KEYTAKEAWAYS
- The SEC has significantly relaxed cryptocurrency mining regulations, declaring that Proof-of-Work mining does not constitute a securities activity, removing a major regulatory hurdle for the industry.
- Institutional interest in crypto continues to grow with Sequoia, Benchmark and other top VCs investing $400M in Toncoin, while Eric Trump joins Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet as strategic advisor.
- Security and asset management trends show Ethereum balances on exchanges hitting 10-year lows as users seek self-custody solutions, while Zoth protocol suffers an $8.4M exploit highlighting ongoing security challenges.
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. SEC Declares Proof-of-Work Mining Not a Securities Activity
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has significantly relaxed mining regulations, stating that Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining does not constitute a securities activity and doesn’t require registration under securities laws.
In Thursday’s statement, the SEC declared mining an “administrative or ministerial activity” rather than a securities offering, noting that mining rewards are “direct compensation for computational contributions, not profits derived from the management or efforts of others.”
This regulatory relief aligns with President Trump’s goal of making the U.S. a global cryptocurrency hub by allowing easier migration of mining resources from other regions.
Despite the positive news, Bitcoin prices fell, partly due to Trump’s New York Digital Asset Summit speech falling short of expectations.
2. Canary Capital Files for PENGU ETF Tracking Meme Token and NFTs
Meme token PENGU rallied briefly on Thursday as asset manager Canary Capital filed to launch a PENGU exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the SEC. The proposed fund aims to track the price of both the PENGU token and Pudgy Penguins NFTs, while also holding Solana and Ethereum tokens necessary for transactions.
PENGU joins a growing list of meme tokens awaiting ETF approval, including Dogecoin, BONK, and TRUMP tokens. The SEC recently postponed decisions on several altcoin ETFs, and the likelihood of meme coin ETF approval remains uncertain due to their high volatility.
PENGU rose 10% following the announcement before retracing.
3. Top VCs Invest Over $400 Million in Toncoin as Telegram Ecosystem Grows
The TON Foundation announced that a group of leading venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, and Kingsway have invested over $400 million buying Toncoin, the native cryptocurrency of the TON blockchain. The investment came in the form of token purchases rather than traditional equity or cash.
TON powers the growing number of mini apps within Telegram’s messaging ecosystem, which now boasts 1 billion users. The blockchain has reached 40 million active users and 121 million unique Toncoin holders.
Additional investors include Vy Capital, Draper Associates, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, Hypersphere, SkyBridge, and Karatage.
4. Ethereum Balance on Centralized Exchanges Hits 10-Year Low
The balance of Ethereum (ETH) on centralized exchanges has reached a 10-year low, decreasing 16.4% over the past seven weeks. This significant decline indicates that investors are moving their holdings to more secure storage solutions or other investment avenues, such as personal wallets or decentralized finance platforms.
The trend reflects growing awareness of security risks associated with centralized exchanges and increased interest in DeFi protocols offering higher yields and greater control over assets.
As both institutional and retail investors adopt long-term holding strategies and prioritize security, the shift toward decentralized solutions is likely to continue.
5. Walrus Foundation Raises $140 Million for Blockchain Storage Protocol
According to Fortune, the Walrus Foundation, the core entity behind blockchain storage protocol Walrus, has completed a $140 million financing round led by Standard Crypto. Other notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division (a16z), Electric Capital, and Franklin Templeton’s digital assets division.
The financing values the total supply of the Walrus protocol’s cryptocurrency ($WAL) at $2 billion. Adam Goldberg, Managing Director and Co-founder of Standard Crypto, stated: “Previous attempts at on-chain storage have faced challenges in scalability, flexibility, and security.”
The Walrus protocol was developed by Mysten Labs, the creators of the Sui blockchain. Evan Cheng, Co-founder and CEO of Mysten Labs, revealed to Fortune that this $140 million financing was completed in just the past three weeks, noting that “market demand is very strong.”
This marks the first round of financing for Walrus conducted by Mysten Labs.
NOON NEWS
6. GMGN Now Supports Trading Through PumpSwap
On March 21, GMGN co-founder Haze (@haze0x) announced on X that GMGN now supports trading through PumpSwap, expanding its accessibility on the platform.
7. Circle to Launch Native USDC and CCTP V2 on Sonic
According to Cointelegraph, Circle has revealed that native USDC and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) V2 will soon be available on Sonic, expanding the stablecoin’s integration across blockchain platforms.
8. Coinbase Adds AltLayer, Pendle, and Layer3 Tokens to Listing Roadmap
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has added AltLayer (ALT), Pendle (PENDLE), and Layer3 (L3) tokens to its roadmap for potential listing, signaling expanded offerings for its users.
9. CZ Emphasizes Product Development Over Partnerships for Giggle Academy
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao posted that his Web3 education platform Giggle Academy has “no dedicated business development staff” or “social media interns,” as the team is focusing entirely on product development.
“We want to build the best free education platform. Partnerships will come later. Many collaborations will happen naturally,” he stated in response to a user suggesting Giggle Academy should connect with free education institutions worldwide.
10. Eric Trump Joins Bitcoin Treasury Firm Metaplanet as Strategic Advisor
Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, has joined the Strategic Board of Advisors at Metaplanet, the company’s CEO Simon Gerovich announced on March 21.
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Metaplanet is Japan’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder and the world’s 10th largest, with 3,200 BTC. The company aims to accumulate at least 10,000 BTC by year-end 2025.
Eric Trump has been vocal about his support for Bitcoin, previously predicting it would eventually reach $1 million per coin. He also serves as a Web3 ambassador at World Liberty Financial alongside his brothers Donald Jr. and Barron.
EVENING NEWS
11. Zoth Protocol Hacked for $8.4 Million in RWA Re-Staking Exploit
Zoth, a real-world asset (RWA) re-staking protocol, has suffered an exploit that drained over $8.4 million in crypto assets. Blockchain security firm Cyvers flagged the incident, which involved a compromised deployer wallet.
Approximately 30 minutes before detection, an attacker upgraded the “USD0PPSubVaultUpgradeable” proxy contract to a malicious version, allowing them to bypass security measures and withdraw $8.4 million worth of USD0++ tokens.
The stolen assets were quickly converted to DAI stablecoin and later swapped for Ethereum. Zoth, which raised $4 million in August 2024 to tokenize secure assets like U.S. Treasury Bills, has acknowledged the breach and placed its website in maintenance mode while investigating.
12. Monad Testnet Addresses Exceed 30 Million
According to Foresight News, data from Monad Explorer shows that the total number of addresses on the Monad testnet has exceeded 30 million, reaching 30,865,754 addresses at the time of reporting.
In the past 24 hours alone, approximately 3.81 million new addresses were added to the network. The Monad testnet was launched on February 19.
13. Ethereum Leads in Tokenized Asset Growth as Stablecoin Supply Approaches Record High
A major long-term driver for Ethereum is the growth of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Ethereum remains the top blockchain for tokenized assets with $3.8 billion in RWAs, far ahead of Stellar, the next most popular chain.
The stablecoin supply on Ethereum has now surpassed $110 billion, approaching its highest level since 2020, signaling continued growth in the ecosystem.
14. Binance Initiates Community-Driven Token Delisting Vote
Binance has launched its first round of community delisting voting, allowing BNB holders to participate in decisions regarding the removal of certain projects from the exchange. The voting period runs from March 21 to March 28, 2025, with users needing a minimum balance of 0.01 BNB throughout the voting duration to participate.
Projects up for potential delisting include JASMY, ZEC, FTT, AERGO, AST, BURGER, COMBO, and LINA. Each verified account can vote for up to five projects, though Binance maintains final decision-making authority based on its established review protocols.
This initiative aims to create a more transparent and democratic environment while maintaining quality standards for listed tokens.
15. Trump Pressures Fed to Cut Rates Ahead of Tariff Implementation
President Donald Trump is pushing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as a backstop for his upcoming tariff plans. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Chair Jerome Powell to ease policy as his administration prepares to implement its aggressive trade strategy, writing: “The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy.”
The message came shortly after the FOMC voted to maintain current rates while indicating two possible reductions by year-end. Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” reference points to the anticipated release of a global trade study that could trigger additional tariffs.
Powell acknowledged that such tariffs might temporarily increase inflation before effects dissipate, though lower rates combined with tariffs could potentially fuel further inflation.
▶ Buy Crypto at Bitget
CoinRank x Bitget – Sign up & Trade to get $20!
