Gus Bainum BCkU

21 February 2025Macro/TradFiThe European Central Bank (ECB) has unveiled plans to develop a blockchain-based payment system for financial institutions to settle transactions in central bank money, potentially paving the way for a wholesale CBDC.The Fed's January minutes show the FOMC prioritizing inflation progress before rate cuts, citing pressures from proposed tariffs and immigration policies, keeping rates at 4.25%–4.50%.Metaplanet acquired 68.59 BTC at an average price of ~US$96,335, reaffirming its bullish outlook on Bitcoin as it targets 10,000 BTC by year-end.The SEC is launching the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) to protect investors from bad actors in crypto and AI.The SEC acknowledged 21Shares' proposal to allow ETH staking for its Core Ethereum ETF. If approved, the ETF could generate additional returns and pass them to investors.The SEC acknowledged spot ETF filings from CoinShares for LTC and XRP ETFs. It had previously acknowledged similar filings from 21Shares, Bitwise, Grayscale, and Canary Capital.Nasdaq has proposed Rule 5712 to allow the listing and trading of digital asset-based investment interests. The rule would cover securities issued by entities holding digital assets and commodity-based investment interests linked to cash, derivatives, or other sources.Utah's ‘Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments’ bill advanced to a Senate committee on Feb. 18, bringing the state closer to allowing its treasurer to invest public funds in Bitcoin.The U.S. Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick, a crypto-friendly nominee, as the 41st Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick has led Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm that has acted as a custodian for Tether.CryptoL1/L2:Bitcoin's market dominance has surged to around 60%, rising 5% in the past month and 12% over the past year, reaching a multi-year high.Ethereum’s 7-day average transaction fees hovered around US$1 over the past week, hitting a low of US$0.77 on Feb. 15. This marks a 70% weekly decline and the lowest level since July 2020.The Hyperliquid EVM (HyperEVM) went live, introducing general-purpose programmability to the network. Its initial mainnet release supports native spot HYPE transfers and HyperEVM-based HYPE transactions.DeFi:EigenLayer, Polymarket, and UMA are collaborating on research for a next-gen oracle system, potentially leveraging EigenLayer’s infrastructure, restaking mechanism, and EIGEN token.Stablecoins:Cross-border payments firm MANSA secured US$10M in a funding round led by Tether. MANSA provides on-chain liquidity services using USDT to facilitate cross-border payments.Others:AR.IO, an Arweave-based network focused on permanent cloud data storage, launched its mainnet and token generation event on 20 Feb. Nansen, citing on-chain data, found that as of Feb. 18, 86% of traders had collectively lost US$251M on the Solana-based LIBRA memecoin.Universal, a crypto project developing a new wrapped token standard, raised US$9M in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.Latest Binance Research Publications Check out our latest publications:Monthly Market Insights - February 2025From Challenges to Opportunities: How DeSci Reimagines ScienceFull-Year 2024 & Themes for 2025That’s a wrap!Binance ResearchAbout Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.General Disclosure: This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as definitive legal views or those of Binance. The opinions expressed are as of the date shown above and are the opinions of the writer, they may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Binance Research to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Binance. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any securities, cryptocurrencies or any investment strategy nor shall any securities or cryptocurrency be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.

This is a general announcement and marketing communication. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region.
Fellow Binancians,
We have been listening to the vibrant discussions within our community about Pi Network. To ensure users’ voices are heard, Binance is launching a Community Vote. We invite users to participate and share their opinions on the topic: "Should PI be launched on Binance?" under the official post on Binance Square Official.
How to Vote:
Users must be logged in to their verified Binance accounts and hold a minimum of 5 USD equivalent assets in their exchange accounts for their votes to be eligible. Each user can vote once during the voting period.Users’ account balance must remain 5 USD equivalent or above throughout the voting period from 2025-02-17 14:45 (UTC) to 2025-02-27 23:59 (UTC). If the user fails to hold the minimum required amount, their vote will not be counted.Only votes cast under the official post on Binance Square Official will be considered and counted.Results will be updated daily on the Binance Square Official channel. However, these results are not final. At the end of the campaign, we will remove non-eligible votes and votes that violated the terms and conditions, and then announce the final numbers.
Voting Period: 2025-02-17 14:45 (UTC) to 2025-02-27 23:59 (UTC)
Vote Now
Disclaimer:
While we value and consider the vote results, they are for reference only and do not determine any decision or action Binance may or may not take. The project's launch is still undergoing evaluation, and the decision will be based on our official review processes and standards.
Terms and Conditions:
This Activity may not be available in your region.Illegally bulk-registered accounts or sub-accounts are not eligible to participate and will be removed at the end of the vote. Binance reserves the right to cancel a user’s eligibility in this activity if the account is involved in any behavior that breaches the terms.Binance reserves the right, at any time in its sole and absolute discretion, to determine and/or amend or vary these terms and conditions without prior notice, including but not limited to canceling, extending, terminating, or suspending this activity, the eligibility terms and criteria, the selection and number of winners, and the timing of any act to be done. All participants shall be bound by these amendments.Binance reserves the right to disqualify any participants who tamper with Binance program code or interfere with the operation of Binance program code with other software.Binance reserves the right of final interpretation of this activity.Additional activity terms and conditions can be accessed here.Participation is subject to eligibility based on the user's country or region of residence. Please note that the list of excluded countries provided below is not exhaustive and may be subject to changes due to evolving local rules, regulations, or other considerations. Currently, users residing in the following countries or regions but not limited will not be able to participate in the vote: Mainland China, Australia, Canada, Cuba, Crimea Region, Iran, New Zealand, Netherlands, North Korea, Syria, United States of America and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands), and any non-government controlled areas of UkraineThis list may be updated periodically at Binance’s discretion.There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise.
Thank you for your support!
Binance Team
2025-02-17
Note: This announcement was updated on 2025-02-18 to add more information to the list of excluded countries and regions.