🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (28/03/24)
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Ethena to Debut Governance Token Next Week ⚡️
In a recently published blog post, DeFi protocol Ethena unveiled plans to debut its governance token ‘ENA’ through an upcoming airdrop to users on April 2nd. Specifically, 750 million ENA tokens, or 5% of the total supply will be airdropped to users. The blog post also revealed that the protocol’s “shards” campaign will end on April 1. Those who unstake, unlock or sell all their USDe before this date will not be eligible for the airdrop. Ethena also stated that it will start a campaign with new incentives for the next phase of the airdrop.
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21Shares Debuts Toncoin Staking ETP TONN On SIX Exchange 🌚
Crypto ETP issuer 21Shares has reportedly launched a staking ETP based on Toncoin (TON). According to the press release, the new Toncoin Staking ETP is a 100% physically backed product that tracks the performance of TON while reinvesting staking yields into the ETP for enhanced performance. The product started trading on the Swiss SIX Exchange under the ticker TONN on March 27.
According to 21Shares co-founder and president Ophelia Snyder, TONN is the “first and only TON ETP” ever launched. Snyder revealed that the firm opted to launch a staking ETP instead of a spot one because staking ETPs are “superior to non-staking ETPs as the staking yield benefits ETP holders.”
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SEC Coinbase Wallet Triumph Over SEC Allegations Is A ‘Giant Win’ For DeFi ‼️
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla denied Coinbase’s bid to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit, finding the SEC “sufficiently pleaded” Coinbase was unlicensed and its crypto staking offering was unregistered securities. However, the judge also determined the SEC failed to allege that Coinbase conducted brokerage activity through Coinbase Wallet, its self-custody crypto wallet app.
Noting the significance of this ruling, Ethena Labs general counsel Zach Rosenberg tweeted,
[This] is a pretty giant win for browser-based wallet extensions, application front ends, and other similar applications. [It’s] not just that Coinbase won, but the basis for it. Merely helping users discover onchain prices does not invoke routing or making recommendations, and Coinbase never has any control over users' assets or transactions, even though it does provide the user [with] a means to "arrange" them in the market. Coinbase winning on this issue at this stage means the Court did not think that, even accepting all well-pled SEC allegations as categorically true, there was a plausible basis to conclude that Coinbase acted as a broker by virtue of offering Coinbase Wallet.
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U.S Has its 11th Spot Bitcoin ETF After Hashdex Fund Conversion 💸
More than two months after the initial launch of ten spot Bitcoin ETFs, crypto asset manager Hashdex announced the launch of its Bitcoin ETF on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Notably, this will be the eleventh spot Bitcoin ETF to go live.
Hashdex’s spot BTC ETF will trade under the ticker DEFI. Hashdex’s Bitcoin Futures ETF was reportedly renamed and converted into the spot Hashdex Bitcoin ETF. Hashdex also stated in a press release that DEFI can hold up to 5% of the fund's assets in CME-traded bitcoin futures contracts.
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Indonesia Will Require Crypto Products to Pass Through Regulatory Sandbox or Be Deemed Illegal 🔍
The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) will reportedly take over regulation of the crypto industry from the commodities agency Bappebti in January 2025. Once under OJK's oversight, crypto will most likely be reclassified as financial instruments.
The regulator stated that crypto firms will need to be evaluated in a regulatory sandbox before they're licensed to operate in Indonesia. Firms that offer services in the country without being evaluated in the sandbox will reportedly be considered to be operating illegally.
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