Important information last night and this morning (March 20-March 21)
Reprinted from panewslab
03/21/2025·2M
LG announces plans to close its NFT market Art Lab on June 17
According to The Verge, LG is closing its NFT marketplace for TV, Art Lab. LG said in a notice posted on its website that it had made a "hard decision" and would close the platform on June 17. The company said that from March 10, users will no longer be able to make purchases on the platform. The LG Art Lab team will automatically transfer their NFTs to their own wallets by April 30. "As the NFT field continues to evolve, we believe that now is the right time to shift focus and explore new opportunities," LG said. The platform will be closed completely in June. LG launched the Art Lab app during the 2022 NFT boom, promoting it as a way to “buy, sell and appreciate high-quality digital artwork” through TV. It adds new digital art to the platform through "breakthrough" NFT delivery, where users can complete transactions by scanning QR codes and purchases through LG's crypto wallet app Wallypto. When it was launched, LG Art Lab was running on the Hedera network, which used a blockchain alternative called hashgraph, but expanded to Ethereum last year.
BlackRock Digital Assets Director: The approval for pledge may be a "huge leap" for Ethereum ETFs
According to CNBC, demand for Ethereum ETFs has been lukewarm since its launch in July last year, with Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, saying that if some of the regulatory issues that hinder its development are "solved", the situation may change. Mitchnick said at a digital asset summit in New York City on Thursday that it is widely believed that the success of the Ethereum ETF is “unusual” compared to the explosive growth of funds tracking Bitcoin. Although he believes this is a "misunderstanding", he acknowledged that the inability of these funds to obtain pledge proceeds may be a factor that hinders their development. "Obviously, there is a next stage in the potential development of [Ethereum ETF], and it turns out that ETFs are a very, very attractive tool for many different types of investors to hold Bitcoin. There is no doubt that ETFs without stakes are not perfect for ETH today. Staking returns are an important part of your return on investment in this area, and all [Ethereum] ETFs are launched without staking. This is not a particularly easy problem, and it is not like... the new government just gave the green light and we're all going well and starting to make a big move. There are many quite complex challenges to solve, but if these problems can be solved, then the activity we see around these products will have a qualitative leap."
Major cryptocurrency players are returning to India, betting that regulators may relax restrictions on digital asset trading, Bloomberg reported. US exchange Coinbase Global Inc. recently registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU) as part of launching its retail trading platform and adding investment plans in the country. The move comes after rivals Binance, Bybit and KuCoin are registered locally, highlighting the renewed focus on the Indian market. The country originally hoped to release an advisory document on cryptocurrency regulation after serving as the G20 presidency in 2023, but it has not yet been fulfilled. As the global policy landscape changes — led by Trump’s pro-crypto-agenda in the United States — India is revisiting the issue. “In the past 12 months, multiple jurisdictions have changed positions significantly,” said Ajay Seth, secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of India, at a recent roundtable. He pointed out that the risks posed by the use of digital assets such as stablecoins and the potential of cryptocurrencies to promote multilateral capital flows may affect emerging economies such as India. He added: “We have a discussion paper ready, but due to these changes we need to readjust now.”
Metaplanet appoints Trump's son Eric Trump as a member of the strategic advisory board
According to official news, Japanese listed company Metaplanet has appointed Trump's second son Eric Trump as a member of the strategic advisory board.
According to on-chain analyst Ember Monitor, a whale/institution that has held ETH for 8 years transferred 34,000 ETH ($67.18 million) to Coinbase five hours ago. He/they earned 44 times ($65.68 million) on ETH. He/they received and stockpiled these 34,000 ETHs through itfinex, Changelly, and ShapeShift in March 2017. At that time, the ETH price was only $44, which was worth $1.5 million. He/they hoarded ETH just before ETH took off, and in the following months ETH rose from double digits to more than $000+. Five hours ago, these ETHs were transferred to Coinbase. The current ETH price is $1,969, worth as high as $67.18 million, a 44-fold increase.
Australia announces new crypto regulations pledge to solve debankization problems
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has outlined a new digital asset regulatory framework designed to provide industry players with greater certainty while addressing risks associated with consumer protection and market integrity, Decrypt reported. The reform will require major cryptocurrency platforms to obtain Australian financial services licenses, while exempting small-scale businesses and companies that do not involve financial services. The Australian Ministry of Finance issued a statement document on Thursday’s “Developing the Innovative Australian Digital Assets Industry” details plans to regulate digital asset platforms and payment of stablecoins under current financial services laws. “By aligning with international best practices, Australia can enhance the global competitiveness of the digital asset industry,” the document reads. The proposed framework will apply to cryptocurrency exchanges, custodial services, and specific brokerage platforms that facilitate transactions and storage of digital assets. Companies that provide tokenized storage value facilities, including some stablecoin issuers, will also be subject to licensing and compliance obligations. However, companies that create or use digital assets, develop software, or maintain digital asset infrastructure for non-financial purposes will not be subject to the new regulations. The government also acknowledged that debanization (i.e., financial institutions restrict services to cryptocurrency companies) is an increasingly serious problem. The new licensing system aims to improve risk management and transparency within the industry, which may reduce debanking behavior by major financial institutions. "The government has been working with stakeholders to ensure transparency and equity, including engagement with major Australian banks to understand the extent of debanization," the document reads.
Doodles CEO: White paper will be released before DOOD token TGE
"Before the DOOD Token Generation Event (TGE), we will share our white paper, what we have been building, and how it all is closely connected," Scott Martin (@burnttoast), CEO of NFT project Doodles announced on X platform.
Nasdaq executive: Nasdaq's turn to all-weather stock trading is attributed in part to cryptocurrency
Traders in global stocks and other traditional financial assets want to be able to buy and sell assets 24/7, prompting two major U.S. stock exchanges, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to take action to plan to provide 24/7 trading services soon, CoinDesk reported. "We do see the market moving in this direction," said Giang Bui, head of trading products at the NY Digital Assets Summit on Thursday. "There is a lot of demand for U.S. stocks worldwide, and people want to trade during their usual awake time, and I think that's largely because people are used to trading cryptocurrencies on 24/7." Bui added: "We hear this demand from brokers around the world, the clients they serve, and even brokers in the U.S. domestic. Many U.S. brokers already offer overnight trading services because their clients are used to trading cryptocurrencies during these time periods." Nasdaq and NYSE are applying for approval to extend their trading venue opening hours to 24 hours a day, five or even seven days a week. Nasdaq recently announced that it had begun discussing the change with regulators, and the NYSE has been approved. All-weather trading has multiple advantages for the market, including increasing trading volume and market liquidity, as traders are no longer limited to specific time zones. Currently, U.S. stock markets are trading from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
According to The Block, the U.S. Currency Complaint (OCC) said it had stopped scrutinizing reputational risks for national banks and other financial institutions, after the cryptocurrency industry strongly condemned it for being excluded from the financial system. In a statement released Thursday, OCC Acting Administrator Rodney E. Hood said the agency's review process has been focusing on "appropriate risk management processes" rather than making subjective judgments about certain activities. The OCC also said it would remove the content related to reputational risk from its manuals and guidelines, but noted that this would not change its expectations for banks to handle risks. Earlier on March 8, the U.S. Currency Supervision Agency made it clear that banks have the right to participate in certain cryptocurrency activities.
US securities custody and settlement company DTCC will promote ERC3643 token standard
According to a March 20 announcement, the Custody Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the main clearing agency for U.S. securities trading, promises to promote Ethereum's ERC-3643 standard for licensed securities tokens. DTCC will join the ERC3643 Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the adoption of the standard, with the goal of “promoting and advancing the ERC3643 Token Standard.” This support highlights the positive attitude of US regulators toward tokenization after President Trump vowed to build the United States into the "world's crypto capital." This also shows that the Ethereum blockchain network may play an important role in the US licensed securities token ecosystem. "DTCC will help lead the future of tokenization and support large-scale adoption by institutions," said Dennis O'Connell, president of the ERC3643 Association. ERC-3643, also known as the T-REX protocol, is "a set of open source smart contracts that support the issuance, management and transfer of licensed tokens...even on a licensed blockchain." It relies on a customized decentralized identity protocol, ensuring that only users who meet preset conditions can become token holders.
YZi Labs announces Jane He as its general partner, leading biotech investment
YZi Labs announced on X platform that Jane He is its general partner, leading biotech investments, while contributing to the company's broad strategy in AI and Web3 fields. Jane's appointment comes as YZi Labs expands its investment focus from Web3 to AI and biotech after its recent rebranding. It is reported that before joining YZi Labs, Jane served as an investor and chief operating officer of a Hong Kong hedge fund, focusing on growth investments in biotech and innovation-driven fields. Her portfolio and research covers cancer therapy (immunotherapy, cell therapy, antibody drug conjugates), metabolic therapy (GLP-1 drugs for obesity and type 2 diabetes), oligonucleotide therapy (mRNA, siRNA, ASO), gene editing, sequencing and medical devices. She is also actively exploring opportunities in the intersection of AI and biotechnology. Jane has held leadership positions at PAAMCO Prisma, an alternative investment management company, where she manages investments in other Asian funds. Jane holds an MBA from Stanford University and graduated as an Arjay Miller academic.
Pump.fun has banned Indian users from using the platform
Pump.fun, a Meme coin publishing platform based on Solana, said it has banned Indian users from using the platform.
According to PR Newswire, crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial announced the launch of XRP US Dollar Myra (XRUY) futures, the first CFTC-regulated XRP futures product in the United States. Bitnomial's physical settlement futures ensure that contracts are delivered in actual XRP at settlement, thus distinguishing themselves from cash settlement alternatives that do not interact directly with the underlying assets. In addition, Bitnomial announced that yesterday, Bitnomial Exchange, LLC filed a voluntary withdrawal notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In October 2024, Bitnomial Exchange, LLC filed a lawsuit with the SEC, focusing on whether Bitnomial's XRP futures are securities and futures contracts. Bitnomial welcomes the SEC's growing cryptocurrency policies that provide greater clarity to XRP's securities status.
US SEC confirms receipt of application for 21 Shares spot Polkadot ETF
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcement, the Nasdaq Exchange has submitted a rule change proposal to list and trade the 21 Shares spot Polkadot ETF share under the Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) (“Commodity Trust Share”). The SEC has officially accepted the application and publicly solicited opinions.
NYSE Arca applies to US SEC to add staking function for Bitwise Ethereum ETF
NYSE Arca, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, has filed a proposed rule change (19b-4 application document) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to propose amending the Bitwise Ethereum ETF to allow pledges of trust-held Ethereum. The SEC issued this notice to seek comments from relevant persons on the proposed changes to the rules.
Coinbase adds ALT, PENDLE and L3 to the currency roadmap
Coinbase announced the addition of AltLayer(ALT), Pendle(PENDLE) and Layer3(L3) to the asset listing roadmap.
According to Cryptoslate, Tether continues to play an important role in the U.S. Treasury market, firmly ranking as the seventh largest buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds in 2024. On March 20, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino updated the news on the X platform, revealing that the company purchased $33.1 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds in 2024. This figure exceeds the holdings of countries such as Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Despite reaching this milestone, Ardoino noted that the Cayman Islands lead the world with purchases of more than $100 billion. Following closely behind are France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Singapore and the United Kingdom. However, he clarified that holdings in areas such as Cayman Islands and Luxembourg include investments from multiple hedge funds, while Tether's assets are a single entity. Tether uses U.S. Treasury bonds as the cornerstone of its reserve strategy to ensure the stability of the company's USDT stablecoin. According to Tether's latest quarterly reserve report for December 2024, the company's total U.S. Treasury bonds are worth $94 billion.
Pump.fun launches DEX called PumpSwap, which can instantly migrate graduation tokens
According to The Block, Pump.fun, a Meme coin release platform based on Solana, launched a native decentralized exchange (DEX) called PumpSwap. After completing its binding curve, Pump.fun's tokens will be transferred directly to PumpSwap, seemingly skipping the steps to migrate to Solana-based decentralized exchanges and automated market makers (AMM) Raydium. Pump.fun wrote on social media platform X that the move not only cancels the migration fees of 6 SOL, but also opens up opportunities for future creators' revenue sharing. Each transaction on PumpSwap is charged a 0.25% fee, of which 0.2% belongs to the liquidity provider and 0.05% belongs to the agreement. Pump.fun says that PumpSwap is comparable to Uniswap v2 and Raydium v4 through its constant product AMM mechanism. The launch of PumpSwap comes as Pump.fun and Raydium seem to have plans to exclude each other. Pump.fun tested its AMM feature in late February, and Raydium has been reportedly developing its own Meme coin creation platform LaunchLab for the past few months. The launch of PumpSwap is also the time when Pump.fun's transaction volume has dropped by 94% since the beginning of 2025, and subsequently the number of graduation tokens migrated to Raydium has decreased. Tokens must reach a market capitalization of $69,000 on Pump.fun before they can be moved to Raydium for secondary market transactions.
US SEC says Proof of Work Mining does not involve securities laws
According to The Block, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarified its stance on specific Proof of Work (PoW) mining activities, the latest move by the agency as it switches to a more friendly attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry. In a statement issued by the SEC company’s finance department on Thursday, SEC staff said Proof of Work mining does not involve the issuance and sale of securities; therefore, parties involved in mining activities do not need to register transactions with the committee under the Securities Act, nor do they fall within the scope of registration exemptions related to these mining activities in the Securities Act. The SEC relied on the “Howie Test” in its conclusion Thursday—a case in the 1946 U.S. Supreme Court, which the SEC often cites to determine whether an asset meets the definition of an investment contract and thus belongs to a securities. The test relies on four questions: whether it involves investment in funds, whether it involves common businesses, whether it is expected to make profits, and whether the profit comes from efforts of others.
Coinbase adds Freysa (FAI) to its asset roadmap
According to Coinbase Assets, Freysa (FAI) has been added to its asset roadmap.
Canary has submitted Form S1 to apply for PENGU ETF
US SEC documents show that Canary has submitted Form S1 to apply for the launch of its PENGU ETF.
Trump speaks at Blockworks DAS conference, calling on Congress to pass stablecoin legislation
Trump delivered a speech at the Blockworks DAS conference, calling on the U.S. Congress to pass landmark legislation to formulate simple and common sense rules for stablecoins and market structures.
Trump: The United States will dominate cryptocurrencies and next-generation financial technology
According to Solid Intel, Trump said that the United States will dominate the development of cryptocurrencies and the next generation of financial technology. According to Kim Shi, US President Trump said that the United States is already ahead in the field of cryptocurrencies and the next generation of fintech. We are ending the last government’s regulatory war on cryptocurrencies and bitcoin.
Walrus protocol announces token economic model: 10% is used for Walrus user aircasting
The Walrus protocol launched by Sui developer Mysten Labs has announced its token economic model, with the total supply of WAL tokens of 5 billion and the initial circulation supply of 1.25 billion. The allocation of WAL tokens is as follows: 10% is used for Walrus user airdrops, 43% is community reserves, for funding, developer support and incentive programs, 30% is allocated to core contributors, 10% is used to subsidize storage nodes, and 7% is allocated to investors. The unlocking period is 12 months after the main network is released. As a payment token, WAL token is designed to keep storage costs stable and ensure the security of the protocol through entrusted stakes. Walrus adopts a deflation mechanism, including penalties for short-term staking and cutting inefficient storage nodes, to promote the long-term and stable development of the network. The Walrus mainnet is scheduled to be launched on March 27.
Telegram-based TON Foundation raises over $400 million through token sale
According to The Block, Telegram-based Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) announced that venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark and Kingsway have invested more than $400 million by purchasing Toncoin cryptocurrency. In addition, investors such as Vy Capital, Draper Associates and Libertus Capital also participated in this round of investment. "These venture capital firms invest through Toncoin, not through traditional equity or cash methods," a TON Foundation spokesperson said. Over the past year, TON blockchain has more than 40 million active users, while Toncoin's "independent" holders have reached 121 million.
According to Fortune, the Walrus Foundation announced the successful raising of $140 million in funding, with the main investors being Standard Crypto, and other investors include a16z crypto, Electric Capital, Creditcoin, Lvna Capital, Protagonist, Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, Karatage, RW3 Ventures, Comma3 Ventures and The Raptor Group. The fundraising was completed through the sale of the Walrus protocol's cryptocurrency $WAL, which is expected to be valued at $2 billion. The Walrus protocol was developed by Mysten Labs, a company founded by former Meta employees and is well-known for its high-speed blockchain Sui. Walrus aims to address the lack of scalability, security and flexibility of existing storage protocols by providing faster and cheaper decentralized storage. Although Walrus is still in beta, Mysten Labs has built a website hosting service based on the protocol and is scheduled to go live on March 27.
ZachXBT: "Hyperliquid High Leverage Whale" may be a scamman William Parker
On-chain detective ZachXBT released an investigation saying that a trader made about $20 million in profits by opening multiple high-leverage positions on Hyperliquid and GMX between January and March 2025, and thus became the focus of market attention. Key Trading: • 0xe4d3 earned $10 million through 50x leverage large ETH and BTC long positions ahead of Trump's cryptocurrency reserve announcement. • 0xf3F4 earned $9 million through 40 times leverage large BTC short positions. The investigation found that the main opponents of 0xf3F4 are related to multiple platforms, including Roobet, Binance, Gamdom, etc. The account has also revealed its $20 million gain on GMX and HL on social platform X. Further analysis revealed that 0xf3F4 is associated with multiple phishing sites, and part of the funding comes from malicious behavior of exploiting input verification vulnerabilities in casino games. Through traceability, the investigation found that funds eventually flowed to an individual named William Parker (former Alistair Packover), who was arrested for multiple fraud and gambling cases and sentenced in Finland. Ultimately, the investigation showed that William Parker used its illegal means to add the original six-figure funds to $20 million through high-leverage trading.
Binance Alpha has added BR (Bedrock)
The Binance Alpha page shows that Binance Alpha has added BR (Bedrock).
Uranium Digital raises $6.1 million in crypto-backed uranium spot market, led by Framework Ventures
According to CoinDesk, Uranium Digital founder Alex Dolesky announced that the company has raised $6.1 million in seed rounds to accelerate the creation of a uranium spot trading platform using crypto infrastructure. The financing was led by Framework Ventures. Uranium Digital plans to become the world's first institutional market to provide uranium, an important clean energy commodity, although the uranium market has failed to mature due to strict regulation and low demand. As nuclear energy demand recovers, Dolesky believes that creating an efficient and fast spot market for uranium will welcome more institutional investors.
Kraken acquires NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion to enter the U.S. crypto futures market
According to CoinDesk, Kraken announced the acquisition of US futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. Through this acquisition, Kraken will be able to offer crypto futures and derivatives trading in the United States, as NinjaTrader has received CFTC registration. In addition, Kraken's regulatory licenses in the UK, the EU and Australia will help NinjaTrader expand in these regions.
Telegram CEO Durov said on his official channel that Telegram's global monthly active users have officially exceeded 1 billion. At the same time, TON's ecological star game BOMBIE has 11 million users, with an ARPPU per capita of US$102, surpassing the well-known MOBA game "League of Legends" and firmly ranking first in the TON's ecological revenue list. BOMBIE's users are distributed around the world, with Japanese users' per capita payment (ARPPU) reaching US$804, surpassing the per capita payment amount of luxury brand Louis Vuitton (LV), setting a new record for Web3 gaming.
Binance Launchpool will launch Nillion (NIL) and will launch NIL spot trading pairs on March 24
According to Binance announcement, Nillion (NIL) will become Binance Launchpool's 65th project. Nillion is a decentralized network that uses blind computing to achieve secure data processing and storage while ensuring privacy. Users can participate in NIL airdrop by locking BNB, FDUSD and USDC. The airdrop activity will start at 08:00 UTC+8 on March 21, 2025 and last for three days. Nillion (NIL) will launch Binance at UTC+8 on March 24, 2025, at 21:00 UTC+8, and open NIL/USDT, NIL/BNB, NIL/FDUSD, NIL/USDC and NIL/TRY trading pairs. This launch will bring 35 million NILs as Launchpool rewards, accounting for 3.5% of the total supply. The initial circulation supply was 195 million NIL (accounting for 19.52% of the total supply).
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