KEYTAKEAWAYS
- The SEC under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda has reversed course on multiple enforcement actions, dropping cases against Cumberland DRW, Coinbase, ConsenSys, and Kraken.
- IMF's restrictive stance on El Salvador's Bitcoin strategy contrasts with growing crypto adoption by other nations like Belarus and US states.
- Proposed Solana protocol upgrades could reduce validator revenues by up to 95%, highlighting the tension between network sustainability and validator economics.
CONTENT
Welcome to the CoinRank Crypto News Roundup. CoinRank will provide daily important crypto news in this column series, allowing readers to quickly obtain the latest crucial updates from the cryptocurrency market.
MORNING NEWS
1. USDC Becomes First Approved Global Stablecoin in Japan
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced that USDC has become “the first and only global dollar stablecoin approved for use in Japan.” This milestone follows Japan’s 2023 regulatory changes allowing licensed intermediaries to handle foreign stablecoins under proper oversight.
2. SEC Drops Case Against Cumberland DRW
The SEC has agreed to drop its enforcement case against Cumberland DRW, the crypto trading arm of Chicago-based DRW. The case, filed last October, had accused the firm of acting as an unregistered securities dealer and selling over $2 billion in unregistered securities. This decision is part of a broader pattern of abandoned lawsuits under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, including cases against Coinbase, ConsenSys, and Kraken.
3. IMF Requires El Salvador to Stop Bitcoin Accumulation
The IMF has published a new Staff Country Report requiring El Salvador to cease all Bitcoin accumulation through both purchasing and mining. The fund also mandates that the country liquidate Fidebitcoin, the trust fund created to buy Bitcoin, and prohibits issuing any debt instruments indexed to or denominated in Bitcoin. El Salvador must comply fully by December 2025 and identify all Bitcoin holdings by the end of March.
4. U.S.-Canada Trade War Resolution Probability Rises
Polymarket data shows a 70% probability that the trade war between the U.S. and Canada will end by May, following Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s statement that President Trump is open to negotiation. This news helped stabilize crypto markets after recent volatility, with Bitcoin trading above $87,000 and the CoinDesk 20 index up 2%.
5. Belarus President Directs Officials to Explore Domestic Cryptocurrency Mining
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has instructed newly appointed officials to improve energy infrastructure and explore domestic cryptocurrency mining, citing the country’s excess electricity supply. Lukashenko suggested Belarus could either attract investors for mining operations or establish state-backed mining facilities, asking officials to streamline regulations and propose actionable plans.
NOON NEWS
1. Trump’s Address to Congress Focuses on “Common Sense Revolution”
In his nearly 90-minute speech to a joint session of Congress, President Trump emphasized his administration’s “common sense revolution.” The speech included news of a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicating readiness for peace negotiations, references to Trump’s assassination attempt, and statements on his intentions regarding Greenland and the Panama Canal.
2. Public U.S. Bitcoin Miners See 22% Market Cap Drop in February
According to JPMorgan, the total market capitalization of 14 publicly-listed U.S. Bitcoin miners dropped 22% in February as Bitcoin prices declined and mining economics deteriorated. Daily block reward revenue fell 5% to $54,300 per EH/s, and gross profit declined 9% to $29,500 per EH/s. The average network hashrate increased 3% to 810 EH/s, while mining difficulty rose 2%, now 28% higher than before the April 2024 halving.
3. Solana’s Proposed Protocol Upgrades Could Slash Validator Revenues
Solana validators will vote in March on two protocol upgrades that could reduce validator revenues by up to 95%, according to VanEck. The first proposal (SIMD 0123) would introduce a mechanism to distribute priority fees to stakers, while the second (SIMD 0228) would adjust SOL’s inflation rate to inversely track the percentage of token supply staked. VanEck’s Matthew Sigel supports the changes, stating they “strengthen Solana’s long-term sustainability.”
4. Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Pledges to Include Bitcoin in State Reserves
Republican Representative and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds pledged support for including Bitcoin in the state’s reserves during a Fox News appearance. Donalds stated: “For the state’s investment portfolio, I hope to be able to include Bitcoin as part of the state’s fiscal investment portfolio,” emphasizing Bitcoin’s proven value as a store of wealth that could help the state weather future economic challenges.
5. Solana Memecoin Platform Pump.fun Trading Volume Plunges 63%
Trading volume on Pump.fun, a Solana ecosystem token launchpad, dropped 63% from January to February 2025, according to Dune Analytics. Volume fell from $119 billion to $44 billion, while new token listings decreased from nearly 1,200 per day to below 300. Co-founder Alon Cohen attributed the decline to the broader crypto market downturn, noting that the platform’s “share of revenue across the entire onchain ecosystem has remained essentially the same.”
EVENING NEWS
1. Ethereum Foundation Completes Pectra System Contracts Audit
The Ethereum Foundation announced the successful completion of the Pectra system contracts audit, confirming that all identified issues have been resolved. The audit covered three of Pectra’s 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), including EIP-7251, which would increase the maximum staking limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. The Pectra mainnet deployment is currently scheduled for April 8, following tests on the Holesky and Sepolia testnets.
2. Upbit’s KAITO Listing Triggers Market Volatility Amid Team Selling
Upbit’s listing of $KAITO on March 5 triggered significant market movements, with the Kaito team allegedly selling 2 million tokens (worth $4.1 million) approximately two hours before the announcement. The token’s price initially surged from $2.05 to $2.30 within 30 minutes of listing before dropping to $1.98 an hour later. Technical indicators showed overbought conditions, with RSI reaching 75 and MACD displaying a bearish crossover shortly after the listing.
3. Russia Discusses Launch of Regulated Cryptocurrency Trading
Russia’s Finance Ministry and Central Bank are discussing the launch of organized digital currency trading under an experimental legal regime. Only “super-qualified” investors would be eligible to participate, with criteria currently under development. Finance Ministry official Alexei Yakovlev confirmed that while individuals can buy and hold cryptocurrency in Russia, its use for payments remains prohibited, and the proposed trading framework would focus on professional market participants with high qualification standards.
4. $56.6 Million in Liquidations Across Crypto Markets
Coinglass data shows that within a 4-hour period, the crypto market experienced $56.65 million in liquidations, with short orders accounting for $48.08 million and long orders for $8.58 million.
5. CZ Praises Vitalik Buterin’s Contributions to Crypto Industry
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) acknowledged Vitalik Buterin’s significant contributions to the cryptocurrency industry, including smart contracts, ERC20, NFTs, SBTs, and Layer 2 solutions. CZ noted that these innovations have enabled the industry to reach its current scale, while emphasizing that Buterin remains humble and continues to learn about blockchain technology.
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