Argentine poll suggests 57% don’t trust President Milei after LIBRA scandal
Nearly 58% of Argentinians said they don’t trust President Javier Milei following his involvement in the $4.6 billion Libra crypto scandal, according to a recent poll. “More than a month after the crypto fraud scandal broke out, how much do you trust Milei today?” polling platform Zuban Córdoba asked 1,600 respondents in its recently released March survey, to which 57.6% replied that they disapprove of him, while 36% said Milei still has their trust.The remaining 6.4% said they weren’t sure, the report stated.Percentage of trust that Argentines have in Milei after the Libra scandal. Source: Zuban CórdobaThis was the first time the question was asked within a Zuban Córdoba poll. However, several other metrics, such as Milei’s image and the national management approval rating, have plummeted considerably in recent months.The latter of those metrics, for example, fell from 47.3% in November to 41.6% in March.“Fifty-eight percent disapprove of Javier Milei’s management. Negativity increases slowly but steadily and seems to find no ceiling,” Zuban Córdoba said. “The change in tone and evaluation of the government is consolidating as more and more problematic fronts appear on the political agenda.”Zuban Córdoba conducted its study between March 12 and March 14, and the sample size of 1,600 participants had a confidence level of 95% and a sampling error of 2.45%.Another survey from the University of San Andrés conducted between March 11-20 with 1,020 respondents found that Milei’s approval rating dropped to 45%.However, not all polls paint the same picture of President Milei. Data collected from Morning Consult between Feb. 27 and March 5 indicates that Milei still possessed a 62.4% approval rating after the Libra scandal.Related: LIBRA memecoin orchestrators named as defendants in US class-action suitMilei has distanced himself from Libra since the scandal, arguing he didn’t “promote” the LIBRA token in a controversial Feb. 14 X post — as fraud lawsuits filed against him allege — and instead merely “spread the word” about it.The Libra (LIBRA) token soared to a $4.6 billion market cap shortly after Milei’s X post before tanking nearly 94% over the next few hours.Argentina’s opposition party called for Milei’s impeachment but has had limited success thus far.President Milei’s party still in lead as election loomsThe controversy comes as the next Argentine election is set to take place on Oct. 26.Despite the negative results, Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party is still most likely to take out the next Argentine election, with 36.7% in favor of the libertarian party, while Unión por la Patria comes in next at 32.5%.However, only 43% of Argentine respondents believe that Milei — an economist prior to taking office — has sufficiently controlled inflation, while 63% of those polled oppose Milei’s efforts to secure a new loan from the International Monetary Fund.Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’
Would GameStop buying Bitcoin help BTC price hit $200K?
Despite strong institutional demand, Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to reclaim the $100,000 level for the past 50 days, leading investors to question the reasons behind the bearishness despite a seemingly positive environment. This price weakness is particularly intriguing given the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve executive order issued by President Donald Trump on March 6, which allows BTC acquisitions as long as they follow “budget-neutral” strategies.Bitcoin fails to keep up with gold’s returns despite positive news flowOn March 26, GameStop Corporation (GME), the North American video game and consumer electronics retailer, announced plans to allocate a portion of its corporate reserves to Bitcoin. The company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2021, successfully capitalized on a historic short squeeze and managed to secure an impressive $4.77 billion in cash and equivalents by February 2025.Largest corporate Bitcoin holdings. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NETA growing number of US-based and international companies have followed Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) playbook, including the Japanese firm Metaplanet, which recently appointed Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, to its newly established strategic board of advisers. Similarly, the mining conglomerate MARA Holdings (MARA) adopted a Bitcoin treasury policy to “retain all BTC” and increase its exposure through debt offerings.There must be a strong reason for Bitcoin investors to sell their holdings, especially as gold is trading just 1.3% below its all-time high of $3,057. For example, while the US administration adopted a pro-crypto stance following Trump’s election, the infrastructure needed for Bitcoin to serve as collateral and integrate into traditional financial systems remains largely undeveloped.Bitcoin/USD (orange) vs. gold / S&P 500 index. Source: TradingView / CointelegraphThe US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is limited to cash settlement, preventing in-kind deposits and withdrawals. Fortunately, a potential rule change, currently under review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, could reduce capital gain distributions and enhance tax efficiency, according to Bitseeker Consulting chief architect Chris J. Terry.Regulation and Bitcoin integration into TradFi remains an issue Banks like JPMorgan primarily serve as intermediaries or custodians for cryptocurrency-related instruments such as derivatives and spot Bitcoin ETFs. The repeal of the SAB 121 accounting rule on Jan. 23—an SEC ruling that imposed strict capital requirements on digital assets—does not necessarily guarantee broader adoption.For example, some traditional investment firms, like Vanguard, still prohibit clients from trading or holding shares of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, while administrators like BNY Mellon have reportedly restricted mutual funds’ exposure to these products. In fact, a significant number of wealth managers and advisers remain unable to offer any cryptocurrency investments to their clients, even when listed on US exchanges.The Bitcoin derivatives market lacks regulatory clarity, with most exchanges opting to ban North American participants and choosing to register their companies in fiscal havens. Despite the growth of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) over the years, it still accounts for only 23% of Bitcoin’s $56.4 billion futures open interest, while competitors benefit from fewer capital restrictions, easier client onboarding, and less regulatory oversight on trading.Related: SEC plans 4 more crypto roundtables on trading, custody, tokenization, DeFiBitcoin futures open interest ranking, USD. Source: CoinGlassInstitutional investors remain hesitant to gain exposure to Bitcoin markets due to concerns about market manipulation and a lack of transparency among leading exchanges. The fact that Binance, KuCoin, OK and Kraken have paid significant fines to US authorities for potential anti-money laundering violations and unlicensed operations further fuels the negative sentiment toward the sector.Ultimately, the buying interest from a small number of companies is not enough to push Bitcoin’s price to $200,000, and additional integration with the banking sector remains uncertain, despite more favorable regulatory conditions. Until then, Bitcoin’s upside potential will continue to be limited as risk perception remains elevated, especially within the institutional investment community.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Interactive Brokers adds SOL, ADA, XRP, DOGE for trading
Interactive Brokers, a global brokerage that recorded $9.3 billion in revenue for 2024, is expanding its altcoin offerings to include four new tokens. According to a March 26 announcement, the platform has added Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE) for trading. The four coins have a combined market capitalization of $267.2 billion at this writing. The additions double Interactive’s crypto offerings to traders. Since 2021, it has enabled trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) pairs. Both trading and custody services will be provided through Paxos Trust Company or Zero Hash LLC. Zero Hash said in a press release that as of June 2024, it had processed $20 billion in transactions across 200 countries.Financial firms have been expanding crypto token offerings. On March 25, Nubank announced the addition of ADA, Near Protocol (NEAR), Cosmos (ATOM), and Algorand (ALGO) to its over 100 million clients in Latin America. US exchange Kraken has been steadily adding memecoins for a number of months, while Binance introduced a way for community members to vote on the listing and delisting of tokens.Amidst an increasingly competitive crypto market, Interactive Brokers is promising low transaction fees — 0.12% to 0.18% per transaction value with a minimum of $1.75 per trade. The brokerage still faces competition from exchanges that offer “pro” platforms with similar charges.Related: CZ admits Binance token listing process is flawed, needs reformCrypto markets see more regulation, more adoptionCompanies’ moves to expand crypto offerings comes amid a broader shift in how nation-states engage with the industry — moving toward collaboration rather than outright suppression. The European Union’s MiCA regulation has delivered in a clearer framework for crypto companies operating in that region, while the United States has been betting on the use of stablecoins to preserve the dollar global dominance.The US Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped cases against a number of crypto companies, and the US Congress is currently working on stablecoin and market structure legislations.Although crypto markets have recenlty experienced turbulence due to uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and fears of recession, institutional investors still appear optimistic crypto investments. Since debuting in January 2024, Bitcoin exchange traded-funds have attracted a cumulative net inflow of $36 billion, according to SoSoValue.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Polymarket faces scrutiny over $7M Ukraine mineral deal bet
Polymarket, the world’s largest decentralized prediction market, is under fire after a controversial outcome raised concerns over potential governance manipulation in a high-stakes political bet.A betting market on the platform asked whether US President Donald Trump would accept a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine before April. Despite no such event occurring, the market was settled as “Yes,” triggering a backlash from users and industry observers.This may point to a “governance attack” in which a whale from the UMA Protocol “used his voting power to manipulate the oracle, allowing the market to settle false results and successfully profit,” according to crypto threat researcher Vladimir S.“The tycoon cast 5 million tokens through three accounts, accounting for 25% of the total votes. Polymarket is committed to preventing this from happening again,” he wrote in a March 26 X post.Source: Vladimir S.Polymarket employs UMA Protocol’s blockchain oracles for external data to settle market outcomes and verify real-world events.Polymarket data shows the market amassed more than $7 million in trading volume before settling on March 25.Source: PolymarketStill, not everyone agrees that it was a coordinated attack. A pseudonymous Polymarket user, Tenadome, argued that the outcome was the result of negligence.“There is no ‘tycoon’ who ‘manipulated the oracle,’ Tenadome wrote in a March 26 X post, adding:“The voters that decided this outcome are the same UMA whales who vote in every dispute, who (1) are largely affiliated with/on the UMA team and (2) do not trade on Polymarket, and they just chose to ignore the clarification to get their rewards and avoid being slashed.”Related: Polymarket whale raises Trump odds, sparking manipulation concernsPolymarket won’t issue a refundDespite user frustration, Polymarket moderators said no refunds would be issued.“We are aware of the situation regarding the Ukraine Rare Earth Market. This market resolved against the expectations of our users and our clarification,” Polymarket moderator Tanner said, adding:“Unfortunately, because this wasn’t a market failure, we are not able to issue refunds.”Source: Vladimir S.Polymarket said it will build new monitoring systems to ensure this “unprecedented situation” does not occur again.Related: eToro trading platform publicly files for US IPOUS elections fuel 565% prediction markets risePrediction markets saw significant growth in the third quarter of 2024, driven by bets on the United States presidential election.Top three crypto prediction markets. Source: CoinGeckoThe betting volume on prediction markets rose over 565% in Q3 to reach $3.1 billion across the three largest markets, up from just $463.3 million in the second quarter.Polymarket, the most prominent such decentralized platform, dominated the market with over a 99% share as of September.Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge
Crypto influencer Ben ‘Bitboy’ Armstrong arrested in Florida
Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, also known as “BitBoy,” has been arrested in Florida after disclosing on social media just days ago that a warrant was out for his arrest.Florida’s Volusia County Division of Corrections listed Armstrong as a fugitive from justice who was taken in custody on March 25 at 7:18 pm local time.A screenshot of the Volusia Country Corrections website showing details of Ben Armstrong’s arrest. Source: Volusia County Division of CorrectionsDays prior, Armstrong said in a March 21 X post that he could “confirm that the warrants for my arrest” were due to sending emails to Cobb County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs while acting as his own attorney.He also claimed that Judge Childs had deleted her social media accounts due to the emails.Source: Ben ArmstrongArmstrong was previously arrested in September 2023 while livestreaming outside the house of a former business associate whom he alleged had possession of his Lamborghini.Information on Armstrong’s lawyers was not immediately available. Armstrong could not immediately be contacted for comment.Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why
SEC closes investigation into Immutable nearly 5 months after Wells notice
Web3 gaming platform Immutable says the US Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into the company, clearing it of any further action. Immutable — the firm behind the Ethereum layer-2 ImmutableX — said in a March 25 statement that the SEC shut its inquiry into the firm without finding wrongdoing and “closes the loop on the Wells notice issued by the SEC last year.”In November, Immutable said it received a Wells notice from the regulator — a letter informing that the SEC is considering an enforcement action, typically sent after it concludes there is evidence of possible securities law violations.“We are pleased the SEC has concluded its inquiry. This marks a significant milestone for the crypto industry and gaming as we advance towards a future with regulatory clarity,” Immutable president and co-founder Robbie Ferguson said in a statement.An Immutable spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the SEC sent it a letter of termination that didn’t explain why it had concluded its probe. The spokesperson said the letter was unprompted and that the SEC’s review of information Immutable had sent “appears to have resulted in them closing the investigation.”Immutable said in a November blog post that it believed the SEC was targeting the 2021 “listing and private sales” of its self-titled Immutable (IMX) token.Immutable’s X post after receiving a Wells notice in November 2024. Source: Immutable The company said it had a 10-minute call with the SEC after it had issued the notice where it alleged a 2021 Immutable blog post stating a pre-launch investment made in the IMX token at a price of $0.10, which was issued at a “$10 pre-100:1 split,” was inaccurate and implied there was no exchange of value between the parties.At the time, Immutable said it was “confident in its position” and would fight the regulator’s claims.The SEC has dropped many pending and in progress enforcement actions against crypto companies under President Donald Trump, whose administration has worked to defang the agency to make good on his promise to alleviate the crypto industry from regulatory action.Last month, the SEC stopped its investigations into non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea, trading platform Robinhood, decentralized exchange developer Uniswap Labs and crypto exchange Gemini.Related: Will new US SEC rules bring crypto companies onshore?The regulator has also dropped a slew of its high-profile lawsuits against crypto firms, including those against Ripple Labs, Coinbase and Kraken.Despite the SEC backing off from Immutable, the Manhattan-based Rosen Law Firm has cited the Wells notice in trying to spin up a securities class-action lawsuit against the firm over its IMX token offering, which Immutable’s spokesperson said it’s “not concerned about.”In its statement, Immutable said that major triple AAA gaming studios “have previously cited legal and compliance risks as key barriers to entry” into the Web3 gaming space.“However, with a clear regulatory framework on the horizon, this is expected to unlock further investment and opportunities to tokenize the now more than $100 billion market for in-game purchases,” it added.Web3 Gamer: Classic Sega, Atari and Nintendo games get crypto makeovers
Bitcoin holds gains amid rising BTC ETF net flows, Coinbase premium and Trump tariff rollback
Bitcoin (BTC) price opened the week with strength, rallying to a daily high at $88,804, which was met by praise from analysts who have identified the $90,000 to $92,000 zone as the key price level to hit in the short term. The market found strength on March 24 after US President Donald Trump suggested that his April 2 “tariff number” announcement could be softer than expected after cars and microchips were removed from the list. According to Ben Yorke, the vice president of ecosystem at WOO, “The White House’s decision to walk back the threat of broad tariffs and to deploy a more targeted approach suggests Trump is wary of an economic backlash.” Proof of the market’s positive response to the tariff news can be seen in the increase in Bitcoin futures open interest, where the general assumption is that traders used leverage to open new margin-long positions. BTC/USDT 1-hour chart. Source: MacroCRG / X The return of the Coinbase Premium — a measure of the percentage difference between BTC price at Coinbase Pro and Binance — and a 7th consecutive day of spot BTC ETF inflows are also signs that spot demand is returning to the market and could signal an improvement in sentiment as Bitcoin’s last few weeks of price action had been defined by selling and the use of perpetual futures to drive price action within the current range. Bitcoin Coinbase premium index. Source: CryptoQuant Data from SoSoValue shows US spot Bitcoin ETF net flows of $84.17 million. Total spot Bitcoin ETF net inflow. Source: SoSoValueIs a rally to $100K back on the cards?While the return of the Coinbase premium and positive net flows to the spot BTC ETFs is a sign of improving sentiment, the question of whether the current bullish momentum has enough energy to push Bitcoin back above $100,000 remains unanswered. Lingling Jiang, a partner at DWF Labs, said, “We’re witnessing the alignment of both structural and narrative factors driving this upward trend of the movement of Bitcoin.”Jiang told Cointelegraph, “At the micro level, we can see a pattern: the resurgence of ETF inflows, the expanding stablecoin market, and breakout patterns across alternative cryptocurrencies collectively signal confidence and perhaps even renewed institutional participation. While market liquidity is strengthening, we notice that volatility remains subdued, and onchain metrics reveal long-term investors accumulating rather than divesting.”Related: Bitcoin sets sights on ‘spoofy’ $90K resistance in new BTC price boost From a technical point of view, Bitcoin continues to trade below the range that had defined its price action from November 2024 until February 2025. While the price trades above the 20-day and 200-day moving average, it remains capped at the descending trendline resistance, which is also aligned with the 50-day moving average ($89,500 – $90,000). BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingViewAccording to independent market analyst Scott Melker, Bitcoin’s 4-hour relative strength index indicator has shown a “clear bullish trend, with a series of higher lows and higher highs.” In a March 24 X post, Melker said, “All of this preceded by [an] oversold RSI with bullish divergence at the bottom on daily and below. Which I was screaming about.” This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
ETH price to $1.2K? Ethereum's PoS 'deflation' ends with fees at all-time lows
Ether’s (ETH) price printed a bear flag on the daily chart, a technical chart formation associated with strong downward momentum. Could this bearish setup and decreasing transaction fees signal the start of the second leg of ETH’s drop toward $1,200?Ethereum’s network activity slumpsThe market drawdown, fueled by US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, saw Ether’s price drop by nearly 50% from a high of $3,432 on Jan. 31 to a 16-month low of $1,750 on March 11.While ETH has rebounded 18% since, it failed to produce a decisive break above $2,000 for a second time in less than 10 days.This weakness is reflected in onchain activity, with Ethereum’s daily transaction count dropping to levels last seen in October 2024, before Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.Ethereum daily transaction count. Source: CryptoQuantEthereum’s average transaction fees also plummeted, reaching an all-time low of 0.00025 ETH ($0.46) on March 24. Ethereum: Fee per transaction. Source: Source: CryptoQuantLow transaction count and fees suggest less demand for block space —whether for DeFi, NFTs or other DApps. It suggests lower network activity, often correlating with diminished interest or market confidence.Historically, Ether’s price has correlated with periods of high network activity. For example, during the 2021 DeFi boom, fees spiked to as high as 0.015 ETH due to high demand. Conversely, lower fees require less ETH, which puts downward pressure on price. ETH supply inflation returnsOther key factors weighing down Ether’s performance are its declining burn rate and rising supply. With transaction fees declining, the daily ETH burn rate has plunged to all-time lows, resulting in an inflationary trend. According to data from Ultrasound.money, the projected ETH burn rate has declined to 25,000 ETH/year, and its supply growth has risen to an annual rate of 0.76%, bringing the issuance rate to 945,000 ETH per year.ETH burn rate. Source: Ultrasound.moneyAs a result, Ethereum’s supply has steadily increased since April 2024, reversing the deflationary period ushered in by the switch to proof-of-stake (the Merge) in September 2022. Ethereum’s total supply has now surpassed pre-Merge levels, as shown in the chart below.Ethereum supply reclaims pre-Merge levels. Source: Ultrasound.moneyThe Merge eliminated Ethereum’s mining-based issuance, which previously had a high supply inflation rate. Ethereum also implemented the London hard fork in August 2021, which introduced a mechanism that burns a portion of transaction fees. Related: Ethereum down 57% from its all-time high, but it’s still worth more than ToyotaWhen network activity is low, the amount of ETH burned is lower than newly issued ETH, making the asset inflationary.Ether’s bear flag targets $1,230The ETH/USD pair is positioned to resume its prevailing bearish momentum despite the recovery from recent lows, as the chart shows a classic bearish pattern in the making.Ether’s price action over the past 30 days has led to the formation of a bear flag pattern on the daily chart, as shown in the figure below. A daily candlestick close below the flag’s lower boundary at $2,000 would signal the start of a massive breakdown.The target is set by the flagpole’s height, which comes to about $1,230, an approximately 40% drop from the current price.ETH/USD daily chart featuring bear flag pattern. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewDespite these risks, some traders remain optimistic about Ether’s upside potential, with analyst Jelle saying that the price is bouncing and trying to get back above the key support level at $2,200.If this happens, “we’ll have a monster deviation on our hands,” Jelle added.Fellow analyst Crypto Ceaser said that Ethereum is “heavily undervalued” and is bottoming out at current levels.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Tokenized real estate trading platform launches on Polygon
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform DigitShares is bringing tokenized real estate trading to Polygon with the launch of RealEstate.Exchange, also known as REX.According to a March 25 announcement, REX is designed to offer retail investors a compliant venue for fractional property investments in a secondary market, potentially addressing the industry’s existing liquidity constraints. As Cointelegraph explained, secondary RWA trading platforms provide liquid off-ramps for investors looking to cash out of their holdings. The REX platform will launch with two luxury property listings in Miami, Florida, including The Legacy Hotel & Residences, a 529-unit tower managed by real estate investment platform FraXion, and a 38-unit residential complex managed by Trade Estate. A street view of The Legacy Hotel & Residences in Miami, Florida. Source: Google MapsDigiShares CEO Claus Skaaning told Cointelegraph that REX intends to support “various property types, including residential, commercial and luxury real estate.” In addition to the two Miami properties, REX has “5-6 additional properties in the pipeline,” said Skaaning.Polygon’s proof-of-stake blockchain was selected due to its low transaction costs, fast settlement times and robust security, the company said. Polygon is the 13th-largest blockchain based on 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinGecko. REX is licensed in the United States through Texture Capital, a registered broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The platform is participating in an EU blockchain sandbox as it seeks registration under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) frameworks. According to the announcement, REX is also eyeing registrations in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. REX’s parent company, DigiShares, has facilitated between $100 million and $200 million in tokenized real estate assets since 2018.DigiShares is one of several companies vying for a piece of the tokenized real estate market. In February, Blocksquare introduced a real estate tokenization framework in the EU, which would allow property owners to tokenize economic rights tied to property.The United Arab Emirates has also emerged as a hotbed for tokenized real estate, with Mantra Finance securing a license to expand RWA services in Dubai.Related: Tokenization can transform real estate investing — Polygon CEORWA market gaining tractionThe RWA tokenization market, which extends beyond real estate to include traditional financial assets, art and intellectual property, has reached a cumulative $62 billion, according to data from Security Token Market (STM). The market capitalization of tokenized assets continues to grow. Source: STMSTM data currently tracks 595 real estate tokens, which represent the largest number of active tokens by asset class but are much smaller than debt and equity tokens in terms of monetary value. Although real estate tokenization remains in its early days, Mantra co-founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin told Cointelegraph that the industry could be worth trillions in the near future. “If you’re looking at the base ecosystem right now, it’s still a drop in the ocean compared to where we expect this to go in the mid-to long term. It’s in the tens of billions. We’re expecting this to go into potentially trillions of dollars of assets onchain,” he said.Magazine: Block by block: Blockchain technology is transforming the real estate market
DeFi lender Nostra pauses borrowing after price feed error
Nostra, a lending protocol on Starknet, has paused borrowing for two liquid staking tokens after identifying a “critical issue” with its price feeds, the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol said. On March 24, errors in Nostra’s price feed inflated the reported prices of xSTRK and sSTRK — two liquid staking derivatives of Starknet’s native STRK token — to approximately three times the tokens’ actual value, Nostra said in a post on the X platform.According to Nostra, “[s]uch an inflated price feed could have caused unnecessary liquidations of otherwise safe positions, resulting in users with healthy positions getting liquidated.” In response, the DeFi protocol has disabled any further borrowing against xSTRK and sSTRK collateral deposits, Nostra said. Nostra has also recommended that users with existing xSTRK and sSTRK deposits withdraw the collateral immediately. “Since we don’t have a secondary (fallback) oracle to support these assets, as none are available, we are unable to fully prevent similar events from occurring in the future,” Nostra added.“Our priority has always been and continues to be to keep existing user funds safe and with no fallback oracle, the risks outweigh the benefits,” it said. Nostra’s collateral token options. Source: NostraRelated: Starknet to settle on Bitcoin and Ethereum to unify the chainsStarknet DeFi protocolStarknet is a layer-2 scaling chain of Ethereum secured using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. It launched its mainnet in late 2021, according to Messari.It has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $575 million, according to data from L2Beat. Lending protocol Nostra is among the larger DeFi projects operating on the chain. It has a TVL of approximately $55 million, according to its website. On Nostra, users post collateral in one token to borrow in another token. The DeFi protocol’s most popular collateral tokens are Ether, STRK, and stablecoins USDC (USDC) and Tether (USDT). Starknet designed STRK to be staked in exchange for a portion of the network’s fee revenues, according to its documentation.xSTRK and sSTRK are liquid staking tokens issued by independent DeFi protocols Endur and Nimbura, respectively. Magazine: What are native rollups? Full guide to Ethereum’s latest innovation