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SEC's Uyeda Signals Possible Revisions to Crypto Custody Rule
The SEC, under Mark Uyeda, has moved away from Gary Gensler’s tough stance on crypto, revisiting key proposals.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may revise or abandon former chair Gary Gensler’s controversial proposal that would tighten crypto custody standards for investment advisers.
Under Gensler’s two-year-old proposal, the SEC sought to expand federal custody rules to include assets like crypto, requiring investment advisers to hold client assets with qualified custodians, such as federal- or state-chartered banks.
In his remarks at an investment conference in San Diego on Monday, acting SEC chair Mark Uyeda acknowledged “significant concerns” raised by industry commenters over the “broad scope” of Gensler’s proposal.
“Given such concern, there may be significant challenges to proceeding with the original proposal,” Uyeda said.
The regulator mentioned he had directed the SEC staff to work with the agency’s crypto task force to explore alternatives, including withdrawing the rule altogether. Read More
Ripple files trademark application for custody service, wallet
Ripple Labs has filed a trademark application for the word mark “Ripple Custody,” indicating that the company behind the XRP token is considering expanding its brand in the crypto custody space.
The filing notes four use cases for the word mark, including one that reads “Financial services, namely, custodial services in the nature of maintaining storage and possession of cryptocurrency […] for financial management purposes.”
Crypto custodians store and manage digital assets for individuals and institutions, aiming to minimize risks such as private key loss and security breaches. The demand for custody services has grown significantly in recent years, especially following the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US in 2024. Major players in this space include Coinbase, Citi and BNY Mellon, among others.
The trademark filing follows Ripple’s launch of its custody service in October 2024. At the time, the company said the move sought to diversify its revenue streams beyond its payment settlement service. Read More
Arbitrum devs launch incubator-style program ‘Onchain Labs’
Offchain Labs, the developers of Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum, have announced a partnership with the Arbitrum Foundation to launch a new incubator-style program called Onchain Labs.
According to a March 17 post by Offchain Labs, the new incubator is aimed at rapidly adding to Arbitrum’s existing decentralized application (DApp) offerings, with a particular focus on supporting “innovative and experimental” projects.
Offchain Labs said this support will primarily come in the form of product and go-to-market advice and won’t provide engineering or other operational resources.
It also added that while it’s possible — there’s no guarantee that its venture capital arm, Tandem, will purchase any of these project tokens in public markets.
Offchain Labs said the continued development of Arbitrum over the past few years has seen it grow to become one of the “most performant ecosystems in the space.” But now, with the launch of Onchain Labs, the focus will shift to building out the network’s application landscape.
“Through Onchain Labs, we’re dedicating resources to support developers looking to rapidly expand the application layer by ideating with them from the ground floor to bring the best user experiences to Arbitrum,” the company said.
“With Offchain Labs’ support, we’re confident we’ll see industry-leading applications that are uniquely possible on Arbitrum.” Read More
Layer-1 Project MultiversX Continues To Top the Crypto Gaming Sector in Terms of Development Activity: Santiment
The layer-1 blockchain MultiversX (EGLD) continues to lead the digital asset gaming sector in the realm of development activity, according to the crypto analytics firm Santiment.
Santiment notes on the social media platform X that MultiversX, formerly known as Elrond, registered 212.17 notable GitHub events in the past 30 days.
The Ethereum (ETH)-based virtual reality platform Decentraland (MANA) ranks second, clocking 168.93 events, and the Ethereum layer-2 protocol Skale Network (SKL) is a distant third with 41.07.
MultiversX and Decentraland have occupied the number one and two spots in previous months as well, according to Santiment.
Santiment notes that it doesn’t count routine updates and uses a “better methodology” to collect data for GitHub events based on a “backtested process.” Read More
Central Bank of Russia Issues Proposal Allowing Wealthy Investors To Trade Bitcoin and Crypto: Report
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has reportedly released a proposal that if approved, would allow qualified entities to trade crypto assets.
In a statement, the central bank proposes a three-year experiment where wealthy investors and certain firms have the greenlight to buy and sell crypto assets, reports Reuters.
The Central Bank of Russia says the experiment is designed to boost transparency in crypto trading but warns that participants can lose money dabbling into digital assets.
“This is a new status that … citizens will receive if their investments in securities and deposits exceed 100 million roubles ($1.15 million) or if their income over the past year was more than 50 million roubles ($575,000).”
In July of 2020, Russia enacted a law that banned the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) to purchase goods and services in the country. But the European giant appears to be softening its stance on digital assets after the US and its allies imposed crippling sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. Read More
The Markethive R² Principle Explained. Reach and Returns: Subscriptions vs Qualifications
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Markethive is a hybrid platform comprising social media, inbound marketing, and digital broadcasting within a cryptocurrency ecosystem, with many strings to its bow. Markethive operates on a fundamental principle that can be summarized as "Reach and Returns," represented as R².
This dual focus highlights the platform's commitment to providing both extensive marketing and broadcasting capabilities and effective tools and systems for cultivating a strong customer base. This principle is at the core of Markethive's operations, emphasizing the platform's focus on both reaching a broad audience and delivering significant returns on your investment, time, and qualifications.
"Reach" refers to Markethive's capacity to disseminate your message, products, or services to a broad audience. This is achieved through features and strategies designed to maximize visibility and engagement. For instance, our social media integration allows you to reach potential customers across various platforms, and our targeted advertising tools ensure your message is seen by the right audience. All these are made possible through the Markethive a-la-carte subscriptions.
"Returns," on the other hand, signifies the platform's emphasis on generating tangible results from your efforts. By providing tools to attract, nurture, and convert leads into customers and clients, Markethive aims to deliver a substantial return on your investment of time, skills, and resources through the Markethive KEY qualification.
This dual approach ensures that your marketing efforts are far-reaching and impactful, ultimately leading to significant growth and success for your business. Whether you're looking to expand your brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales, Markethive's R² principle provides a comprehensive framework for achieving your marketing goals and return on investment within the Markethive Ecosystem. Read More
Bybit Announces Ecosystem Partnership With AVAX and Will Offer Rewards
Bybit, the world’s second-largest exchange by trading volume, announced AVAX as the first ecosystem partnership of the Bybit Card. It will also be the first to enable cashback rewards through AVAX. The news follows historic cryptocurrency trends that have seen Bitcoin price USD and other cryptocurrencies reach unprecedented highs.
The Bybit Card will expand its auto cashback options, affording its users flexibility when using the technology. To promote the new partnership, there will be extra perks for the altcoin for a limited time. Bybit celebrates the new partnership with an AVAX-only perk. Eligible users can toggle their AVAX default cashback option to up to 10% cashback in AVAX for a limited time.
The Bybit card enables crypto users to use, save, and earn yields on their digital assets. The native crypto gateway includes annual benefits, such as saving up to 8% APR on select holdings and cashback mechanisms. The company, founded in 2018, provides a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit offers a physical card option for international purchases that activates when the exchange approves it. The card is accepted globally and has security features and rewards, and eligible users (VIPs) do not pay a fee, though there are no monthly or annual fees attributed to the card.
Bybit ensures the security of its crypto cards through multiple measures, including two-factor authentication (2FA), which is mandatory for all Bybit accounts, adding an extra layer of security during logins and transactions. Users can select either Google Authenticator or SMS verification. It also incorporated biometric verification and card management controls while using EMV 3D Secure, which provides additional fraud protection by verifying cardholder identity during online transactions. Read More
Victim of a crypto scam? Here’s what to do next
Cryptocurrency scams can manifest in various forms, often preying on the lack of regulation and the complexity of blockchain transactions.
You must be aware of common tactics used in cryptocurrency scams. These include:
Layer-2 Networks are 'Consolidating' Around Tech Stacks as Pectra Upgrade Looms
The OP Stack has remained dominant, with "bridge abstraction" volume surging ahead of Ethereum's next major upgrade.
Layer-2 (L2) networks are coalescing around dominant tech stacks rather than working toward universal standards, research from onchain explorer Blockscout reveals.
Speaking with Decrypt in a video interview, Ulyana Skladchikova, head of product; and Kirill Fedoseev, head of research at the open-source explorer, revealed how a shift toward technical "clustering" is happening, despite overall transaction growth.
"We see chains kind of get together around some big players and establish interop within those groups of chains," Skladchikova said.
The OP stack, for instance, has emerged as a dominant player in the L2 sector, with most networks using its tooling, real-time data from Rollup.wtf cited by Blockscout shows. This stack is a set of open-source standards used primarily on the Optimism network and its "Superchains." Read More
OKX Pauses DEX Aggregator to Address Security Concerns
In response to the security threats, OKX has implemented a hacker address detection system and a mechanism to block suspicious addresses.
Crypto exchange OKX has temporarily halted its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator in response to security concerns and recent “attacks” targeting its platform.
The exchange announced the pause on Sunday, citing the need to address incomplete blockchain tagging and implement new security features to prevent misuse by malicious actors.
Blockchain tagging refers to the process of labeling transactions on a blockchain to accurately identify and track them on explorers.
“We detected a coordinated effort by Lazarus group to misuse our defi services,” the company said. “At the same time, we've noticed an increase in competitive attacks aiming to undermine our work.” Read More
Web3 has a metadata problem, and it’s not going away
As Web3 grows, its metadata problem intensifies, risking a global data security crisis. Can anonymity networks and new technologies protect users from AI-powered surveillance?
Opinion by: Casey Ford, PhD, researcher at Nym Technologies
Web3 rolled in on the wave of decentralization. Decentralized applications (DApps) grew by 74% in 2024 and individual wallets by 485%, with total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) closing at a near-record high of $214 billion. The industry is also, however, heading straight for a state of capture if it does not wake up.
As Elon Musk has teased of placing the US Treasury on blockchain, however poorly thought out, the tides are turning as crypto is deregulated. But when they do, is Web3 ready to “protect [user] data,” as Musk surrogates pledge? If not, we’re all on the brink of a global data security crisis.
The crisis boils down to a vulnerability at the heart of the digital world: the metadata surveillance of all existing networks, even the decentralized ones of Web3. AI technologies are now at the foundation of surveillance systems and serve as accelerants. Anonymity networks offer a way out of this state of capture. But this must begin with metadata protections across the board. 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
