Headlines

▌Tether Co-Founder Developing Yield-Bearing Stablecoin

According to Bloomberg, Tether co-founder Reeve Collins is developing a yield-bearing stablecoin project, planning to compete with Tether and launch it on Ethereum and Solana blockchains later this year.

The project will mint stablecoins through smart contracts, with asset backing including yield-generating real-world assets like bonds. Unlike Tether's profit from investing reserves, the new project will distribute profits to participants promoting the stablecoin and introduce governance tokens, allowing token holders to participate in platform decisions and share platform revenues.

▌MicroStrategy Announces Plan to Issue $2 Billion Convertible Notes to Support Bitcoin Purchases

MicroStrategy (MSTR.O) announced plans to privately offer its 0% convertible senior notes due 2030 to qualified institutional buyers, with a total principal amount of $2 billion. MicroStrategy also expects to grant the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase up to an additional $300 million principal amount of the notes within five business days after the initial issuance date. MicroStrategy intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin and as working capital.

Market

As of the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC last traded at $95,591.97, with a daily change of -0.4%;

ETH last traded at $2,672.55, with a daily change of -2.8%;

BNB last traded at $648.23, with a daily change of -3.0%;

SOL last traded at $169.74, with a daily change of -4.6%;

DOGE last traded at $0.2518, with a daily change of -2.7%;

XRP last traded at $2.57, with a daily change of -3.5%.

Policy

▌SEC Seeks Public Feedback on Approving Grayscale and Bitwise Ethereum ETF Options

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comment on whether it should approve options trading on three spot Ethereum ETFs.

According to a regulatory filing released on Tuesday, the SEC is seeking feedback on whether to allow the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe Exchange, Inc.) to list and trade options on the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF, Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF, and Bitwise Ethereum ETF, with comments to be submitted within 21 days of publication in the Federal Register.

The agency has not yet approved options trading on spot Ethereum ETFs. The SEC approved several spot Ethereum ETFs in May 2024, and companies have since been vying for options trading permissions.

▌U.S. Judge Denies Order to Temporarily Restrict "Department of Government Efficiency" Access

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled to deny an order to prohibit the "Department of Government Efficiency" from accessing federal agency computer systems or directing the dismissal of government employees during the litigation, rejecting a request previously made by Democratic state attorneys general. More than a dozen state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on the 13th, questioning Elon Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" 's power to access sensitive government data.

▌SEC Confirms Receipt of Bitwise Spot XRP ETF Application

According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed receipt of Bitwise's spot XRP ETF application.

Blockchain Applications

▌Mastercard Crypto Lead: Company Moved from Experimental to Providing Real Crypto Solutions

Mastercard's Crypto and Blockchain Business Lead Raj Dhamodharan stated that the company has moved from the experimental stage to providing real crypto solutions. Mastercard recently partnered with compliance firm Notabene to integrate its Crypto Credential system into the SafeTransact platform, enabling users to transfer crypto assets using email addresses instead of complex wallet addresses.

Dhamodharan pointed out that Mastercard will focus on three areas by 2025: building on-and-off ramps for cryptocurrencies, expanding Crypto Credential functionalities, and the stablecoin business. The company currently supports financial institutions using stablecoins for transaction settlements and plans to announce more partnerships and use cases this year. Regarding the trend of asset tokenization, he said that this area will see greater development once regulations clearly allow deposits to be represented on public Blockchains.

▌Starknet: STRK Staking Phase 2 Planned for Q2, Phase 3 Planned for Q4

Starknet posted on the X platform that "the STRK staking Phase 2 will start in a few months (Q2 2025), with the main goal of having validators play an active role in staking and evaluating their activity before they take on the formal role of consensus, Phase 3 is planned for Q4 2025. To achieve this, Starknet proposes introducing validator block proofs and may include a commission increase feature."

Cryptocurrencies

▌FTX: Next Distribution Allocation Expected to Begin on May 30, 2025

FTX announced that it has begun the first distribution allocation to holders of Allowed Claims in the Convenience Classes of the FTX Chapter 11 Restructuring Plan. Customers are expected to receive the funds within 1-3 business days.

The expected record date for the next distribution is April 11, 2025, applicable to holders of Allowed FTX Class 5 Customer Entitlement Claims and Class 6 General Unsecured Claims, as defined in the Plan. For Convenience Claims that were allowed after the initial record date but have not yet received a distribution, the record date for the next distribution is also set for April 11, 2025. The next distribution is expected to begin on May 30, 2025.

▌Libra Co-Founder Claims to Have Sent Money to Argentine President Milei's Sister

Libra token co-founder Hayden Davis allegedly claimed in a text message last December that he bribed Argentine President Javier Milei's sister Karina Milei to influence the president's decision-making, stating "I sent money to his sister, and he signed what I wanted and did what I asked."

Karina Milei is a key figure in the Milei government, currently serving as Secretary-General of the Argentine Presidency and the sister of current Argentine President Javier Milei. Neither Karina Milei's office nor Hayden Davis have responded to requests for comment, and it is unclear if any actual payments were made.

▌Standard Chartered Analyst: $500K Bitcoin Prediction by Trump's Departure Still Valid

Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick previously stated that he expects Bitcoin to exceed $500,000 by the time Donald Trump leaves office.

In a report on Tuesday morning, he reiterated that the prediction is still valid, reviewing BTC's recent weak price performance and citing data support from recent 13F filings on institutional ownership of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Kendrick noted that the buyer base has evolved from retail to hedge funds and is now moving to banks and sovereign wealth funds, pointing out that institutions like Goldman Sachs have increased their ETF holdings, and Abu Dhabi has made its first purchase of a Bitcoin ETF.

The analyst stated: "Looking ahead, we expect more long-term bullish capital to flow into Bitcoin, and we believe Abu Dhabi's stance will mark the start of broader sovereign nation participation."

▌Trader Profits $109 Million Shorting TRUMP Token, Raising Insider Trading Concerns

Blockchain data platform Bubblemaps and renowned YouTuber Coffeezilla's joint investigation shows that a trader named Naseem made a profit of $109 million through 'sniping' in TRUMP token trading. On-chain data shows that Naseem purchased tokens worth $1.09 million within the first second of TRUMP's launch, paying a priority transaction fee of $84,000, and then distributed the funds to at least 9 wallets.

Bubblemaps pointed out that while it is impossible to fully prove insider trading, the high correlation of multiple on-chain addresses 'cannot be ignored'. Naseem denied receiving inside information, claiming that his team predicted the launch time by observing the interactions in the Meteora liquidity pool.

▌Semler Scientific Q4 Net Profit Surges Due to Revaluation of Bitcoin Holdings

Semler Scientific (SMLR) adopted a new 'fair value' accounting standard in Q4 2024, revaluing its Bitcoin assets and resulting in a $28.85 million increase in its holdings. This standard, introduced by FASB in March 2024, requires companies to report digital assets at market value starting from Q1 2025, with early adoption permitted.

This adjustment drove a significant increase in Q4 net profit to $29.2 million, with earnings per share (EPS) reaching $3.64, compared to $4.2 million ($0.62 per share) in the same period last year. Semler's stock price rose 2.1% on Tuesday.

▌Nearly 100 Million USDC Transferred to Coinbase Institutional from Unknown Wallet

According to on-chain data tracking service Whale Alert, around 7:11 am Beijing time, 99,995,000 USDC were transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase Institutional.

▌Tether Treasury Mints 1 Billion USDT on Tron Mainnet

On-chain data shows that about 20 minutes ago, Tether Treasury minted 1 billion USDT on the Tron mainnet.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that this is to replenish the $1 billion inventory on the Tron Network. Please note that this is an authorized but unissued transaction, meaning the amount will be used as inventory for the next issuance request and chain swap.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed Vice Chair: Fed Takes Neutral Stance on Crypto

FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that the outgoing Federal Reserve's Michael Barr spoke on bank decentralization and crypto regulation at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York today. Barr stated that the Fed is trying to take a "neutral" stance on these issues. The Fed's expectation is that they conduct business in a safe and sound manner and comply with consumer laws, anti-money laundering laws, and anti-terrorism financing laws. If they do that, we have no issues.

"The Fed has a novel regulatory plan to oversee institutions in this space to ensure we have the right expertise to properly execute in this domain. Some institutions are doing that, and some are doing it wrong and getting into trouble, either because of anti-money laundering, bank secrecy issues, or because they can't meet their customers' liquidity needs, and then they go bankrupt. So, at least for me, it's just direct middle-risk management and banking business. If you do it right, you can do it. If you do it wrong, then you shouldn't be doing it."

Barr also stated that he has never personally seen evidence of customers having their bank accounts canceled due to political views.

▌US Secretary of State Speaks with European Foreign Ministers, Parties Agree to Jointly Efforts to End Russia-Ukraine Conflict

On February 18, local time, the US State Department issued a statement saying that US Secretary of State Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister earlier in the day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and then spoke with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Rubio briefed the foreign ministers on the meeting, and the parties agreed to maintain close contact and jointly work to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

▌97.5% Probability of Fed Keeping Rates Unchanged in March

According to the CME "Fed Watch": The probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in March is 97.5%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 2.5%. By May, the probability of keeping the current rate unchanged is 86.1%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 13.6%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 0.3%.

▌Preview: Trump and Musk's Joint Interview to Air at 10 am Beijing Time on the 19th

On the one-month anniversary of Trump's inauguration as US President, his joint interview with "America's best friend" Musk will air on Fox News. This pre-recorded interview will be aired on the "Hannity" program on Tuesday evening (10 am Beijing time on the 19th), focusing on the first 100 days of the Trump administration and Musk's role in the government's efficiency department. This joint interview is taking place amid the ongoing large-scale layoffs being implemented by Trump and Musk in government departments. Additionally, in the pre-recorded footage, Musk says that before supporting Trump, he had been "idolized" by the left, and he compares the so-called "Trump Derangement Syndrome" of the left to rabies.

Jinse Encyclopedia

▌What is Fractal Bitcoin

Fractal Bitcoin is an innovative blockchain scaling solution that leverages recursive virtualization technology to create a multi-layered network structure, enhancing the scalability of Bitcoin while maintaining a secure connection to the mainnet. The concept of Fractal Bitcoin emerged in 2023, driven by the introduction of the Ordinals protocol and related applications. Due to security considerations, Bitcoin has implemented limitations on opcodes and block storage space in its iterations. As the Bitcoin ecosystem has grown rapidly, there have been limitations in on-chain computing power and block space, leading developers to propose the Fractal Bitcoin concept to address these shortcomings.

Disclaimer: Jinse Finance, as a blockchain information platform, publishes articles solely for informational purposes and does not provide any actual investment advice. Please everyone should establish the correct investment concept and be fully aware of the risks.