KEYTAKEAWAYS
- GameStop joins corporate Bitcoin trend while Ripple settles with SEC, signaling improved regulatory environment as Trump administration reshapes crypto policy.
- Tokenized Treasuries market exceeds $5B with BlackRock expanding BUIDL to Solana and Fidelity planning stablecoin launch, accelerating institutional RWA adoption.
- Public sector crypto integration advances through North Carolina's pension fund proposals and Trump-linked WLFI's USD1 stablecoin backed by US Treasuries.
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. GameStop Announces Plan to Purchase Bitcoin with Corporate Cash
Video game retailer GameStop announced Tuesday its board has unanimously approved a plan to buy bitcoin with its corporate cash, echoing a move made famous by MicroStrategy. The meme stock jumped 16% Wednesday following the news.
The company said a portion of its cash or future debt and equity issuances may be invested in bitcoin and U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins. As of February 1, GameStop held nearly $4.8 billion in cash. The firm also said it has not set a ceiling on the amount of bitcoin it may purchase.
GameStop will be following in the footsteps of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which bought billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to become the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency.
In tandem with the cryptocurrency announcement, investors also cheered GameStop’s fourth-quarter results, with the firm reporting net income of $131.3 million, more than double the $63.1 million earned in the same quarter last year.
2. WLFI Announces USD1 Stablecoin Backed by US Treasuries
World Liberty Financial Inc. (WLFI), the developer of a DeFi protocol inspired by President Donald J. Trump, announced plans to launch USD1, a stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for the US dollar.
WLFI’s USD1 will be 100% backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. Initially, USD1 tokens will be minted on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains, with plans to expand to other protocols.
“USD1 provides what algorithmic and anonymous crypto projects cannot—access to the power of DeFi underpinned by the credibility and safeguards of the most respected names in traditional finance,” said Zach Witkoff, WLFI co-founder.
USD1 reserves will be custodied by BitGo, the world’s largest independent qualified custodian and leader in digital asset security. BitGo Prime will also support USD1, providing institutional clients with access to deep liquidity and trading from insured and regulated qualified custody.
3. Ripple Officially Ends Legal Battle with SEC
Ripple has dropped its appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after paying $50 million of the $125 million penalty tied to its long-running lawsuit, according to a detailed statement posted by Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer.
The remaining $75 million—held in an interest-bearing escrow account—is being returned to the company. The SEC also agreed to withdraw its appeal, officially ending the case that started back in December 2020.
“The final crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s – and what should be my last update on SEC v Ripple ever. Last week, the SEC agreed to drop its appeal without conditions. Ripple has now agreed to drop its cross-appeal,” Stuart said on X.
The announcement caused XRP to spike 11% within hours, as investors reacted to the clean legal break. Ripple now moves forward without the threat of an injunction, as the SEC has said it will ask the court to officially lift the one it previously requested.
4. Circle Issues Additional 250 Million USDC on Solana
Circle has just issued an additional 250 million USDC on the Solana network, according to on-chain data.
5. BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund Expands to Solana Network
Securitize announced that the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which is tokenized by Securitize, will now expand access with the launch of a new share class on the Solana network.
BUIDL recently surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, a key milestone in the development of the tokenized treasury market. Securitize and BlackRock launched BUIDL in March 2024, marking BlackRock’s first tokenized fund to be issued on a public blockchain.
BUIDL is now available on seven blockchains: Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, and Solana, with cross-chain interoperability enabled by Wormhole to facilitate seamless token transfers.
“As the market for RWAs and tokenized treasuries gains momentum, expanding BUIDL to Solana—a blockchain known for its speed, scalability, and cost efficiency—is a natural next step,” said Carlos Domingo, Co-founder and CEO of Securitize.
NOON NEWS
1. Tokenized US Treasuries Market Surpasses $5 Billion
The market value of tokenized U.S. Treasuries this week surpassed $5 billion for the first time, as demand for blockchain-based real-world assets (RWAs) accelerates.
The asset class grew by $1 billion through just two weeks, led by inflows into BlackRock’s and Securitize’s market-leading BUIDL.
Fidelity Investments is the latest large U.S. asset manager seeking to create a tokenized money market fund, filing for regulatory approval last week to launch its Fidelity Treasury Digital Liquidity on the Ethereum blockchain.
Securitize said earlier today that BUIDL is on track to surpass $2 billion in assets by early April from $1.7 billion currently. Meanwhile, Spark, the ecosystem partner of DAI stablecoin issuer Sky (formerly MakerDAO), plans to allocate $1 billion to BUIDL, Superstate’s USTB, and Centrifuge’s fund.
2. Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek Releases Major Model Upgrade
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek released a major upgrade to its V3 large language model, intensifying competition with U.S. tech leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic.
The new model, DeepSeek-V3-0324, was made available through AI development platform Hugging Face, marking the company’s latest push to establish itself in the rapidly evolving AI market.
The latest model demonstrates significant improvements in areas such as reasoning and coding capabilities compared to its predecessor, with benchmark tests showing enhanced performance across multiple technical metrics.
DeepSeek has rapidly emerged as a notable player in the global AI landscape in recent months, releasing a series of models that compete with Western counterparts while offering lower operational costs.
3. Curve Finance Founder Sells 1 Million CRV Tokens
Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov has moved a total of 1.997 million CRV tokens, valued at approximately $1.03 million, within the past 18 hours.
Recent blockchain records indicate that Egorov’s associated address conducted an over-the-counter transaction, selling 1 million CRV tokens at an average price of $0.515 each, in exchange for 515,000 USDC.
The address still retains 997,000 CRV tokens, valued at around $514,000.
4. Binance’s First Voting-Based Token Listing Nears End
Binance’s first voting-based token listing is nearing its conclusion, with BANANAS31 and SIREN leading the vote.
5. Bitcoin Dominance Remains Above 60% Since February
As per TradingView analytics, Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) currently stands at 61.45%. This figure has been consistently maintained above 60% since February 25th, marking a significant near four-year peak last observed in March 2021.
The enduring strength of Bitcoin’s dominance suggests a period of stagnation within the altcoin sector; however, it may also indicate potential conditions for a market rebound.
Historical patterns demonstrate that when Bitcoin dominance exceeded 60% last November, altcoins experienced a notable mini bull market. Furthermore, previous peaks above 70% in both 2019 and 2021 catalyzed widespread market rallies.
EVENING NEWS
1. Sui Ecosystem’s Liquid Staking Protocol Haedal Announces April TGE
Sui ecosystem liquid staking protocol Haedal Protocol announced on Twitter that it will conduct its TGE (Token Generation Event) in April, with the token name HAEDAL.
In January 2025, Haedal completed a seed round of financing with participation from the Sui Foundation and other investors.
2. North Carolina Lawmakers Propose Crypto Investment for Pension Funds
Lawmakers in North Carolina have proposed legislation in both chambers to create an investment authority with the power to invest up to 5% of various pension funds in cryptocurrencies.
Representative Brenden Jones filed the State Investment Modernization Act, or “House Bill 506,” on Monday with the House, while a separate but similar act dubbed “Senate Bill 709” was submitted on Tuesday to the Senate.
Both bills seek to establish an “Investment Authority” that would be located within but independent from the control of the State Treasurer. The authority would be allowed to allocate up to 5% of designated funds for investment in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, or non-fungible tokens.
The introduction of these two new bills follows the House Bill 92 and Senate Bill 327, both of which seek to authorize the State Treasurer to invest in bitcoin.
3. Fidelity Plans to Launch Its Own Stablecoin
Fidelity Investments, a leading asset management firm with $5 trillion in assets, is set to deepen its involvement in the cryptocurrency market by launching its own stablecoin.
Fidelity has already reached an advanced testing phase for its stablecoin, which aims to serve as a form of “cash” for transactions in the crypto market. The stablecoin is expected to be pegged to the US dollar, maintaining a 1:1 reserve backed by US Treasury bonds.
Last weekend, Fidelity filed an application to launch a digital money market fund in May 2025. This move directly competes with industry giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
The global stablecoin market is currently valued at $234 billion, and Fidelity clearly wants a share of this rapidly growing sector. Since 2018, the company has offered Bitcoin custody solutions to institutional investors, demonstrating its long-term vision for blockchain technology.
4. Celo Completes Migration to Ethereum Layer-2
Celo has officially transitioned from a standalone EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain to an Ethereum Layer-2, marking a significant milestone for the blockchain ecosystem.
The network first proposed the migration two years ago, intending to enhance security, real-world Ethereum use cases, and developer experience.
The upgrade, which was completed at block height 31,056,500, strengthens Celo’s security. It enhances interoperability with Ethereum and maintains its hallmark features, such as low transaction fees and fast processing times.
“Celo has done a lot for crypto’s global adoption, and I am excited to see Celo fully embracing the Ethereum family,” Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin commented.
Following the announcement, CELO’s price jumped nearly four percent, reflecting market optimism about the move.
5. Synthetix Founder Exposes Market Manipulation by Market Makers
Synthetix founder Kain Warwick revealed market manipulation tactics by market makers in a post on platform X.
He stated that during the ICO era, if project teams did not reach agreements with multiple “market makers,” it was nearly impossible to complete financing, with monthly costs reaching as high as $50,000 to $300,000.
Today, these market-making agreements have evolved into options structures, with some market makers manipulating the market through low float models, shorting at the peak of TGE, covering at the bottom, and then exercising options to dump after pushing the price up.
Warwick warned that if investors see a large amount of tokens being transferred to “market makers,” they should be particularly cautious, as they are likely just being treated as exit liquidity.
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