Arizona’s strategic crypto reserve bills heads for full floor vote
Two strategic digital asset reserve bills in Arizona have cleared Arizona’s House Rules Committee on March 24 and are now headed to the House floor for a full vote.The bills together, if passed into law, would clear the way for Arizona to establish strategic digital assets reserves composed of existing assets confiscated through criminal proceedings in addition to newly invested public funds.The Republicans hold a 33-27 majority in Arizona’s House of Representatives, giving both bills a decent chance of passing. Source: Bitcoin LawsHowever, according to Bitcoin Laws, the final hurdle could be the state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs. Hobbs has a history of vetoing bills before the House, having blocked 22% of bills in 2024 — the highest rate of any state governor.Arizona’s two crypto bills explainedThe two bills recently approved by Arizona’s House Rules Committee are the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) and the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025). The Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) focuses on establishing a strategic digital assets reserve made up of digital assets seized through criminal proceedings to be managed by the state’s treasurer. The treasurer would be limited to investing no more than 10% of the fund’s total value each fiscal year. However, they would also be able to loan the fund’s assets in order to increase returns, provided that doing so doesn’t increase financial risks.The Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025) specifically deals with Bitcoin (BTC). The bill proposes allowing Arizona’s Treasury and state retirement system to invest up to 10% of its available funds into Bitcoin. Additionally, SB 1025 would also allow for the state’s Bitcoin reserve to be stored in a secure, segregated account inside a federal Bitcoin reserve, should one be established.Related: US states lead in strategic Bitcoin reserve creation — Will Trump deliver on his BTC promise?While Arizona is now considered to be leading the race to establish a state-based digital asset reserve, several other states are hot on its heels.On March 6, the Texas senate passed the state’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill (SB-21) by a vote of 25-5. The Texan bill still needs to pass the House and get the governor’s signature to pass into law. Following this vote, a new bill was introduced by Democrat Representative Ron Reynolds to cap the size of the previously uncapped reserve to $250 million.Utah also recently passed Bitcoin legislation, but all references to the establishment of a strategic reserve were removed at the last moment.Meanwhile, the Oklahoma House passed its Bitcoin Reserve Bill HB1203, 77-15 on March 25 — that bill will now head to the state’s senate.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Mt. Gox transfers $1B in Bitcoin in third major BTC move this month
Bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox has just shifted 11,501 Bitcoin in its third significant transaction in less than a month. Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence alerted the community of the transfer on March 25 on X, revealing the Japanese exchange had sent 893 Bitcoin (BTC) worth around $78 million at current prices to the Mt. Gox cold wallet (1Jbez) and another 10,608 Bitcoin, worth around $929 million, to another wallet, the Mt. Gox change wallet (1DcoA).Source: Arkham IntelligenceThe latest move comes after Mt. Gox shuffled a total of 12,000 Bitcoin worth over $1 billion on March 6 and another 11,833 Bitcoin on March 11.Blockchain analytics platform Spot On Chain said in a March 25 post to X that one of the previous transfers this month ended up in the crypto exchange Bitstamp.Spot On Chain speculates the 893 Bitcoin “sent to the warm wallet will be moved out shortly too.”Source: Spot On ChainArkham data shows the exchange still holds about 35,000 Bitcoin worth $3.1 billion across wallets it controls.Many speculate significant movements from Mt. Gox could mean creditor payouts are around the corner. Creditors have the option to receive their payouts in Bitcoin. A July 2024 Reddit poll following the exchange’s first payout found creditors were not rushing to sell their Bitcoin payouts.Mt. Gox fell into bankruptcy in early 2014 after suffering an 850,000 Bitcoin loss in one of the biggest crypto hacks ever recorded. Before the security breach, it was the largest Bitcoin exchange, handling around 70-80% of trades.After its bankruptcy in February 2014, a Tokyo court appointed a trustee to manage the bankruptcy proceedings and compensate creditors with the exchange’s assets.Related: Mt. Gox moves $2.2B of Bitcoin, adding to BTC selling pressureHowever, last October, the trustee in charge of the exchange’s Bitcoin stash extended the deadline, pushing it by a full year to Oct. 31, 2025, claiming many creditors “still have not received their repayments because they have not completed the necessary procedures for receiving repayments.”Last December, Mt. Gox also moved over 24,000 Bitcoin, worth nearly $2.5 billion, to an unknown address after the cryptocurrency hit a milestone of $100,000. Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’
Trump Media looks to partner with crypto.com to launch ETFs
Trump Media has signed a non-binding agreement with Crypto.com to launch a series of exchange-traded funds in the US.Trump Technology Group Corp (TMTG) — the operator of the social media platform Truth Social and fintech brand Truth.Fi — is also part of the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval, according to a March 24 statement from Trump Media. The parties plan to launch the ETFs later this year through Crypto.com’s broker-dealer, Foris Capital US LLC. The ETFs will consist of digital assets and securities with a “Made in America” focus.Crypto.com will provide the infrastructure and custody services to supply the cryptocurrencies for the ETFs, which may include a basket of tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP) and Cronos (CRO).The parties involved expect the ETFs to be widely available internationally, including in the US, Europe and Asia across existing brokerage platforms.”Once launched, these ETFs will be available on the Crypto.com App for our more than 140 million users around the world,” Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said.The ETFs are anticipated to launch alongside a slate of Truth.Fi Separately Managed Accounts (SMA), which TMTG also plans to invest in with its cash reserves.Source: Kris MarszalekRelated: Who’s running in Trump’s race to make US a ‘Bitcoin superpower?’The potential ETF launch would mark yet another crypto-related endeavor involving US President Donald Trump.However, Democratic lawmakers say that conflicts of interest have already arisen between Trump’s presidential duties and the Trump Organization’s ownership of the crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, in addition to the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin that launched three days before he was inaugurated.House Representative Gerald Connolly recently referred to the TRUMP token as a “money grab” that has allowed Trump-linked entities to cash in on over $100 million worth of trading fees. Democrat Maxine Waters also criticized Trump’s memecoin on Jan. 20, referring to it as a rug pull that represented the “worst of crypto.”Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
3 reasons why Solana (SOL) price rallied above $140
Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), gained 8.5% on March 24, reclaiming the $142 mark for the first time in two weeks. This rally mirrored the gains seen across the broader cryptocurrency market as traders began to expect reduced risks of an economic downturn. The growing risk appetite can also be seen among memecoins, several of which rallied by 12% or more since March 23.Outside of the broad market rally, SOL has its own merits, including a rise in network activity and the direct involvement of US President Donald Trump with the memecoin market. Additionally, growing interest from top traders on exchanges and the increasing likelihood of a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval suggest further potential for SOL’s price growth.SOL/USD (green) vs. crypto market cap (orange). Source: TradingView / CointelegraphDespite the recent rally, SOL has underperformed the broader crypto market by 23.7% over the past two months. This weakness is linked to a 93% decline in Solana network fees during that period. The decline likely began with traders’ disappointment in the memecoin sector but gradually affected the entire decentralized application (DApps) market.SOL still trades 52% below its all-time highTraders now question whether the selling was an overreaction, as SOL is currently trading 52% below its all-time high of $295. This comes despite Solana remaining the second-largest blockchain in terms of total value locked (TVL) and ranking third in onchain volumes. For comparison, BNB is trading 20% below its all-time high, and XRP is 28% below its peak.Blockchains ranked by total value locked (TVL), USD. Source: DefiLlamaWhile Tron and BNB Chain provide competition in terms of onchain volumes, deposits in Solana network’s smart contracts are valued at $6.8 billion. In third place, BNB Chain holds 21% less TVL, with $5.4 billion. Key highlights on Solana include the Jito liquid staking solution, Kamino lending and liquidity platform, and the Jupiter decentralized exchange.The fees on the Solana network are now higher than those on the Ethereum base layer, surpassing $1 million per day. More importantly, Solana’s revenue has recently reached its highest levels in two weeks. While still far from the levels seen two months ago, the increase in Solana network activity suggests that the bottom may have been reached as the numbers continue to improve steadily.Solana network daily fees, USD. Source: DefilLlamaAs a comparison, Ethereum accrued less than $350,000 in fees on March 23, leading to an increase in ETH supply as the built-in burn mechanism failed to offset weak blockchain activity. Solana, on the other hand, offers a 7.7% native staking reward rate, surpassing the equivalent 5.1% inflation rate, according to StakingRewards data.Solana ETF decision nears while Trump tweet boosts memecoin momentumDespite SOL’s price weakness, top traders on Binance have increased their leveraged long (bull) positions on SOL, according to CoinGlass data.Binance top traders’ long-to-short SOL ratio. Source: CoinGlassThe long-to-short ratio among top traders on Binance surged to 2.40 on March 23, its highest level in over two months. Part of the excitement can be attributed to the anticipation of the spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the US.The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to issue its final verdict before the end of the year, according to Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research. Although success is not guaranteed, the eventual spot Solana ETF approval would set SOL apart from its competitors, adding legitimacy to the asset, especially among institutional investors.Another source of momentum came from a weekend social post by President Trump, which explicitly mentioned the TRUMP memecoin and helped to create a buzz in the sector. In the Solana ecosystem, Fartcoin gained 15% on March 24, Dogwifhat (WIF) rallied 12%, and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) traded up by 12%.Ultimately, SOL has significant potential for higher gains, given the network’s TVL and fees, especially in comparison to competitors, along with bullish positioning from whales using leverage.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.
Trump’s crypto project launches stablecoin on BNB Chain, Ethereum
The Donald Trump-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial launched a US dollar-pegged stablecoin with a total supply of more than $3.5 million.According to data from Etherscan and BscScan, the project launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) token in early March. Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao noted the project’s smart contract was deployed on the BNB Chain and Ethereum, while World Liberty said the stablecoin was “not currently tradeable.”The USD1 stablecoin launch comes as US lawmakers consider passing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act. The bill moved out of the Senate Banking Committee on March 13 and is expected to be taken up for a full floor vote soon. Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, said he expected the GENIUS bill on Trump’s desk by June.Former Binance CEO acknowledging the USD1 launch. Source: Changpeng ZhaoSince the launch of the platform in September 2024, many aspects of World Liberty’s intentions have been shrouded in secrecy. The project’s website notes that the US President and some of his family members control 60% of the company’s equity interests. As of March 14, World Liberty has completed two public token sales, netting the company a combined $550 million. The launch of the stablecoin on the BNB Chain came amid reports that the Trump family held talks with Binance about acquiring a stake in the crypto exchange and separately granting a presidential pardon to Zhao. CZ has denied reports of a deal between Binance.US and Trump and a pardon.Conflicts of interest in Trump’s crypto ventures? Before the project’s first public token sale in October 2024, World Liberty faced scrutiny from US policymakers, accusing Trump of conflicts of interest while running for office. Days after Trump won the US presidential election, Tron Founder Justin Sun announced he would invest $30 million in World Liberty, likely leading to his position as an adviser to the firm. After Trump took office on Jan. 20 and Commissioner Mark Uyeda began leading the US Securities and Exchange Commission as acting chair, the regulator asked a federal court to pause its case against Sun “to explore a potential resolution.” Sun and three of his companies faced allegations from the SEC of selling unregistered securities. Other executives at crypto companies who backed Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections — some with financial contributions — including from Coinbase and Ripple, have since seen their SEC enforcement actions dropped under Uyeda. Related: Trump becomes first US sitting president to speak at a crypto conferenceWorld Liberty’s launch comes as the stablecoin market continues to grow. Online analytics platforms Artemis and Dune showed that the number of active stablecoin wallets increased by more than 50% from February 2024 to February 2025. The total market capitalization of stablecoins also surpassed $200 billion in January, with Tether (USDT) and USDC remaining two of the most popular ones on the market.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone signs MoU with Chainlink for tokenization frameworks
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a financial zone with over $635 billion in assets under management, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chainlink in a move to connect the world of traditional finance with blockchain data.The agreement will allow ADGM to use Chainlink’s suite of tools, such as data feeds and interoperability technology, ADGM said in a March 24 announcement. The partnership also aims to encourage further discussion around blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies in the region.ADGM, which opened in 2015, is in the United Arab Emirates’ financial free zone. It operates under its own civil and commercial legal system, based on English Common Law. Designed to bolster Abu Dhabi’s status as a financial hub, ADGM plays a central role in attracting global firms and expanding the city’s financial services sector.By the end of 2024, ADGM hosted 134 asset and fund managers overseeing 166 funds. The total number of financial institutions operating within its jurisdiction rose to 275, with 79 new firms, including prominent names such as BlackRock, PGIM, and Morgan Stanley.Related: What is Chainlink, and how does it work?UAE sees rising crypto adoptionMultiple metrics show that cryptocurrency adoption in the UAE is rising, aided by government openness to the emerging technology. The country saw a 41% increase in crypto app downloads in 2024 from 2023, and it ranked third out of 28 countries in the Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2024.Abu Dhabi in particular has been a hot spot for crypto firms. In December 2024, the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority officially recognized Tether’s USDT (USDT) stablecoin as an accepted virtual asset, paving the way for the cryptocurrency’s integration into the local financial ecosystem.On March 12, Binance announced that MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, had invested $2 billion into the exchange, one of the largest funding deals in the industry’s history.Dubai, another Emirate in the UAE, has also shown itself open to cryptocurrency businesses. In February, Dubai approved USDC (USDC) and EURC as the first two stablecoins under its regime.Magazine: X Hall of Flame: ChainLinkGod was in High School when he started the account!
BNB Chain launches $100M liquidity program
BNB Chain (BNB) has launched a $100 million program designed to bootstrap liquidity for its native projects on centralized exchanges (CEXs).The network is allocating $100 million in incentives, primarily in the form of its native BNB tokens, to projects that successfully list on any of 11 major CEXs specified by BNB Chain, according to a March 24 announcement.The program aims to “further enhance BNB Chain’s ecosystem liquidity and foster project growth by incentivizing exchanges to list native BNB Chain tokens,” the chain said in the statement. BNB Chain previously launched two smaller liquidity incentive programs, allocating two tranches of $4.4 million in February and March to incentivize CEX listings for memecoins and other ecosystem projects. Rewards vary based on the prominence of the exchange listing. Source: BNB ChainThe network’s latest liquidity incentive program will be executed on a first-come, first-served basis and will initially run for a three-month trial period, it said. Only projects with at least a $5 million market capitalization and $1 million in daily trading volume are eligible, among other criteria, BNB Chain said. The largest rewards — $500,000 in permanent liquidity — are reserved for projects that list on major CEXs such as Binance and Coinbase, it said.In some cases, rewards will be limited to non-withdrawable BNB token liquidity and in others, they will also include purchases of project tokens to create two-sided liquidity, according to BNB Chain.Chains by TVL. Source: DeFILlamaRelated: Binance CEO reiterates denial of Trump family deal talksLagging competitorsBNB Chain has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $5.4 billion, according to data from DefiLlama. It ranks fourth among blockchain networks in TVL, lagging behind leading smart contract platforms Ethereum and Solana, with TVLs of about $46 billion and $7 billion, respectively, according to DefiLlama. BNB Chain is affiliated with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that entities affiliated with US President Donald Trump were in talks to buy Binance.US, an independently-operated US crypto exchange.Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied many of the reports’ claims, including any suggestion that a deal was contingent on Trump pardoning Zhao following his conviction on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. In 2023, Binance agreed to pay a $4.3 billion penalty and for Zhao to plead guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act for shortcomings in Binance’s Anti-Money Laundering program.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
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