BlackRock & Nasdaq File for Ether ETFs Options Trading

BlackRock & Nasdaq File for Ether ETFs Options Trading

Nasdaq and BlackRock, the $10.43 trillion asset manager, have collaborated to list and trade options for BlackRock's spot Ethereum ETF. According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Nasdaq ISE, LLC, and BlackRock proposed a rule change to facilitate the listing and trading of options on the iShares Ethereum Trust, identified by the ticker ETHA.

This initiative wants to provide investors with a more cost-effective way to gain exposure to spot ether and serve as a hedging tool for their ether-related investments. BlackRock's ETF, approved in May alongside eight others, began trading last month. Public comments on the proposal are open for 21 days, with the SEC expected to make a final decision by April 2025, according to Bloomberg analysts.

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Ethena's USDe Stablecoin Survives $100M in Redemptions

Ethena's USDe stablecoin, known as a "synthetic dollar," faced $100 million in redemptions during a market selloff, which saw Bitcoin drop below $50,000 and Ether lose its 2024 gains. Despite the volatility, USDe maintained its dollar peg, briefly dipping to $0.997 before returning to $1. According to Ethena's founder, Guy Young, the system processed over $50 million in redemptions overnight.

Since Monday, over $96 million of USDe has been redeemed amid the crypto downturn. Unlike traditional stablecoins, USDe relies on derivative hedging strategies and an arbitrage system involving Ether and Bitcoin to sustain its peg. It also uses a cash-and-carry strategy to generate yields, which are distributed to holders. Recently, Ethena expanded its collateral beyond ETH and liquid staking tokens.

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Martin Shkreli's Trump-Themed DJT Coin Crashed 93%

The Solana meme coin TrumpCoin (DJT) crashed over 90% after a major sell-off, sparking accusations of a "rug pull." The token's price plummeted 93% on Tuesday after $2 million worth of tokens were sold in one transaction, slashing its market cap from $55 million to $3 million. The seller, identified by Bubblemaps as the coin’s largest holder, had received tokens directly from the minting address.

Proceeds were distributed among four wallets, totaling 15,500 SOL (over $2.2 million). Despite early claims, Martin Shkreli, who was involved in the token's creation, confirmed that neither Donald Trump nor his son Barron were involved. Shkreli denied any connection to the sale, stating he lacked the private key to control the tokens.

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MEV Bot Returns $10M in ETH to Ronin After Exploit

The Ronin network bridge, linked to the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, was recently exploited by a maximum extractable value (MEV) bot, which inadvertently drained nearly 3,996 Ether (ETH), worth over $10 million. The transactions, involving 3,996 ETH and nearly $2 million in USDC, led to speculation about a white hat hack. Ronin paused the bridge to investigate, finding the exploit stemmed from a recent upgrade that misinterpreted withdrawal thresholds.

The bot returned 3,991 ETH, keeping 5 ETH, and received $500,000 from Ronin for discovering the exploit. MEV bots copy transactions and pay higher gas fees to execute them if profitable, sometimes unintentionally exploiting protocols. In this case, the bot's owner returned the funds after accidentally front-running the attack. Ronin will redeposit any shortfalls and reopen the bridge only after patching the vulnerability and conducting an audit.

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Data of the Day

A new Ethereum Layer 2 network is appearing every 19 days, per Gemini institutional insights report, leading to concerns about liquidity fragmentation. Analysts have noted that the growing number of L2s, such as Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism, is intended to address ETH's scaling issues but is also causing liquidity to become scattered, weakening blockchain operations and adoption.

This fragmentation complicates moving liquidity between blockchains, although advancements in bridging applications are helping to streamline this process. CoinShares research highlights that the modular design of Layer 2 roll-ups results in centralized transaction processing, further exacerbating liquidity fragmentation and negatively impacting the user experience.

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More Breaking News

• Cathie Wood's Ark Invest bought 93,797 Coinbase shares during the Monday market crash for around $18 million to rebalance the fund weightings.
• Starknet Foundation reported that its CEO Diego Oliva has stepped down after being in the position since March last year.
• Binance saw $1.2 billion of inflows in one of the biggest trading days of 2024, while ByBit,  Crypto.com, and OKX also added $500 million together.
• The SOL/ETH ratio has reached a new all-time high in the aftermath of a market shakeup that resulted in a decline in crypto prices over the week.
• The Indian law enforcement agencies have requested 722 crore Indian rupees (86 million USD) in unpaid taxes from the crypto exchange Binance.

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