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This week in the crypto world was packed with major updates, including new product launches, debates about Ethereum, stablecoin legislation moves, and Congressional hearings on “debanking.”
1. Stablecoin Legislation Progress
- Senator Hagerty’s Stablecoin Bill: A new bill, aimed at creating an oversight framework for stablecoin issuance, was introduced by Senator Hagerty of Tennessee. It builds on a similar bill that passed the House last year but failed in the Senate. With Republicans now controlling the Senate, it’s more likely to pass this time.
2. Debanking Hearings in the Senate
- Financial Services Denial: The Senate held hearings to discuss the policy of institutions like the FDIC blocking financial services for crypto companies. Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, testified, sharing his experience of the industry’s struggles. Joe Lubin, founder of ConsenSys, also shared that his company had been debanked twice.
3. Ondo Finance Tokenization Blockchain
- New Blockchain for RWAs: Ondo Finance launched a new tokenization blockchain, positioning itself for an expected wave of institutional interest in Real-World Assets (RWAs). World Liberty Financial, backed by Trump, bought $470,000 worth of ONDO tokens.
4. Berachain Mainnet Launch and Airdrop
- Launch and Airdrop: Berachain introduced its mainnet, along with a 79 million token airdrop. At the time of writing, Berachain’s market cap exceeded $800 million.
5. MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Commitment
- Rebranding and Bitcoin Focus: MicroStrategy rebranded, dropping the “Micro” from its name but keeping its commitment to purchasing large amounts of bitcoin. BlackRock also took a 5% ownership stake in the company.
6. Ethereum’s Struggles
- Underperformance: Ethereum has been struggling, with JPMorgan pointing out that it’s underperformed due to competition from rivals like Solana and a lack of a compelling narrative. However, Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is moving forward, and it still has strong support from investors, especially in Wall Street.
7. Gold’s Impact on Cryptos
- Gold-Backed Tokens Shine: With gold prices outperforming the traditional market, gold-backed cryptocurrencies like PAXG and XAUT performed better than Bitcoin, the so-called “digital gold.” These tokens benefitted from the precious metal’s rally.
8. Tornado Cash Developer’s Legal Update
- Developer Released: Alexey Pertsev, a developer of the Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash, was released from jail while awaiting an appeal. He had been sentenced to 64 months in prison last year.
