L2 gaming activity spikes in February, but wallets decline — Report
Gaming activity on some layer-2 blockchains rose by over 20,000% in February 2025 while the number of daily unique active wallets (dUAWs) dropped, according to a report by DappRadar. Abstract, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain developed by Igloo, the parent company of NFT collection Pudgy Penguins, led all chains with a growth of over 20,000% in daily active unique wallets (dAUWs). Soneium, Sony’s Ethereum L2 blockchain, came in second with a growth of over 3,200%, and Linea, another L2 blockchain, placed third with over 1,000% growth.Monthly growth of unique active wallets across blockchains. Source: DappRadarOn Abstract and Soneium, two games were the primary drivers of activity growth: Treasure Ship on Abstract, which currently has around 72,000 UAWs, and Evermoon on Soneium, with approximately 32,000 UAWs.However, despite the rise of gaming activity on L2s, dUAWs overall dropped by 16% compared to January, settling at around 5.8 million. The report notes that while blockchain gaming “has historically held strong market dominance, economic conditions have shifted investor focus back towards DeFi. With market uncertainty causing traders to exit positions, DeFi now leads as the most dominant sector.”The most dominant blockchains for gaming in terms of dUAWs are opBNB, a layer-2 blockchain built on top of the BNB Smart Chain; independent layer-1 blockchain Aptos built for decentralized applications; and Nebula, which is a Skale chain.According to the report, blockchain gaming investments soared to $55 million in February, marking a 243% increase from January, with 92% of the funds allocated to infrastructure development.Blockchain gaming activity sees year-over-year growth, but challenges persistAs Cointelegraph reported in February, blockchain gaming activity saw a significant year-over-year surge, with daily unique active wallets soaring by 386% to 7 million. The sharp rise led some industry observers to speculate about a potential blockchain gaming bull run in 2025 — though that prospect is now under debate.One of the games that had been drawing attention to the use of blockchains in games was “Off The Grid.” The title, which plans to use an Avalanche subnet, generated more than 100 million transactions in its first month.The sector, however, has faced challenges. Gunzilla Games Web3 director Theodore Agranat told Cointelegraph that there “is no new money coming into the system,” explaining that existing capital is just being recycled between gaming projects. “They will just go from project to project and extract whatever value they can from that project,” he said. “And once there’s no more value to be had there, they are going to move on to another project.”Magazine: Web3 Gamer: How AI could ruin gaming, The Voice, addictive Axies game
Senate Banking Committee advances GENIUS stablecoin bill
The United States Senate Banking Committee elected to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in an 18-6 vote.None of the amendments proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren made it into the bill, including her proposal to limit stablecoin issuance to banking institutions.“Without changes, this bill will supercharge the financing of terrorism. It will make sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea, and Russia easier,” Warren argued.Senator Warren argues for amendments to be included in the bill. Source: US Senate Banking Committee GOPSenator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, characterized the bill as a victory for innovation. The Senator said:”The GENIUS Act establishes Common Sense rules that require stablecoin issuers to maintain reserves backed one-to-one, comply with anti-money laundering laws, and ultimately protect American consumers while promoting the US dollar’s strength in the global economy.”The bill must still pass a vote in both chambers of Congress before it is turned over to President Trump and ultimately signed into law. However, the Senate Banking Committee advancing the bill represents the first step in clear, comprehensive legislation requested by the crypto industry.Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, leads the hearing. Source: US Senate Banking Committee GOPRelated: The GENIUS stablecoin bill is a CBDC trojan horse — DeFi execGENIUS Act gets overhaul to feature stricter provisionsSenator Bill Hagerty, who introduced the bill in February 2025, defended the legislation against the proposed amendments from Senator Warren, arguing that the bill already includes provisions for consumer protection, Anti-Money Laundering, and crime prevention.On March 10, Hagerty announced that the bill was updated to include stricter reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers, AML provisions, safeguards against terrorist financing, transparent risk management procedures, and stipulations for sanctions compliance.According to Dom Kwok, founder of the Web3 learning platform Easy A, the newly added provisions will make it harder for foreign stablecoin issuers to comply, giving US-based firms a competitive edge.Senator Bill Hagerty defends his bill from proposed amendments. Source: Senate Banking Committee GOPAttorney Jeremy Hogan said the GENIUS Act signals an impending merger of the traditional financial system with stablecoins.“The legislation is explicitly making plans for stablecoins to interact with the traditional digital banking system. The ‘merge’ is being planned,” the attorney wrote in a March 10 X post.During the March 7 White House Crypto Summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explicitly said that the Trump administration would leverage stablecoins to protect the US dollar’s global reserve status.Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins
DigiFT launches Invesco private credit token on Arbitrum
Digital asset exchange DigiFT has launched Invesco’s tokenized private credit strategy on Arbitrum, further expanding the use cases of real-world assets (RWA) and giving institutional investors access to onchain credit markets.According to a March 13 announcement, Invesco’s US Senior Loan Strategy (iSNR) token is now live on Arbitrum, a popular Ethereum layer-2 network.The tokenized asset was launched on Feb. 19 and is designed to track the performance of a private credit fund managed by Invesco, a publicly traded investment manager headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of launch, the Invesco fund had $6.3 billion in assets under management, according to Bloomberg. DigiFT described the iSNR token as the “first and only tokenized private credit strategy.”The iSNR tokenized fund has a minimum investment of $10,000. Source: DigiFTDigiFT CEO Henry Zhang said adding iSNR to Aribitrum increases its utility by “allowing DeFi applications, DAOs and institutional investors to integrate with a regulated, onchain private credit strategy.”Consistent with the initial launch of iSNR on Ethereum last month, investors on Arbitrum can purchase tokenized shares using popular stablecoins USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT).Related: Cantor Fitzgerald taps Anchorage Digital, Copper as Bitcoin custodiansDeFi tokenization on the riseDespite the recent crypto market downtrend, RWA tokenization appears to be heating up with the launch of several DeFi-oriented products. Positive regulatory developments, the rise of liquid multichain economies and innovations in decentralized exchanges are expected to push RWA tokenization into the crypto limelight this year. Earlier this week, tokenization company Securitize announced that oracle provider RedStone will deliver price feeds for its tokenized products, which include the BlackRock USD Institutional Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) and the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED). The integration means that Securitize’s funds “can now be utilized across DeFi protocols such as Morpho, Compound or Spark,” RedStone’s chief operating officer, Marcin Kazmierczak, told Cointelegraph. Meanwhile, asset manager Franklin Templeton has launched a tokenized money fund on the Coinbase layer-2 network Base and a US government money fund on Solana. Private credit ($12.2 billion) and US Treasury debt ($4.2 billion) have dominated real-world asset tokenization so far. Source: RWA.xyzAccording to industry data, the total value of RWAs onchain has grown by 17.5% over the past 30 days to reach $18.1 billion. Private credit and US Treasury debt account for nearly 91% of that total. Related: Trump-era policies may fuel tokenized real-world assets surge
AML Bitcoin creator convicted of wire fraud, money laundering
The founder of a cryptocurrency exchange whose namesake was tied to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in a California court.In a March 12 trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, a jury found AML Bitcoin creator Rowland Marcus Andrade guilty of two felony counts as part of a scheme to defraud investors. Authorities initially filed criminal charges against Andrade in June 2020 in parallel to a civil case filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the AML Bitcoin creator and the NAC Foundation, for which he was the founder and CEO.“Mr. Andrade’s outrageous lies lured and scammed individuals into investing their hard-earned money into a new cryptocurrency with fabricated features,” said Linda Nguyen, the IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge. “But there is nothing advanced about this scheme. Rowland Marcus Andrade stole money from innocent people and used it to further his personal wealth.”Rowland Marcus Andrade jury verdict on March 12. Source: PACERThe SEC’s civil case against Andrade was notable for the involvement of political lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who served four years in prison between 2006 and 2010 following his conviction on mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials and tax evasion. A judge agreed to stay the SEC lawsuit in January 2021 until the conclusion of Andrade’s criminal case, suggesting that it may once again proceed soon.The June 2020 indictment alleged the NAC Foundation claimed a cryptocurrency that AML Bitcoin would launch — it never did — would comply with money laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Andrade used those claims for an initial coin offering between 2017 and 2018. According to the information presented at his trial, the AML Bitcoin creator diverted more than $2 million in proceeds from the sale of the platform, spending it on real estate and luxury automobiles.Related: IRS wants court to toss crypto exec’s appeal over bank record summons“Andrade falsely claimed, among other misrepresentations, that the Panama Canal Authority was close to permitting AML Bitcoin to be used for ships passing through the Panama Canal when no such agreement existed,” said the Justice Department.The AML Bitcoin creator is scheduled to return to court for a sentencing hearing on July 22, having remained free on a $75,000 bond since 2020 with some travel restrictions. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and 10 years for the money laundering count.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Hyperliquid ups margin requirements after $4 million liquidation loss
Hyperliquid, a blockchain network specializing in trading, has increased margin requirements for traders after its liquidity pool lost millions of dollars during a massive Ether (ETH) liquidation, the network said. On March 12, a trader intentionally liquidated a roughly $200 million Ether long position, causing Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool, HLP, to lose $4 million, unwinding the trade. Starting March 15, Hyperliquid will begin requiring traders to maintain a collateral margin of at least 20% on certain open positions to “reduce the systemic impact of large positions with hypothetical market impact upon closing,” Hyperliquid said in a March 13 X post. The incident highlights the growing pains confronting Hyperliquid, which has emerged as Web3’s most popular platform for leveraged perpetual trading. Hyperliquid has adjusted margin requirements for traders. Source: HyperliquidHyperliquid said the $4 million loss was not from an exploit but rather a predictable consequence of the mechanics of its trading platform under extreme conditions. “[Y]esterday’s event highlighted an opportunity to strengthen the margining framework to address extreme conditions more robustly,” Hyperliquid said. These changes only apply in certain circumstances, such as when traders are withdrawing collateral from open positions, Hyperliquid said. Traders can still take on new positions with up to 40 times leverage.Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are leveraged futures contracts with no expiry date. Traders deposit margin collateral — typically USDC (USDC) for Hyperliquid — to secure open positions. By withdrawing most of his collateral and liquidating his own position, the trader effectively cashed out of his trade without incurring slippage — or losses from selling a large position all at once. Instead, those losses were borne by Hyperliquid’s HLP liquidity pool. Hyperliquid’s HLP has more than $350 million in TVL. Source: DeFiLlamaRelated: Crypto market liquidations likely reached $10B — Bybit CEOLeading perps exchangeAs of March 13, HLP has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $340 million sourced from user deposits, according to DefiLlama. Launched in 2024, Hyperliquid’s flagship perps exchange has captured 70% of the market share, surpassing rivals such as GMX and dYdX, according to a January report by asset manager VanEck. Hyperliquid touts a trading experience comparable to a centralized exchange, featuring fast settlement times and low fees, but is less decentralized than other exchanges.As of March 12, Hyperliquid has clocked approximately $180 million per day in transaction volume, according to DefiLlama. Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Banks push to block stablecoin legislation over market share fears
Bankers and their allies in the US Senate are pushing back against the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act over fears that stablecoins will disintermediate banks and erode banking market share.According to an article from American Banker, the bill requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate, meaning that at least seven Democrats will have to vote with Republicans to push through the Act.This could prove a difficult proposition, as US Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of crypto’s staunchest political critics, is proposing an amendment prohibiting tech firms from issuing stablecoins. Warren wrote:“If these firms want to engage in payments, they must partner with, or facilitate transactions among, regulated financial institutions. But this stablecoin bill breaks that status quo by green-lighting big tech companies and other commercial conglomerates to issue their own stablecoins.”Digital assets continue to be a disruptive force in finance and banking due to near-instant settlement times and cheaper transaction fees, which significantly reduce the burden of cross-border payments and introduce peer-to-peer transactions.Page one of the GENIUS Act of 2025. Source: US SenateRelated: The GENIUS stablecoin bill is a CBDC trojan horse — DeFi execStablecoins: The way forward for USD in the 21st century?The GENIUS stablecoin bill was introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty on Feb. 4 as a comprehensive regulatory framework for tokenized US dollars.Shortly after the bill was introduced to the US Senate, Federal Reserve Bank Governor Christopher Waller said non-banks should be allowed to issue stablecoins.Waller argued that stablecoins could expand payment use cases, particularly in the developing world, due to their cost-savings and efficiency.Stablecoin fees vs. legacy payment processing solutions. Source: Simon TaylorBank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told an audience at the Economic Club of Washington DC that the bank may enter the stablecoin business — likely launching its own dollar-pegged stable token.During the first White House Crypto Summit on March 7, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US will use stablecoins to extend US dollar dominance.Overcollateralized stablecoin issuers are collectively the 18th largest buyers of US government debt in the world — putting these firms ahead of countries like Germany and South Korea.By adopting pro-stablecoin policies and promoting stablecoin usage worldwide, the US government can use stablecoins as a sponge to soak up inflation and protect the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency.Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom
Crypto regulation shifts as Bitcoin eyes $105K amid liquidity boost
Bitcoin (BTC) price has risen 8% from its March 11 low of $76,703, driven in part by large investors aggressively buying the dip with leverage. Margin longs on Bitfinex surged to their highest level since November 2024, adding 13,787 BTC over 17 days. Currently standing at $5.7 billion, this bullish leveraged positioning signals confidence in Bitcoin’s upside potential despite recent price weakness.Bitcoin/USD (orange, left) vs. Bitfinex BTC margin longs (right). Source: TradingView / CointelegraphSome analysts argue that Bitcoin’s price is closely linked to the global monetary base, meaning it tends to rise as central banks inject liquidity. With recession risks mounting, the likelihood of expansionary monetary policies increasing the money supply grows. If this correlation holds, Bitfinex whales could be well-positioned to capitalize on a rally above $105,000 in the next two months.Source: pakpakchickenFor instance, X user Pakpakchicken claims to have identified an 82% correlation between the global money supply (M2) and Bitcoin’s price. When central banks drain liquidity by raising interest rates or reducing bond holdings, traders become more risk-averse, leading to weaker demand for Bitcoin. Conversely, periods of monetary easing tend to fuel greater investor interest in the asset, increasing its price potential.Bitfinex whales go long BTC as M2 bottomsIn early September 2024, Bitfinex margin traders added 7,840 BTC in long positions, coinciding with a period of bearish momentum as Bitcoin struggled to reclaim the $50,000 level for over three months. Despite the downturn, Bitfinex whales held their positions, and Bitcoin’s price surged past $75,000 less than two months later. Notably, the global M2 money supply bottomed out around the same time these traders increased their Bitcoin exposure, further reinforcing the correlation.It may be impossible to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between money supply and investors’ willingness to accumulate Bitcoin, especially given the influence of major events during these periods. For example, Donald Trump’s election as US president in November 2024 significantly fueled Bitcoin’s rally due to the new administration’s pro-crypto stance, regardless of global M2 trends and liquidity conditions.Spot Bitcoin ETF net flows, USD. Source: CoinGlassSimilarly, Michael Saylor’s latest plan to raise up to $21 billion in fresh capital for Strategy to acquire more Bitcoin could shift market dynamics, even accounting for the $4.1 billion in net outflows from Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) since Feb. 24. Strategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with 499,096 BTC acquired at a total cost of $33.1 billion, reinforcing its long-term bullish strategy.Clearer crypto regulation, Strategy capital increaseIn essence, the expansion of the global money supply may have influenced the increase in Bitfinex margin longs, but Bitcoin’s push toward $105,000 could be primarily driven by industry-specific news and events. A Wall Street Journal report on March 13 revealed that representatives of Donald Trump have held discussions about potentially acquiring a stake in Binance.Related: US Bitcoin ETFs break outflow streak with $13.3M inflowSo far, the market impact of a more crypto-friendly US government has yet to yield concrete benefits. For example, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has not yet clarified whether banks can custody digital assets and manage stablecoins without prior approval. Similarly, Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda announced plans to remove crypto-specific provisions from a proposed rule that would expand exchange definitions.The US Securities and Exchange Commission is currently reviewing requests from spot Bitcoin ETF issuers to permit in-kind creations and redemptions, allowing shares to be exchanged directly for Bitcoin instead of using the traditional cash-based method.Meanwhile, global macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated, putting pressure on Bitcoin’s price. However, these same factors gradually push governments toward economic stimulus measures and expand the M2 money supply.If this trend continues, it should ultimately create conditions for Bitcoin’s price to meet Pakpakchicken’s $105,000 prediction by May 2025 and possibly go even higher.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.
Robinhood lists PENGU, POPCAT amid crypto ramp-up
Robinhood has listed memecoins Pengu (PENGU), Pnut (PNUT) and Popcat (POPCAT) as the online brokerage doubles down on cryptocurrency trading, it said on March 13. The listings mark Robinhood’s latest effort to expand its crypto offerings and compete with incumbent exchange Coinbase. Memecoin trading has become a key battleground as rival exchanges — including Coinbase and Binance.US — accelerate new coin listings after US President Donald Trump’s November election win.Robinhood listed new memecoins. Source: RobinhoodRelated: Robinhood tips Singapore launch, touts memecoin interest: ReportStrong demandIn February, Robinhood Crypto said its customers had shown strong demand for more memecoin trading options. In addition to its newly launched coins, Robinhood lists Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest memecoin by market capitalization. It also launched crypto futures trading in January. “We don’t want to make decisions for the customer but if customers are asking for something and we feel like we have a way to offer it safely, we will do it,” Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood Crypto’s vice president and general manager, reportedly told Bloomberg. Robinhood, best known as a stock trading platform, has been investing heavily in crypto products since last year. In February, the online brokerage reported a 700% year-over-year jump in crypto revenues. Trump’s election win and rising market prices fueled across-the-board increases in crypto trading in the fourth quarter of 2024. Robinhood’s change in trading volumes for equities, options contracts and crypto. Source: RobinhoodRegulatory reversalTrump — who has promised to make America the “world’s crypto capital” — has appointed industry-friendly leadership to key regulatory positions. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said most memecoins do not qualify as securities and thus do not fall under the regulators’ jurisdiction. This was a stark reversal from its stance under Joe Biden’s administration when former SEC Chair Gary Gensler said he thought most cryptocurrencies constituted securities. The same month, the agency dropped an enforcement action against Robinhood for alleged securities law violations tied to its crypto trading platform. X Hall of Flame: Memecoins will die and DeFi will rise again — Sasha Ivanov