Scenius Sync (Issue # 147)
Tariff Turbulence Roils Markets, Crypto Attorney Sues To Uncover Satoshi’s Identity, SEC Says Stablecoins Aren’t Securities, Grayscale Files for Large Cap ETF, & Lens Chain Mainnet Launches
Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.
Welcome to The Scenius Sync.
Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:
Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.
Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.
If you find this newsletter valuable, please subscribe and share The Scenius Sync with your network 💪
Essential News 🗞
Total crypto market cap falls 30% from peak levels as tariffs create turbulence
The total crypto market capitalization has contracted significantly, falling to $2.7 trillion from its December 2024 peak of $3.9 trillion, representing a 30% decline in total market value over roughly four months. This downturn coincides with broader weakness in equity markets, both reacting to President Trump's April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs on his self-described "Liberation Day" for the United States. With these tariffs set to take effect in the coming days, market uncertainty has prompted widespread risk-off behavior among investors across multiple asset classes.
More similar coverage here: Crypto prices plunge as $1.6 billion in leveraged bets wiped out; ETH hits two-year low & here: Tariffs, tumbles, and tokens: A tale of market woe
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is being sued in the name of finding out the identity of the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. In a lawsuit filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, crypto attorney James A. Murphy asked for documents regarding Nakamoto's identity and said his Freedom of Information Act requests had gone unanswered. Murphy also goes by "MetaLawMan" on X and has over 44,000 followers. "Given the massive public and private investment in Bitcoin, it is important for Mr. Murphy and the public to understand better what the federal government knows about the identity of the actor(s) responsible for creating Bitcoin," a lawyer representing Murphy said in the complaint.
SEC Staff to Reassess Biden-Era Crypto Guidance Amid Regulatory Shakeup
Staff at the U.S. SEC are reviewing past crypto-related guidance to determine whether it still reflects the agency’s current priorities, according to a statement from acting chairman Mark Uyeda, posted on social media platform X. Among several key documents, the SEC staff's statement on funds registered under the Investment Company Act Investing in the bitcoin futures market is under review, according to the X post. Other documents include digital assets "investment contracts," and custody frameworks. The reviews could result in more clarification for regulatory frameworks around the digital assets sector.
SEC Says Stablecoins Aren’t Securities That Require Registration
Stablecoin issuers and exchanges got a boost Friday from the SEC after the agency’s staff determined that the assets, generally, aren’t securities. That means they won’t have to be registered with the markets regulator. The determination applies as long as a crypto asset is backed by a stable currency such as the US dollar, a commodity like gold or a pool of other assets, the staff said in a statement.
Hong Kong Regulator Releases Crypto Staking Rules for Licensed Exchanges
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has issued new guidance allowing licensed platforms to offer staking services. The SFC mandates that platforms retain full control of client assets and disclose all risks associated with staking. This move contrasts with Singapore's ban on retail staking and the U.S. SEC's restrictive stance.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Grayscale files S-3 for Digital Large Cap ETF
Asset manager Grayscale has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding a diverse basket of spot cryptocurrencies, US regulatory filings show.
On April 1, Grayscale submitted an S-3 regulatory filing to the SEC, which is required to convert the non-listed fund to an ETF. The Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which was created in 2018 but is not yet exchange-traded, holds a crypto index portfolio comprising Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. As of April 1, the fund has more than $600 million in assets under management and is only available to accredited investors (entities or individuals with high net worth), according to Grayscale’s website.
Creators of DeFi Firm Aave Launch Social Media Developer Network Lens Chain
Avara, the parent company of decentralized finance platform Aave, has announced the arrival of Lens Chain mainnet, a fast and inexpensive Ethereum overlay blockchain for developing decentralized social media applications. There are now several blockchain-oriented, or “Web3,” startups looking to provide users with an alternative to the giant, centralized social media companies like Facebook and Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter).
Link to the X announcement here.
Fidelity introduces retirement accounts with minimal-fee crypto investing
Fidelity, a financial services company with $5.9 trillion in assets under management, has introduced new retirement accounts that will allow Americans to invest in crypto nearly fee-free. The three accounts — a tax-deferred traditional IRA and two Roth IRAs (one is a rollover) — permit the buying and selling of Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin. While there are no fees to open or maintain the accounts, Fidelity charges a 1% spread on the execution price of crypto buy and sell transactions.
Mantra unveils $108M fund to back real-world asset tokenization, DeFi
The Mantra blockchain network has launched a $108,888,888 ecosystem fund aimed at accelerating the growth of startups focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi), amid rising demand for stable, asset-backed digital products. Mantra, a layer-1 (L1) blockchain built for tokenized RWAs, launched the Mantra Ecosystem Fund (MEF) to accelerate the growth and adoption of projects and startups building on its network, according to an April 7 announcement shared with Cointelegraph. Mantra said it will deploy the capital over the next four years among “high-potential blockchain projects” worldwide, with investment opportunities sourced through Mantra’s network of partners. The fund’s backers include a wide range of institutional partners including Laser Digital, Shorooq, Brevan Howard Digital, Valor Capital, Three Point Capital and Amber Group.
Codex, a development company building a dedicated blockchain for stablecoins directed towards enterprise use cases, has raised $15.8 million in seed funding in a round led by Dragonfly Capital, according to an announcement on X. Other big names that participated included market makers Cumberland and Wintermute, as well as the co-creators of USDC, Coinbase, and Circle.