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Top Stories of The Week
SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse says
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s multi-year enforcement action against Ripple is finally coming to an end, according to the company’s CEO.
“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19.
“I’m finally able to announce that the case has ended; it’s over,” Garlinghouse said in the video attached to the X post.
The end of a long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC comes four years after the US securities regulator sued the company over an alleged $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering in December 2020.
Trump becomes first US sitting president to speak at a crypto conference
US President Donald Trump is steadily aligning his administration with the crypto industry. On March 20, he addressed a community conference for the first time since being elected.
Speaking at Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit on March 20 in a pre-recorded statement, Trump reiterated that the US would take steps to ensure it is the “crypto capital of the world.”
The president lauded the recent regulatory shift in the crypto industry over the previous administration and added:
“Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system and promote greater privacy, safety, security and wealth for American consumers and businesses alike. You will unleash an explosion of economic growth.”
Bybit: 89% of stolen $1.4B crypto still traceable post-hack
The lion’s share of the hacked Bybit funds is still traceable after the historic cybertheft, as blockchain investigators continue their efforts to freeze and recover these funds.
The crypto industry was rocked by the largest hack in history on Feb. 21, when Bybit lost over $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether, Mantle Staked ETH and other digital assets.
Blockchain security firms, including Arkham Intelligence, have identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the likely culprit behind the Bybit exploit, as the attackers have continued swapping the funds in an effort to make them untraceable.
Despite the Lazarus Group’s efforts, over 88% of the stolen $1.4 billion remains traceable, according to Ben Zhou, the co-founder and CEO of Bybit exchange.
Coinbase becomes Ethereum’s largest node operator with 11% stake
A Coinbase report revealed that the crypto exchange is the largest node operator on the Ethereum network, controlling 11.42% of total staked Ether.
In a performance report, Coinbase said it had 3.84 million Ether, worth about $6.8 billion, staked to its validators. The exchange also said that, as of March 3, it has 11.42% of total staked ETH.
Anthony Sassano, host of The Daily Gwei, said that Coinbase’s stake makes the exchange the “single largest node operator” in the network.
Sassano added that while the staking platform Lido is bigger as a collective, each node operator has a much smaller percentage share.
Binance CEO reiterates denial of Trump family deal talks
Binance CEO Richard Teng denied reports that Binance.US was in deal talks with entities affiliated with US President Donald Trump during a March 18 panel at Blockworks’ 2025 Digital Asset Summit in New York.
Teng’s statement reiterated the position taken by Binance’s co-founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and Trump, both of whom denied the story last week.
On March 13, The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance.US, an independently-operated US cryptocurrency exchange, was discussing selling an equity interest to Trump-affiliated business entities, including a possible deal with World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s decentralized finance (DeFi) project.
“I believe both World Liberty Financial as well as CZ himself have tweeted and denied the reforms, right? So that there’s really nothing else to add,” Teng said during the summit, which was attended by Cointelegraph.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $84,136, Ether (ETH) at $1,962 and XRP at $2.38. The total market cap is at $2.75 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Four (FORM) at 86.05%, Pancake Swap (CAKE) at 66.00% and Toncoin (TON) at 23.18%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Pi (PI) at 36.63%, Official Trump (TRUMP) at 9.52% and JasmyCoin (JASMY) at 8.42%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“I am ashamed I downplayed it instead of just calling it what it is – mean and punching down on a marginalized group.”
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder and CEO of Solana Labs
“I believe both World Liberty Financial as well as CZ himself have tweeted and denied the reforms, right? So there’s really nothing else to add.”
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance
“Was BTC $77k the bottom, prob.”
Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX
“Bitcoin bull cycle is over, expecting 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action.”
Ki Young Ju, CryptoQuant founder and CEO
“I think what’s happening, though, is that if we do have a recession, declining GDP, that this is going to give the president and the Fed many more degrees of freedom to do what they want in terms of tax cuts and monetary policy.”
Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest
“While crypto is the currency for AI, not every agent needs its own token. Agents can take fees in an existing crypto for providing a service.”
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, co-founder and former CEO of Binance
Prediction of The Week
XRP price chart hints at 75% gains next as SEC ends lawsuit against Ripple
XRP’s price has recovered by almost 30% in the last two weeks, led by a crypto market rebound, as Ripple’s long-running legal battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission came to an end.
As of March 21, XRP bounced after testing the triangle’s lower trendline, eyeing a rise toward the upper trendline — around the apex point at the $2.35 level — by April. The ultimate target for this possible breakout is $4.35 by June, up 75% from the current price levels.
Conversely, a drop below the lower trendline could invalidate the bullish setup, setting XRP on the path toward $1.28. The bearish target is obtained by subtracting the triangle’s maximum height from the potential breakdown point at $2.35.
Top FUD of The Week
Bad news Bitcoin bulls, the long-hoped-for retail is already here: CryptoQuant
Bitcoin bulls who still think the cycle peak has yet to come as retail investors haven’t piled in yet might be using an outdated playbook, according to a crypto executive.
“The idea that the cycle isn’t over just because onchain retail activity is absent needs reconsideration,” CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju said in a March 19 X post.
Ju said that those tracking retail movements using only onchain metrics will not have seen the full picture.
“Retail is likely entering through ETFs — the paper Bitcoin layer — which doesn’t show up onchain,” Ju said.
Russian Gotbit founder strikes $23M plea deal with US prosecutors
Aleksei Andriunin, a Russian national charged with manipulating cryptocurrency through the Gotbit market maker platform, has reportedly struck a plea deal with prosecutors in the United States.
Andriunin, the founder and CEO of Gotbit, has agreed to forfeit about $23 million in Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC in a plea deal with Massachusetts federal prosecutors, the legal news service Law360 reported on March 19.
As part of the plea, Andriunin will plead guilty to three counts charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and market manipulation, according to the letter signed by the defendant on March 19.
Beware of ‘cracked’ TradingView — it’s a crypto-stealing trojan
Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes has warned of a new form of crypto-stealing malware hidden inside a “cracked” version of TradingView Premium, software that provides charting tools for financial markets.
The scammers are lurking on crypto subreddits, posting links to Windows and Mac installers for “TradingView Premium Cracked,” which is laced with malware aimed at stealing personal data and draining crypto wallets, Jerome Segura, a senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, said in a March 18 blog post.
“We have heard of victims whose crypto wallets had been emptied and were subsequently impersonated by the criminals who sent phishing links to their contacts,” he added.
Top Magazine Stories of The Week
Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself
Users could feel as safe and secure keeping $10 million in life savings on a Native Rollup as they would storing it on Ethereum itself.
Meebits and CryptoPunks are like Hot Wheels for adults: New MeebCo owner Sergito
“It was my first time buying crypto and my timing was just particularly lucky. It was that week when Bitcoin went to $3,000 and Ethereum went to like $110,” says MeebCo’s Sergito.
Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge
The memecoin crash has hit Solana’s activity, fees and price hard. But proponents argue the Solana network itself is in better shape than ever before.
Editorial Staff
Retire early with crypto? Playing with FIRE
“Of course. I’m jealous of people that have built a $1.5 million [portfolio] overnight.”
Read more
Saylor doubts $60K Bitcoin retrace, BTC ETF options, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 10 – 16
Bitcoin trader eyes $100K price tag by Thanksgiving day in US, Bitcoin ETF options pass ‘second hurdle’: Hodlers Digest
Read moreRipple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22