1. BTC Falls Below $80,000, ETH Dips Below $2,100 link

On Friday, OKX market data revealed that BTC fell below $80,000, reaching a low of $78,258, with the current price at $80,514, reflecting a 24-hour decline of 7.22%. ETH dipped below $2,100, hitting a low of $2,074, and is currently priced at $2,136, showing a 24-hour drop of 8.02%. According to Coinglass data, the total liquidation across the network in the past 24 hours amounted to $953 million, with long positions accounting for $827 million of the liquidations.

2. SEC Terminates Regulatory Oversight of Multiple Crypto Companies link

On Wednesday, regulators decided to terminate the federal investigation into Uniswap Labs. Sources revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its inquiry into Uniswap and will not pursue further enforcement actions. The investigation, which began in April 2024, focused on whether Uniswap was operating as an unregistered securities exchange and whether its UNI tokens constituted illegal securities sales.

On Wednesday, according to a statement from Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss, the SEC notified Gemini’s litigation counsel on February 26, 2025, that it had closed its investigation into the company and decided not to take enforcement action. Winklevoss emphasized that unless effective legal and regulatory measures are implemented, similar actions could occur again, calling for legislation to protect the industry and hold individuals accountable.

On Friday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the SEC had formally dismissed the civil enforcement lawsuit against Coinbase and would take no further action in the case. Peirce criticized the SEC for relying too heavily on enforcement measures rather than policy development in the Coinbase case, which resulted in regulatory uncertainty in the crypto industry. Furthermore, Peirce criticized the SEC for its over-reliance on a broad interpretation of the Howey Test in dealing with crypto products, leaving many industry participants unable to clearly determine which products are considered securities. She stated that the SEC’s current policy direction would be driven by the crypto task force and that plans are underway to engage with the public to establish a clearer regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

On Friday, Joseph Lubin, founder of ConsenSys, stated that ConsenSys had reached a principle agreement with the SEC to withdraw the securities enforcement case against MetaMask. Once approved by the commission, the SEC will submit an agreement to the court to officially close the case.

3. SEC Confirms Receipt of Grayscale Ethereum ETF Staking Function Application link

The SEC has confirmed receipt of the 19b-4 filing submitted by NYSE Arca, which seeks approval for the staking feature within the Grayscale Ethereum ETF.

4. SEC Clarifies Meme Coin Trading Exempt from Securities Laws link

The SEC issued a statement clarifying the applicability of meme coins. The statement indicated that meme coins are cryptocurrency assets inspired by internet memes, characters, or trends, typically used for entertainment, social, and cultural purposes. Their value is largely driven by market demand and speculation, and they generally lack any inherent functionality. The SEC considers that the trading of meme coins does not involve the issuance or sale of securities, and therefore participants are not required to register under the Securities Act, nor are they protected by federal securities laws.

However, this statement does not apply to the issuance and sale of meme coins that do not align with the described characteristics, nor does it cover meme coins that attempt to circumvent the application of federal securities laws by masquerading as other products. Fraudulent activities related to meme coins may still be subject to enforcement or prosecution by other federal or state agencies under different laws.

5. OKX Subsidiary Aux Cayes FinTech Reaches Settlement with U.S. Department of Justice link

Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. (OKX Seychelles), a subsidiary of OKX, reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, acknowledging its unauthorized remittance operations in the United States. The affected U.S. customers have been fully exited. OKX agreed to pay a fine of $84 million and forfeit approximately $421 million in revenue. The company clarified that, as part of the settlement, there were no allegations of harm to customers, no charges against any company employees, nor was a government-appointed monitor imposed. OKX further stated that it will enhance its Know Your Customer (KYC) system and Customer Risk Rating (CRR) system, expand its Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) program, deploy industry-leading Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and sanctions tools, and has already established a specialized investigation team of over 150 professionals.

6. Oklahoma’s “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” Passed by House Committee, Moves to Full Vote link

The “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” (HB 1203) in Oklahoma has passed the House Committee and is now advancing to the full vote. The bill allows the state to invest up to 10% of its public funds in Bitcoin (BTC) or digital assets with a market capitalization exceeding $500 billion.

Additionally, according to Bitcoin Laws data, Utah’s HB230 bill is leading the Bitcoin reserve race. Meanwhile, related digital asset bills in Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), Pennsylvania (PA), South Dakota (SD), and Wyoming (WY) have either failed or not passed, indicating legislative challenges for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in these regions.

7. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Votes to Pass Resolution to “Abolish DeFi Broker Rules” link

On February 26, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee passed a resolution by a vote of 26 to 16 to repeal the “DeFi Broker Rule,” set to take effect in 2027. The rule, approved by the IRS on December 5 last year, mandates that decentralized exchanges and other digital asset brokers report transaction details and taxpayer information to the tax authorities, which has sparked strong opposition from the industry. Committee Chairman Jason Smith criticized the rule as impractical, noting that DeFi brokers are unable to collect the required user data and the IRS lacks the capacity to process it. If the resolution is approved by both the House and Senate, it will be submitted to President Trump for a decision on whether to sign or veto it.

8. SBF Tweets for the First Time in Two Years, Discussing Company Layoffs and Management Issues link

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), former CEO of FTX, made his first tweet in two years, discussing company layoffs and management issues. He expressed deep sympathy for government employees, acknowledging that unemployment is not as easy as it appears. He explained that layoffs are difficult and are often not the fault of the employees, but sometimes a necessary decision for the company. The issue often lies in the company’s failure to provide suitable positions, management, or working environments. He believes that when employees are idle or unable to realize their potential, it is a reflection of managerial and internal company issues, not the fault of the employees themselves. He also noted that competitors can face similar situations, leading to mass layoffs or idleness. SBF is currently detained at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York.

Additionally, the legal and consulting fees in the FTX bankruptcy case have totaled $950 million, making it one of the most expensive Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in U.S. history since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Among these, restructuring consultants Alvarez & Marsal have billed nearly $400 million, legal advisors Sullivan & Cromwell have exceeded $300 million, and John Ray’s consulting firm has charged nearly $10 million.

9. PayPal Plans to Expand Adoption of Its Stablecoin PYUSD link

PayPal Holdings Inc. plans to integrate its stablecoin, PYUSD, into more products this year, aiming to meet the diverse needs of merchants on a single platform. By the end of the year, PayPal intends to offer PYUSD as a payment option to over 20 million small and medium-sized businesses, enabling them to pay vendor fees through its upcoming bill payment product. Additionally, PayPal plans to introduce PYUSD into its global payment network via its acquisition of Hyperwallet, with implementation expected to begin in the first half of this year. By the end of 2025, merchants will also be able to settle PayPal transactions with cryptocurrency.

10. Cobo Reflects on Personal Hacking Experience, Predicts Potential Market Recovery in the Second Half of the Year, Key to U.S. National Reserves link

During a Space event hosted by WuBlockchain and Cobo, Cobo recalled the theft of 12,000 ETH that occurred last year. At the time, Eigenlayer had issued an airdrop, and Cobo was not feeling well. He clicked on a link by mistake, which turned out to be problematic. Although there were risk controls in place for domain names and DNS resolutions, the system was bypassed. The hardware wallet was set to blind sign, and Cobo did not check carefully enough. However, he later discovered that the problem was even more severe with Safe’s multisignature system, where almost every transaction was a blind sign.

Cobo emphasized the importance of being aware of the challenges posed by powerful adversaries, particularly those trained in state-level cyber infiltration and human psychology. He warned that the industry must be fully conscious of these threats, as even a small lapse in human vigilance can lead to disaster. To counter such adversaries, highly resilient methods and tools are needed, possibly with the involvement of independent third parties in security management.

Regarding the market outlook for this year, Cobo predicted that more capital might flow into the industry in the second half of the year, possibly between June and October, after the U.S. national reserve policies become clearer. He stated that the market’s transition between a bull and bear market is difficult to judge and depends largely on whether the U.S. national reserve has a clear outcome this year. If there is no result, the bull market may end, but the probability of a favorable outcome still seems high at this moment.

Fundraising

• Sixth Street Partners invests $200 million in Figure. link

• MEXC Exchange announces a $20 million investment in Ethena’s synthetic USD, USDe. link

• ResearchHub announces a $2 million investment from Boost VC. link

• Orochi Network completes $12 million in funding.link

• Crypto gift card platform Raise announces $63 million in funding, led by Haun Ventures. link

• Bitwise announces $70 million in funding. link

• Bloomberg reports Ethena raised $100 million in funding in December last year. link

• Memes Lab completes $2.3 million seed round funding. link

• Byzantine Finance completes $3 million pre-seed funding round. link

• Shared security network IMUA announces $5 million in seed round funding. link

• Tenor Labs announces $2.5 million in seed round funding. link

• RWA blockchain development firm Mavryk Dynamics announces $5.2 million in funding. link

• NFT project Meebits’ parent company MeebCo completes $3 million in a new funding round. link

• ZKP technology startup Ligero completes $4 million in seed round funding. link

• Shaga completes $4 million in funding, led by IOSG Ventures. link

• FanTV announces $3 million in strategic funding. link

• Spheron announces the completion of a strategic funding round to support the development of AI-driven applications. link

• Lockchain AI announces nearly $5 million in Series A funding. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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