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21:00-7:00Keywords: PayPal, LINK, Aave founder, AFME
1. Kansas banker accused of embezzling $47 million to buy cryptocurrency;
2. PayPal is developing a new consumer app for its mobile customers;
3. The European Financial Markets Association expressed shock at the proposed crypto asset custody rules;
4. A giant whale accumulated US$112 million in LINK from Binance through 55 addresses in the past 6 days;
5. Aave founder: There should be two verification categories on Lens, namely global verification and local verification;
6. AFME: Disagree with the proposal to expand the territorial scope to cover relevant crypto-asset activities conducted outside the UK.

MPC wallet company Fordefi announced the completion of US$10 million in financing, led by Electric Capital, with participation from Paxos and Alchemy. It is reported that Fordefi is expanding its self-hosted MPC wallet products to service platforms for retail investors, such as trading platforms and financial technology platforms, and further reducing the risk of interaction with DeFi applications. (CoinDesk) #zachxbt

Cypherpunk Holdings (ticker: HODL) is doubling down on its strategy to buy and stake Solana’s native token — to such an extent that the publicly traded cryptocurrency investment firm has been renamed SOL
+1.85%
Strategies, it announced on Thursday.
The firm, which only began buying SOL in the second quarter of 2024 (when former Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald took up the reins as chief executive officer), now holds over 86,000 solana (valued above $11 million at current prices, according to The Block’s data), the majority of which are being staked to earn token rewards.
“We've continued to put more of our balance sheet into SOL and are trying to engage with the Solana ecosystem as much as possible,” Wald told The Block in an interview. “We are highly focused on the Solana ecosystem.”
If the SOL strategy seems reminiscent of MicroStrategy’s pivot to buying bitcoin back in 2020, it’s because of many similarities between the two firms’ “treasury management” styles. In short, if MicroStrategy’s massive bitcoin bags became a way for investors to gain exposure to that crypto asset, SOL Strategy would do the same for Solana.
In June, the firm, then still Cypherpunk Holdings, became one of if not the first publicly traded firms to put SOL on its balance sheet, making its stock a proxy vehicle for traders to gain exposure to the fastest-growing blockchain without having to buy the token outright.
“We think that MicroStrategy has been very successful at utilizing their treasury management strategy to accumulate bitcoin giving the market exposure to bitcoin via MSTR,” Wald said. (Cypherpunk did similarly when it bought its first 100 BTC in 2019.)
However, Wald clarified that it’s not a perfect comparison — because so much of SOL Strategies’ tokens are locked up earning yield in company-run validators, HODL is more akin to a bitcoin mining stock. Additionally, MicroStrategy regularly issues debt to purchase bitcoin, making its stock a play on leveraged bitcoin (the firm has $4 billion in debt and about $13 billion worth of bitcoin on its balance sheet).
“No other companies are running a validator, and none of the staked-SOL ETPs for North America are approved,” Wald said. “It's an interesting time right now with 3iQ filing many months ago for a SOL ETP in Canada and VanEck filing for a SOL ETF in the United States.”
Most experts believe the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is unlikely to approve a SOL exchange-traded fund anytime soon, meaning that — at least for now — if institutional investors want exposure to SOL, buying SOL Strategies stock is one of the few available avenues.
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To some extent, that’s also a page out of MicroStrategy’s playbook. When the Michael Saylor-helmed company began adding bitcoin to its balance sheet in August 2020, there were no bitcoin ETFs available in the United States. It wasn’t until October 2021 that ETFs based on bitcoin futures began trading; spot bitcoin ETFs hit the market in January of this year.
SOL Strategies purchased its SOL tokens for an average price of $143. It has earned over 230.35 SOL (worth ~$57,000) from staking as of June.
‘Rising Tide’
The change to SOL Strategies comes amid a period of rising interest in Solana, which has seen its userbase and transaction count skyrocket following the launch of memecoin launchpad Pump.fun in January. However, Wald said memecoins are likely a “fad” and that “the trend of continued interest on a more substantive basis for Solana is still increasing.”
Solana’s “immense throughput with minimal fees” is “going to start mattering … as more companies in the financial sector consider what blockchains they want to use to underpin their new projects,” Wald said, adding that she’s “very concerned about both Bitcoin BTC
+1.12%
and Ethereum's ability to affordably manage transactions on the base chain.”
That said, despite the name change and increased emphasis on Solana, SOL Strategies is still pursuing a multi-token, multi-equity investment strategy. Wald said the firm will maintain bitcoin as a treasury asset, and as of its latest financial statement, the firm still has equity investments in hardware wallet firm and eco-friendly crypto Chia.
Between March and July of this year, SOL Strategies sold off about 109 BTC and shed the entirety of its equity stake in metaverse firm Animoca Brands, which was once its second-largest investment. The firm has about approximately $4.9 million in cash and $115,000 in liabilities. Its other venture capital and equity bets have a book value of nearly $500,000.Finally, when asked about the risk of the SEC one day approving Solana ETFs, thereby undercutting SOL Strategies’ current moat, Wald was nonplussed.
“In many ways, since Solana is more esoteric, we believe that a rising tide would lift all boats here,” she said.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Data from China Money Network shows that the onshore RMB against the US dollar rose more than 360 points during the day, currently reporting at 7.2282. According to Sina quotes, offshore RMB against the US dollar continues to rise, with a cumulative increase of 370 points during the day, currently reporting at 7.2258.
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Dorothy, the growth lead of AltLayer, clarified on social media regarding the "insider" airdrop event that was previously questioned by KOLs, stating that the OG Badge and Oh Ottie NFT series were minted as a fair way for the community to participate in activities two years ago, and it was announced early on that there would be a token airdrop in the future, which the community was aware of. Dorothy also promoted the "airdrop" feature publicly on multiple occasions as the main promoter of Otties, and personally purchased some Otties for friends a year ago at a price of 0.3-0.59 ETH, one of which was for @mulan_0x.Dorothy stated that he did not know the exact date and time of ALT's listing on Binance before the announcement was made. For a venture capitalist, it is normal to profit from settling in an NFT series with low liquidity after abnormal price fluctuations occur. @mulan_0x listed the NFT on Blur the day before the announcement date for a Pudgy Penguins, which was purely a coincidence as it was close to the announcement date.
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Real estate-backed stablecoin protocol Tangible has announced that it is preparing to launch its permissionless L2 network re.al for tokenizing RWA. .
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Unbound Fund announced a new opportunity for individuals to obtain Portuguese/EU citizenship by indirectly holding approximately $542,000 USD (500,000 EUR) worth of Bitcoin. The fund is reportedly the first of its kind to be eligible for a golden visa and offers Bitcoin investment. Unbound Fund's features include 100% passive holding of Bitcoin, investing in Blackrock ETF for security and simplicity, and achieving full transparency through BDO auditing.
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The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has launched a publicly accessible tracker to stop cryptocurrency and other investment scams. The software relies on consumer complaints to collect key threat information and alert the public in order to "make it harder for perpetrators to defraud more investors."
The DFI recently revealed that according to victim reports from January 2022 to June 2024, Wisconsin residents lost nearly $3.55 million to financial fraud and cryptocurrency scams. (Cointelegraph) #zachxbt

In response to previous rumors that Kraken was planning to delist USDT based on European regulatory assessments, Mark Greenberg, Kraken's Global Head of Asset Growth and Management, clarified on X platform that Kraken will continue to be listed in the European market and currently has no plans to delist USDT. Kraken understands that European customers value the use of USDT and will continue to consider all options for providing USDT under the upcoming regulations. Kraken will comply with all legal requirements, even if they are some disagreeable requirements, but the rules have not yet been finally determined. Kraken will continue to make every effort to provide all relevant stablecoins to European customers.
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Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said Bitcoin is a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. JPMorgan Chase is reportedly an authorized participant in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF. #zachxbt

The article discusses Solana’s (SOL) bullish pattern and potential breakout towards $180, as well as the strong presale phase for meme coin Mpeppe (MPEPE), highlighting the growing strength of meme coins in the cryptocurrency market. #zachxbt

According to The Information, the collapse of a major cryptocurrency-friendly bank last year caused a lot of trouble for the cryptocurrency market, making it more difficult for hedge funds and other cryptocurrency investors to transfer funds at the speed required by most exchanges. However, more and more cryptocurrency brokers (such as FalconX) and cryptocurrency trading firms (including GSR and B2C2) are getting involved in providing short-term financing to ensure that their clients' transactions can be settled immediately, generating huge returns in the process. Several cryptocurrency brokers are acting as shadow banks, providing short-term loans to make up for timing mismatches, charging annual interest rates as high as 25%.
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Trump stated in his appointment of David Sacks that Sacks will focus on establishing a legal framework that provides the clarity the cryptocurrency industry has long sought and allows it to thrive in the U.S. Analysis suggests that David Sacks is expected to help lead the effort to fulfill Trump's campaign promise to ease regulation on the cryptocurrency industry. This position is anticipated to provide cryptocurrency advocates with a direct channel to the White House and serve as a liaison between Trump, Congress, and federal agencies related to digital assets, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In the field of artificial intelligence, David Sacks will assist Trump in imprinting his mark on an emerging technology that has seen explosive growth in recent years. David Sacks will be at the forefront of determining how the federal government adopts and regulates the use of artificial intelligence, as advancements in AI technology and consumer adoption bring both broad benefits and risks related to national security, privacy, employment, and other areas.

The blockchain intelligent ZK co-processor Brevis has announced that Brevis coChain AVS has gone live on the mainnet. By combining ZK proofs with encrypted economic security driven by EigenLayer re-staking, coChain is committed to significantly reducing costs and implementing new features in ZK co-processing.
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Tencent Cloud has launched a blockchain infrastructure solution, providing a one-click node hosting service for MultiversX developers, simplifying the process of deploying and managing multi-universe blockchain infrastructure nodes.
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Encyclopedia is an online encyclopedia with the concepts of equality, collaboration, sharing, and freedom. It creates a Chinese knowledge platform covering all fields of knowledge and services for every Internet user. #zachxbt

Coinglass data shows that the current notional value of open positions in BTC options across the network is $29.95 billion, and the notional value of open positions in ETH options is $14.7 billion.
According to previous news, Deribit data showed that BTC options and ETH options contracts with a nominal value of more than $2.024 billion and $1.269 billion in ETH options contracts will expire for delivery on Friday (March 15). Among them, the maximum pain point price of BTC is $65,000; the maximum pain point price of ETH is $3,500. #zachxbt