What Happened in Crypto Today: Are Ethereum ETFs in Trouble? Analysts Are Losing Faith
03/20/2024 22:11
From Trezor's social account getting hacked to SEC delaying ETH ETF decision, here is a 2-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto today.
This week in crypto felt like we all got roped into a real-life Squid Game. The high-stakes challenges just kept coming at the community from every angle.
It started off with Bitcoin hitting a fresh new all-time high of around $73,000 last Thursday. The community was euphoric, dreaming of life-changing riches as the OG coin blasted through resistance like it was nothing.
Source: BTC price page
But then, brutal reality struck. BTC retraced all the way back down to $63,000 as an aggressive sell-off neutralized the epic rally in a heartbeat.
As the market was trying to process the price chaos, a major drama erupted on another front. Trezor - one of the most trusted names in the crypto security game - got its social media account compromised. Their X account was used to shill a fake "TRZR" token sale in what felt like a cruelly personalized variation of the Red Light/Green Light game.
And just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, the SEC made a move (well, not really!). Those awaiting rulings on the proposed ETH ETF applications got slammed as the SEC elected to kick those all-important decisions down the road yet again with delays.
In the midst of this password-pocalypse, the crypto news cycle kept on spinning with more major players making power moves. So let’s round up the top crypto stories!
Here's a TLDR of the top headlines:
Let’s get into the details of each of these stories!
We Hope You Didn’t Fall for TRZR…
Yesterday, things went south in the world of wallets - and it all started with one of the most trusted names in the hardware wallet game.
On March 19th, none other than Trezor, the cryptocurrency hardware wallet firm that's sold over 2 million devices worldwide, fell victim to a major security breach. And trust us, it wasn't pretty.
According to reports, Trezor's official account on the bird app was hacked in what's suspected to be a SIM-swap attack. And once the attackers had control, they wasted no time in pushing an elaborate crypto scam.
The compromised account started promoting a fake token presale for "TRZR" token on the Solana blockchain.
How much money did its followers lose? Did Trezor make any official announcement following the incident? Read the full story!
Another Big Move by BlackRock
The world's largest asset manager has just filed with the SEC to launch a tokenized asset fund. And we're not talking about some small-time operation here – this is a big move from one of the most influential players in the finance game.
According to the filing, BlackRock's new fund will be called the "BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund," and it'll be registered in the British Virgin Islands.
But here is the problem - if you want to get in on the action, you better have some serious cash to throw around because the minimum investment is $100,000.
On the bright side, if approved, we will probably see trillions pouring into tokenization and RWAs soon! Read the full story!
$100M Web3 Gaming Fund?
Another day, another blockchain gaming investment fund, right? 🥱
This time it's Immutable, Polygon Labs, and VC firm King River Capital teaming up to launch a $100 million "Inevitable Games Fund." Sounds impressive on paper, but what's in it for the average crypto degen?
They've already secured backing from big names like Abu Dhabi's Alpha Wave Ventures and Mike Arrington's family office. Moreover, the fund has its hands in a few buzzy gaming projects like Pixelmon and Guild of Guardians.
But at the end of the day, it's just another VC money pit...unless there's something truly game-changing in store.
Maybe this trio has cracked the code on delivering an actual fun and worthwhile Web3 gaming experience? One that doesn't feel like a cash grab or tech demo, but an innovative blend of gaming and crypto that hasn't been seen before? Read the full story!
Matter Labs Makes Moves
It's time to talk about a power move in the world of layer-2 scaling solutions and institutional finance.
Matter Labs has teamed up with the digital asset bigwigs over at Sygnum Bank to tokenize $50 million of their treasury reserves. That's right – Fifty. Million. Dollars.
But wait, there's more! This tokenization extravaganza isn't just some random crypto flexing. Nope, these funds are being tokenized onto the very blockchain that Matter Labs built – zkSync itself.
Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with the world of traditional finance (or "Trad-Fi," as we like to call it), these tokenized funds will represent Matter Labs' investment into the Fidelity Institutional Liquidity Fund. And we're not just talking about some fly-by-night operation here – this Fidelity fund is an open-ended money market behemoth.
Feels like RWA and tokenization are in line to be the next big trend to follow. Read the full story!
SEC and ETH ETFs
The SEC has decided to keep us all in suspense a little while longer by delaying its ruling on the proposed spot ETH ETFs from Hashdex and ARK 21Shares.
According to the SEC's announcement on March 19th, the final decision on these ETH ETF applications has been pushed back to late May, leaving the crypto community on the edge of their seats for at least another couple of months.
It seems that the market analysts over at Bloomberg are starting to lose faith in the prospect of these ETFs getting the green light. Yep, you read that right – even the seasoned experts are starting to doubt the SEC's willingness to play ball.
Weren’t Bloomberg analysts too optimistic about ETH ETF approval in May? What happened? What did they say? Read the full story!
Popular Game Developer Goes Web3
The masterminds behind iconic franchises like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts are diving headfirst into blockchain gaming. And they're not just dipping their toes in the water – Square Enix has formed a partnership with HyperPlay, a Web3 games platform built on blockchain.
This collaboration isn't just a handshake deal – Square Enix made an undisclosed investment in HyperPlay, with the goal of expanding and scaling the platform's game store offerings.
And as if that wasn't enough, Square Enix is also set to launch "SYMBIOGENESIS," an art experience based on the popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask, on the HyperPlay storefront. Read the full story!
That’s a wrap! See you tomorrow with more crypto stories.