New Blockchain Networks, Applications and Integrations Launch
By Robert A. Musiala Jr.
The software company that developed the protocol for the world’s largest decentralized exchange (DEX) recently announced the launch of Unichain, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) built on the Optimism Superchain network of L2 chains. According to a press release, “With fast block times and low fees, Unichain is optimized for onchain markets, offering one-second blocks and 95% cheaper gas than Ethereum.”
The same software company also recently released an updated version (v4) of its popular DEX. According to a company blog post, the launch of the v4 DEX follows “code contributions from hundreds of community members, nine independent audits, the largest security competition in history, and a $15.5 million bug bounty.” The blog post notes the v4 DEX is currently available on the Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, Base, BNB Chain, Blast, World Chain, Avalanche and Zora blockchain networks.
According to reports, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) recently allocated approximately $120 million in ETH to various decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The EF reportedly has deployed 10,000 ETH to the Spark protocol; 10,000 ETH to Aave Prime; 20,800 ETH to Aave Core; and 4,200 ETH to Compound.
In more network news, development company Ondo Finance recently announced that it has launched Ondo Chain, “a Layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain purpose-built to accelerate the creation of institutional-grade financial markets onchain.” According to a blog post, Ondo Chain combines “the openness of public blockchains with the compliance and security features of permissioned chains” and “provides the infrastructure to enable tokenized real-world assets to be used at scale.”
And in a final development, according to reports, a major digital assets infrastructure provider has integrated with the recently launched Ethereum L2 Soneium network. The integration will reportedly enable enhanced operational and security features for Web3 applications built on Soneium.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
Digital Asset Companies Announce Tokenization Initiatives
By Keith R. Murphy
In a recent press release, tZERO Group Inc. announced that its digital asset security TZROP will be fully tokenized in March 2025, and will be the first digital asset security to be custodied by tZERO Digital Asset Securities, one of only two digital securities broker-dealer custodians in the U.S. The full tokenization reportedly will enable future smart contract automation functionalities, along with new utility features utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) data-driven insights relating to TZROP’s ownership structure, transactions and investor base, while maintaining data privacy, according to the press release.
In another recent press release, a global financial market infrastructure company introduced ComposerX, a “comprehensive suite of platforms designed to streamline token creation and settlement with the objective of accelerating digital asset adoption throughout the financial ecosystem.” According to the release, ComposerX is an end-to-end suite for managing digital assets through their full life cycle and is intended to provide transaction, account and inventory management capabilities; scalable data management tools; and an open smart contract framework for tokenization.
In overseas news, according to a recent press release, Global Digital Finance, a global nonprofit association of member firms focused on digital assets, and FIX Trading Community, a nonprofit, industry-driven standards body for global trading, announced their newly published joint report addressing work done by industry members to interconnect the FIX protocol and the FinP2P tokenization interoperability protocol. The report addresses the technical integration achieved through the FIX-FinP2P Protocol Interoperability Alliance, which is a joint initiative aimed at bridging traditional finance systems with tokenized assets, according to the press release.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
CFTC To Hold Digital Asset Forum, Central Bank Governor Addresses Stablecoins
By Keith R. Murphy
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced in a recent press release that it will hold a CEO Forum of industry-leading firms for the purpose of discussing the launch of the CFTC’s digital asset markets pilot program for tokenized noncash collateral such as stablecoins. Multiple major U.S. digital asset firms were among the list of participants provided in the press release.
In other news, the U.S. central bank recently published a speech given by its member of the board of governors, Christopher J. Waller, at a conference in California addressing the importance of stablecoins for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. In the speech, Waller addresses the maturing stablecoin market and examines potential challenges that could impede stablecoins from reaching their full potential. Among other topics in the speech, he discusses various use cases for stablecoins, the need for issuers to have a viable business model, and scalability.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
Crypto Industry Banking Difficulties Described in Several Recent Reports
By John E. Robertson
In a recent press release, a U.S. bank supervisory agency announced the release of 175 documents related to its supervision of banks engaged in crypto-related activities. In a statement, the agency’s acting chairman said the documents show that requests from banks seeking to engage the agency regarding crypto-related activities were “almost universally met with resistance” from the agency and, as a result, “the vast majority of banks simply stopped trying.” The release concludes by stating the agency is reevaluating its supervisory approach to “provid[e] a pathway for institutions to engage in crypto- and blockchain-related activities.”
A recent joint report, released by three U.K. cryptocurrency advocacy groups, surveyed the interactions between Web3 firms and the U.K. banking sector. The report finds that of bank applications submitted by Web3 firms, 67 percent were rejected and an additional 15 percent were accepted, but then the account was later closed by the bank. The report includes a survey showing Web3 firms believe the U.K.’s banking sector is unfriendly to crypto businesses. The report concludes with recommendations to foster the relationship between U.K. banks and cryptocurrency-related firms.
An article released this week by Cointelegraph summarizes a recent congressional hearing on “Chokepoint 2.0.” The article describes Chokepoint 2.0 as a purported Biden administration operation to force banks to close accounts of blockchain-related businesses. The article reports on the testimony of several hearing witnesses, including the leadership of several major U.S. crypto firms. One witness at the hearing reportedly said U.S. banking regulators “bludgeoned the banks” with examinations and questions until the banks were forced to close the accounts of crypto firms.
In a recent interview, the CEO of a major U.S. Ethereum development company discussed how the company twice survived exclusion from U.S. banks. Among other things, in the interview the CEO said two major U.S. banks were forced to close the company’s accounts after receiving intense regulatory pressure.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
CFTC and DOJ Announce Digital Asset Enforcement Actions
By Robert A. Musiala Jr.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently announced two consent orders involving digital assets. The first consent order requires a defendant to pay over $7.6 million in restitution to victims of a fraud scheme related to a digital asset, My Big Coin (MBC). According to the CFTC press release, the defendant obtained more than $7.6 million from at least 28 victims through fraudulent solicitations, “including false and misleading claims and omissions about MBC’s value, use and trade status, and that MBC was backed by gold.”
In a second press release, the CFTC announced a consent order in a CFTC action charging a defendant with “fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of investor assets.” According to the press release, the order finds that the defendant “engaged in a fraudulent digital assets trading scheme in which he solicited more than two dozen retail customers to contribute bitcoin, ether, and fiat currency to invest in his purported proprietary digital assets trading fund.”
In a third enforcement action, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that a defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with the January 2024 hack of a social media account owned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the hack, the hackers falsely announced that the SEC approved BTC Exchange Traded Funds, resulting in a temporary increase in the price of BTC.
Another recent DOJ press release announced that two Estonian nationals have pleaded guilty to operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme and agreed to forfeit assets valued at over $400 million. According to the press release, the defendants sold contracts entitling customers to a share of cryptocurrency mined by a fraudulent mining service. Among other things, the defendants did not have the ability to perform the advertised mining and falsified data on mining profits.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
DeFi Protocol Hacked for $9.5M, New Data Published on Crypto Crimes
By Robert A. Musiala Jr.
According to recent reports, decentralized finance protocol zkLend was recently hacked for approximately $9.5 million in cryptocurrencies. ZkLend has reportedly offered the hacker 10 percent of the stolen funds and a release of all liabilities in exchange for return of the funds.
A recent report by Merkle Science provides new data on crypto hacks facilitated by social engineering. Among other things, the report found that the most frequently targeted victims of such hacks were tech figures and celebrities, and the most common attack vector was a single social media platform, which accounted for 75 percent of social engineering attacks targeting crypto. The report also noted that rug pulls and phishing each accounted for about 44 percent of the incidents identified.
Blockchain analytics company TRM Labs recently released its 2025 Crypto Crime Report. Among its many findings, the report notes the following:
- Sanctioned entities drove the largest share of illicit crypto volume in 2024.
- The use of cryptocurrency by terrorist groups appears to be growing, with stablecoins the cryptocurrency of choice.
- Ransomware has remained a prolific and growing threat in 2024, and bitcoin remains the primary currency for ransomware payments.
- In 2024, USD 2.2 billion was stolen in hacks and exploits — a 17 percent increase from 2023.
- North Korea accounted for approximately 35 percent of all stolen funds in 2024.
- “Pig butchering” scams experienced a significant decline in 2024.
- Cryptocurrency-enabled online sales of illicit drugs saw a year-on-year growth of over 19 percent between 2023 and 2024, nearing USD 2.4 billion.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
[View source.]
