North Carolina Bitcoin Reserve Bill Would Authorize 10% of Public Funds to Purchase Bitcoin
According to Bitcoin Laws, North Carolina's Bitcoin Reserve Act SB327 authorizes the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of public funds to Bitcoin. The details are as follows: the custody method is multi-signature cold storage; the reserve proof is audited monthly; the holding policy is that sales are only allowed under "serious financial crises" and strict conditions. North Carolina currently has $9.5 billion in its general fund.
Nvidia launches GR00T N1, a universal base model for robots
According to IT Home, at the NVIDIA GTC 2025 conference this morning, NVIDIA CEO Huang Renxun announced the launch of GR00T N1, the world's first open source humanoid robot functional model. NVIDIA also launched Simulation Frameworks to accelerate robot development. Huang Renxun also said that the robot market has great untapped potential. According to Huang Renxun, NVIDIA, DeepMind and Disney are working together to develop a robot platform called Newton.
SlowMist Technology Chief Information Security Officer 23pds posted on the X platform that hackers are exploiting the server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability (CVE-2024-27564) in ChatGPT to attack financial and government organizations in the United States.
According to Decrypt, Carl Rinsch, the director of the 2013 film "47 Ronin" starring Keanu Reeves, was arrested in West Hollywood on Tuesday and charged with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly embezzling $11 million from a "well-known streaming platform", which multiple reports said was Netflix. Prosecutors said Rinsch requested additional funds from a streaming service in 2020 to complete his sci-fi series "White Horse", but transferred the money to his personal account and began trading securities; before requesting additional funds, his production company had received $44 million in payments; by late April 2020, he had lost more than half of his funds through high-risk investments, including "highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading" and an ETF tracking the S&P 500 index. The indictment alleges that Rinsch also used the funds to "speculate in cryptocurrencies - which ultimately proved to be profitable." According to the indictment, Rinsch allegedly used the proceeds to spend $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, $3.7 million on furniture and antiques, $652,000 on watches and clothing, $638,000 on two mattresses, and $295,000 on luxury bedding and linens. Rinsch never delivered a finished series to Netflix and, despite completing "six short episodes," never returned the money. If convicted of the wire fraud charge, Lynch could face up to 20 years in prison. The money laundering charge carries an additional sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while the five counts of engaging in monetary transactions with property obtained by crime carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison each. If convicted of all charges, his total sentence could reach 90 years.
MyShell Launches Shell Launchpad, AI Agent Launch and Tokenization Platform
MyShell, the AI consumer layer, recently announced on the X platform that Shell Launchpad is now online, a tool for launching and tokenizing AI agents. Shell Launchpad provides 3 modes for creating AI agents: ① Classic mode, suitable for beginners to build basic AI agents; ② Professional configuration mode, a low-code option for advanced developers; ③ ShellAgent mode, a professional framework for building multi-agent applications without coding.
Dubai Financial Services Authority launches tokenization regulatory sandbox
According to Cryptoslate, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced that it is inviting companies to apply to join its tokenized regulatory sandbox, with a deadline of April 24, 2025. The DFSA is an independent agency responsible for regulating the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). In an announcement on March 17, the DFSA stated that the sandbox program is designed to attract companies that want to provide tokenized investment products and services. The sandbox provides a controlled environment for companies to test tokenized financial solutions under the supervision of regulators. The DFSA made it clear that eligible services include tokenized stocks, bonds, Islamic bonds, and collective investment fund units. Both existing companies that have been authorized by the DFSA and want to expand their tokenization business, and eligible new applicants, can submit applications. After submitting an application, the company will enter the evaluation process. Successfully selected companies will receive structured testing opportunities within the sandbox and receive tailored regulatory guidance. The DFSA emphasized that only companies with strong business models and solid compliance capabilities will be selected. The sandbox program is part of the DFSA's broader innovative testing license project, which aims to help companies improve their financial products and prepare for full authorization.
According to Cryptonews, Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, criticized the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday for ignoring the Fifth Circuit Court's ruling to remove Tornado Cash from the sanctions list, pointing out that the government mistakenly applied sanctions laws to immutable smart contracts. Grewal's remarks on X were a response to the U.S. government's handling of the Fifth Circuit Court's recent ruling, which determined that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts did not qualify as property under U.S. sanctions laws. The court determined that this classification meant that Tornado Cash must be removed from the Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN). Despite the court's ruling, Treasury officials said in court documents that they would proceed to remove Tornado Cash from the list, but requested more time, saying that the ruling only applied to immutable smart contracts and did not affect the broader designation of Tornado Cash as an entity under sanctions. The Treasury Department also cited national security as a reason for concern that mixers were used to launder money, especially funds from North Korea's Lazarus Group. Grewal countered that the Treasury Department's response was insufficient, suggesting that it had not learned from the court's ruling. He said Coinbase would submit a reply to support the court's ruling and challenge the Treasury Department's approach. Earlier in January, it was reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the Tornado Cash sanctions decision and sent the case back for retrial.
Suspected Justin Sun address pledged 60,000 ETH to Lido yesterday, worth over $100 million
According to Arkham monitoring, the suspected Justin Sun address pledged 60,000 ETH to Lido yesterday, worth over $100 million.
According to Cryptoslate, according to a new survey conducted by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon, institutional investors are increasingly bullish on cryptocurrencies, with 83% of institutions planning to expand their allocations this year. The study, which surveyed 352 institutional decision makers in January, found that investors' confidence in digital assets continues to grow as regulatory clarity improves and a wider range of application scenarios emerge. Most (59%) respondents plan to allocate more than 5% of their assets under management (AUM) to cryptocurrencies in 2025, indicating that cryptocurrencies are transforming from a niche investment to a key component of the portfolio. In addition, stablecoins continue to gain institutional favor, with 84% of investors surveyed currently using or considering using them for a variety of purposes other than trading. Income generation (73%), foreign exchange (69%) and internal cash management (68%) were listed as the main drivers of adoption. Although DeFi is still in the early stages of institutional participation, it is expected to achieve significant growth. Currently, only 24% of investors participate in DeFi, but this figure is expected to triple to 75% by 2027. While Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to dominate institutional portfolios, 73% of respondents reported holding at least one Altcoin. Additionally, 68% of investors expressed interest in exchange-traded products (ETPs) that offer exposure to a single asset. Despite optimism, regulatory uncertainty remains a significant challenge. More than half (52%) of investors surveyed ranked regulation as their top concern, followed by volatility (47%) and custodial security (33%). However, 68% believe that clearer regulation will drive the next wave of institutional crypto adoption. The report highlights the continued shift of institutional investors toward digital assets, with increased allocations, diversified application scenarios, and expanded product participation.
The Ethereum Foundation stated in an official blog that during the activation of the Pectra testnet, problems with the configuration changes of the deposit contract on the Ethereum testnet were exposed in the client. While the recovery process of the Sepolia network was relatively straightforward and has now been fully restored, the Holesky network has seen a large number of inactive leaks in the recovery mechanism. The Holesky network has since completed final confirmation, but it will take about a year for the exiting validators to be completely removed from the validator set. While stakers can test deposits, mergers, and all other Pectra functions, the size of the exit queue makes Holesky unusable for testing the full validator lifecycle within a reasonable timeframe. To address this issue, a new testnet has been launched: Hoodi. It will activate the Pectra network upgrade at epoch 2048 (15:37:12, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, Beijing time). In the future, staking operators and infrastructure providers should use Hoodi for validator testing. To allow time for migration, the Holesky testnet will be supported until September 2025. In addition to validator exits, all other Pectra functions can be tested on Holesky. Summary of testnets and their uses: Holesky: Validator and staking provider (expected end date September 30, 2025). Client developers will also use Holesky to test gas limit increases and other protocol stress tests. Sepolia: Application and tool developers (expected end date September 30, 2026). Hoodi: Validator and staking provider (expected end date September 30, 2028). Planned Sepolia replacement: expected to launch in March 2026.
Bo Hines says US stablecoin bill could reach Trump within two months
According to Cryptoslate, Bo Hines, executive director of the U.S. Presidential Digital Asset Task Force, said that the U.S. stablecoin regulation bill may be submitted to President Donald Trump within two months. In a speech at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit, Hines said that the market does not fully understand how stablecoin legislation can benefit the U.S. economy and the dominance of the U.S. dollar. In addition, he believes that regulating stablecoins may change the historical course of financial markets. The Senate Banking Committee passed the stablecoin regulation bill "GENIUS Act" with 18 votes in favor and 6 votes against on March 13. The bill has bipartisan support and now paves the way for a full Senate vote. The bill proposes guidelines for the issuance and regulation of stablecoins in the United States, such as these tokens must be backed by U.S. dollars, insured bank deposits, or short-term Treasury bills at a ratio of 1:1. Hines emphasized the bipartisan efforts to approve the bill, saying that there are not many issues in Washington, DC that can unite the two parties to fully promote the United States forward like the current crypto industry.
Coinbase launches “Verified Pools” in select regions to provide more transparent on-chain liquidity
According to The Block, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced on Tuesday the launch of "Verified Pools", a set of liquidity pools open only to users who have passed its verification. According to the company's announcement, qualified individuals and institutions in the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Channel Islands can use Coinbase's Verified Pools for safer and more transparent digital asset transactions without intermediaries. Users can connect to these liquidity pools through the institutional-grade Prime Onchain Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, or other wallets with Coinbase verification credentials. Verified Pools is built on the Layer 2 network Base incubated by Coinbase, supported by the developer platform Uniswap v4, and optimized by the risk management company Gauntlet.
Raydium is developing LaunchLab, a Meme coin issuance platform, to compete with Pump.fun
According to The Block, Solana Ecosystem decentralized exchange Raydium plans to launch a Meme coin issuance platform "LaunchLab" to compete with Pump.fun. Raydium's "LaunchLab" is essentially a fork of Pump.fun, but with some selective differences. It will use a similar logarithmic bonding curve, but also allow third-party user interfaces to set fees and directly access Raydium's liquidity pool. The project has reportedly been in development for several months.
AI-driven Metaverse Technology Platform Peer Completes $10.5 Million in New Round of Financing
According to NFT Plazas, Peer Global Inc. has completed a new round of financing of US$10.5 million, bringing its total investment to US$65.5 million. The financing was led by Tommy Mai's family office and will be used to expand Peer's development team, enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities, and improve its metaverse platform. According to reports, Peer is a technology platform that integrates artificial intelligence to create interactive digital environments. The company has launched a 3D personal planet that allows users to create and customize digital spaces for social interaction. Peer's metaverse engine provides developers with tools to build AI-generated digital environments. Peer's monetization strategy includes the sale of virtual property, which means that users can purchase and personalize digital spaces.
Cathie Wood: Plans to tokenize the company's funds if US regulations allow
According to CoinDesk, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood hopes to put some of the company's funds on the chain if the U.S. regulatory environment allows. "We think tokenization will be very important, and we hope to be able to tokenize our Venture Fund (ARKVX) or our Digital Asset Revolution Fund," Wood said at the New York Digital Asset Summit on Tuesday. "I think regulation is gradually opening up, which will enable us to do this. So we want to seize this opportunity." Ark Invest's main holding company Coinbase is also exploring the issuance of security tokens, but lacks specific plans because it is in discussion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the market size is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2030, regulatory uncertainty still hinders the tokenization process in the United States.
Cathie Wood: Most Meme Coins Will Eventually Become "Worthless", Buyers Need to Be Cautious
According to Bloomberg, Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management LLC, said in an interview: Most of the so-called meme coins in the cryptocurrency field may eventually be "worthless." She pointed out that the combination of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence is giving rise to "millions" of meme coins, "which will not be worth too much," and added that her private fund has not invested in these tokens. "If I have one word to say to people who buy meme coins, it is: buyer beware. There is nothing better than losing money to teach people a lesson, and they will understand that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators will not be responsible for these meme coins." She also said that meme coins will become "digital collectibles," adding that some of them may "stand the test of time," and Trump-related meme coins may be one of them. Wood reiterated her optimism about larger and more mature crypto assets. She said that the use cases of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana are "rapidly increasing" and will play an important role in the future.
EOS transforms into a "web3 bank" and changes its name to Vaulta, plans to launch a new token
According to The Block, the public chain EOS will be renamed Vaulta and transformed into a "web3 bank". If the proposal is approved, EOS tokens will be exchanged for new vaulta tokens starting in May. Vaulta will be built around the blockchain's existing EOSIO software and integrated with exSat, a so-called "docking layer" that brings smart contracts to Bitcoin. The cross-chain system will have 1-second transaction finality and support C++ and EVM-compatible smart contracts. Vaulta's "web3 banking operating system" will provide a set of institutional-grade financial services through partner projects including Ceffu, Spirit Blockchain, and Blockchain Insurance. The Vaulta Bank Advisory Board is composed of experts in the financial and blockchain industries, and members will come from Systemic Trust, Tetra, and ATB Financial.
Filecoin Ecosystem DeFi Protocol Glif Launches GLF Governance Token and Airdrops 94 Million Tokens
According to The Block, Filecoin's largest DeFi protocol GLIF released GLF governance tokens and airdropped 94 million tokens, accounting for 9.4% of the total supply. GLF will expand to new features such as loyalty rewards in the future. GLIF is expanding to the decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), beyond the Filecoin ecosystem. At present, GLIF has locked more than $102 million on Filecoin and will support more DePIN networks in the future. The specific list has not yet been announced.
Bitcoin ETF has a net inflow of 3,008 BTC today, while Ethereum ETF has a net inflow of 287 ETH
According to Lookonchain data, on March 18, Bitcoin ETFs had a net inflow of 3,008 BTC (about $244 million), of which Fidelity Bitcoin ETF had an inflow of 1,506 BTC (about $122 million), and the current total holdings reached 195,885 BTC (about $15.91 billion). In terms of Ethereum ETFs, 9 funds had a net inflow of 287 ETH (about $540,000), of which Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF had an inflow of 543 ETH (about $1.02 million), and the current holdings were 8,484 ETH (about $15.93 million).
Coinbase Prime hot wallet transfers about 102 BTC to Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust address
According to on-chain data, at 23:16 Beijing time on March 18, 2025, the Coinbase Prime hot wallet (3MqUP) transferred 101.90 BTC to the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust address (bc1qh), equivalent to approximately US$8,327,943.73.
Binance Finance, one-click coin purchase, instant exchange, leverage on Bubblemaps (BMT)
According to the Binance announcement, Bubblemaps (BMT) will be launched on multiple Binance platform products, the specific time is as follows (Eastern Time 8): • Binance Wealth Management: BMT principal guaranteed and coin earning current product will be launched and open for subscription at 23:00 on March 18, 2025. • Fixed investment: Starting from 18:00 on March 19, 2025, users can purchase BMT through Binance fixed investment. • One-click buying and selling of coins: Within 1 hour after BMT is launched, users can use credit/debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc. to purchase, or use wallet balance to trade. • Flash exchange transaction: Within one hour after BMT is launched, it supports exchange for BTC, USDT, etc., free of handling fees. • Margin trading: Starting from 23:20 on March 18, 2025, BMT will add cross margin and isolated margin leveraged trading pairs (BMT/USDT, BMT/USDC).
BlackRock, Superstate, Centrifuge receive $1 billion investment in RWA tokenized assets from Sky
According to CoinDesk, Sky (formerly MakerDAO) plans to invest $1 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasury products from BlackRock-Securitize, Superstate, and Centrifuge to accelerate the adoption of RWA (real world assets) on the DeFi platform Spark. Among them, BUIDL issued by BlackRock-Securitize will receive $500 million, Superstate's USTB will receive $300 million, and Centrifuge's JTRSY will receive $200 million. The decision was made by Steakhouse Financial after evaluating 39 applicants, and the final allocation still requires governance approval.
Crypto development platform Crossmint completes $23.6 million financing, led by Ribbit Capital
According to Fortune, the crypto development platform Crossmint announced the completion of US$23.6 million in financing, covering seed rounds, Series A and strategic financing, led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Nyca, First Round, Lightspeed Faction and others. Crossmint provides API tools to help developers easily integrate cryptographic functions without having to deeply understand blockchain technology. Its current customers include 40,000 companies and developers such as Adidas, Red Bull, and Coinbase. Its stablecoin API and AI robot payment functions are very popular, with subscriptions growing by 1,100% in 2024. Crossmint plans to further expand the traditional financial and technology enterprise markets to form a differentiated layout with competitors such as Alchemy.
Nasdaq submits rule change application to list 21Shares Polkadot ETF
According to documents filed by Nasdaq, 21Shares plans to launch a Polkadot spot ETF (21Shares Polkadot Trust) and has submitted a listing application to the SEC. The ETF is managed by 21Shares US LLC and hosted by Coinbase Custody. It uses the CME CF Polkadot Index as a benchmark, allowing investors to gain exposure without directly holding DOT. Currently, the application is still awaiting approval from the SEC.
Web3 workflow protocol Halliday completes $20 million Series A financing, led by a16z crypto
According to The Block, Web3 workflow protocol developer Halliday announced the completion of a $20 million Series A financing round, led by a16z crypto. Other investors include Avalanche Blizzard Fund, Credibly Neutral, Alt Layer and several angel investors, bringing its total financing to $26 million. Halliday is committed to simplifying the process of creating smart contracts, and its infrastructure allows developers to delegate workflows to automated systems to shorten development time. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its engineering team (currently 17 people) and further develop workflow protocols and payment applications Halliday Payments. Halliday CEO Griffin Dunaif said the company's goal is to bring blockchain into the software age, enabling developers to build applications in hours instead of years, and promote the use of secure AI systems in decentralized networks. Halliday was founded in April 2022 and is headquartered in San Francisco.
Information on the chain shows that Ethena has purchased the USDe trading code from Hyperliquid, confirming plans to integrate its stablecoin USDe on the Hyperliquid network. Analysis found that the source of funds for the wallet 0x4758...d605 that purchased the USDe code can be traced back to the Ethena deployer (EOA), further verifying the relevance of the Ethena team. In addition, Ethena recently sent funds to Hyperliquid and set up 4-8 multi-signature wallets, indicating that it may be preparing for deployment. It is worth noting that the relevant proposal was put forward in the Ethena governance forum in October last year, but the official has not announced progress before. At present, Ethena may wait for the HyperEVM and HyperCore interoperability functions to go online before officially deploying USDe.
Google to acquire cybersecurity company WizNet for $32 billion in cash
Google announced that it will acquire cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion in all cash. After the acquisition is completed, Wiz will join Google Cloud. Google said that this acquisition is an important investment in two major growth trends in the era of artificial intelligence - cloud security and multi-cloud usage capabilities, and aims to enhance Google Cloud's competitiveness in the field of cybersecurity. Wiz's products will continue to operate normally and will be available on all major cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Platform.
According to SEC documents, Strategy Inc (formerly MicroStrategy) announced that it will issue an additional 5 million shares of Series A Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock to raise funds to continue its Bitcoin reserve strategy. The preferred stock accumulates a fixed dividend of 10% per year, paid quarterly, and unpaid dividends will be calculated on a compound basis, up to 18%. In addition, MicroStrategy has the right to redeem the preferred stock under certain conditions, and holders can also require the company to repurchase it in the event of a "significant change". The issuance will be jointly managed by Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citigroup and Moelis & Company as bookkeepers and is a public offering that has been filed with the SEC. The initial liquidation preference of the stock is set at $100 per share and may be adjusted according to market conditions.
According to CoinDesk, Peregrine Exploration, the development company behind the stablecoin protocol Level, recently completed a new round of financing of US$2.6 million, led by Dragonfly Capital and participated by Polychain, and the total financing amount increased to US$6 million. New investors include Flowdesk, Echo Syndicates, Native Crypto, Feisty Collective, as well as Frax founder Sam Kazemian and Injective co-founder Albert Chon. Level's income-generating stablecoin lvlUSD has exceeded US$80 million in supply since the beta version was launched five months ago, and plans to include Morpho as a source of income while expanding the practicality of lvlUSD. Currently, users can mint lvlUSD by depositing USDC or USDT, and pledge it to earn income in DeFi protocols such as Aave, with an annualized yield of 8.3%, higher than some money market funds.
According to ZachXBT, an on-chain detective, in the process of helping to freeze the Bybit hacker funds, he was deeply aware of the serious problems in the crypto industry in terms of security vulnerabilities and hacker attacks. He said that almost 100% of the monthly trading volume and fees of multiple "decentralized" protocols recently came from the North Korean hacker group DPRK, but these projects refused to take any responsibility. In addition, centralized exchanges (CEX) are slow to respond, and hackers only need a few minutes to launder money, while some CEXs need hours to take action. ZachXBT also criticized the KYT (transaction monitoring) system for its serious flaws and easy circumvention, while the KYC (identity verification) mechanism is more like a data leakage risk for ordinary users due to account leaks and internal personnel problems, but it is almost ineffective in preventing illegal capital flows. He pointed out that the North Korean hacker DPRK recently successfully laundered $1.4 billion, fully exposing the loopholes in the compliance and security systems in the industry, and worried that the industry could only improve if the government enforced supervision.
Binance HODLer Airdrop Launches Bubblemaps (BMT)
According to Binance's announcement, Bubblemaps (BMT) has become the 12th airdrop project on the HODLer Airdrops page. Previously, from March 2 to March 6, 2025 (UTC), users who subscribed BNB to Simple Earn or On-Chain Yields will receive BMT airdrops. Details are expected to be available within 5 hours, and airdrops will be distributed to spot accounts at least 1 hour before trading begins. Binance will launch BMT/USDT, BMT/USDC, BMT/BNB, BMT/FDUSD, BMT/TRY trading pairs at 15:00 (UTC) on March 18, 2025, and mark them with Seed Tag. Users can start recharging BMT within 2 hours to prepare for trading. According to reports, the initial and maximum supply of BMT are both 1 billion, of which 3% (30 million) are used for HODLer airdrops, and an additional 30 million will be used for market promotion in batches after 6 months. The circulating supply at the time of listing is about 261.5 million (26.15%). Support BNB Smart Chain and Solana networks.
