1️⃣ ETH ETF Approved in a Break-Neck Pivot
Thursday marked another historic event with the SEC approving eight spot Ethereum ETFs from institutions like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, and VanEck. While these approvals signal a regulatory shift, especially after the complete 180 the agency seemed to pull, trading can't commence until the S-1 registration statements are approved, which may take weeks.
While the ETFs are expected to attract billions in capital, further boosting institutional interest in crypto, it seems like the next few weeks to months may be the quiet before the storm.
2️⃣ House Passes CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act and FIT21
Also on Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, blocking the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency without Congressional approval.
The bill, supported by 213 Republicans and 3 Democrats, aims to align any U.S. CBDC with American privacy values and free market competitiveness — essential given the potential for these tools to significantly compromise individual rights to freedom.
Meanwhile, the House also passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), empowering the CFTC alongside the SEC to regulate the digital assets market. Both bills now move to the Senate, marking significant steps in shaping America's crypto regulatory landscape.
3️⃣ Jupiter’s GUM Alliance Aims to Bring Everything Onchain
Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter announced its Grand Unified Markets (GUM) initiative to create a “single atomic market” on Solana.
Featuring partnerships with the Solana Foundation and market makers like Wintermute and DWF Labs, the GUM Alliance intends to create liquid markets for not only crypto but also real estate, forex, stocks, and bonds on Solana. In other words, tokenize everything.
4️⃣ Farcaster Raises $150M to Grow its User Base
Decentralized social network Farcaster announced a $150M fundraising round led by Paradigm, with participation from a16z, Haun Ventures, Union Square, and more. The funds will be used to grow its user base and add developer tools.
Since October, Farcaster has seen a 50x increase in network activity, boasting almost 35K unique daily users. While it struggles with some spam and bot activity, as all social media does, Farcaster's growth indicates strong demand for its network and, in turn, onchain social media.
5️⃣ Genesis Winning Approval to Pay Creditors, Beating DCG
Last cycle’s debauchery seems to officially have come to a close with a U.S. bankruptcy court approving Genesis's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, allowing the return of about $3B in cash and assets to creditors.
A victim of 3AC and FTX, Genesis won its case over parent company DCG, who will now eat a loss due to the judge’s ruling. Gemini, a major creditor of Genesis, will start reimbursing customers 97% of their losses from its defunct Gemini Earn program by the end of the month.
