Scenius Sync (Issue # 164)
Scenius Announces Close of VC FoF & ParaFi's Strategic GP Stake, Trump To Sign Order Easing Crypto's Path to 401ks, SEC Declares Liquid Staking Outside Securities Law, Gate Launches in U.S. & Lean ETH
Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.
Welcome to The Scenius Sync.
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Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.
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Essential News 🗞
Scenius maximus - Scenius Capital raises $20M for new fund of emerging crypto VC funds
Blockworks featured Scenius on having successfully closed an oversubscribed $20M emerging venture capital fund of funds and announced a strategic GP stake by leading crypto firm ParaFi Capital.
Trump to Sign Order Easing Path for Private Assets in 401(k)s
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that aims to allow private equity, real estate, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets in 401(k)s, a major victory for industries looking to tap some of the roughly $12.5 trillion held in those retirement accounts.
Certain liquid staking activities do not involve securities, the U.S. SEC said in its latest guidance as it delves into its crypto-friendly era. In guidance released on Tuesday, the SEC said that people engaged in liquid staking activities do not have to register with the agency under the securities laws. Liquid stakers that could be exempted from securities laws include Lido, Marinade Finance, JitoSOL and Stakewise. "It also is the Division’s view that the offer and sale of Staking Receipt Tokens, in the manner and under the circumstances described in this statement, do not involve the offer and sale of securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act or Section 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act, unless the deposited Covered Crypto Assets are part of or subject to an investment contract," the SEC said.
Stablecoin Provider Paxos to Pay $26.5M Fine to Settle Charges Related to Binance
Stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust will pay a $26.5 million penalty to New York State to resolve charges related to its previous partnership with the world's biggest crypto exchange, Binance, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced Thursday. Along the $26.5 million penalty, Paxos Trust will spend $22 million to improve its compliance program, the announcement added. The charges alleged that Paxos failed to conduct sufficient due diligence of its former partner, Binance, and had systemic failures in its anti-money laundering program.
Base network says sequencer handoff failure caused 33-minute mainnet outage
Coinbase-incubated Layer 2 chain Base said a sequencer-related failure was the cause of the network's recent outage that impacted key functionalities. The Base mainnet was halted for 33 minutes at around 1:07 a.m. on Tuesday, affecting deposits, withdrawals, block production, and Flashblocks. In a postmortem published Tuesday evening, Base explained that an active sequencer, responsible for creating blocks and processing transactions, started to lag due to onchain activity.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Crypto exchange Gate launches spot trading services in the US
Crypto exchange Gate is launching in the United States, offering spot trading services to US customers for the first time. Founded in 2013 by Chinese scientist Lin Han, the company cited improved regulatory clarity in the country as the reason behind the move. According to Gate, it will initially offer crypto trading pairs for US customers, with upcoming services for fiat on- and off-ramps and support for custodial wallets. As of July 24, the exchange offered over 3,800 trading pairs on its platform, one of the largest asset varieties in the market. Spot trading volume on Gate reached $6.8 billion in the past 24-hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
In the above-linked Tweet, Secretary Bessent notes that: recent reporting projects that stablecoins could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. That scenario becomes more likely with passage of the GENIUS Act. A thriving stablecoin ecosystem will drive demand from the private sector for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins. This new found demand could lower government borrowing costs and help rein in the national debt. It could also onramp millions of new users—across the globe—to the dollar-based digital asset economy.
Ripple to buy stablecoin platform Rail for $200 million
Ripple will buy stablecoin payments platform Rail for $200 million, the company said on Thursday, weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law that raised expectations cryptocurrency tokens are about to enter the mainstream. The acquisition - which will close in the fourth quarter of this year pending regulatory approvals - will enable Ripple and Rail to "deliver the most comprehensive stablecoin payments solution available in the market," it said. It will also add virtual accounts and automated back-office processes to Ripple's existing payments capabilities, the company said in a release.
"As regulations become more clear and the space has grown and matured, this opportunity for stablecoin payments is really ripe, and the acquisition of Rail just really solidifies our market leadership in stablecoin payments," said Monica Long, president of Ripple in an interview. Toronto-based Rail, backed by Galaxy Ventures and Accomplice, uses stablecoins to deploy cross-border payments. It says its transactions are cheaper and can clear in just hours, compared to longer settlement times for fiat payments.
Following Ethereum’s 10th birthday, the Ethereum Foundation announced its goals for the next 10 years, aiming for 10K TPS and quantum resistance. among other goals
EI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) (“MEI” or “the Company”) today announced the acquisition of 929,548 Litecoin (LTC) tokens at an average price of $107.58, successfully launching a major institutional treasury strategy with the LTC treasury now valued at approximately $110.4 million as of August 4, 2025. MEI becomes the first U.S.-listed public company to adopt Litecoin as a primary reserve asset, implementing a new strategy built on digital asset infrastructure and long-term capital innovation. This strategic move, developed in partnership with GSR and with guidance provided by Litecoin Creator and MEI Board member Charlie Lee, marks the beginning of MEI’s broader institutional treasury initiative, designed to leverage the scalability and reliability of Litecoin as a long-term store of value and operational treasury asset. “Litecoin has long embodied sound, scalable, and decentralized money,” said Mr. Lee. “By initiating this strategy, MEI is taking a clear, institutional step forward that recognizes Litecoin’s role as both a reserve asset and an integral part of global financial systems.”