Summary of the last 24 hours of social chatter.

Crypto Market Report: March 19-20, 2025

Summary

The crypto market experienced a surge in activity over the past two days, driven by a combination of positive regulatory news, institutional interest, and new token launches. The SEC's decision to drop its lawsuit against Ripple (XRP) sparked a wave of optimism, while institutional players like Flow Traders and Kraken continued to demonstrate their growing involvement in the space. New token launches, including Benjamin AI (BENJI) and Bedrock (BR), attracted significant attention, highlighting the ongoing innovation and development within the crypto ecosystem. However, the market remains volatile, with concerns about potential scams and the need for careful due diligence persisting.

News and Developments

Regulatory News

• SEC Drops Lawsuit Against Ripple: The SEC officially dropped its appeal against Ripple, marking a significant victory for the company and the broader crypto industry. This development has led to a surge in XRP's price and renewed optimism about the future of the token. Bgarlinghouse Status 1902345706636992720
• Gotbit Founder Forfeits $23 Million: Aleksei Andriunin, founder of Gotbit, reached a plea agreement with U.S. authorities to forfeit $23 million in crypto assets in connection with market manipulation charges. 310816 Gotbit Founder Forfeits
• Garantex Relaunches as Grinex: Sanctioned exchange Garantex relaunched under a new name, Grinex, after allegedly laundering millions in ruble-backed stablecoins. News Sanctioned Exchange Garantex

Institutional Activities

• Flow Traders Secures $10 Million Loan: Flow Traders successfully secured a $10 million USDC loan on Clearpool Prime, highlighting the growing institutional demand for tokenized private credit. Clearpoolfin Status 1902344961389219950
• Kraken Nears $1.5 Billion Deal: Kraken is close to acquiring NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, which would allow the exchange to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the US. Cointelegraph Status 1902510403713695936
• Blackrock's ETF Flows: Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin ETF saw inflows of 2,660 BTC ($224.24 million), while its Ethereum ETF saw outflows of 21,194 ETH ($43.05 million). Lookonchain Status 1902018556826722324

Project Updates

• Uniswap Fee Switch: The Uniswap community voted in favor of activating the long-promised "fee switch," granting the Uniswap Foundation $165.5 million in new funding. Proposals 83
• IOTA Identity Alpha Release: IOTA unveiled the alpha release of its IOTA Identity Framework, enabling self-sovereign identity and verifiable credentials on the upcoming IOTA Mainnet. Iota Identity Alpha Release
• Hedgehog Protocol Deployed on Sonic: Hedgehog Protocol (HOG) deployed on Sonic (S), aiming to create an asset mirroring transaction fee prices on Ethereum. Thehedgehog Io Status 1902359994814857400
• Gearbox Permissionless Lending: Gearbox launched a new instance with Lido, P2P, and Mellow Protocol, marking a step towards becoming permissionless and allowing anyone to launch lending markets. Gearboxprotocol Status 1902363660716306690
• Raydium LaunchLab: Raydium announced the launch of its own version of pumpfun called "LaunchLab," a token launchpad. Top7ico 9583
• Sahara AI Data Services Platform: Sahara AI launched Season 3 of its Data Services Platform. Saharalabsai Status 1902153923651399859
• Jambo Integrates Peaq: Jambo integrated Peaq's DePIN ecosystem into its devices, starting with the JamboPhone 2. Jambotechnology Status 1902325827821277673
• Helius x Crossmint Smart Wallets: Helius and Crossmint published an article explaining the benefits and implementation of smart wallets on Solana. Blog Solana Smart Wallets

Market Trends

• BTC Dominance: Bitcoin's dominance increased slightly, reaching 60.7%. dropstab.com
• Altcoin Season: The Altcoin Season Index remained at 21, indicating a continued focus on altcoins. dropstab.com
• Whale Activity: Whales were active in various markets, including BTC, ETH, VIDT, and BONK. 3d1qt9a
• Meme Coin Hype: Meme coins like FARTCOIN and KOMA gained significant attention, highlighting the ongoing popularity of this trend. En Coins Fartcoin
• Degen Alpha: Traders discussed potential degen alpha opportunities in various tokens, including $NAV, $LOFI, $TABIBI, and $OCD. Bsc 0x8701eb5c7e325864f7a87f964753f3bda8547146

Other Notable Events

• President Trump to Address Blockworks Conference: President Trump is scheduled to address the Blockworks Crypto Conference. Blockworks Status 1902447898329043096
• FED Leaves Rates Unchanged: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25-4.5%. News
• Uniswap Community Call: The Uniswap community held a call to discuss the fee switch and other governance proposals. Proposals 83

Degen Alpha

New Token Launches

• Benjamin AI (BENJI): BENJI is a new AI agent on Base, launched on March 20th. It is trading at ~$0.0023 with an FDV of ~$2.3 million. Story 0xfd061584f1f88f24fe11dfa12b9d283afe2fc9f8
• Bedrock (BR): Bedrock is a multi-asset liquid restaking protocol that enables Bitcoin staking through uniBTC. It launched a token sale on Binance Wallet on March 20th. Binancewallet Status 1902646302854553756
• Nillion (NIL): Nillion is a secure computation network that decentralizes trust for high-value data. It launched farming on Binance Launchpool on March 21st. En Support Announcement Detail
• Shield Protocol (SHIELD): Shield Protocol aims to be the smartest AI-powered Hedgefund on BSC, powered by the $SHIELD token. It is currently below its private sale price. Bsc 0xa976a4ba5076f1264e0f8ffb5b9ff4ac9fd615fa
• Gekkou (GEKKOU): Gekkou is a meme play on Base, with good volume and chart performance. Gekkoumaruonbase

Airdrops

• Nillion (NIL): Users can stake BNB, FDUSD, and USDC on Binance Launchpool to receive NIL airdrops. En Support Announcement Detail

Patterns and Insights

• Shifting Market Dynamics: The market is transitioning from a "flippers market" to a "holders market," with a greater emphasis on long-term value and utility.
• Degen Strategies: Traders are increasingly relying on on-chain data and whale activity to identify potential degen alpha opportunities.
• Institutional Onboarding: The launch of Coinbase's KYC-only pools and Kraken's acquisition of NinjaTrader indicate a growing trend of institutional onboarding into the crypto space.
• The Importance of Due Diligence: The prevalence of scams and the need for careful due diligence remain crucial considerations for investors.
• The Future of Finance: The development of innovative infrastructure projects like DoubleZero and the advancements in ZK technology suggest a future where crypto could transform the financial landscape.

Disclaimer: This report is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Always conduct your own research (DYOR) before making any investment decisions.