Highlights

Spot Ether ETFs Approved by SEC Without Committee Vote

Trump Advocates for US Leadership in Cryptocurrency Industry

Coinbase Challenges SEC’s Definition of Investment Contracts in Appeal

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on May 23 through its Trading and Markets Division, differing from the spot Bitcoin ETFs approved via a committee vote, including SEC chief Gary Gensler. The approval includes filings from major financial firms like BlackRock and Fidelity. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart remarked that such delegated authority is typical for many approvals, avoiding the need for an official vote on every decision. However, some in the crypto community suspect political motivations behind the process. Unlike Bitcoin ETFs, which began trading the day after approval, spot Ether ETFs are pending S-1 form clearance and may not debut for weeks or months.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that the United States must lead in the cryptocurrency industry, declaring there is no second place in a May 25 post on Truth Social. Trump expressed a positive and open-minded stance toward cryptocurrency companies, contrasting his views with those of current President Joe Biden, whom he criticized harshly. Trump’s pro-crypto comments come ahead of his speech at the Libertarian Party’s National Convention and amid his 2024 presidential campaign, which now accepts cryptocurrency donations. The crypto community views his recent endorsements as a signal of potential policy support, should he win the election, with prediction platform Polymarket giving him a 56% chance of victory.

Coinbase has filed a memorandum supporting its interlocutory appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asserting that the SEC is attempting to sidestep the Howey test, a critical legal standard for determining investment contracts. This appeal follows a March 27 ruling that deemed Coinbase’s staking program an unregistered securities offering. Coinbase contends that an investment contract requires a post-sale contractual undertaking, a point the SEC disputes. Highlighting inconsistencies in the SEC’s stance and a recent House bill limiting the SEC’s jurisdiction, Coinbase argues the issue warrants a court decision. This legal battle is part of Coinbase’s broader effort to defend itself and the crypto industry against regulatory actions.

News

Donald Trump declares US must not settle for ‘second place’ in crypto industry

Uniswap reveals assets ahead of fee mechanism vote

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein steps down

Crypto exchange Kraken has ‘no plans’ to delist USDT in Europe for now

Products

Solana eyes 2025 for Firedancer rollout as DePIN activity surges

SmarDex.io founders release second AMA, unveiling plans and introducing USDN synthetic dollar

Captain Tsubasa NFT soccer game debuts on Oasys blockchain

Cristiano Ronaldo unveils 4th NFT collection with Binance despite $1B lawsuit

Regulation

Spot Ether ETFs approved, but Gary Gensler didn’t vote for them — Here’s why

Coinbase, SEC spar over investment definition in appeal attempt

UAE agriculture authority prohibits crypto mining on farms: Report

SEC wins case against YouTuber Ian Balina for unregistered crypto ICO promo

Funding

Degen token surges 17% on Farcaster’s $150M Series A raise

BlockDAG Secures $33.5M in Presale, Outruns Retik Finance’s Bitmart Performance

Stripchain raises $10M to simplify blockchain user experience

Venture capital funding in crypto rises to $2.4 billion: PitchBook

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #86 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Highlights

EU to Implement New Crypto Regulations: Impact on Stablecoins and Exchange Strategies

Morgan Stanley Among Top Holders of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, Reveals $270M Investment

Vitalik Buterin Unveils EIP-7706 to Tackle Ethereum’s Gas Fee Crisis

European regulators are finalizing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, set to take full effect by 2025, with initial implementation starting in July. These new rules will significantly impact stablecoins like Tether’s USDT, requiring issuers to hold licenses and adhere to strict governance and reserve management standards. Kraken is reviewing its support for USDT in the EU, while Tether plans to maintain its regulatory dialogue and focus on EUR liquidity. OKX has already adjusted its USDT trading support in the EU. Kraken is also selecting its European headquarters post-MiCA, with France and Ireland as potential locations.

Morgan Stanley has become one of the top holders of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, with $269.9 million in Grayscale’s GBTC and $2.3 million in Ark Invest’s ARKB, as revealed in a quarterly 13F filing with the SEC. This positions Morgan Stanley as the third-largest holder of GBTC shares. The bank’s substantial investment reflects a growing institutional interest in bitcoin ETFs, which are seen as a significant shift in digital asset perception and use. Other major holders include Susquehanna, Horizon Kinetics, and Millennium Management.

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has proposed EIP-7706 to address Ethereum’s high gas fees. This proposal introduces a new gas type specifically for transaction calldata, creating a separate fee market to reduce calldata costs and optimize block space usage. EIP-7706 aims to resolve inefficiencies in the current gas model by incorporating basefee and priority fee as a unified vector, enhancing network efficiency and stability. This follows Buterin’s recent focus on multidimensional gas models to improve scalability and transaction processing.

News

Kraken ‘Actively Reviewing’ Tether’s Status Under New EU Rules

Morgan Stanley discloses US spot bitcoin ETF holdings worth over $270 million in filing

Failed Crypto Firm Genesis Approved to Repay Creditors Billions

Tornado Cash verdict has chilling implications for crypto industry

Products

Ethereum’s Gas Crisis Over? Vitalik Buterin Presents New Solution

Futures exchange CME plans to launch bitcoin trading

GainsPad Finally Launches And Ushers In A New Era Of Web3 Fundraising

Magic Square Launches Fundraising Platform for Web3 Projects

Regulation

Filing suggests SEC is exploring grounds to deny spot Ether ETFs

SEC Filing Hits Back at Coinbase ‘Power Grab’ Accusations

CFTC Issues Order Against Crypto Prime Brokerage Firm for Illegally Providing U.S. Customers Access to Digital Asset Derivatives Trading Platforms

US Treasury strategy would tighten virtual asset regulations, increase AI use

Funding

VC Roundup: Web3 infrastructure, ‘tokenization of everything’ drawing investors

Blockchain gaming investments reached nearly $1B in April

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Vitalik Buterin Back $45M Investment in Polymarket

Web3 AI platform ChainML raises $6.2 million in seed extension round

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #85 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Highlights

JPMorgan Chase Invests in Multiple Bitcoin ETFs, Signaling Growing Institutional Interest in Crypto

ARK Invest and 21Shares Revise Ether ETF Proposal, Eliminating Staking Plans Amid SEC Review

SEC Rejects Ripple’s Defense, Insists on Injunctions in Final Legal Brief

In a recent SEC filing, JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S. with $2.6 trillion in assets, disclosed that it had acquired significant holdings in various Bitcoin ETFs, totaling approximately $760,000. These investments include shares in ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF. Additionally, JPMorgan reported owning 25,021 shares, valued around $47,000, in Bitcoin Depot, a crypto ATM provider. This move came on the same day that Wells Fargo reported its own investments in Grayscale and ProShares Bitcoin ETFs, alongside Bitcoin Depot, highlighting a growing trend among major financial institutions to engage with digital assets.

ARK Invest and 21Shares have made notable revisions to their spot Ether ETF proposal, removing plans for asset staking initially outlined in their February filing. The original proposal included staking a portion of the ETF’s assets through third-party providers, with expected returns categorized as income for the fund. However, the recent filing on May 10 omits these details, although it still references potential risks such as slashing penalties and fund accessibility issues. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, this amendment might reflect adjustments made in response to feedback from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or possibly as a strategic decision to avoid giving grounds for rejection. The Ether ETF, intended for trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange, awaits SEC approval, with the decision deadline closely following that for other major proposals like those from Invesco Galaxy and Grayscale.

In the ongoing legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), tensions escalate as the SEC files its final response during the lawsuit’s remedies phase. The SEC refutes Ripple’s claim of acting without recklessness in its handling of XRP, a point critical to Ripple’s defense against potential future violations. Despite Ripple’s assertions of improved practices post-lawsuit, the SEC argues that the possibility of future breaches remains, necessitating injunctions. Ripple’s attempts to minimize its liability and highlight its regulatory cooperation since the 2013 XRP ICO are acknowledged yet deemed insufficient by the SEC, which also disputes Ripple’s interpretation of legal compliance and sales restructurings. Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, criticizes the SEC’s approach, hinting at a broader regulatory misalignment and expressing hope for a favorable lawsuit resolution. The case, closely watched by the crypto community, is expected to conclude with a final judgment by September, amid Ripple’s strategic expansion into the Japanese market.

News

JPMorgan reports holding shares of several spot Bitcoin ETFs

Satoshi-era dormant Bitcoin address wakes up after 10 years

FTX proposes ‘billions in compensation,’ but not everyone’s happy

Binance to be under FRA surveillance for next 3 years: Report

Products

ARK and 21Shares drop staking plans from Ethereum ETF proposal

Grayscale withdraws its Ethereum futures ETF application

ByBit to launch Notcoin trading and withdrawals next week

AI-powered DeFi platform introduces token mints by placing orders

Regulation

SEC files final response in Ripple XRP case

Crypto firms brace for intensified SEC, CFTC action after regulator warning

Binance obtains FIU approval for India return

Nigerian officials proposed secret crypto settlement, claims Binance CEO

Funding

Star Nest Secures $6 Million Pre-A Funding for Web3 Music Venture

Web3 protocol receives $2.3M boost to decentralize AI

Web3 Gaming Company BAC Games Secures $1.5 Million in Seed Funding Round

OKX Ventures Leads US$1.5 Million Seed Funding Round for BlockBooster

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #84 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Highlights

Tether Reports Record Q1 Profits and Expands Investment Portfolio

SEC Reevaluates Ether as Security, Impacting Crypto Regulation

Vodafone Integrates Crypto Wallets into SIM Cards Amid Expansion Plans

Tether, the leading cryptocurrency firm, announced an unprecedented profit of $4.52 billion for Q1 2024, marked by significant financial disclosures. The company, known for issuing the popular USDT stablecoin, recorded its net equity at $11.37 billion as of March 31, 2024, a notable increase from $7 billion at the end of the previous year. This financial boost was attributed to $1 billion earned from operations including U.S. Treasuries and additional profits from appreciating investments in gold and bitcoin. Tether also expanded its asset base, holding over $90 billion in U.S. Treasuries, ensuring high liquidity for USDT redemption. Moreover, Tether is diversifying its portfolio, investing in sectors like artificial intelligence, clean energy, and bitcoin mining, further illustrating its commitment to broadening its market influence.

Recent developments in a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have revealed a significant shift in the regulator’s perspective on Ether, the cryptocurrency pioneered by Ethereum. This disclosure comes after Consensys, an Ethereum software firm, filed court documents suggesting that the SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, may have classified Ether as a security for over a year, diverging from earlier SEC statements under different leadership. This stance emerged despite previous assurances in 2018 that Ether was not considered a security, akin to Bitcoin. The ongoing “Ethereum 2.0” investigation aims to probe unregistered Ether transactions dating back to at least 2018, with the potential reclassification likely to influence the SEC’s decisions on related financial products, such as the proposed Ether exchange-traded funds.

Vodafone, a major UK telecommunications provider, is advancing its technological capabilities by integrating cryptocurrency wallets into SIM cards, aligning with broader blockchain adoption strategies. This initiative coincides with Vodafone Idea — a subsidiary in India partly owned by Vodafone — aiming to secure approximately $3 billion in debt to bolster its financial standing, including $1.8 billion through loans. David Palmer, Vodafone’s Blockchain Lead, shared in an interview that by 2030, the company anticipates the operation of 20 billion mobile phones, with 8 billion smartphones facilitating access to these advanced SIM card-integrated crypto wallets. This shift underscores a significant movement towards digital identity integration within mobile technologies. Meanwhile, Vodafone Group is also expanding its technological horizons by entering a decade-long strategic partnership with Microsoft to explore generative AI, further marking its commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies.

News

Tether Q1 2024 Attestation Reveals Record $4.52 Billion Profits

SEC and Gensler believed Ether was security for at least a year

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Gets 4 Months in Prison

Coinbase reports $1.64B revenue for Q1 2024

Products

Vodafone looks to integrate crypto wallets with SIM cards

HK ETF Inflows Counter US Outflows Pre US Jobs Report

Australia’s largest stock exchange could list approved spot bitcoin ETFs by end of 2024: Bloomberg

Coinbase rolls out Lightning Network support in collaboration with Lightspark

Regulation

Here’s How EU Nations Are Preparing to Enforce MiCA

UK sharpens focus on crypto regulation in latest anti-money laundering report

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Announces New Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins

India’s crypto regulations can do with a HODL strategy

Funding

XION Raises $25M to Revolutionize Web3 Accessibility: Making Crypto a Seamless Experience

Wisdomise Raises $9.5M in Funding Ahead of Public Token Launch

BAXUS Raises $5 Million in Funding to Expand Web3 Spirits Marketplace

Airstack Secures $4 Million Seed Funding Led By Red Beard Ventures

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #83 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In April, we started developing the Stablecoin initiative. The technical development timeline can be found here. We will have more updates for the community at the appropriate times in our future recaps. Moreover, our community approved AIP-31 to manage the remaining assets in the stable swap module. This action will utilize the assets in a more efficient manner for our protocol.

This month, we published four Institutional Newsletters where you can read the summary of major headlines in the crypto market related to regulation, products, and fundraising. We publish these newsletters every week. You can check out this month’s editions here: Edition 78, Edition 79, Edition 80, and Edition 81.

Read below for more details of our developments this month.

💰 AUSD

According to ALP-31, the community has decided to use the remaining assets in the stable swap module to buy ALPACA in the open market. The purchase will be executed as a TWAP over a period of time. Users were given a 45-day notice period before the swap execution. The swap is scheduled to start on or around May 27th 2024. After this time, users will be able to convert AUSD into ALPACA instead.

💎 AF 2.0

In April, Alpaca Finance 2.0’s Money Market generated ~$53k in interest revenue, reaching a total cumulative revenue of ~$443k.

You can monitor the AF2.0 Money Market through our Dune page here.

Bitcoin Halving Day 2024

To celebrate Bitcoin Halving Day 2024, the exclusive Bitcoin Halving Day 2024 NFT was given to all users staking any amount of ALPACA in the Governance Vault or deposit any amount of BTCB in the Money Market by Tuesday, 23 April 2024. You can check your eligibility here.

📈 Perpetual Futures Exchange

In April, Alperp generated a trading volume of over $18 million, reaching a cumulative trading volume of $602 million since launch.

You can always check our in-house Stats page to see Alperp’s performance and can also download the data here.

🔥 ALPACA Buyback&Burn

Each week, we share our revenue and ALPACA burn statistics on X (previously Twitter). In April, 170,552 ALPACA (~$35,200) was burned over 4 weeks. The total cumulative burn is now ~33.9 million ALPACA (18.03% of total supply).

ALPACA has been deflationary for 114 of the last 121 weeks. As per the ALPACA emissions schedule, the ALPACA token is now guaranteed to be fully deflationary as ALPACA emissions & rewards are now officially finished. We added extensive details on burn and various sources of burn on our Docs here. On top of that, we hope to again refer our readers to this article by a community member, explaining ALPACA’s deflationary nature and how it will lead to a natural rise of the ALPACA token’s price over time.

🗽 Alpaca Governance

Any user can stake ALPACA in the Governance Vault to (1)earn a share of our platform’s revenue, (2)get Grazing Range rewards, and (3)receive xALPACA to vote on Alpaca Improvement Proposals (AIPs).

In total, 24.1% of circulating ALPACA has been locked, and we have paid over >$4.1 Mn to ALPACA governance stakers. Read all about Alpaca Governance in our Part 1 and Part 2 Medium articles or visit our docs’ Governance section.

Our Discord has a private channel for xALPACA holders where governance members can discuss topics and discover/share alpha. There is a bot automating membership and the minimum required to gain entry is 100 xALPACA in a wallet. From time to time, we do special airdrops from partners (i.e. NFTs) in this channel to xALPACA holders and also Alpies holders (in their respective private channels). You can also bring up any Governance topics for discussion in our Forum.

Alpaca Improvement Proposals (AIPs):

AIP-31.1 voting has successfully passed. The community voted to implement the swap of the asset in the stable swap module

AIP-31.2 voting has successfully passed. The community voted to use the remaining stablecoin in the stable swap module to buy ALPACA in the open market. Once completed, AUSD holders will be able to redeem their AUSD for ALPACA.

For those who participated in voting, the NFT for AIP-31 is now available to claim on Galxe. Visit our Governance Forum to read about, discuss, and vote on these AIPs.

📰 Other News

In April, BSC All day, BSC deep insights twitter account, mentioned Alpaca Finance in an evaluation of BNB Chainhttps://twitter.com/BSC_allday/status/1777199719783256076

Web3M, a decentralized multi-channel news network, invited us as a special guest in Twitter Space ‘Hedge Fund Strategies for Safe Profits’. — https://twitter.com/_WEB3M_/status/1782840910667305227

Feedback

We greatly value our users’ feedback, which you can give at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QGY4wJUvYdYWe6TQn460m0A7H07xMUcBGEnU-pUXyg4/viewform?ts=61e8ce4e&edit_requested=true

Next Steps

We will continue to build. The upcoming updates that you can look forward to include news on the stablecoin and game.

We announce updates on our Twitter first, so follow us to be the first to know!

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April 2024 Recap was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Highlights

Kennedy Proposes Blockchain for U.S. Budget Transparency

Stripe Revives Crypto Payments with Enhanced Features

European Parliament Tightens Crypto Regulations

During a campaign rally in Michigan, U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposed the innovative idea of placing the entire U.S. federal budget on the blockchain. Kennedy argued that this move would significantly enhance transparency and accountability by allowing all Americans to access and review every budget item at any time. He emphasized the potential for public scrutiny, suggesting that the detailed visibility into expenditures could help detect and deter wasteful spending. The proposal received applause from cryptocurrency enthusiasts who believe this could mark a revolutionary step towards reducing governmental corruption. Critics, however, voiced concerns that Kennedy’s plan might lead towards a central bank digital currency, despite his previous statements opposing such a move.

Stripe, a leading payments processor, announced its plan to reintroduce cryptocurrency payments, focusing initially on the USDC stablecoin across the Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains. This decision comes six years after Stripe halted crypto payments due to the high volatility of bitcoin and its inefficiencies as a medium of exchange. The reintroduction, slated for later this year, was revealed by co-founder and President John Collison during a keynote at the Global Internet Economy conference. Collison emphasized the improvements in crypto technology, including faster transaction speeds and lower costs, which now make cryptocurrencies a viable option for transactions. This strategic shift reflects Stripe’s renewed commitment to harnessing the potential of digital currencies in the global payment landscape.

The European Parliament recently voted to implement a new package of laws aimed at enhancing due diligence measures for crypto asset service providers (CASPs), including centralized exchanges and gambling services. The laws, which will also mandate checks on customers’ identities and require the reporting of suspicious activities, are part of efforts to combat money laundering within the sector. According to Patrick Hansen, Circle’s EU Strategy and Policy Director, the legislation will formally be adopted by the Council of the EU and take effect three years later. These developments follow the introduction of the MiCA regulatory framework, underscoring the EU’s commitment to more stringent regulatory oversight of the crypto industry while dispelling rumors about the potential ban on anonymous crypto wallets and self-custodial payments.

News

RFK Jr. wants to put the entire US budget on a blockchain

FBI warning against crypto money transmitters ‘appears’ to be aimed at mixers

SEC charges Texas mining firm and co-founders for $5.6 million fraud scheme

‘Lost’ Yuga Labs restructures again, with layoffs, new executive

Products

Stripe Brings Back Crypto Payments Via USDC Stablecoin

Bitcoin payments app Strike rolls out services to European users

Franklin Templeton lists Ethereum ETF on DTCC

Hong Kong’s ‘in-kind’ spot bitcoin and ether ETFs to start trading April 30

Regulation

EU’s anti-money laundering bill passes final vote, here’s what’s next for crypto-asset service providers

Republic First Bank closed by US regulators — crypto community reacts

SEC delays decision on listing and trading spot bitcoin ETF options, asks for public comments

Philippines orders removal of Binance from Google and Apple app stores

Funding

Pantera Capital seeks $1B for a new crypto fund: Report

Movement Labs raises $38 million to build layer 2 blockchain on Ethereum with Facebook tech

Pantera Capital solely funds $8 million Series A for web3 gaming firm InfiniGods

AI and Web3 startup Inference Labs secures $2.3 million in pre-seed funding

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #82 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Highlights

Bitcoin Completes Fourth Halving, Promising Changes in Mining Rewards and Market Dynamics

Binance Shifts User Emergency Fund to Stablecoin USDC in Strategic Overhaul

Polkadot 2.0 Launches, Revolutionizing Blockchain Scalability and Interoperability

Bitcoin has just completed its fourth halving event at the 840,000th block, marking a significant milestone where mining rewards were halved from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This periodic reduction, set every 210,000 blocks or roughly every four years, is a core mechanism of the Bitcoin protocol designed to control inflation and enhance scarcity. The event, eagerly anticipated by the crypto community, has sparked speculation about potential surges in Bitcoin’s price, with projections reaching up to $250,000. Meanwhile, major Bitcoin miners have been ramping up their operations in anticipation, underscoring the event’s critical impact on the mining landscape and Bitcoin’s long-term value trajectory.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has recently transitioned all funds in its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and issued by Circle Internet Financial. Established in 2018, SAFU acts as a financial safety net for users in dire circumstances. This shift is part of a broader strategic realignment under the new CEO, Richard Teng, who succeeded Changpeng Zhao following a significant legal settlement with US authorities. The SAFU, typically maintained at around $1 billion, aims to ensure stability and reliability through the adoption of a trusted and transparent stablecoin, with its value verifiable in real-time on the blockchain. This move reflects a commitment to securing customer assets and enhancing trust in the platform’s financial practices.

Polkadot 2.0 is poised to reshape the blockchain landscape by addressing critical challenges in scalability and interoperability through its innovative multichain protocol. As an open-source platform, Polkadot enables seamless cross-chain transfers of data and assets, promoting greater connectivity between diverse blockchains. The latest upgrade introduces features like dynamic core models and a coretime marketplace, enhancing the network’s flexibility and transaction capacity. These improvements aim to significantly boost Polkadot’s throughput, achieving speeds of up to 1 million transactions per second. With its revised governance model and collaborative approach to regulatory compliance, Polkadot 2.0 not only aims to enhance network efficiency and security but also sets a new standard for the development of decentralized applications and the broader Web3 ecosystem.

News

Bitcoin halving 2024 — Done and dusted!

Binance Converts Its Billion-Dollar ‘SAFU’ Emergency Fund into USDC

Blockchain data-availability protocol Avail announces 600M token airdrop

Google opens a new office in El Salvador: the boost for digital transformation

Products

How Polkadot 2.0 refines blockchain scalability and interoperability

Pi Network reaches 10M KYC’d users, but token is still not tradeable

Worldcoin launches its own ‘human-centric’ blockchain network

Tether announces restructuring to go beyond stablecoins

Regulation

Binance to return to India after paying $2M fine for non-compliance: Report

BWA Lays Down Self-Regulatory Guidelines on Token Listings for Indian Crypto Exchanges

South Africa to Start Work on Stablecoin Regime, Will Start by Considering Use Cases

Gary Gensler’s resignation ‘troll’ post disappoints Crypto X

Funding

Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2B for new venture funds

Web3 Startups Raise Nearly $1.9B in Q1 2024 Despite Overall Downtrend in Crypto VC Interest

Avalon raises $10M to launch hybrid Web3 MMO

Web3 iGaming Software Provider DeGaming Secures €3.5M in Equity Funding From XVC Tech

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Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #81 was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.