Crypto Bytes | Friday 25 April 2025
The crypto landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with major developments across regulation, institutional adoption, security, and blockchain innovation. Here's a quick round up of what's happened in the world of web3 this week,
🏦 Traditional Finance Meets Crypto Innovation
💳 ether.fi Evolves - Ether.fi has announced they're launching Visa "Cash" cards in the U.S. using crypto as collateral coupled with its existing staking product. 🔗
🌎 Metaplanet Doubles Down on Bitcoin Strategy - Metaplanet acquires 330 more BTC, targeting 10,000 BTC holdings by year-end through creative financing. 🔗 🔗
📈 Regulatory Shifts & Institutional Adoption
🕒 SEC Delays Crypto ETF Decisions - The SEC postpones decisions on Polkadot and Hedera ETFs amid a crowded crypto proposal landscape. 🔗
⚖️South Korea Advances Stablecoin Regulation - The Bank of Korea commits to fast-tracking stablecoin legislation. 🔗
🏛️ Coinbase Explores Banking Charter - Coinbase considers a U.S. federal banking charter to expand its financial footprint. 🔗
🧑💼 Charles Schwab Eyes Crypto Trading - Spot crypto trading could launch within 12 months at Charles Schwab. 🔗
💼 Cantor Fitzgerald to Launch $3B Bitcoin Fund - A major Bitcoin investment vehicle is on the horizon with Tether, Softbank, and Bitfinex. 🔗
🛡️ Security & Privacy
🚨$9.3B Lost to Crypto Fraud in 2024 - The FBI reported a 66% increase in crypto-related fraud, totaling $9.3 billion in losses last year, underscoring escalating security challenges. 🔗
⚠️ Bybit Update - The Crypto Giants CEO revealed that nearly 28% of $1.4 billion in hacked crypto assets remain untraceable. 🔗
🔒 Telegram Messenger's Durov Defends Privacy - Pavel Durov rejects encryption backdoors, reinforcing Telegram's privacy stance. 🔗
🛃Bitcoin Miners Exploit U.S. Customs Loopholes - Mining firms find ways to cut hardware import costs via customs strategies. 🔗
🌐 Blockchain Ecosystem Growth
⛓️ Ethereum Announces 'Pectra' Upgrade - Ethereum's Pectra mainnet has been announced and is scheduled for activation on May 7th, 2025.🔗
💧Sui Foundation Launches Virtual & Physical Crypto Mastetrcards - Sui partners with xMoney.com and xPortal to expand crypto payment solutions. 🔗
👔 TON Foundation Names New CEO - Max Crown, co-founder of Moon-pay, steps in to lead TON Foundation amid growth challenges. 🔗