Stay in the loop with our weekly crypto digest as we get you up to speed on the hottest trends and events in the crypto space.
Here’s what happened in crypto this week:
Telegram’s Pavel Durov Departs France For Dubai With Permission From Judge
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has temporarily left France for Dubai after being granted permission by a judge despite facing ongoing legal charges.
His departure follows an arrest last August related to allegations of complicity in distributing illegal content through the messaging platform.
The price of Toncoin (TON) surged by 20% in response to Durov’s release, with the TON Foundation expressing relief over the news.
Notably, the TON blockchain network is also experiencing significant growth and aims to expand further in the US, bolstered by its success in popular gaming applications.
OKX Suspends DEX Aggregator Following Lazarus ‘Misuse’ And Heightened EU Scrutiny
OKX has temporarily suspended its DEX aggregator services after the Lazarus group reportedly used them to launder funds from the $1.5 billion Bybit hack.
The decision was made in response to scrutiny from EU regulators regarding compliance with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) guidelines.
OKX aims to implement upgrades to prevent further misuse of its services while keeping its wallet services available, although new wallet creation will be paused in certain markets.
The Bybit hack is considered one of the largest attacks on a centralized exchange, with approximately $100 million of the stolen assets traced back to OKX’s Web3 proxy.
Canary Capital Files S-1 For Spot SUI ETF
Investment firm Canary Capital announced that it applied for regulatory approval to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the spot price of Sui (SUI), a cryptocurrency associated with Sui Network.
The move marks Canary’s sixth ETF filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alongside Litecoin, Hedera, Axelar, XRP, and Solana.
The investment firm said that the SUI ETF would be structured as a trust and intends to stake some of its SUI through providers, enabling the trust to establish validator nodes.
Razer Partners With World (Worldcoin) To Eliminate AI Bots In Games
World (formerly Worldcoin), the crypto project co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has partnered with Razer, a major global lifestyle brand for gamers, revealing ‘Razer ID verified by World ID.’
According to the press release, the collaboration aims to put “human gamers at the center of the AI gaming revolution.” Gamers can use their Razer ID to create a World ID account and verify as human.
The team explained that the ‘Razer ID verified by World ID’ is a novel single sign-on (SSO) proof-of-human technology. In short, it will verify real human gamers for Razer ID, proving that a person is behind every Razer ID account.
Notably, ‘Razer ID verified by World ID’ is available in 22 countries, including Austria, Germany, Poland, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Argentina, Mexico, the United States, and more.
Paul Atkins’ SEC Confirmation Hearing Set For March 27th
Paul S. Atkins, Trump’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair nominee, will face a Senate Banking Committee hearing on March 27th, 2025. The delay stemmed from financial disclosure reviews, particularly his ties to TAMKO Building Products.
Atkins, a former SEC Commissioner (2002-2008), is expected to take a more crypto-friendly regulatory stance. A bipartisan meeting on March 21st will discuss his nomination ahead of the hearing.
EOS Network Rebrands To Vaulta
EOS Network is rebranding to Vaulta as it shifts focus to Web3 banking, with a token swap planned for the end of May.
The launch of the Vaulta Banking Advisory Council aims to connect traditional banking with decentralized systems, featuring experts from notable financial institutions.
Vaulta will retain its existing technical infrastructure while integrating with exSat for Bitcoin-focused banking solutions and plans to form additional strategic partnerships.
The rebranding coincides with evolving regulatory frameworks for digital assets, positioning Vaulta for mainstream adoption in the Web3 banking space.
Coinbase Survey: 83% Of Institutions To Increase Crypto Allocations In 2025
A recent survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon shows that 83% of institutional investors plan to expand their cryptocurrency allocations this year.
The survey was conducted in January with 352 institutional decision-makers, and the results may indicate that confidence in digital assets is growing among institutions as the regulatory environment becomes clearer and broader use cases emerge.
Most respondents (59%) intend to allocate more than 5% of their assets under management (AUM) to crypto in 2025. Interest in altcoins is rising, with 73% investing beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Stablecoin adoption is also growing, while regulatory clarity remains a key driver for further investment.
Ripple CEO: SEC Case Officially Over, ‘Historic Win’ For Crypto
Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially dropped its case against the blockchain payments company.
In a four-minute video shared on X, Garlinghouse declared, “I’m finally able to announce that this case has ended. It’s over.” He emphasized that the SEC’s case, initiated under the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler, was destined for failure from the start. Garlinghouse characterized this moment as a significant victory, describing it as a “long overdue surrender” by the SEC.
With the case now resolved, Garlinghouse asserted that XRP is no longer considered a security under the Howey Test, a critical legal standard used to determine whether certain transactions qualify as investment contracts.
Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged, Remains At 4.25% – 4.50%
The Federal Reserve announced that it will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as policymakers continue to assess uncertainty around inflation and economic conditions in light of federal policy shifts.
The central bank’s decision leaves the benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
What the central bank did change, however, was its outlook on inflation and economic growth amid uncertainties stemming from President Trump’s plans for an aggressive slate of new tariffs on top of new duties already imposed on China, Canada, and Mexico.
“There are so many things we don’t know,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference Wednesday, and “uncertainty is remarkably high.”
Final Thoughts
So that’s it for this week!
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Have a fantastic week ahead!
