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Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

A massive Bitcoin whale wallet holding has just added $200 million worth of Bitcoin to its position after selling over 11,400 Bitcoin over the last few months — coinciding with a recent rebound for the original cryptocurrency. 

The Bitcoin (BTC) whale added 2,400 Bitcoin — worth over $200 million — to their stash on March 24, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence said in an X post.

Data shared by the firm shows that despite some sales in February, after the latest purchase, the whale holds over 15,000 Bitcoin in its wallet, worth over $1.3 billion, at current prices.

“A $1 billion Bitcoin Whale just withdrew $200 million of Bitcoin this morning from Binance,” Arkham said.

The whale started acquiring Bitcoin five days ago after selling off its stash when Bitcoin’s price was between $100,000 and $86,000 in February. CoinGeck data shows on Feb. 1, Bitcoin was worth over $104,000, but it steadily declined to hit a low of $78,940 on Feb. 28. 

Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

Source: Arkham Intelligence

The whale movement comes amid a recent Bitcoin price rebound. 

Bitcoin has been trading $81,000 and $88,000 in the last seven days, according to CoinGecko, with a price surge of 3% on March 24, distancing itself from its $76,900 low on March 11.

Bitcoin whale wakes from slumber 

At the same time, another Bitcoin whale has woken up after eight years of dormancy, moving over 3,000 Bitcoin, worth $250 million, in one transaction on March 22.

“His Bitcoin stack went from $3M in early 2017 to over $250M today — and he’s held Bitcoin on one address for over 8 years,” Arkham said in a March 22 X post. 

Another huge Bitcoin holder, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with approximately $11.6 trillion in assets under management, has been steadily accumulating more Bitcoin over the last week as well, according to Arkham.

Across 15 transactions, the asset manager bought an extra 4,054 Bitcoin, giving it a total stash of 573,878, worth over $50 billion, data on Bitbo’s Bitcoin treasury tracker shows

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) also led a rally of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, snapping a five-week net outflow streak by clocking a net inflow of $744.4 million. 

The bulk of net inflows came from BlackRock’s iShares, which recorded $537.5 million, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $136.5 million.

Bitcoin whales weren’t the only ones accumulating more crypto. Lookonchain used Arkham data to track a lone Ether whale who added 7,074 Ether (ETH) to its stash on March 21, worth $13.8 million.

Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

Source: Lookonchain

Ether has been moving between $1,876 and $2,097 in the last seven days, CoinGecko data shows. It’s still down over 57% from its all-time high of $4,878, which it hit in November 2021.

However, its open interest surged to a new all-time high on March 21, and the number of addresses with at least $100,000 worth of Ether started rising at the beginning of March, from just over 70,000 addresses on March 10 to over 75,000 on March 22.

Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

A massive Bitcoin whale wallet holding has just added $200 million worth of Bitcoin to its position after selling over 11,400 Bitcoin over the last few months — coinciding with a recent rebound for the original cryptocurrency. 

The Bitcoin (BTC) whale added 2,400 Bitcoin — worth over $200 million — to their stash on March 24, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence said in an X post.

Data shared by the firm shows that despite some sales in February, after the latest purchase, the whale holds over 15,000 Bitcoin in its wallet, worth over $1.3 billion, at current prices.

“A $1 billion Bitcoin Whale just withdrew $200 million of Bitcoin this morning from Binance,” Arkham said.

The whale started acquiring Bitcoin five days ago after selling off its stash when Bitcoin’s price was between $100,000 and $86,000 in February. CoinGeck data shows on Feb. 1, Bitcoin was worth over $104,000, but it steadily declined to hit a low of $78,940 on Feb. 28. 

Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

Source: Arkham Intelligence

The whale movement comes amid a recent Bitcoin price rebound. 

Bitcoin has been trading $81,000 and $88,000 in the last seven days, according to CoinGecko, with a price surge of 3% on March 24, distancing itself from its $76,900 low on March 11.

Bitcoin whale wakes from slumber 

At the same time, another Bitcoin whale has woken up after eight years of dormancy, moving over 3,000 Bitcoin, worth $250 million, in one transaction on March 22.

“His Bitcoin stack went from $3M in early 2017 to over $250M today — and he’s held Bitcoin on one address for over 8 years,” Arkham said in a March 22 X post. 

Another huge Bitcoin holder, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with approximately $11.6 trillion in assets under management, has been steadily accumulating more Bitcoin over the last week as well, according to Arkham.

Across 15 transactions, the asset manager bought an extra 4,054 Bitcoin, giving it a total stash of 573,878, worth over $50 billion, data on Bitbo’s Bitcoin treasury tracker shows

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) also led a rally of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, snapping a five-week net outflow streak by clocking a net inflow of $744.4 million. 

The bulk of net inflows came from BlackRock’s iShares, which recorded $537.5 million, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $136.5 million.

Bitcoin whales weren’t the only ones accumulating more crypto. Lookonchain used Arkham data to track a lone Ether whale who added 7,074 Ether (ETH) to its stash on March 21, worth $13.8 million.

Massive Bitcoin whale buys $200M in BTC, another wakes up after 8 years

Source: Lookonchain

Ether has been moving between $1,876 and $2,097 in the last seven days, CoinGecko data shows. It’s still down over 57% from its all-time high of $4,878, which it hit in November 2021.

However, its open interest surged to a new all-time high on March 21, and the number of addresses with at least $100,000 worth of Ether started rising at the beginning of March, from just over 70,000 addresses on March 10 to over 75,000 on March 22.

Magazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Mt. Gox transfers $1B in Bitcoin in third major BTC move this month

Bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox has just shifted 11,501 Bitcoin in its third significant transaction in less than a month.

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence alerted the community of the transfer on March 25 on X, revealing the Japanese exchange had sent 893 Bitcoin (BTC) worth around $78 million at current prices to the Mt. Gox cold wallet (1Jbez) and another 10,608 Bitcoin, worth around $929 million, to another wallet, the Mt. Gox change wallet (1DcoA).

Transactions, Bankruptcy, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Data

Source: Arkham Intelligence

The latest move comes after Mt. Gox shuffled a total of 12,000 Bitcoin worth over $1 billion on March 6 and another 11,833 Bitcoin on March 11.

Blockchain analytics platform Spot On Chain said in a March 25 post to X that one of the previous transfers this month ended up in the crypto exchange Bitstamp.

Spot On Chain speculates the 893 Bitcoin “sent to the warm wallet will be moved out shortly too.”

Transactions, Bankruptcy, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Data

Source: Spot On Chain

Arkham data shows the exchange still holds about 35,000 Bitcoin worth $3.1 billion across wallets it controls.

Many speculate significant movements from Mt. Gox could mean creditor payouts are around the corner. Creditors have the option to receive their payouts in Bitcoin. A July 2024 Reddit poll following the exchange’s first payout found creditors were not rushing to sell their Bitcoin payouts.

Mt. Gox fell into bankruptcy in early 2014 after suffering an 850,000 Bitcoin loss in one of the biggest crypto hacks ever recorded. Before the security breach, it was the largest Bitcoin exchange, handling around 70-80% of trades.

After its bankruptcy in February 2014, a Tokyo court appointed a trustee to manage the bankruptcy proceedings and compensate creditors with the exchange’s assets.

Related: Mt. Gox moves $2.2B of Bitcoin, adding to BTC selling pressure

However, last October, the trustee in charge of the exchange’s Bitcoin stash extended the deadline, pushing it by a full year to Oct. 31, 2025, claiming many creditors “still have not received their repayments because they have not completed the necessary procedures for receiving repayments.”

Last December, Mt. Gox also moved over 24,000 Bitcoin, worth nearly $2.5 billion, to an unknown address after the cryptocurrency hit a milestone of $100,000. 

Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’

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Massachusetts subpoenas Robinhood over sports prediction markets

Massachusetts’ securities regulator has reportedly launched a probe over Robinhood’s prediction markets offering that has allowed users to bet on the outcomes for a slew of events, including basketball tournaments. 

Reuters reported on March 24 that Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said his office subpoenaed Robinhood last week to get information on its marketing materials and the number of Massachusetts-based users that traded sports events contracts on college basketball tournaments.

Galvin said he was concerned the trading platform was “linking a gambling event on a popular sports event that’s especially popular to young people to a brokerage account.”

“This is just another gimmick from a company that’s very good at gimmicks to lure investors away from sound investing,” he added.

Robinhood launched a prediction markets hub on March 17 that would be initially available through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated prediction platform Kalshi and would feature event contracts on college basketball tournaments and the May federal funds rate. 

A Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the event contracts “are regulated by the CFTC and offered through CFTC-registered entities.”

“Prediction markets have become increasingly relevant for retail and institutional investors alike, and we’re proud to be one of the first platforms to offer these products to retail customers in a safe and regulated manner,” the spokesperson said.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) share price remained relatively flat after the close of trading on March 24 after an over 9% jump over the day to close at $48.36, according to Google Finance.

Massachusetts subpoenas Robinhood over sports prediction markets

Robinhood is up nearly 30% so far this year but has fallen from its Feb. 14 all-time peak of $65.28. Source: Google Finance 

The CFTC and Galvin’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Event contracts are agreements that allow users to bet on the outcome of essentially anything, from sports games to election outcomes and the price of cryptocurrencies.

Related: Coinbase in talks to buy derivatives exchange Deribit: Report 

They were popularized on the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket and non-decentralized rival Kalshi and have caught the ire of some regulators.

Last month, Robinhood scrapped event contracts allowing for bets on the Super Bowl a day after launching the products after the CFTC asked it to. 

The Massachusetts probe also requested Robinhood hand over internal communications about the decision to roll out the recent college basketball events contracts after the CFTC’s request to stop the Super Bowl contracts.

The CFTC also reportedly asked Kalshi and Crypto.com early last month to explain how both of their Super Bowl event contracts complied with derivatives regulations.

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge 

Read more at cointelegraph.com

USDC stablecoin receives approval for use in Japan, says Circle

Circle said it will officially launch its stablecoin in Japan on March 26 after one of its local partners received regulatory approval to list the US dollar stablecoin three weeks ago.

USDC (USDC) will first be listed on the “SBI VC Trade” crypto exchange under a joint venture between its parent firm — Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings — and Circle’s Japanese entity Circle Japan KK, Circle said in a March 24 statement.

The news comes three weeks after SBI VC Trade secured an industry-first regulatory approval on March 4 to list USDC under the Japan Financial Services Agency’s stablecoin regulatory framework.

Circle is also looking to list USDC on Binance Japan, bitbank and bitFlyer in the near future.

Japan’s bitbank and bitFlyer are two of the country’s largest crypto exchanges, having processed more than $25 million each over the last day with over 1.85 million visits to their websites in the last month.

The regulatory approval comes after two years of back-and-forth negotiations with regulators, banking partners and industry players, Circle’s Jeremy Allaire said in a March 24 X post.

“[This] unlocks tremendous opportunities not just in trading digital assets, but more broadly in payments, cross border finance and commerce, FX,” he added.

USDC stablecoin receives approval for use in Japan, says Circle

Source: Jeremy Allaire

SBI Holdings CEO and president Yoshitaka Kitao said the USDC launch would enhance financial accessibility and drive crypto innovation in Japan’s evolving digital economy.

“[This aligns] with our broader vision for the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan.”

Related: Gold-backed stablecoins will outcompete USD stablecoins — Max Keiser

Meanwhile, USDC and Circle’s euro-backed EURC (EURC) stablecoin were recognized as the first stablecoins under the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s new regime on Feb. 24.

The recognition allows companies operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre — a free economic zone — to integrate the two stablecoins into a range of digital asset applications, including payments, treasury management and services.

USDC remains the second largest stablecoin by market cap at $59.7 billion, trailing only Tether’s USDT at $143.8 billion, CoinGecko data shows.

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

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Trump Media looks to partner with Crypto.com to launch ETFs

Trump Media has signed a non-binding agreement with Crypto.com to launch a series of exchange-traded funds in the US.Trump Technology Group Corp (TMTG) — the operator of the social media platform Truth Social and fintech brand Truth.Fi — is also part of the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval, according to a March 24 statement from Trump Media. The parties plan to launch the ETFs later this year through Crypto.com’s broker-dealer, Foris Capital US LLC. The ETFs will consist of digital assets and securities with a “Made in America” focus.Crypto.com will provide the infrastructure and custody services to supply the cryptocurrencies for the ETFs, which may include a basket of tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP) and Cronos (CRO).The parties involved expect the ETFs to be widely available internationally, including in the US, Europe and Asia across existing brokerage platforms.”Once launched, these ETFs will be available on the Crypto.com App for our more than 140 million users around the world,” Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said.

The ETFs are anticipated to launch alongside a slate of Truth.Fi Separately Managed Accounts (SMA), which TMTG also plans to invest in with its cash reserves.

Security, Donald Trump, Crypto.com, ETF

Source: Kris Marszalek

Related: Who’s running in Trump’s race to make US a ‘Bitcoin superpower?’The potential ETF launch would mark yet another crypto-related endeavor involving US President Donald Trump.However, Democratic lawmakers say that conflicts of interest have already arisen between Trump’s presidential duties and the Trump Organization’s ownership of the crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, in addition to the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin that launched three days before he was inaugurated.House Representative Gerald Connolly recently referred to the TRUMP token as a “money grab” that has allowed Trump-linked entities to cash in on over $100 million worth of trading fees. Democrat Maxine Waters also criticized Trump’s memecoin on Jan. 20, referring to it as a rug pull that represented the “worst of crypto.”Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone signs MoU with Chainlink for tokenization frameworks

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a financial zone with over $635 billion in assets under management, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chainlink in a move to connect the world of traditional finance with blockchain data.

The agreement will allow ADGM to use Chainlink’s suite of tools, such as data feeds and interoperability technology, ADGM said in a March 24 announcement. The partnership also aims to encourage further discussion around blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies in the region.

ADGM, which opened in 2015, is in the United Arab Emirates’ financial free zone. It operates under its own civil and commercial legal system, based on English Common Law. Designed to bolster Abu Dhabi’s status as a financial hub, ADGM plays a central role in attracting global firms and expanding the city’s financial services sector.

By the end of 2024, ADGM hosted 134 asset and fund managers overseeing 166 funds. The total number of financial institutions operating within its jurisdiction rose to 275, with 79 new firms, including prominent names such as BlackRock, PGIM, and Morgan Stanley.

Related: What is Chainlink, and how does it work?

UAE sees rising crypto adoption

Multiple metrics show that cryptocurrency adoption in the UAE is rising, aided by government openness to emerging technology. The country saw a 41% increase in crypto app downloads in 2024 from 2023, and it ranked third out of 28 countries in the Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2024.

Abu Dhabi, in particular, has been a hot spot for crypto firms. In December 2024, the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority officially recognized Tether’s USDT (USDT) stablecoin as an accepted virtual asset, paving the way for the cryptocurrency’s integration into the local financial ecosystem.

On March 12, Binance announced that MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, had invested $2 billion into the exchange, one of the largest funding deals in the industry’s history.

Dubai, another Emirate in the UAE, has also shown itself open to cryptocurrency businesses. In February, Dubai approved USDC (USDC) and EURC as the first two stablecoins under its regime.

Magazine: X Hall of Flame: ChainLinkGod was in High School when he started the account! 

Read more at cointelegraph.com

Trump’s crypto project launches stablecoin on BNB Chain, Ethereum

The Donald Trump-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial launched a US dollar-pegged stablecoin with a total supply of more than $3.5 million.

According to data from Etherscan and BscScan, the project launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) token in early March. Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao noted the project’s smart contract was deployed on the BNB Chain and Ethereum, while World Liberty said the stablecoin was “not currently tradeable.”

The USD1 stablecoin launch comes as US lawmakers consider passing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act. The bill moved out of the Senate Banking Committee on March 13 and is expected to be taken up for a full floor vote soon.

Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, said he expected the GENIUS bill on Trump’s desk by June.

Politics, United States, Donald Trump, Stablecoin

Former Binance CEO acknowledging the USD1 launch. Source: Changpeng Zhao

Since the launch of the platform in September 2024, many aspects of World Liberty’s intentions have been shrouded in secrecy. The project’s website notes that the US President and some of his family members control 60% of the company’s equity interests. As of March 14, World Liberty has completed two public token sales, netting the company a combined $550 million. 

The launch of the stablecoin on the BNB Chain came amid reports that the Trump family held talks with Binance about acquiring a stake in the crypto exchange and separately granting a presidential pardon to Zhao. CZ has denied reports of a deal between Binance.US and Trump and a pardon.

Conflicts of interest in Trump’s crypto ventures? 

Before the project’s first public token sale in October 2024, World Liberty faced scrutiny from US policymakers, accusing Trump of conflicts of interest while running for office. 

Days after Trump won the US presidential election, Tron Founder Justin Sun announced he would invest $30 million in World Liberty. After Trump took office on Jan. 20 and Commissioner Mark Uyeda began leading the US Securities and Exchange Commission as acting chair, the regulator asked a federal court to pause its case against Sun “to explore a potential resolution.” 

Sun and three of his companies faced allegations from the SEC of selling unregistered securities. Other executives at crypto companies who backed Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections — some with financial contributions — including from Coinbase and Ripple, have since seen their SEC enforcement actions dropped under Uyeda. 

Related: Trump becomes first US sitting president to speak at a crypto conference

World Liberty’s launch comes as the stablecoin market continues to grow. Online analytics platforms Artemis and Dune showed that the number of active stablecoin wallets increased by more than 50% from February 2024 to February 2025. The total market capitalization of stablecoins also surpassed $200 billion in January, with Tether (USDT) and USDC remaining two of the most popular ones on the market.

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

Read more at cointelegraph.com

3 reasons why Solana (SOL) price rallied above $140

Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), gained 8.5% on March 24, reclaiming the $142 mark for the first time in two weeks. This rally mirrored the gains seen across the broader cryptocurrency market as traders began to expect reduced risks of an economic downturn. The growing risk appetite can also be seen among memecoins, several of which rallied by 12% or more since March 23.

Outside of the broad market rally, SOL has its own merits, including a rise in network activity and the direct involvement of US President Donald Trump with the memecoin market. Additionally, growing interest from top traders on exchanges and the increasing likelihood of a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval suggest further potential for SOL’s price growth.

Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Fees, Donald Trump, Leverage, Binance, Altcoin Watch, Ether Price, Solana, Whale, Memecoin, ETF

SOL/USD (green) vs. crypto market cap (orange). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Despite the recent rally, SOL has underperformed the broader crypto market by 23.7% over the past two months. This weakness is linked to a 93% decline in Solana network fees during that period. The decline likely began with traders’ disappointment in the memecoin sector but gradually affected the entire decentralized application (DApps) market.

SOL still trades 52% below its all-time high

Traders now question whether the selling was an overreaction, as SOL is currently trading 52% below its all-time high of $295. This comes despite Solana remaining the second-largest blockchain in terms of total value locked (TVL) and ranking third in onchain volumes. For comparison, BNB is trading 20% below its all-time high, and XRP is 28% below its peak.

Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Fees, Donald Trump, Leverage, Binance, Altcoin Watch, Ether Price, Solana, Whale, Memecoin, ETF

Blockchains ranked by total value locked (TVL), USD. Source: DefiLlama

While Tron and BNB Chain provide competition in terms of onchain volumes, deposits in Solana network’s smart contracts are valued at $6.8 billion. In third place, BNB Chain holds 21% less TVL, with $5.4 billion. Key highlights on Solana include the Jito liquid staking solution, Kamino lending and liquidity platform, and the Jupiter decentralized exchange.

The fees on the Solana network are now higher than those on the Ethereum base layer, surpassing $1 million per day. More importantly, Solana’s revenue has recently reached its highest levels in two weeks. While still far from the levels seen two months ago, the increase in Solana network activity suggests that the bottom may have been reached as the numbers continue to improve steadily.

Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Fees, Donald Trump, Leverage, Binance, Altcoin Watch, Ether Price, Solana, Whale, Memecoin, ETF

Solana network daily fees, USD. Source: DefilLlama

As a comparison, Ethereum accrued less than $350,000 in fees on March 23, leading to an increase in ETH supply as the built-in burn mechanism failed to offset weak blockchain activity. Solana, on the other hand, offers a 7.7% native staking reward rate, surpassing the equivalent 5.1% inflation rate, according to StakingRewards data.

Solana ETF decision nears while Trump tweet boosts memecoin momentum

Despite SOL’s price weakness, top traders on Binance have increased their leveraged long (bull) positions on SOL, according to CoinGlass data.

Cryptocurrencies, Markets, Fees, Donald Trump, Leverage, Binance, Altcoin Watch, Ether Price, Solana, Whale, Memecoin, ETF

Binance top traders’ long-to-short SOL ratio. Source: CoinGlass

The long-to-short ratio among top traders on Binance surged to 2.40 on March 23, its highest level in over two months. Part of the excitement can be attributed to the anticipation of the spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the US.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to issue its final verdict before the end of the year, according to Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research. Although success is not guaranteed, the eventual spot Solana ETF approval would set SOL apart from its competitors, adding legitimacy to the asset, especially among institutional investors.

Another source of momentum came from a weekend social post by  President Trump, which explicitly mentioned the TRUMP memecoin and helped to create a buzz in the sector. In the Solana ecosystem, Fartcoin gained 15% on March 24, Dogwifhat (WIF) rallied 12%, and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) traded up by 12%.

Ultimately, SOL has significant potential for higher gains, given the network’s TVL and fees, especially in comparison to competitors, along with bullish positioning from whales using leverage.

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.

Read more at cointelegraph.com

BNB Chain launches $100M liquidity program

BNB Chain (BNB) has launched a $100 million program designed to bootstrap liquidity for its native projects on centralized exchanges (CEXs).

The network is allocating $100 million in incentives, primarily in the form of its native BNB tokens, to projects that successfully list on any of 11 major CEXs specified by BNB Chain, according to a March 24 announcement.

The program aims to “further enhance BNB Chain’s ecosystem liquidity and foster project growth by incentivizing exchanges to list native BNB Chain tokens,” the chain said in the statement. 

BNB Chain previously launched two smaller liquidity incentive programs, allocating two tranches of $4.4 million in February and March to incentivize CEX listings for memecoins and other ecosystem projects

BNB Chain launches $100M liquidity program

Rewards vary based on the prominence of the exchange listing. Source: BNB Chain

The network’s latest liquidity incentive program will be executed on a first-come, first-served basis and will initially run for a three-month trial period, it said. 

Only projects with at least a $5 million market capitalization and $1 million in daily trading volume are eligible, among other criteria, BNB Chain said. 

The largest rewards — $500,000 in permanent liquidity — are reserved for projects that list on major CEXs such as Binance and Coinbase, it said.

In some cases, rewards will be limited to non-withdrawable BNB token liquidity and in others, they will also include purchases of project tokens to create two-sided liquidity, according to BNB Chain.

BNB Chain launches $100M liquidity program

Chains by TVL. Source: DeFILlama

Related: Binance CEO reiterates denial of Trump family deal talks

Lagging competitors

BNB Chain has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $5.4 billion, according to data from DefiLlama. 

It ranks fourth among blockchain networks in TVL, lagging behind leading smart contract platforms Ethereum and Solana, with TVLs of about $46 billion and $7 billion, respectively, according to DefiLlama. 

BNB Chain is affiliated with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. 

In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that entities affiliated with US President Donald Trump were in talks to buy Binance.US, an independently-operated US crypto exchange.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied many of the reports’ claims, including any suggestion that a deal was contingent on Trump pardoning Zhao following his conviction on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

In 2023, Binance agreed to pay a $4.3 billion penalty and for Zhao to plead guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act for shortcomings in Binance’s Anti-Money Laundering program.

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

Read more at cointelegraph.com