📈 XRP Sees Ultra-Bullish Prospects As Developers Reveal A Cross-Chain Bridge To Drive Interoperability Is Coming
RippleX and XRP Ledger (XRPL) developers have unveiled a new XRPL standard for a cross-chain bridge that would considerably expand the potential use cases for the network and the XRP token. Interoperability is a buzzword in the cryptosphere that refers to the ability of different blockchains to communicate, share crypto assets and arbitrary information, and work together, therefore sharing economic activity. Interoperability between blockchains is considered to be a critical goal for enhancing the end-user experience and fostering crypto adoption. 🔗 Read more

🐕 Shiba Inu’s Community Heightens Token Burns As Shibarium Renews Bullish Drive For ‘$0.001 SHIB’
The Shiba Inu (SHIB) community burned over 98 million tokens last week in a move that contributed to double-digit gains attained by the asset. 98 million SHIB were burned in the last seven days, and in the last 24 hours, the community sent 9 million tokens to a dead wallet. According to information from Shibburn, SHIB holders attained that milestone in 36 separate transactions. The largest burn, amounting to 39 million SHIB, was on Feb 13, with an unidentified Binance user making the move in seven separate transactions. SHIB Super Store, a regular participant in the burning process, disclosed via Twitter that it had burned over 8.7 million SHIB tokens. 🔗 Read more

⚙️ Solana Network Stumbles, On-Chain Trading Slows After ‘Forking’ Incident
Infrastructure operators on the Solana network rushed to right the struggling blockchain early Saturday after a tech issue throttled users’ ability to trade crypto, transfer assets, or do anything on-chain. The blockchain started “forking” (creating conflicting versions of its transaction history) at around 00:53 New York time, according to Solana’s Discord server. Shortly after that validators’ RAM began increasing while the chain’s transaction throughput fell off a cliff. 🔗 Read more

📰 This Week In Crypto (CW 8)
1. Bitcoin, Ethereum Dip as Crypto Market Sheds $58B
2. Solana Network Stumbles, On-Chain Trading Slows After ‘Forking’ Incident
3. Global Crypto Rules to be Based on Coming FSB & IMF Synthesis Paper, India Says After G20 Meetings
4. FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Faces More Criminal Charges – The Latest Twist in a High-Profile Case
5. Ethereum Shapella upgrade gets new date, making way for un-staking ETH

CW7 (last week)

🧮 Solana network back online following second restart
The Solana blockchain is back online after two attempts to restart the network. The fix occurred at 01:28 UTC, after which engineers were said to continue monitoring the performance of the network, according to monitoring site Solana Status. At 02:09 UTC, the issue was deemed to be resolved. The network went down in the early hours of Feb. 25, meaning transactions weren't processing on the network as they're supposed to. A few hours later, a first network restart took place but it was ineffective, leading to the second solution. 🔗 Read more

⚖️ SEC Chair Reasserts Every Crypto is a Security Aside From Bitcoin, Lawyers Disagree
Gensler reasserted his opinion that all crypto transactions aside from Bitcoin fall under securities laws. Lawyers tend to disagree. Gary Gensler’s recent interview with New York Mag (NYMAG) has ruffled feathers across the crypto industry again. The SEC chair reiterated that he considers all crypto assets and all transitions to be subject to U.S. securities laws, aside from spot trading for Bitcoin. Although crypto assets have yet to be officially classified, Gensler said “everything other than Bitcoin” is a security. In his opinion, the people behind all crypto projects and networks are furtively trying to lure investors into buying the tokens. 🔗 Read more

🎓 Salvadoran Bitcoin Education Program Is Launching A New Curriculum In English
Mi Primer Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education program based in El Salvador, has announced a new and improved diploma program in English. According to Dalia Platt, head of curriculum for Mi Primer Bitcoin, the “aim is to change the way people learn about Bitcoin. The goal is to make the course interactive, fun, creative, accessible and easy to understand for all, using examples that can reach and impact every corner of the world.” According to Platt, the organization has seen exponential growth. “We have educated more than 10,000 students this year, which is 25 times more than last year,” she said. “As the first Bitcoin nation, El Salvador has the unique opportunity to lead the way in Bitcoin education.” 🔗 Read more

🔐 Polygon launches web3 identification service using zero-knowledge proofs
Polygon, the Ethereum sidechain, released a web3 identification service called Polygon ID that will allow blockchain-based applications to authenticate user credentials without compromising personal information. Polygon-based crypto and NFT projects such as Kaleido, Fractal and Collab.Land, have already shown support for Polygon ID, which is accompanied with a developer toolkit. The offering can verify user data for blockchain apps while maintaining privacy on-chain; it uses zero-knowledge proofs, which can authenticate data while keeping it encrypted and hidden from the verifying party. Polygon ID could be beneficial in compliance use cases such as the "Know Your Client" process required for centralized exchanges, permissioned DeFi platforms, as well as fiat payments for on-ramp and off-ramp. It works alongside Polygon's wallet. 🔗 Read more

🔨 Ripple Positioned For Positive Outcome In SEC Lawsuit As XRP Army Expects Landmark Court Rulings Soon
The Ripple vs SEC lawsuit has kept many on edge, as a verdict is still yet to be passed. Although Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is confident that a verdict will be passed in the first half of 2023 and that Ripple will be favoured, many are still questioning the possibilities. However, Attorney John Deaton, the founder and host of CryptoLaw, also a well-known Ripple proponent, is certain that Ripple will win its case against the SEC in the Supreme Court. In a recent tweet, Stuart Alderoty, the Chief legal officer at Ripple, observed that the SEC has not been so lucky in the past with previous lawsuits. Stuart Alderoty noted that out of 5 cases, the SEC had lost 4 in the Supreme Court. 🔗 Read more

🚀 Major Crypto Trading Platform Uphold Reaffirms Support for $XRP
A major cryptocurrency trading platform that offers its users the ability to buy, sell, and hold various assets including cryptocurrencies and tokenized stocks, has reaffirmed its support for $XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger. On social media, Uphold reacted to a trend on the microblogging platform Twitter where users kept on asking for trading platforms to relit XRP. XRP was delisted from several exchanges after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs over the sale of XRP, alleging it’s an unregistered security, in 2020. The lawsuit alleges the firm paid cryptocurrency exchanges to permit “the buying and selling of XRP” on their platforms. At the heart of the lawsuit is whether XRP is a security that should have been registered with the regulator or not. 🔗 Read more

📈 $1.3 Billion Digital Asset Management Firm Says Crypto Market Set for Largest Ever Bull Cycle
Crypto markets are set for unprecedented growth over the next few years, according to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, who during a recent interview expressed his optimism for digital asset markets, stating he is “especially bullish on the next three years.” During a recent interview on The Wolf of All Streets YouTube channel, Hougan predicted that the upcoming cryptocurrency market bull cycle will be the largest one yet in terms of user adoption, aggregate market cap increase, and other important metrics. While there may be bumps along the way, Hougan is confident that regulation will ultimately be a positive factor for the market. 🔗 Read more

📰 This Week In Crypto (CW 9)
1. India explores offline functionality of CBDCs
2. OKX Crypto Exchange: Proof of Reserves is Future of CEX industry
3. China’s Digital Yuan Can Now Be Used to Pay Highway Toll Fees on Major Routes
4. Coinbase cutting ties with Silvergate forces crypto hedge fund to find a new bank
5. Alameda Gap Persists as Stunted Liquidity Holds Back Crypto Market

CW8 (last week)

⚖️ XRP Lawsuit Sees Biggest Twist Yet As Recent Supreme Court Ruling Supports Ripple’s Fair Notice Defense
Covering the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ill-conceived enforcement action against San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple is never dull, and Friday offered yet another development in the suit. In court documents, Ripple argued that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bittner v. United States buttresses their fair notice argument. Ripple noted that the Tuesday Supreme Court verdict in the Bittner case, which restricts the government’s ability to impose penalties on American taxpayers who do not report foreign bank accounts, stressed that the SEC failed to provide “fair notice” prior to bringing its enforcement action. 🔗 Read more

⚖️ US Judge Shuts Down SEC, Says Agency Will Not Be Allowed to Interfere With Crypto Bankruptcy Proceedings
A judge in the Southern District of New York says he will stop the SEC from interfering with a bankruptcy case by claiming a new crypto asset is a security. Judge Michael Wiles says he will not allow the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to punish executives and advisors working on proposals to create a new token that would help repay customers, reports Bloomberg. The SEC issued an objection to bankruptcy proceedings for the embattled crypto lender Voyager early this year, which would help repay customers affected by the lender’s collapse. Judge Michael Wiles initially said he needs specifics on why the SEC objects and why it has decided to “stop everybody in their tracks” with little to no explanation of its concerns. 🔗 Read more

🏆 Binance US wins court approval to acquire Voyager’s assets
Binance.US – the American subsidiary of Binance – has defeated the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). The American crypto exchange won the rights to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets, according to a report by Bloomberg. The bankruptcy judge of the Southern District of New York – Michael Wiles – gave the crypto exchange the green light after four days of the hearing. The judge struck down the claims made by the SEC. The commission had filed a limited objection to the acquisition in early January 2023. The main question of the commission was how the US crypto exchange was able to afford such a large deal. In addition, the regulatory authority claimed that parts of the deal violated federal laws, claiming that the exchange could have possibly violated securities law. 🔗 Read more

📊 Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Network Pursues New Buyer Despite Existing Offer – What's Going On?
The bankrupt cryptocurrency lender, Celsius Network, is reportedly pursuing more bids and exploring new buyers despite having an offer on the table. During a bankruptcy court hearing in Manhattan, Celsius attorney Chris Koenig said the company remains open to better offers, per a report by Reuters. He added that the lender's official unsecured creditors committee (UCC) met with a potential buyer just days ago to review an alternate proposal. The crypto lender also asked judge Martin Glenn, who is overseeing Celsius' Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, to extend the time limit for submitting a bankruptcy restructuring plan built around the NovaWulf deal. The judge agreed to give Celsius an extra three weeks. 🔗 Read more

🕵️‍♂️ CBDCs could be ‘easily weaponized’ to spy on US citizens: Congressman
United States Representative Tom Emmer believes the launch of programmable central bank digital currency in the country could strip American citizens of their financial privacy. Speaking on March 9 at the Cato Institute, a Washington D.C.-based libertarian think tank, Emmer explained that the programmable CBDC would be “easily weaponized” as a spying tool to “choke out politically unpopular activity,” among other things: "As the federal government seeks to maintain and expand financial control to which it has grown accustomed, the idea of the central bank digital currency has gained traction within the institutions of power in the United States as a government-controlled programmable money that can be easily weaponized into a surveillance tool.” 🔗 Read more

🚨 Circle Confirms $3.3B of USDC's Cash Reserves Stuck at Failed Silicon Valley Bank
Stablecoin issuer Circle said late Friday that $3.3 billion in cash deposits remained at Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB), the lender which was shut down earlier in the day by regulators after suffering a run on deposits. The sum represents some 8% of the total reserves backing Circle's stablecoin USDC. Silicon Valley Bank was one of the six banking partners where Circle held a part of the reserve assets backing its $40 billion USDC stablecoin. 🔗 Read more

📊 USDC slowly repegs on unconfirmed reports of SVB resolution
According to a post on Mar. 11 by Bob Elliot, chief investment officer of Unlimited Funds, relief efforts may already be underway less than 72 hours after the collapse of prominent American tech bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Elliot claimed, among many items, that "big banks actively working on buying svb business," the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is planning to cover 95% of uninsured depositors to the acquirer, and that "50pct of uninsured paid out next wk." Cointelegraph reported earlier today that Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, had over $3.3 billion in reserves stuck in the troubled bank out of a total of over $40 billion. In addition, SVB reportedly custodied an estimated $5 billion in funds for prominent blockchain venture capital firms such as a16z, Pantera Capital, and Paradigm. Earlier today, USDC depegged from its one-to-one U.S. dollar peg to trade as low as $0.87 apiece before slowly re-pegging to trade at $0.95 at the time of publication. 🔗 Read more

📰 This Week In Crypto (CW 10)
1. USDC Stablecoin Depegs, Crypto Market Goes Haywire After Silicon Valley Bank Collapses
2. Coinbase Pauses Conversions Between USDC and U.S. Dollars as Banking Crisis Roils Crypto
3. Cryptocurrency Prices And News: Bitcoin Drops To Eight-Week Low On Bad Bank News
4. Bitcoin Regains $20K After $200M in Crypto Liquidations; Some Traders Brush Off USDC Fears
5. Bitcoin falls after Fed chair testimony, and Grayscale takes SEC to court over ETF: CNBC Crypto World

CW9 (last week)