The founder of the recently hacked decentralized finance protocol SIR.trading has made an emotional plea to the attacker, asking them to return around 70% of the stolen customer funds otherwise, the protocol will not survive.

“Here is my proposal, keep $100k as a fair share for your critical bug find, and return the remaining,” SIR.trading’s pseudonymous founder “Xatarrer” wrote in a March 31 onchain message to the attacker following the $355,000 hack on March 30.

“We’ll call it even. No legal games, no drama,” they added. 

Xatarrer said that SIR.trading was built on the back of four years of late-night coding and $70,000 from friends and believers without any additional venture capital funding.

“We grew to $400k TVL organically without any advertising. If you keep 100% of the funds, there is no chance for us to survive.”

Xatarrer even praised the hacker for the sophisticated hack, stating that it was “almost beautiful if it wasn’t for all the funds people lost.”

Source: SIR.trading

The hacker hasn’t responded and has already transferred the stolen funds through to Ethereum privacy solution Railgun, according to data from Ethereum block explorer Etherscan.

Xatarrer initially said on March 30 that the SIR.trading team intended to keep the protocol up and running despite the setback. “We’ve already started planning our next steps. Those impacted by the hack will not be forgotten,” it said on March 31.

Hack resulted from feature added to Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade

The hacker targeted a callback function used in the protocol’s “vulnerable contract Vault” which leverages Ethereum’s transient storage feature. 

The hacker managed to replace the real Uniswap pool address used in this callback function with an address under the hacker’s control, allowing them to redirect the funds in the vault to their address by repeatedly calling the callback function until all of the protocol’s total value locked was drained.

The transient storage feature was added to Ethereum in the March 2024 Dencun upgrade as a solution to offer users lower gas fees than gas typically required for regular storage.

Related: DeFi hacks drop 40% in 2024, CeFi breaches surge to $694M — Hacken

SIR.trading’s documentation shows that it was billed as “a new DeFi protocol for safer leverage” to address some of the challenges that often occur in leveraged trading — such as volatility decay and liquidation risks.

It comes as crypto lost to exploits and scams fell to $28.8M in March, blockchain security firm CertiK said in a March 31 X post. Around $4.8 million was subtracted from that figure after hackers involved in the 1inch Resolver incident returned the stolen funds.

Crypto exploits and scams had one of its worst months in February, headlined by the $1.4 billion Bybit hack.

Magazine: Should crypto projects ever negotiate with hackers? Probably

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is calling for legislative changes in the US to allow stablecoin holders to earn “onchain interest” on their holdings.

In a March 31 post on X, Armstrong argued that crypto companies should be treated similarly to banks and be “allowed to, and incentivized to, share interest with consumers.” He added that allowing onchain interest would be “consistent with a free market approach.”

Source: Brian Armstrong

There are currently two competing pieces of federal stablecoin legislation working their way through the legislative process in the US: the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act, and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

In reference to the stablecoin legislation, Armstrong said the US had an opportunity to “level the playing field and ensure these laws pave a way for all regulated stablecoins to deliver interest directly to consumers, the same way a savings or checking account can.” 

Armstrong: Onchain interest a boon for US economy

Armstrong argued that while stablecoins have already found product-market fit by “digitizing the dollar and other fiat currencies,” the addition of onchain interest would allow “the average person, and the US economy, to reap the full benefits.”

He said that if legislative changes allowed stablecoin issuers to pay interest to holders, US consumers could earn a yield of around 4% on their holdings, far outstripping the 2024 average interest yield on a consumer savings account, which Armstrong cited as 0.41%.

Armstrong also said onchain interest could benefit the broader US economy — by incentivizing the global use of US dollar stablecoins. This could see their use grow, “pulling dollars back to U.S. treasuries and extending dollar dominance in an increasingly digital global economy,” according to the Coinbase CEO. 

He also argued that the potential for a higher yield than traditional savings accounts would result in “more yield in consumers’ hands means more spending, saving, investing — fueling economic growth in all local economies where stablecoins are held.”

“If we don’t unlock onchain interest, the U.S. misses out on billions more USD users and trillions in potential cash flows,” Armstrong added.

Currently, neither the STABLE Act nor the GENIUS Act gives the legal go-ahead for onchain interest-generating stablecoins. In fact, in its current form, the STABLE Act includes a short passage prohibiting “payment stablecoin” issuers from paying yield to holders:

Source: STABLE Act

Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom

Similarly, the GENIUS Act, which recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18-6, has been amended to exclude interest-bearing instruments from its definition of a “payment stablecoin.”

Commenting on the current state of the STABLE Act, Representative Bryan Steil told Eleanor Terrett, host of the Crypto in America podcast, that two pieces of legislation are positioned to “mirror up” following a few more draft rounds in the House and Senate — due to the differences between them being textual rather than substantive.

“At the end of the day, I think there’s recognition that we want to work with our Senate colleagues to get this across the line,” Steil said.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

A new semi-permissionless privacy tool, Privacy Pools, has launched on Ethereum, allowing users to transact privately while proving their funds aren’t linked to illicit activities.

The privacy tool, launched by Ethereum builders 0xbow.io on March 31, earned support from the likes of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who not only backed the privacy project but made one of the first deposits on the platform. 

0xbow.io said that it implements “Association Sets” to batch transactions into the anonymous Privacy Pools and that a screening test is conducted to ensure that those transactions aren’t linked to illicit actors, such as hackers, phishers and scammers.

gm Ethereum ☀️It is our great honor to announce the mainnet launch of Privacy Pools!ETH users can now achieve on-chain privacy, while still dissociating from illicit fundsIt is now up to all of us to Make Privacy Normal Again 🫡More info in this thread 👇 pic.twitter.com/3nJO0AxoD1

— 0xbow.io (@0xbowio) March 31, 2025

The Association Sets are “dynamic” — meaning that if a transaction is admitted but later found to be illicit, it can be removed from the set without disrupting any other deposits, 0xbow.io said.

If a deposit is disqualified, the user can click the “ragequit” function to return the funds to their original deposit address.

The innovation is part of 0xbow.io’s vision to “Make Privacy Normal Again” while also attempting to achieve regulatory compliance.  

Privacy protocols have received considerable backlash from regulators in recent years due to their increasing use by illicit actors to launder funds. 

One of those privacy tools, Tornado Cash, was sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control between August 2022 and March 2025 after it was linked to around $7 billion laundered by the North Korean state-backed Lazarus Group.

Tornado Cash has since been removed from OFAC’s blacklist after a US appeals court said the sanctions were unlawful in January 2025.

0xbow.io noted that initial deposits are limited to 1 Ether (ETH) but that the limit would be raised once the privacy protocol is more battle-tested.

Privacy Pools inspired by Buterin and others

Over 21 ETH has already been transferred into Privacy Pools from 69 deposits, including at least one from Buterin, 0xbow.io noted.

Source: Vitalik Buterin

In addition to Buterin, 0xbow.io said it also received investment support from Number Group, BanklessVC, Public Works and several angel investors.

Related: Privacy isn’t a luxury in crypto, it’s a necessity — Midnight CEO0xbow.io also praised Buterin, Chainalysis chief scientist Jacob Illum and two academics at the University of Basel in Switzerland for crafting a September 2023 white paper outlining how Privacy Pools could be built. 

0xbow.io strategic adviser Ameen Soleimani also contributed to the paper, which has seen over 12,000 downloads and has been cited in nine other papers.

The Privacy Pool code also passed a successful audit from Audit Wizard. a smart contract auditing firm co-founded by former Apple engineer Joe van Loon.

More than $41 billion worth of illicit transfers were made in 2024,  which made up 0.14% of total onchain volume for the year, according to the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime report published on Jan. 15.

While it marked around an 11% fall from 2023, Chainalysis said that figure could climb to around $51 billion as more criminal-tied addresses are found.

Magazine: What are native rollups? Full guide to Ethereum’s latest innovation

Hyperliquid is one of the current bull market’s standout DeFi success stories. With daily trading volumes having reached $4 billion, the exchange has become the largest decentralized (DEX) derivatives platform, commanding nearly 60% of the market.

Hyperliquid still lags far behind Binance Futures’ $50 billion daily average volume, but the trend suggests that it has started to encroach on centralized exchange (CEX) territory.

What’s behind Hyperliquid’s parabolic rise?

Launched in 2023, Hyperliquid gained popularity in April 2024 after launching spot trading. This, combined with its aggressive listing strategy and easy-to-use onchain user interface, helped to lure in a wave of new users.

The platform’s real explosion, however, came in November 2024, following the launch of its HYPE (HYPE) token. Hyperliquid’s trading volume skyrocketed, and it now boasts over 400,000 users and more than 50 billion trades processed, according to data from Dune.

Hyperliquid cumulative trades and users. Source: Dune

While Hyperliquid started as a high-performance perpetual futures and spot DEX, its ambitions have since expanded. With the launch of HyperEVM on Feb. 18, the project has become a general-purpose layer-1 chain capable of supporting third-party DeFi apps built on top of its infrastructure. 

As one of Hyperliquid’s founders, Jeff Yan, put it, 

“Most L1s build infrastructure and hope that others will come build the killer apps. Hyperliquid takes the opposite approach: polish a native application and then grow into general-purpose infrastructure.”

If this approach works, the liquidity driven by Hyperliquid’s core DEX could naturally feed into the broader ecosystem and vice versa, creating a flywheel effect.

Related: Hyperliquid flips Solana in fees, but is the ‘HYPE’ justified?

Will Hyperliquid become a sustainable CEX alternative?

According to CoinGecko, Hyperliquid now ranks 14th among derivatives exchanges by open interest, sitting at $3.1 billion. That’s still behind Binance’s $22 billion but ahead of older names like Deribit or derivatives divisions of Crypto.com, BitMEX, or KuCoin. It’s the first time a DEX is competing so closely with established CEXs.

Furthermore, as Hyperliquid deepens its focus on specialized trading pairs, it continues to chip away at the market share of major exchanges. The DEX accepts not only Arbitrum USDC as collateral but also native BTC. This makes it one of the few decentralized platforms that handle BTC wrapping and unwrapping natively, giving users the option to use BTC for Web3-wallet-based trading.

X user Skewga.hl noted that Hyperliquid’s BTC perpetual futures volume share recently hit an all-time high, reaching almost 50% of Bybit’s and 21% of Binance’s. Skewga.hl wrote,

“No DEX has ever come this close to matching Tier 1 CEX volume.” 

Daily volume ratios, Hyperliquid vs Other exchanges (BTC perp). Source: Skewga.hl

Since 2024, perpetual swaps have seen a revival as a trading tool. During the 2021–2022 bull market, daily perps volume averaged around $5 billion. In early 2025, that number often exceeded $15 billion, with Hyperliquid accounting for nearly two-thirds of it.

Data from DefiLlama illustrates the shift: while dYdX (green) dominated in 2023–2024, the landscape diversified significantly in 2024—and by 2025, Hyperliquid (pink) had taken the lead.

Perps volume breakdown. Source: DefiLlama

Despite the recent JELLY token scandal, which involved the exchange halting trading and delisting a low-market-cap token that a whale had exploited, Hyperliquid remains a popular exchange among DeFi and DEX traders. It has yet to capture institutional investor flows or scale to the level of top-tier CEXs. However, if its layer 1 ecosystem gains traction with developers, Hyperliquid could evolve into more than just a leading DEX.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Two Republican candidates supported by at least a combined $1.5 million in media spending from a cryptocurrency-backed political action committee (PAC) are making final pleas to voters turning out for special elections in Florida congressional districts.

On April 1, voters in Florida’s 1st and 6th congressional districts will head to the polls to decide whether to keep Republican representatives or hand over control to Democrats for the first time in roughly 30 years.

The Defend American Jobs PAC — an affiliate of Fairshake, which poured more than $131 million in the 2024 US election cycle — has spent a combined $1.5 million on media for Republicans Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, running against Democrats Gay Valimont and Josh Weil, respectively.

Though the Florida congressional districts have historically favored Republican candidates, Democrats Valimont and Weil both raised significantly more than Patronis and Fine as of March — a reported roughly $6.5 million and $10 million against the Republicans’ $1 million and $1 million, respectively.

These amounts do not reflect the media buys from PACs like Defend American Jobs or Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s America PAC, which spent more than $20,000 for texting services in the two congressional elections.

As of March 31, there were four vacant seats in the US House of Representatives following two Democratic lawmakers dying and two Republicans resigning in anticipation of positions with the Trump administration.

If Democrats were to keep their existing two seats and flip the two in Florida, Republicans’ majority in the chamber would narrow to 217 to 218 — not changing majority control, but likely influencing how the House would consider legislation and policy.

Among the crypto-related legislation being considered in Congress included a market structure bill and stablecoin regulation. Some lawmakers have suggested that they intended to get both bills passed before Congress goes on recess in August.

Related: Florida bill proposes strict rules against online gambling

Michigan Representative Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who described himself as largely self-funded and may have benefitted from crypto-backed PAC money in his 2024 race, spoke to Cointelegraph on March 27 about the role the industry could have on future elections.

Protect Progress — another Fairshake-affiliated PAC — spent more than $1 million on a media buy to support the Michigan representative in his August 2024 primary. He defeated Republican Martell Bivings in November with 68% of the vote.

“I was surprised to see those ads,” Thanedar told Cointelegraph, referring to Protect Progress’ media outreach. “I was not aware that such an ad would be appearing in support of my campaign.”

The Michigan lawmaker added:

“Crypto is not unique to this. There are multiple industries […] that have PACs and Super PACs and independent expenditures. All of that money, the dark money in our politics, has to go. As long as we have the dark money in politics, that is going to impact our politicians.” Looking to the 2026 midterms

After many Democratic and Republican candidates espousing “pro-crypto” views won in the 2024 elections, Fairshake spokesperson Josh Vlasto said the PAC was “keeping [its] foot on the gas” in the future. Major firms like Coinbase and Ripple Labs have contributed tens of millions of dollars to the PAC.

As of January, Fairshake reported holding more than $116 million to spend on candidates in 2025 and 2026. Vlasto declined to comment on the April 1 special elections but said after the January primaries, the PAC was “proud to support [Patronis and Fine] with TV ad campaigns.” 

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped from $87,241 to $81,331 between March 28 and March 31, erasing gains from the previous 17 days. The 6.8% correction liquidated $230 million in bullish BTC futures positions and largely followed the declining momentum in the US stock market, as the S&P 500 futures fell to their lowest levels since March 14.

Despite struggling to hold above $82,000 on March 31, four key indicators point to strong investor confidence and potential signs of Bitcoin decoupling from traditional markets in the near future.

S&P 500 index futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Traders fear the global trade war’s impact on economic growth, especially after the March 26 announcement of a 25% US tariff on foreign-made vehicles. According to Yahoo News, Goldman Sachs strategists cut the firm’s year-end S&P 500 target for the second time, lowering it from 6,200 to 5,700. Similarly, Barclays analysts reduced their forecast from 6,600 to 5,900.

Regardless of the reasons behind investors’ heightened risk perception, gold surged to a record high above $3,100 on March 31. The $21 trillion asset is widely considered the ultimate hedge, especially when traders prioritize alternatives over cash. Meanwhile, the US dollar has weakened against a basket of foreign currencies, with the DXY index dropping to 104.10 from 107.60 in February.

Bitcoin metrics show strength, while long-term investors are unfazed

Bitcoin’s narratives of being “digital gold” and an “uncorrelated asset” are being questioned, despite a 36% gain over 6 months while the S&P 500 index fell 3.5% during the same period. Several Bitcoin metrics continued to show strength, indicating that long-term investors remain unfazed by the temporary correlation as central banks pivot to expansionist measures to prevent an economic crisis.

Bitcoin’s mining hashrate, which measures the computing power behind the network’s block validation mechanism, reached an all-time high. 

Bitcoin mining estimated 7-day average hashrate, TH/s. Source: Blockchain.com

The 7-day hashrate reached a peak of 856.2 million terahashes per second on March 28, up from 798.8 million in February. Hence, there are no signs of panic selling from miners, as shown by the flow of known entities to exchanges.

In the past, BTC price downturns were associated with periods of FUD regarding the “death spiral,” where miners were forced to sell when becoming unprofitable. Additionally, the 7-day average of net transfers from miners to exchanges on March 30 stood at BTC 125, according to Glassnode data, much lower than the BTC 450 mined per day. 

Bitcoin 7-day average net transfer volume from/to miners, BTC. Source: Glassnode

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings filed a prospectus on March 28 to sell up to $2 billion in stocks to expand its BTC reserves and for “general corporate purposes.” This move follows GameStop (GME), the US-listed videogame company, which filed a $1.3 billion convertible debt offering plan on March 26 while updating its reserve investment strategy to include potential Bitcoin and stablecoin acquisitions.

Related: Trump sons back new Bitcoin mining venture with Hut 8

Crypto exchange reserves drop

Cryptocurrency exchanges’ reserves dropped to their lowest levels in over six years on March 30, reaching BTC 2.64 million, according to Glassnode data. The reduced number of coins available for immediate trading typically indicates that investors are more inclined to hold, which is particularly significant as Bitcoin’s price declined 5.1% in seven days. 

Lastly, near-zero net outflows in US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) between March 27 and March 28 signal confidence from institutional investors.

In short, Bitcoin investors remain confident due to the record-high mining hashrate, corporate adoption, and six-year-low exchange reserves, which signal long-term holding.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Venture capital funding continued to pour into the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry in March, even as market commentators sensationalized the end of the bull market amid Bitcoin’s 30% retracement. 

VC flows are considered a vital sign for the blockchain industry, with higher deal activity indicative of strong investor appetite and growing innovation in the space.

As Cointelegraph reported, blockchain startups raised a combined $1.1 billion in February alone, with projects spanning decentralized finance, decentralized physical infrastructure networks and payments attracting the lion’s share of capital flows. 

Despite fear and trepidation in the crypto market, February was a strong month for blockchain VC. Source: The TIE

Early signs suggest that March was arguably a stronger month for crypto VC deals, as evidenced by the growing size of the investment rounds and the number of investors participating. 

Eight deals are featured in this month’s VC Roundup — and seven of them were valued in the eight-figure range. 

Related: VC Roundup: Investors continue to back DePIN, Web3 gaming, layer-1 RWAs

Across Protocol raises $41 million via token sale

Across Protocol, an Ethereum crosschain interoperability platform, raised $41 million in a token sale that was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Paradigm. Coinbase Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto and Multicoin Capital also participated in the token sale round.

Across Protocol is expanding Ethereum layer-2 connectivity through so-called “intents,” an architecture approach that decouples asset transfers and message verification.

Across Protocol (ACX) price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

“The urgent tasks — moving assets and fulfilling the intent — are carried out immediately by a relayer […] while the time-consuming message verification is done afterward,” wrote Aiden Park, an engineer and technical writer, in an explanatory note on intents.

“This approach enables Across to send messages cheaply, quickly, and securely, setting it apart from other message-passing protocols,” he said.

Related: Greedy L2s are the reason ETH is a ‘completely dead’ investment: VC

Ribbit Capital leads $23.6 million Crossmint raise

Enterprise Web3 company Crossmint has closed a $23.6 million funding round to scale its onchain onboarding technology, which is designed to help companies and AI agents embrace Web3 without needing blockchain expertise. The funding round was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Ribbit Capital. 

According to Crossmint co-founder Rodri Fernandez, the platform provides low-code APIs for a variety of blockchain functions, including wallets, stablecoins, tokenization and credentials. The announcement also claimed that more than 40,000 companies and developers are now using Crossmint across more than 40 blockchains. 

Financial app Abound gets backing from Near Foundation, Circle Ventures

New York-based remittance app Abound has closed a $14 million funding round led by Near Foundation, with participation from Circle Ventures.

The Abound app has been designed to bridge the remittance gap between India and its vast diaspora of citizens in the United States. The app claims to have processed more than $150 million in remittances.

Abound was developed by the Times of India Group, a Mumbai-based media company. 

Although it’s not entirely clear how blockchain technology and digital assets factor into Abound’s service offerings, if at all, participation from Near and Circle Ventures suggests that blockchain-focused companies are increasingly focused on cross-border payments and remittance services. 

Source: Near Protocol

Chronicle closes seed round

Chronicle, an Ethereum Oracle and tokenization infrastructure provider, raised $12 million in seed funding led by Strobe Ventures, formerly known as BlockTower Venture Capital. Additional investors included Galaxy Vision Hill, Brevan Howard Digital, Tioga Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Gnosis Ventures, 6th Man Ventures and several angel investors. 

Chronicle connects protocol developers to real-time data feeds, which are essential for DeFi and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization ecosystems. The company cited growing institutional interest in RWA tokenization as one of the reasons for its early success in raising capital.

Related: Tokenized real estate trading platform launches on Polygon

DeFi-yielding stablecoin Level debuts with $2.6 million in funding

In March, blockchain developer Peregrin Exploration debuted the Level USD stablecoin with $2.6 million in backing from Dragonfly Capital, Polychain, Flowdesk and others.

Level USD is a yield-bearing stablecoin that issues digital dollars collateralized by restaked stablecoins. The stablecoin’s market capitalization has grown significantly since its launch, reaching $116 million at the time of writing. 

Level USD is integrated with several DeFi protocols, including Pendle, LayerZero and Specta. It can also be used as collateral on noncustodial lending platform Morpho.

Demand for dollar-backed digital tokens has surged over the past two years, with the total stablecoin market approaching $230 billion. Source: RWA.xyz

Related: VC Roundup: Bitcoin RWA, BNB incubator, Web3 gaming secure funding

Halliday raises $20 million for Agentic Workflow Protocol

No-code blockchain developer Halliday has closed a $20 million Series A funding round to scale its Agentic Workflow Protocol (AWP) — an AI tool that helps developers build DeFi applications without the need to write smart contracts.

The funding round was led by a16z Crypto, with additional participation from SV Angel, the Avalanche Blizzard Fund, Credibly Neutral, Alt Layer and other angel investors. 

Through AWP, blockchain companies can “build applications in hours, not years,” Halliday said in its announcement. Halliday’s programming model handles all the technical aspects of blockchain development and execution, which can theoretically enable companies to scale their products faster. 

AI-driven Validation Cloud closes $15 million Series A

Validation Cloud, a company at the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain infrastructure, has closed a $15 million Series A investment round backed by True Global Ventures. Additional investors include Cadenza, Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate and others. 

The funding will be used to expand Validation Cloud’s Web3 infrastructure solutions, including staking, node API and data offerings. 

Validation Cloud provides access to blockchain data and offers node and staking solutions to institutions. Its technology is used by Hedera, Aptos, Stellar, EigenLayer, Polygon and others. 

Skytale Digital debuts $20 million Polkadot Ecosystem Fund

Blockchain investment firm Skytale Digital has launched the Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, earmarking $20 million to further develop the so-called “network of networks.” 

The fund combines financial support, technical expertise and mentorship to help Web3 developers expand their product offerings in the Polkadot ecosystem. Specifically, the fund is targeting decentralized applications and critical infrastructure projects. 

Source: Cryptking.eth

Polkadot is the 20th largest blockchain network, with a total market capitalization of around $7.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Related: Crypto Biz: GameStop takes the orange pill

The top Democrat on the US House Financial Services Committee issued a warning after reports suggested that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “government efficiency” team would be given access to data and systems at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a March 31 notice, Representative Maxine Waters reiterated a warning from a letter she sent to acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda in February in response to the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s reported access to sensitive SEC information. DOGE is an advisory body to US President Donald Trump rather than an official department established by Congress.

According to the California lawmaker, giving Musk such access would have “dire consequences” for US investors and present conflicts of interest.

“[…] as a result of this takeover, the agency is at greater risk of data breaches and market disruptions, both of which could result in investors, including retirees, losing their hard-earning savings,” said Waters, adding:

“Not only that, Musk, who has been the subject of repeated SEC enforcement actions for breaking securities laws and regulations, can benefit his own businesses and harm his competitors by using his access to confidential business information and his influence over the agency’s operations.”

Waters’ warning followed multiple reports suggesting that Musk’s DOGE team contacted the SEC and would be given access to the commission’s systems and data. Since joining the Trump administration as a “special government employee,” Musk has spearheaded efforts to fire staff at multiple government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Many of DOGE’s actions face lawsuits in federal court from parties alleging the group’s actions were illegal or unconstitutional.

Related: Can the law keep up with Musk and DOGE?

As one of the major US financial regulators, the SEC is responsible for oversight and regulation of many aspects of the cryptocurrency industry, including whether many tokens qualify as securities. Under Uyeda and US President Donald Trump, the commission has dropped several lawsuits alleging violations of securities laws against crypto firms since January.

“Cost-cutting” strategy at SEC?

It’s unclear whether the DOGE team intends to “purge” the SEC of employees Musk considers not loyal to the Trump administration, as has been implied in some lawsuits involving firings at other government agencies. Cointelegraph contacted acting chair Uyeda and SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

DOGE’s reported infiltration of the SEC comes as the US Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote on whether to advance the nomination of Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the agency. At his March 27 confirmation hearing, Atkins said he would “definitely” be willing to work with DOGE if confirmed. Democratic lawmakers at the hearing questioned Atkins’ potential conflicts of interest with the crypto industry.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

The top Democrat on the US House Financial Services Committee issued a warning after reports suggested that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s “government efficiency” team would be given access to data and systems at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a March 31 notice, Representative Maxine Waters reiterated a warning from a letter she sent to acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda in February in response to the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s reported access to sensitive SEC information. DOGE is an advisory body to US President Donald Trump rather than an official department established by Congress. According to the California lawmaker, giving Musk such access would have “dire consequences” for US investors and present conflicts of interest.

“[…] as a result of this takeover, the agency is at greater risk of data breaches and market disruptions, both of which could result in investors, including retirees, losing their hard-earning savings,” said Waters, adding:

“Not only that, Musk, who has been the subject of repeated SEC enforcement actions for breaking securities laws and regulations, can benefit his own businesses and harm his competitors by using his access to confidential business information and his influence over the agency’s operations.”

Waters’ warning followed multiple reports suggesting that Musk’s DOGE team contacted the SEC and would be given access to the commission’s systems and data. Since joining the Trump administration as a “special government employee,” Musk has spearheaded efforts to fire staff at multiple government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Many of DOGE’s actions face lawsuits in federal court from parties alleging the group’s actions were illegal or unconstitutional.

Related: Can the law keep up with Musk and DOGE?

As one of the major US financial regulators, the SEC is responsible for oversight and regulation of many aspects of the cryptocurrency industry, including whether many tokens qualify as securities. Under Uyeda and US President Donald Trump, the commission has dropped several lawsuits alleging violations of securities laws against crypto firms since January.

‘Cost-cutting’ strategy at SEC?

It’s unclear whether the DOGE team intends to “purge” the SEC of employees Musk considers not loyal to the Trump administration, as has been implied in some lawsuits involving firings at other government agencies. Cointelegraph contacted acting chair Uyeda and SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

DOGE’s reported infiltration of the SEC comes as the US Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote on whether to advance the nomination of Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the agency. At his March 27 confirmation hearing, Atkins said he would “definitely” be willing to work with DOGE if confirmed. Democratic lawmakers at the hearing questioned Atkins’ potential conflicts of interest with the crypto industry.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

The US dollar could lose its status as the world’s reserve currency to Bitcoin or other digital assets if the United States does not get its debt under control, according to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.

Fink wrote in his Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors that “decentralized finance is an extraordinary innovation” that makes “markets faster, cheaper, and more transparent.” But “that same innovation could undermine America’s economic advantage if investors begin seeing Bitcoin as a safer bet than the dollar.”

According to Trading Economics, the US debt equaled 122.3% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2023. That is a considerably higher percentage than the 105% observed in 2018. Moody’s Ratings retains the US’s AAA credit rating but has downgraded its outlook to negative, indicating a possible future rating downgrade.

The US’s Joint Economic Committee wrote that as of March 5, the country’s gross national debt was $36.2 trillion, growing $1.8 trillion, or roughly $4.9 billion per day, over the past year and $12.8 trillion in the past five years. The Bipartisan Policy Center warned this month that the US could default on its debt as early as July 2025.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been branded as a safe haven for investors who are looking to avoid the perils of fiat currency, including inflation. Some believe that the end of the debt ceiling suspension could lead to a Bitcoin price boom. Others think, as Fink has stated, that the dangers of the national debt could increase Bitcoin adoption.

Related: Bitcoin reserve won’t solve US debt crisis: Think tank co-founder

In 2025, cryptocurrency has gained prominence as an asset class due to adoption by countries such as the US and companies like Strategy. However, some argue that stablecoins could, in fact, increase the dominance of the US dollar.

Fink: Tokenization is democratization

In the letter, Fink says that “tokenization is democratization” with the technological innovation “enabling instant buying, selling, and transferring without cumbersome paperwork or waiting periods.”

If every asset ends up being tokenized, Fink said, “it will revolutionize investing. Markets wouldn’t need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds. And billions of dollars currently immobilized by settlement delays could be reinvested immediately back into the economy, generating more growth.”

Related: Centralization and the dark side of asset tokenization — MEXC exec

Tokenization democratizes access, shareholder voting, and yield, Fink wrote. According to RWA.xyz, the tokenized real-world assets market amounts to $19.6 billion. There are currently around 93,000 asset holders, with 174 issuers. Industry projections indicate that the market could reach $4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2030.

BlackRock’s own BUIDL real-world tokenized asset fund is currently the largest such fund available for trading, with Tether Gold and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI funds coming in second and third place, respectively.

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