Sunday Review 02/03/2025
Happy Spring, Observers!
It is all about perspective: while the prices of cryptocurrencies went downhill during the past week, on the regulatory front, the last couple of days were great.
In the United States, the Court of Appeals dismissed the claims of a class action lawsuit against Uniswap that accused the decentralized exchange of inadequately screening tokens.
The court's decision sets up a strong precedent and supports the position that writing code doesn’t inherently make one responsible for how it is used.
Uniswap Wins In Court, Setting a Precedent for DeFi
A federal court has ruled that Uniswap, the largest decentralized exchange, cannot be held liable for scam tokens traded on its platform. The decision, now upheld on appeal, reinforces the legal distinction between protocol developers and platform misuse, setting a precedent for DeFi regulation
Rebecca Denton
As promised by President Donald Trump, the regulatory crackdown on the crypto industry has come to an end.
This week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission dropped the cases it had against several industry giants, including Consensys, Gemini, Uniswap Labs, and Open Sea.
While controversial, Trump’s steadfast implementation of his campaign promises has earned him a lot of praise, especially from those who stand or wish to benefit from the President’s actions.
A major fanboy of the new administration is Sam-Bankman Fried, currently an inmate in a New York federal prison and former CEO of the disgraced crypto exchange FTX.
Someone Tell SBF—Donald Trump Only Pardons Winners
Sam Bankman-Fried is trying hard to get a get-out-of-jail card from Donald Trump. Unfortunately for him, the president of the United States doesn’t like losers
Eva Senzaj Pauram
After more than one year of online silence, SBF made a post on X where he shared his thoughts on leadership regarding the recent wave of government layoffs intitiated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
His post was scorned by the community, which still resents the inmate for the fraud crimes he has been found guilty of committing.
🔥 Highlights Of The Week
- Aya Miyaguchi has transitioned from Executive Director to the role of President of the Ethereum Foundation;
- FBI confirms North Korea was behind $1.5B Bybit hack, urges exchanges to block laundering addresses;
- PumpFun's X account was hacked to promote a fake token.
📈 Crypto Markets
Project Of The Week: Hamster Network
Hamster Telegram Game Has Its Own Blockchain
Hamster Kombat expands its Web3 gaming ambitions with the launch of Hamster Network, a TON-compatible Layer 2 blockchain. This move aligns with Telegram’s exclusive adoption of TON, ensuring seamless integration. With new initiatives like HamsterVerse, the game aims to reignite player engagement.
Observers
The creators of the hit Telegram tap game Hamster Kombat have launched a TON layer-two blockchain to host a myriad of games and entertainment experiences.
The popular game was all the rage last summer, but its extremely disappointing airdrop led to a severe decline in users who went searching for free money elsewhere.
To recover its place in the spotlight, the game’s creators launched HamsterVerse in early February and have now followed with the Hamster Network.
🎢 Tether Expands Everywhere
The company behind the largest stablecoin in the crypto market recently announced that it has acquired a 51% share in the South American agribusiness firm Adecoagro and a 5% share in Juventus, one of the most infamous Italian football clubs.
Other ventures outside of the crypto industry where Tether Limited has stepped in the past include brain-computer interface technology and data centers.
Tether Continues to Expand and Diversify Beyond Stablecoin Business
From football and agribusiness to cloud infrastructure, AI, and global blockchain education, Tether continues its aggressive diversification, expanding its portfolio and strengthening ties with governments worldwide.
Rebecca Denton
🔥Celestia: Hot or Cold? ❄️
If you are on crypto Twitter, it's likely that you have scrolled past one or more posts in recent weeks detailing the potential of Celestia, a blockchain on which it is possible to store data for much less money than that needed to store information in monolithic networks—that is, networks that, unlike this one, keep the execution, settlement, and consensus layer together.
Despite the recent popularity jump, Celestia’s token is currently trading at 80% less than its all-time high. While its cheap data storage value proposition is strong, the Layer 1 is still an infant compared to household names such as Ethereum or Solana.
Celestia’s Modular Approach Promises New Era in Scalability
Celestia has introduced a game-changing modular blockchain. With unique features and notable partnerships, it has been capturing significant attention.
Alexander Mardar
🍭 Crypto Highs And Fun Times
Columbia’s UNICEF branch has launched a collection of Ordinals, the revenue of which will be channeled to feed starving children in some of the country’s poorest districts. Crypto and blockchain are increasingly being used in the humanitarian sector and it is one of the use cases that doesn’t require financial speculation to demonstrate its value.
Have a great week ahead!