Weekly Preview | US SEC Cryptocurrency Working Group holds its first roundtable; CME plans to launch SOL futures
Reprinted from panewslab
03/16/2025·3MNews trailer:
- CME Group plans to launch Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, but it needs to wait for regulatory review;
- Ethereum Foundation developers will launch a new "Hoodi" test network on March 17 to conduct the final test of the Pectra upgrade;
- Starknet plans to launch the main network between March 17 and 24;
- Gitcoin announced details of GG23’s six community rounds, and the OSS Program application is scheduled to start on March 17;
- The US SEC Cryptocurrency Working Group officially announced that the first roundtable will be held on March 21;
March 17
Exchange:
CME plans to launch SOL futures on March 17
According to PR Newswire, the derivatives market CME Group announced that it plans to launch Solana (SOL) futures on March 17, but it will wait for regulatory review. Market participants will have the option to trade micro contracts (25 SOL) and large contracts (500 SOL). CME Group SOL futures will be settled in cash and based on CME Group CF Solana USD reference rate, which is the daily reference rate for the SOL USD price, calculated daily at 4:00 pm London time. SOL Futures will join the company's suite of crypto products, which include Bitcoin and Ethereum futures as well as options futures.
The Kadena (KDA) network will be upgraded and hard forked on March 18, 2025 at 00:00 (UTC), and Binance will support this upgrade. Recharge and withdrawal pause time: 23:00 on March 17, 2025 (UTC); Upgrade and hard fork block height: 5,659,280 (expected to 00:00 on March 18, 2025). Binance will reopen KDA recharge and withdrawal after the network upgrade is completed and stabilized, and the transaction will not be affected.
Project News:
Ethereum developers will launch Hoodi testnet on March 17 to prepare for Pectra upgrade
Ethereum Foundation developers will launch a new "Hoodi" test network on March 17 to conduct final testing of the Pectra upgrade. Previously, Pectra had configuration problems during the activation of Holesky and Sepolia test networks, resulting in delays in the official release plan. The Pectra upgrade aims to improve the availability and scalability of Ethereum. The main optimizations include reducing the cost of Layer 2 data availability, increasing the staking ceiling, and introducing account abstraction, enhancing smart contracts and wallet functions. If the test goes well, the upgrade may be officially deployed to the Ethereum main network as early as April 25. Hoodi Test Network will focus on validators to exit testing, avoiding Holseky's inability to support related research due to the backlog of exit queues.
Starknet plans to launch the main network between March 17 and 24
According to Starknet's 2025 decentralization roadmap, its goal is to be the first fully decentralized Layer 2 (L2) to expand Ethereum on a large scale. The plan focuses on the pledge mechanism, operation decentralization and governance independence. In addition, Starknet's latest version v0.13.4 has been launched on the test network, bringing optimizations such as state compression, fixed L2 gas price and Cairo-native performance improvement, and is planned to be launched on the main network from March 17 to 24. Future version v0.14.0 will also introduce 2-second block time, more efficient sorter and improved cost market functions.
Gitcoin, an open source crowdfunding platform on Ethereum, announced the details of GG23's six community rounds on the X platform, namely: Regen Coordination, GoodDollar GoodBuilders, Token Engineering the Superchain Retro Round, Regen Rio de Janeiro, Gitcoin Grants Garden and Web3 for Universities, with funds of about $21,000 per round. In addition, the application time for the open source software project OSS Program is planned to be from March 17 to 31, and the QF donation time is planned to be from April 2 to 16.
According to ZKsync, Ignite plans to stop reward distribution on March 17 and will no longer start the second season, due to the focus on the development of Elastic Network, slow progress in interoperability technology and market sluggish markets, resulting in adjustments in funding strategies. Ignite has helped ZKsync Era TVL increase to US$270 million. In the future, the team will optimize the token economic model and launch new ecological incentives. The relevant summary report will be released on March 30.
Cronos vote on the recovery of 70 billion destroyed CRO proposals is expected to end on March 17
Layer1 blockchain Cronos faces strong opposition over a proposal to restore the 70 billion CRO tokens destroyed in 2021. Early voting results on Mintscan showed that 95.7% of participants voted to reject the program. The vote is expected to end on March 17. In addition, Cryptoslate reported that CRO advocate Wyll Bilderberg said on the X platform: "Destruction is destruction, and the destroyed tokens should not be resurrected. I almost never object to anything that happened on Cronos, but today, I strongly object to it! If this bill passes, it will only confirm that Cronos is highly centralized and therefore untrustworthy." Previous news , Cronos proposed to reissue 70 billion destroyed tokens to "create Cronos strategic reserves."
Token unlock:
ApeCoin (APE) will unlock 15.6 million tokens at 8:30 pm on March 17, Beijing time, with a ratio of 1.95% to the current circulation, worth about US$8 million.
Solv Protocol (SOLV) will unlock approximately 117 million tokens at 6 pm Beijing time on March 17, with a ratio of 7.93% to the current circulation, worth about US$5 million.
March 18
Project News:
Meta will launch community notes in the United States on March 18
Meta will launch the "Community Notes" feature in the United States on March 18, which is available for Facebook, Instagram and Threads. This system draws on the crowdsourcing fact verification mechanism implemented by X (former Twitter) since 2021, aiming to improve the transparency and scalability of platform information verification.
Initia will close wallet expansion on March 18, and users need to migrate test network data in time
Layer1 blockchain Initia officially announced that Initia will close its wallet expansion service at 3:00 am on March 18 (11:00 am on March 18, Beijing time). Initia wallet users must complete the migration before this date, otherwise they will not be able to access the data on the test network, including the test network Jennie and related data. Users can use migration.initia.xyz to perform wallet migration.
Sui Foundation launches SuiNS RFP program with application deadline March 18
The Sui Foundation announced the formal launch of the SuiNS program, aiming to promote influential development and strengthen community cooperation and promote ecological development by directly funding projects that meet Sui's ecological needs and SuiNS growth. Currently, the SuiNS RFP program application channel is open, and developers can submit their proposals. The application deadline is 15:59 on March 18, 2025 (UTC+8). Once submitted, the RFP committee will screen candidates and vote on the proposals that will eventually be funded. The selected developer must sign a funding agreement that outlines the project’s milestones, deliverables and timetables and develops as planned. In addition, to maintain transparency and accountability, selected developers must go through an authentication process.
According to reports, Sui NS aims to provide users with a simple and easy-to-identify identity that can be used in the Sui ecosystem, promote the realization of more personalized and rich functions, and further improve user experience and application functions. The RFP (Request for Proposals) program is designed to accelerate Sui ecological innovation, and each RFP defines a specific area of concern, encouraging developers to propose solutions and use funding to build them.
Token unlock:
Fasttoken (FTN) will unlock 20 million tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 18, with a ratio of 4.65% to the current circulation, worth approximately US$79.8 million.
QuantixAI (QAI) will unlock approximately 566,000 tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 18, with a ratio of 3960.24% to the current circulation, worth approximately US$41.4 million.
Melania Meme (MELANIA) will unlock 26.25 million tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 18, with a ratio of 17.50% to the current circulation, worth approximately US$17.6 million.
March 19
Exchange:
WazirX: Voting period for the proposed restructuring plan is scheduled from March 19 to March 28
Indian crypto exchange WazirX posted on X platform that the next key step is to vote on the proposed restructuring plan. Voting period: It is planned to be held from March 19 to March 28, 2025. Distribution after asset rebalancing: After the rebalancing is completed, if most creditors vote in favor, approximately 85% of their account balance will be allocated to the programme creditors within 10 working days after the reorganization plan takes effect (value as of 1:00 pm IST on July 18, 2024).
Project News:
Babylon extends airdrop registration deadline to March 19
The Babylon Foundation announced that since some users have only completed airdrop registration recently, the deadline for airdrop registration will be extended by 4 days until 4 pm Beijing time on March 19.
Core 2025 Game Hackerstone will end on March 19
The Core Foundation officially launched the Core 2025 Game Hackathon, providing $380,000 in bonuses for developers around the world, incentivizing the construction of innovative Bitcoin-based games. The hackathon will last for four weeks, and contestants will create high-performance, decentralized games on the Core blockchain to explore more possibilities for Bitcoin in the gaming field. Event time: February 5th – March 19th; Total prize pool: $380,000+ additional developer incentives; Track categories: casual games, social PvP games, puzzle games.
Token unlock:
Polyhedra Network (ZKJ) will unlock approximately 15.53 million tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 19, with a ratio of 25.72% to the current circulation and a value of approximately US$31.8 million.
March 20
Macroeconomics:
March 20th (Thursday) 02:00, the Federal Reserve FOMC announced the summary of interest rate resolution and economic expectations
Exchange:
Coinbase International Station will launch REZ, GRASS and RARE perpetual contracts on March 20
Coinbase International Exchange announced on the X platform that Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced will add Renzo, Grass and SuperRare perpetual contracts, with new trading pairs: REZ-PERP, GRASS-PERP and RARE-PERP. The transaction will be open after 17:30 Beijing time on March 20, 2025.
According to OKX announcement, the platform will remove multiple transaction pairs such as XR, GOAL, KP3R, LBR, LAMB, BZZ and GPT from 16:00 to 17:00 on March 20, 2025, and suspend recharge at 11:00 on March 13 (Beijing time). It is recommended that users manage assets as soon as possible. After being removed from the shelves, uncancelled orders will be automatically revoked and are expected to be completed in 1-3 working days. Starting from 16:00 on June 20, 2025 (Beijing time), the withdrawal function of the relevant currency will be turned off, and users need to complete asset transfer before this.
Project News:
BNB Chain launches second round of permanent liquidity support program, which ends on March 20
BNBChain recently launched its second round of US$4.4 million permanent liquidity plan, expanding from the first round of Meme track to all outstanding native project tokens on BSC (BNB Smart Chain). The aim is to strengthen the long-term development of the BNB Chain ecosystem by providing long-term liquidity support for high-potential projects. This round of competition will be held from March 13 to March 20, 2025, and includes daily and weekly competitions to select the most promising assets based on key performance indicators. The daily competition will be divided into two divisions: the "potential explosion zone" with a market value of less than US$20 million and the "maturity zone" with a market value of not less than US$20 million. The daily competition will last for seven days, and each day the potential explosion zone and mature zone will select a winning event. The competition ranking will be determined based on the combined performance of trading volume, market value and price increase within 24 hours.
BNB Chain will hold a Pascal hard fork upgrade on March 20 to support EIP-7702
BNB Chain will perform a hard fork on mainnet Pascal to improve EVM compatibility on March 20, 2025 and become one of the first public chains to adopt EIP-7702. This upgrade will introduce functions such as Gas abstraction, EOA wallet smart contracting, batch transactions, etc., to provide users with a smoother experience and bring higher flexibility to developers. Through the EIP-7702 proposal, BNB Chain will allow externally owned accounts (EOA) to temporarily have the functionality of smart contracts during the transaction process while keeping the account secure. This upgrade will significantly lower the barriers for users to enter Web3. For example, the Gas fee abstraction allows users to complete on-chain interaction without holding native tokens with gas fee in their account; at the same time, dApps are allowed to sponsor functions such as Gas fee, batch transactions, etc. to improve the user's on-chain experience.
March 21
Policy Supervision:
The newly formed cryptocurrency task force of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold its first roundtable later this month as part of a series of meetings. The SEC said in a statement Monday that the meeting, titled “Our Past and Future – Defining Securities Status”, will be held on March 21 at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. This roundtable is part of a "Spring Sprint, Seeking Cryptocurrency Clarity" series. "I look forward to using public expertise to develop a viable regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies," Hester Peirce, a Republican member who leads the cryptocurrency task force, said in a statement. Peirce said she plans to prioritize some tokens as "non-securities."
It is reported that the first roundtable meeting of the US SEC Crypto Working Group included Miles Jennings, general counsel of a16z crypto and Delphi Ventures, and Sarah Brennan, general counsel of investment company Delphi Ventures.
Project News:
BNB Chain "TVL Incentive Program" extends to March 21 deadline
BNB Chain announced on the X platform that the TVL Incentive Program (TVL Incentive Program) will be extended by 1 month, with the new deadline being March 21, 2025.
A civil lawsuit with about 20 employees has started on the payment of performance bonuses for Korean gaming company WeMade and its virtual asset WEMIX (WEMIX). The Civil Department of Seoul Central District Court has held its first debate preparation meeting on the case. The plaintiffs are former and current employees of WeMadeTree, a former subsidiary of WeMade, who claim to have signed a WEMIX development compensation agreement with the company and provide the company's email pledged to compensate as evidence. However, WeMade denied that there was any oral agreement and only admitted that it had notified employees about the basic compensation plan. It pointed out that due to the legal regulations and accounting treatment standards of virtual assets, the company faces accounting uncertainty and the risk of criminal breach of trust from management, and therefore failed to sign a compensation contract directly.
The Trial Department pointed out that the plaintiff's flaw is the lack of a written contract, but it is also unreasonable to believe that the defendant refuses to pay any compensation as a result. The next debate on the case is scheduled to take place on the morning of March 21. WeMade said it is willing to negotiate with company members to formulate a specific compensation plan contract.
Token unlock:
Immutable (IMX) will unlock 24.52 million tokens at 8 am on March 21, Beijing time, with a ratio of 1.39% to the current circulation, worth about US$13.4 million.
March 22
Token unlock:
SPACE ID (ID) will unlock 78.49 million tokens at 8 am on March 22, Beijing time, with a ratio of 18.23% to the current circulation, worth approximately US$19.3 million.
March 23
Project News:
Ethereum Foundation extends application date for 2025 Academic Grant Program to March 23
According to update information on the Ethereum Fund website, the application submission date for the 2025 academic funding program has been extended to 23:59 AoE time on March 23. It is reported that there is a total of US$2 million available funds in this round of funding to support academic work related to Ethereum.
Token unlock:
Metars Genesis (MRS) will unlock 10 million tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 23, with a ratio of 11.87% to the current circulation, worth approximately US$97.4 million.
MANTRA (OM) will unlock 5 million tokens at 8 am on March 23, Beijing time, with a ratio of 0.51% to the current circulation, worth about US$32.8 million.
Murasaki (MURA) will unlock 10 million tokens at 8 a.m. Beijing time on March 23, with a ratio of 1.00% to the current circulation, worth about US$7.4 million.
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