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Solana (SOL), the layer-1 blockchain designed for high-speed and low-cost transactions, has been at the center of a trading frenzy with Donald Trump's memecoin driving stablecoin supply on the network to a fresh record-high. The total stablecoin supply on Solana has surged to $10.5 billion, doubling since the start of January, according to data source Artemis. Circle's USDC led the increase surpassing $8 billion in total circulation on Solana, adding more than $4 billion this month, while Tether's USDT grew to $2 billion from $917 million, per Artemis. Stablecoins are a key piece of infrastructure in the crypto economy, serving as a popular source of liquidity for crypto trading. Solana and its ecosystem of in-built protocols built have become a bustling hub for trading and launching tokens in red-hot, fast-growing crypto sectors such as memecoins and crypto AI agents. The network's stablecoin liquidity growth was steady over the past months as digital asset markets rejuvenated with crypto-friendly Trump's election victory, but it skyrocketed with the launch of TRUMP coin Jan. 17, the "official" memecoin tied to the U.S. President. Released on Solana, the token garnered massive trading volume across decentralized exchanges, driving transaction activity and liquidity inflows to the network. Before the token got listed on popular centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, trading with the TRUMP coin was first available on decentralized exchange (DEX) Meteora paired against the USDC stablecoin, David Duong and David Han from Coinbase Institutional Research, noted in a Friday report. That said, fast-moving traders first needed to first acquire USDC to buy the coin, driving USDC inflows to the network. Along with stablecoin growth, trading volume on Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEX) also soared to record highs of more than $25 billion daily, executing 74% of overall DEX trading volume on all blockchains, the report noted. "Staggering numbers," Sean Farrell, head of digital asset research at Fundstrat, said in an X post. The increased activity was reflected in Solana's native token (SOL) price, posting the largest gain through this week with 20% among the broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index members, vastly outperforming bitcoin's (BTC) 2% advance. While USDC and Tether's USDT dominate the stablecoin market on Solana â as they do in the broader crypto landscape â there's a growing number of up-and-coming issuers that recently expanded to the blockchain, noted Tom Wan, head of data at Entropy Advisors. |
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SEC Withdraws SAB 121 Accounting Rule |
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a new Staff Accounting Bulletin Thursday withdrawing its controversial SAB 121.
SAB 121 directed banks and other public companies that they had to mark any customers' crypto assets on their own balance sheets. SAB 122 "rescinds the interpretive guidance" and instead directs firms to use Financial Accounting Standards Board rules or International Accounting Standard provisions. "The staff reminds entities that they should continue to consider existing requirements to provide disclosures that allow investors to understand an entityâs obligation to safeguard crypto-assets held for others," Thursday's notice said.
The guidance it rescinds, SAB 121, was supported by former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who said it would protect investors in the event of bankruptcies.
"What we have found actually in bankruptcy court, time and again, many times now, that indeed, bankruptcy courts have said that crypto assets are not bankruptcy remote," he told Reuters in 2023. However, SAB 121 drew ire from much of the crypto industry, and was the subject of a Congressional Review Act resolution passed by both the House and Senate, though that resolution was vetoed by former President Joe Biden. |
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Balland Kidnap Highlights Increased Risks |
David Balland, co-founder of cryptocurrency wallet developer Ledger, was rescued in a police operation after being kidnapped in a ransom attack in France, according to reports, putting an end to days of swirling rumors. Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that Ballard and his wife were kidnapped on early Tuesday from their home in Central France and held captive at two separate addresses, Reuters reported on Friday. The prosecutor said that the kidnappers contacted another Ledger co-founder to demand ransom paid in cryptocurrencies. A police operation involving French elite forces GIGN freed Ballard on Wednesday and his wife was found on Thursday, the prosecutor said. Ballard was taken to hospital to receive treatment to one of his hands, which was mutilated, Beccuau said, without revealing further details, according to Reuters. Local newspaper Le Parisien reported that the attackers severed Ballard's finger and sent it to associates to extort a ransom. "We are deeply relieved that David and his wife have been released, and are now safe," Pascal Gauthier, chairman and CEO of Ledger, said in a statement shared with CoinDesk. Rumors circulated on social media earlier this week that one of the co-founders of Ledger had been kidnapped. Reports alleging that Eric LarchevĂȘque, another co-founder of the company, was the victim turned out to be false. CoinDesk reached out to Ledger for confirmation at the time, but the company didn't comment. "Our top priority was always to allow law enforcement to do their jobs and protect the integrity of the investigation," CEO Gauthier said. "We respected law enforcement requests around safeguarding critical details of the ongoing investigation and appreciated members of the press who did the same." The incident was another example of an alarming trend of robberies and crime targeting crypto traders and industry figures as the crypto bull market marches on creating riches to investors. For example, Dean Skurka, the CEO of WonderFi, a publicly listed crypto holding company that owns one of Canada's largest crypto exchanges, was kidnapped for a ransom in Toronto last year. "Have seen an uptick in irl [real life] robberies targeting crypto traders located in Western Europe over the past few months," popular blockchain sleuth ZachXBT posted on Telegram. "The cases all involve known people in the crypto community where they were held at gunpoint. As the rest of the cycle continues, be extra mindful of who you share your wins with and meet up with [in real life]." |
Vitalik Focuses on ETH's Value |
Ethereum scaling plans and network applications should start supporting the networkâs native ether (ETH) to further bump value for the asset, co-founder Vitalik Buterin wrote in a post on Friday. âWe should pursue a multi-pronged strategy, to cover all major possible sources of the value of ETH as a triple-point asset,â Buterin said as part of a longer post on layer-2 scaling, security and interoperability. âAgree broadly to cement ETH as the primary asset of the greater (L1 + L2) Ethereum economy, support applications using ETH as the primary collateral.â Buterin called for implementing incentives for layer 2 networks to allocate a portion of their fees to ETH using mechanisms like burning fees, staking them permanently, or directing proceeds towards public goods in the Ethereum ecosystem. His comments come amid rising criticism of the Ethereum Foundation, the grant-giving nonprofit that helps support Ethereum, as the asset loses market cap and mindshare to competitors. The widely watched ether-bitcoin ratio is down to 2021 levels. Bitcoin touched a record high above $109,000 earlier Monday and has returned 160% to investors over the past year. Ether, in the meantime, has gained just 40% in the period and is hovering some 30% below its 2021 peak, as a CoinDesk analysis showed. Another call-out was to increase Ethereumâs blob count while setting a minimum price for blobs, viewing them as âanother possible revenue generator.â âIf you take the average blob fee of the last 30 days, and suppose it stays the same (due to induced demand) while blob count increases to 128, Ethereum would burn 713,000 ETH per year,â Buterin noted, adding that such a favorable demand curve was ânot guaranteedâ and hence not an isolated strategy to bump ETHâs value. Blobs are like regular transactions with an extra piece of transaction data attached. However, unlike traditional transactions, blob-carrying transactions do not permanently occupy the mainnet space and are only available for 18 days. Since November, the daily tally of blobs averaged a record 21,000, with just two Layer 2s â Coinbase's BASE and World Chain â accounting for 55% of the daily activity. Sustained demand for Layer 2s could quickly deplete available capacity, as a CoinDesk analysis noted earlier in the week. |
The Takeaway: DePIN for Taco Bell |
The DePIN revolution is coming to a fast food franchise near you. The movement that started with Helium and has spread to numerous categories, including mapping and car data, this year is now spreading to hospitality. The initiative shows how quickly DePINs - or decentralized networks of physical infrastructure - are becoming mainstream. The fast food and hospitality industry, often associated with consistency and efficiency, is quietly upgrading as decentralized technologies make their way into the mainstream. The adoption of DePIN by major franchises like Taco Bell and KFC signals a shift in how these businesses operate and engage with technology. At the core of this transformation is the integration of DePIN devices â sensors, routers, and other physical infrastructure â powered by blockchain and token-based incentives. These networks enable businesses to contribute to shared ecosystems while gaining real-time operational insights and being rewarded for their participation. Itâs a forward-thinking approach that combines cutting-edge technology with the practical needs of fast-food and hospitality businesses, paving the way for greater efficiency, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. With DePIN, the industry is embracing a strategic evolution â one that reflects the growing potential of decentralized technologies to enhance traditional models while creating new opportunities for growth. For franchisees, the potential benefits of DePIN are significant. By integrating DePIN devices into their operations, they can unlock a wealth of opportunities: Enhanced Operational Efficiency: DePIN devices, such as air quality sensors from Ambient Network, can provide real-time data on environmental conditions. This information can be used to optimize HVAC systems, improve indoor air quality, and reduce energy consumption. Increased Customer Satisfaction: By leveraging DePIN-powered solutions, franchises can offer a more personalized and convenient customer experience. For instance, indoor cell site deployments from Helium Mobile or XNET can provide reliable connectivity, while blockchain-based supply chain management can ensure product quality and freshness. A Case Study: The Power of Collaboration A prime example of DePIN's impact on the franchise industry is the partnership between major fast-food chains and Ambient Network, the largest decentralized air quality network on Solana. By deploying air quality sensors across hundreds of stores, from coast to coast, these franchises are not only improving air quality for their customers but also contributing to a cleaner environment. Moreover, they are generating valuable data insights that can be used to optimize operations and reduce costs. âWith the growing maturity of tokens and decentralized technologies, weâre seeing a shift in how we can use these assets within our stores and properties,â explains Pushpak Patel, Founding Principal at CMG Companies, one of the largest operators of KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Little Caesars, Rent-A-Center, and Ace Hardware franchises in the US. âBy installing 1,000 DePIN devices from Ambient Network, weâre enhancing our ability to gather operational insights across our locations. Having air quality sensors installed doesnât just provide real-time conditions, both outdoor and indoor â it also enables us to participate in demand-response programs. And with the strategic density of our locations, we can help unlock greater coverage for the network, which in turn generates additional data insights. This is a game-changer.â Franchisees may partner with third parties to deploy and manage the infrastructure, or they can manage the devices in-house to improve operational efficiency with the devices and potentially generate an excellent return on investment. With Helium, these deployer participants are seeing ROI from a few dollars to tens of dollars per day based on factors like location, miner density, and network demand.
Full op-ed here.
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