Good Morning,

Another crazy weekend in crypto – the good, the bad, and the ugly

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: Bybit has excruciatingly long weekend working against $1.5B hack, the SEC retreats from years of war against the largest crypto exchanges in the world, Solana staking ETF proposed by Franklin Templeton, Ye (Kanye) announces potential token launch, Monad launches its testnet, and so much more.

You can never be too careful in crypto. Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

As of 2/23/2025 Data per CoinMarketCap.

  • Bitcoin’s 1-week realized volatility has collapsed to 23.42%, nearing historical lows,” it reported on Feb. 21

    • Glassnode further noted multi-year lows in play for Bitcoin options implied volatility — an event that was previously followed by “major volatility spikes.”

  • $RAY (@RaydiumProtocol) falls by -22.9% to $3.30 as multiple reports emerged that @pumpdotfun intends to launch its own Automated Market Maker

    • See full chart of the massive drop here

Headline Roundup
The major headlines driving crypto markets

  • Bybit loses $1.5B in crypto’s largest hack ever, read the full breakdown of what happened here

  • SEC agrees to dismiss years long case against Coinbase (TB) 

  • North Korea's Lazarus Group is behind Bybit's $1.5B hack (CD) 

  • Bybit hack led to a $4B bank run, covered by loans and partner exchanges (CD)

  • Bybit secures a bridge loan that covers 80% of its lost Ethereum (TB)

  • eXch denies money laundering allegations for Lazarus Group hack in Bybit (TV)

  • SEC agrees to dismiss case against Coinbase (TB) 

  • The SEC ends its investigation in NFT marketplace OpenSea (TB) 

  • Bybit is offering a $140M bounty to recover the $1.4B of Ethereum it lost (DC) 

  • Doodles NFT collection sees $16M trading volume spike after $DOODS memecoin announcement (TB) 

  • Franklin Templeton is seeking SEC approval for a Solana staking ETF (TB) 

  • Canary Capital’s US Litecoin ETF is added to DTCC’s official ETF list (TB)

  • US Bitcoin ETFs surpass $750B in cumulative trading volume (TB) 

  • Franklin Templeton crypto index ETF $EZPZ has only drawn in $2.5M in assets since launch last week (CT)

  • FTX founder SBF criticizes destructive politicization of judicial system under Biden (TB) 

  • The Fed’s Michael Barr denies that the central bank is pushing crypto debanking (TB) 

  • Ross Ulbricht joins call to free up Bitcoin evangelist Roger Ver (TB) 

  • Bybit CEO calls Pi Network a scam (CD) 

  • The US Marshals Service cannot confirm how much Bitcoin it holds (CD) 

  • Ye plans to launch a crypto token, YZY amid massive controversy (CD)

  • Helium Mobile partners with Movistar to provide coverage to 2.3 million Mexicans (BW) 

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Launches

  • Bgin Blockchain, a crypto mining tech firm, files for $50M IPO in United States (CT)

  • Franklin Templeton launches Bitcoin and Ethereum combo ETF (TB) 

  • Costa Rica’s state-owned Banco Nacional launches spot Bitcoin ETF (CD) 

  • SuperGaming partners with blockchain gaming ecosystem B3 to launch a dedicated gamechain (DC) 

  • WalletConnect Foundation raises $10M through four oversubscribed token sales (TB) 

  • Monad launches its testnet and distributes test tokens to 9 million wallets (TD) 

Venture Capital

  • Unit Network raises $18M from notable crypto funds including Blockchain Founders Fund and Outlier Ventures for its DeFi ecosystem (VB)

  • Acre hits $90M valuation with $4M fundraise from BBH, Draper Dragon, and Orange DAO for Bitcoin native compounding solution (DL)

  • Amber Group leads $2.5M round for AI ecosystem with decentralized feedback startup, AMMO (AC)

  • AI Network Infinity Ground finalizes $2M seed funding from Animoca Brands, MH Ventures, and others (AC)

  • AI x blockchain music startup Fireverse receives $100k from BingX (FS)

  • Redline Lab makes strategic investment in Coding Dojo for web3 talent in Latin America (CP)

  • DEXX receives strategic backing from Gate.io (BiC)

  • OKX says that ‘only solid tech’ will no longer win VC dollars (CT)

Regulation

  • Brian Armstrong releases video after SEC says they plan to drop case against Coinbase (X)

  • Hong Kong and Singapore continue to compete for top Asian blockchain hub (BT)

Cybersecurity

  • Florida woman faces deportation after allegedly stealing $850K in TRUMP tokens from ex-boyfriend (DC) 

  • Bybit CEO says 80% of ETH from $1.5B hack has been recovered (TA)

  • Blockchain Deposit Insurance Corporation (BDIC) issues a Call to Action after Bybit hack (BW)

  • Hacks, rugs, scams, and major events so far in 2025 (X)

Extra Reads

Chart of the Day

Arkham releases data tracking Bybit hackers’ wallet activity (53 and counting)

Meme Dump

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