New Developments Happening in the Blockchain Space: 06-03-2025
XRP Ledger unveils institutional DeFi roadmap
Ripple Labs has unveiled its roadmap for building an institutional decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on the XRP Ledger blockchain network, according to a Feb. 25 blog post.
The blockchain developer is prioritizing applications that position XRP Ledger as “a safe, secure, and scalable layer 1 for financial institutions looking to use blockchain in a regulated environment,” the developer said.
They include a permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX), a credit-based DeFi lending protocol and a new token standard, multi-purpose token (MPT), Ripple said.
Each of these will rely on XRP Ledger’s “decentralized identifiers” to integrate compliance checks into the application’s smart contracts, it said.
XRP Ledger’s roadmap builds on top of existing infrastructure, including price oracles and an automated market maker (AMM). Read More
SEC closed investigation into Gemini with no action, says Winklevoss
Gemini co-founder and president Cameron Winklevoss said the decision marks another milestone to end the war on crypto but thinks the damage might have already been done.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into crypto exchange Gemini, adding to a growing list of firms that have escaped the regulator’s scrutiny for now.
In a Feb. 26 notice shared by Gemini co-founder and president Cameron Winklevoss, the SEC said it had concluded its investigation and “based on the information we have as of this date,” the regulator will not recommend an enforcement action.
The SEC charged crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital and crypto exchange Gemini with offering unregistered securities through Gemini’s “Earn” program on Jan. 12, 2023.
However, the agency added the notice isn’t an exoneration and that it must not be construed as an indication that no action will be taken at a later date as a result of the SEC's investigation. Read More
US lawmakers advance resolution to repeal ‘unfair’ crypto tax rule
US lawmakers in the House of Representatives have advanced a resolution to repeal the “DeFi broker rule,” requiring brokers to report digital asset transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
Set to take effect in 2027, the IRS regulation approved on Dec. 5 would expand existing reporting requirements to include decentralized exchanges and require brokers to disclose gross proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
During its Feb. 26 committee markup, the House Ways and Means Committee, a key group within the US House of Representatives that deals with financial issues, voted 26 to 16 to pass the resolution.
In a statement, Miller Whitehouse-Levine, the CEO of DeFi advocacy group the DeFi Education Fund, said the rule is an “unlawful and unconstitutional overreach” and needs to be overturned to “protect Americans’ freedom of choice in how they transact.”
“We urge all members —and all who want to establish the United States as a hub for financial innovation—to act swiftly to uphold Congress’s original intent by supporting the motion to overturn this misguided rule,” he said. Read More
Ethereum Foundation Reveals Leadership Shakeup Following Criticism
Aya Miyaguchi, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, will soon be assuming a new role as president of the Switzerland-based nonprofit, she wrote in a Tuesday blog post.
Within the new role, Miyaguchi wrote that she will continue supporting the Ethereum Foundation’s “institutional partnerships.” Miyaguchi has served as executive director since 2018.
“I’m feeling deeply grateful and enthusiastic for what’s ahead,” she wrote, noting that she had broached the idea of moving into the president’s role a year ago. “Recent events have given me the perfect opportunity to reflect on what truly matters to me.”
The announcement comes as Ethereum has faced mounting criticism that the network is losing ground to rival blockchains, such as Solana, and that Ethereum leadership has been ineffective and too hands-off in its support of builders. Calls for the Foundation to replace Miyaguchi intensified in January, and co-founder Vitalik Buterin has hinted at changes in the top positions for months. Read More
Crypto shows how powerful tokenizing private stocks would be — Robinhood CEO
The process of making a cryptocurrency that can start trading in minutes shows how easy it would be to tokenize stocks in private big-name firms such as OpenAI and SpaceX, says Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev.
“You can sit down in front of some software, create a coin and have it be trading in 5 minutes […] That’s a scary thing,” Tenev said in a Feb. 25 interview with Bloomberg. “It’s also an incredibly powerful thing if you juxtapose it with how cumbersome the IPO process is.”
“That’s why I think tokenization is so interesting,” he added, pointing to the ease at which blockchain tech can list assets and tap into global liquidity.
Tenev said one of the biggest pain points for Robinhood’s retail investor base has been that they can’t capitalize on perhaps the “biggest technological revolution that we’ve ever seen” — artificial intelligence.
“What can you invest in? Nvidia and to some degree, Tesla, but no OpenAI, no Anthropic,” Tenev said.
He added the Trump administration’s push to make America a world leader in crypto and AI will better position US companies like Robinhood to push the boundaries of the two technologies. Read More
A New Crypto Category Has Emerged. What Impact Will it Have…Will It Evolve Into A Significant Narrative?
US-based cryptocurrency initiatives have historically been reticent about their origins. However, during Gary Gensler's tenure, they became vulnerable to aggressive scrutiny from the SEC, and numerous projects found themselves in the regulatory crossfire. Being a US-based project has often been a liability rather than a benefit in recent years.
The cryptocurrency industry has been electrified by the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election, with Donald J. Trump's victory sparking widespread anticipation. The regulatory shifts expected under Trump's leadership are poised to grant the crypto sector unprecedented freedom in the United States.
A new cryptocurrency category has surfaced amid this enthusiasm: "Made in the USA." This category includes cryptocurrencies that are closely linked to the United States, whether through headquarters located in the US or ties to notable American personalities. With Trump backing crypto, this category could see substantial growth, likely surpassing many others.
This has the potential to evolve into a significant narrative; thus, this article explicitly addresses cryptocurrencies based in the United States, the reasons this narrative could gain prominence, and the cryptocurrencies that may benefit from a Trump administration. To commemorate President Trump's inauguration, a newly established cryptocurrency category titled 'Made in USA' has been incorporated into price tracking platforms, including CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. Read More
Hackers are making fake GitHub projects to steal crypto: Kaspersky
Hackers are creating hundreds of fake GitHub projects aiming to dupe users into downloading crypto and credential-stealing malware, says cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Kaspersky analyst Georgy Kucherin said in a Feb. 24 report that the malware campaign, which the company dubbed “GitVenom,” has seen hackers creating hundreds of repositories on GitHub hosting fake projects that contain remote access trojans (RATs), info-stealers and clipboard hijackers.
Some of the faked projects include a Telegram bot that manages Bitcoin wallets and a tool to automate Instagram account interactions.
Kucherin added the malware makers “went to great lengths” to make the projects look legitimate by including “well-designed” information and instruction files that were “possibly generated using AI tools.”
Those behind the malicious projects also artificially inflated the number of “commits,” or changes to the project, alongside adding multiple references to specific changes to give the appearance that the project was being actively improved.
“To do that, they placed a timestamp file in these repositories, which was updated every few minutes.” Read More
SEC Shuts Down Robinhood Investigation Without Pursuing Enforcement Action
The top securities regulator in the United States is dropping its investigations into leading retail trading app Robinhood.
According to a new announcement from Robinhood, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping its investigation into the trading app less than a year after sending the firm a Wells Notice.
The SEC sent Robinhood a Wells Notice, a formal warning of investigation, in May of last year despite Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s claims that the firm met with the regulator over 15 times “in good faith”.
“We tried to create what’s called the special purpose broker-dealer for the purpose of transacting crypto assets. We actually came in good faith to meet with the SEC. I think we met with them 16 times and, unfortunately, that was not reciprocated.”
Now, with the charges dropped, Robinhood calls for the SEC to regulate with regulations as opposed to enforcement actions. Read More
South Dakota Follows Montana's Lead, Throws Water on Bitcoin Reserve Plans
South Dakota lawmakers dealt another blow to Bitcoin advocates on Monday when they voted to axe a bill that would have allowed the state to invest in Bitcoin.
In a key move, the House Commerce and Energy Committee voted 9-3 to defer HB1202 until the 41st day of the session, a procedural decision that effectively killed the bill, as the session concludes in no more than 40 days.
South Dakota’s decision follows a similar outcome in Montana, where lawmakers shot down a Bitcoin reserve bill in a 41-59 vote last week.
The proposal, introduced by State Representative Logan Manhart (R-S.D.), sought to permit the state to allocate up to 10% of its public funds into Bitcoin investments as a way to diversify its financial portfolio.
"It’s a commonsense update to South Dakota’s investment strategy by allowing a limited allocation of state funds into alternative assets that have consistently proven to preserve value, particularly in inflationary environments," Manhart said, as cited in the South Dakota Public Broadcasting report.
Matt Clark, South Dakota’s State Investment Officer, raised concerns about Bitcoin’s volatility and lack of intrinsic value. Read More
Chainalysis reveals how Bybit hackers stole $1.4 billion in crypto
Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis detailed how hackers stole $1.46 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit and shed light on the laundering tactics used by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
On Feb. 21, Bybit suffered a major exploit, losing $1.46 billion in Ether and other tokens. Security platform Blockaid dubbed the incident the largest exchange hack in history, and blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified the hackers as the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group.
On Feb. 24, Chainalysis published a report explaining how the attack unfolded. It explored techniques and procedures used in the hack, citing a “common playbook” used by North Korea-affiliated hackers. The firm noted that the group relied on social engineering tactics and complex laundering techniques to move the stolen assets.
Chainalysis said the attack began with a phishing campaign targeting Bybit’s cold wallet signers. The attackers then gained access to Bybit’s user interface, which allowed them to replace a multisignature wallet implementation contract with a malicious version. This enabled them to start processing unauthorized fund transfers.
Chainalysis said the hackers intercepted a routine transfer from Bybit’s Ethereum cold wallet to a hot wallet. The attackers then rerouted about 401,000 ETH ($1.46 billion) to their addresses. The funds were split across multiple intermediary wallets, a common tactic to obscure the transaction trail, Chainalysis said.
“The stolen assets were then moved through a complex web of intermediary addresses. This dispersion is a common tactic used to obfuscate the trail and hinder tracking efforts by blockchain analysts.” Read More
5 ways real-world asset tokenization is transforming TradFi
Traditional finance (TradFi) is slowly but steadily being carried onto blockchain. This trend may particularly benefit legacy assets such as real estate, private equity and fine art, which are challenging to buy and sell due to lengthy processes, high costs and fragmented markets — thus often remaining illiquid.
Recording real-world assets (RWAs) on blockchain — simply called tokenization — offers significant improvement for such industries. The technology allows full or fractional asset ownership onchain and simplifies asset transfer. RWA tokenization floods traditionally illiquid industries with liquidity and significantly expands such markets, thereby modernizing them.
As blockchain technologies mature and more efficient solutions become available, the market for onchain RWAs is only expected to grow. Standard Chartered predicts a $30 trillion market for tokenized assets by 2034, while a Coinbase survey with Fortune 500 executives reveals that 86% of leaders recognize the potential benefits of tokenized assets.
Let’s take a look at how RWA tokenization can change the TradFi landscape for the better. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
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