference today. Dr. Pötzsch stated that legislation is necessary to establish a safe jurisdiction for capital market participants, and the crypto-asset regulation MiCA falls into this category. However, he called for "speed, clear rules and minimal bureaucracy". In addition to the main MiCA regulations, he highlighted the requirements for an additional 57 guidelines or legal rules on specific topics. Dr. Pötzsch said, "Although everyone is aware of the rapid adjustment of regulations in a rapidly changing market, are so many rules really effective? Can't they be simpler and more pragmatic?"
▌ A new Estonian bill will bring it into compliance with EU MiCA regulations
The Estonian government has approved a bill regulating cryptocurrency service providers, which still needs to pass parliament The bill will bring Estonia into compliance with EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. Under the legislation, providers will be regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA). Currently, cryptocurrency service providers are registered by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules. The FSA will start issuing licenses in 2025, and FIU license holders must apply for an FSA license before the end of that year. Estonian Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev said he believes anyone who takes the issue seriously and wants to provide services will be able to obtain a new license from the Financial Supervisory Authority.
▌The Supreme Court of Montenegro will investigate the extradition case of Terra co-founder Do Kwon
According to market news, the Supreme Court of Montenegro will investigate Investigating the extradition case of Terra co-founder Do Kwon.
Blockchain Applications
▌Blockchain project Elastos announces the launch of BTC Oracle< /p>
Blockchain project Elastos announced the launch of BTC Oracle, a brand new solution that will enable every EVM-compatible blockchain to become Bitcoin L2. The team said, “BTCOracle is Elastos’ Part of BeL2, a BTC L2 capable of directly developing and managing Bitcoin-native smart contracts.
▌Core Foundation launches Core Venture Network
Core Foundation launches Core Venture Network with US$15 million to support blockchain development in emerging markets, aiming to empower economic and digital innovation through Core Chain. The program provides comprehensive support, Includes financial support, mentorship and an investor network aimed at making progress in decentralized finance and digital innovation globally.
▌Gnosis Venture Studios, the venture capital arm of Gnosis Launching uRamp
Gnosis Venture Studios, the venture capital arm of Gnosis, has launched uRamp, a “next-generation provider of seamless, low-fee on-chain and off-chain upgrade experiences,” according to the team “URamp was designed with UX in mind from the start and launched in partnership with Monerium, a licensed on-chain fiat currency issuer, to make it as user-friendly as possible. Based on the Gnosis chain and therefore compatible with any EVM chain, uRamp allows users to transfer any ERC-20 token to or from their bank account. In addition to Monerium, uRamp is also designed and developed in collaboration with BootNode.
Cryptocurrency
▌Big Bitcoin investors have increased their holdings of approximately 328,000 BTC in the past month
Data from on-chain analysis company Glassnode shows that large Bitcoin holders are still "crazily accumulating" Bitcoin, including:
1. Bitcoin whales ( Entities holding 1,000 BTC or more) increased their holdings by approximately 84,000 BTC in approximately 30 days as of March 17;
2. Bitcoin Shark (holding 100 BTC BTC to 1,000 BTC entities) accumulated a total of approximately 244,000 BTC in approximately 30 days as of March 17.
▌Fidelity FBTC becomes the second spot Bitcoin ETF to enter the top five of all ETFs
A subsidiary of Fidelity The Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has the fifth-highest inflows among all exchange-traded funds (ETFs) so far this year, with the fund attracting approximately $6.9 billion since its launch on January 12. The fund is the second spot Bitcoin ETF to crack the top five, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) joining the ranks of the largest funds in February.
▌Polygon’s US$4 million sponsorship of Starbucks to enter the encryption field ended in failure
According to people familiar with the matter, Polygon will launch in 2022 Sponsored $4 million to Starbucks as part of its deal to build and host its blockchain-based loyalty program Starbucks Odyssey on the Polygon network, the sponsorship ends at least three blockchain ecosystems looking to work with Starbucks Supporter competition. Last week, Starbucks ended its Odyssey program in failure.
▌Bitcoin spot ETFs have experienced large net outflows in recent days, and blockchain concept stocks have fallen across the board
Data shows that spot prices Bitcoin ETFs experienced large net outflows, with net outflows exceeding US$150 million on March 18. At the same time, U.S. stocks opened generally lower today, with the Dow Jones Index opening down 0.01%; the S&P 500 Index opening down 0.24%; and the Nasdaq Composite Index opening down 0.54%. Blockchain concept stocks have fallen across the board recently, with MicroStrategy falling 16.47% in the past 5 days, Marathon Digital falling 5.62% in the past 5 days, Coinbase falling 8.79% in the past 5 days, and Riot Platforms falling 4.62% in the past 5 days.
▌Celsius seeks to recover $2 billion in pre-bankruptcy withdrawals
Advisors overseeing the liquidation of Celsius Network seek to Customers who withdrew more than $2 billion from its crypto platform before filing for bankruptcy are returning those funds to avoid potential lawsuits. A bankruptcy oversight committee for Celsius has begun contacting customers who withdrew more than $100,000 from the platform before the company's bankruptcy in July 2022. Assets recovered through this process will help pay off creditors who have not withdrawn money from Celsius. The clawback process will only affect about 2% of Celsius users. In total, these users withdrew about 40% of their assets from the platform in the 90 days before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
▌Cardano-based USDM stablecoin will be released in retail in April
Mehen Finance announced that it will be released in retail in April Cardano-based stablecoin USDM. USDM is a stablecoin backed by fiat currency and pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. It was initially launched for institutional users on March 17. The retail launch of USDM is expected to enhance Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, providing users with a fiat-backed alternative to existing algorithmic stablecoins.
▌Solana Lianchuang: I don’t know why Meme chose Solana instead of Ethereum
Solana co-founder, Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko said the Meme transaction was bizarre but provided a welcome stress test for the network. The meme craze ended up being a mixed bag for Solana, leading to an influx of usage and liquidity but also problems with its architecture that left some traders unhappy. Anatoly Yakovenko says he doesn’t know why Solana has become the ecosystem of choice for degen meme traders instead of Ethereum, with some speculating that it’s down to Solana’s fees, which are generally much lower than those on other networks.
Important Economic Updates
▌The probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in March is 99%
According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in the range of 5.25%-5.50% in March is 99.0%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 25 basis points is 1.0%. The probability of keeping interest rates unchanged by May is 94.1%, and the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point interest rate cut is 5.9%.
▌The three major U.S. stock indexes collectively closed up
The three major U.S. stock indexes collectively closed up, with the Nasdaq rising 0.82% and the benchmark The S&P 500 Index rose 0.63% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19%.
▌The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, and the three major U.S. stock indexes all hit record closing highs
The Federal Reserve set the federal funds rate target The range remains unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5%. The three major U.S. stock indexes collectively closed higher, with the Nasdaq rising 1.25%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.03%, and the S&P 500 rising 0.89%; all hitting record closing highs. Large technology stocks generally rose.
▌Fed Chairman: An interest rate cut may occur sometime this year
Fed Chairman Powell said that our policy rate may have "It is appropriate to start easing policy at some point this year," but the outlook is uncertain. We remain focused on risks and are prepared to keep interest rates high for a longer period if necessary; we will carefully evaluate the published data to decide on policy; Before we cut interest rates, we need to have greater confidence that inflation will continue to decline; our forecast is not a plan and we will adjust as circumstances arise.
Fed Chairman Powell said that at this meeting, discussions Slow down the balance sheet reduction; it will be appropriate to slow down the pace of balance sheet reduction in the near future; slowing down the balance sheet reduction will ensure a smooth transition, reduce the pressure on the money market, and will limit the risk of currency market fluctuations.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish correct investment concepts and be sure to increase risk awareness.
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