Solana Briefly Surpasses Ethereum in Staking Market Cap

Solana briefly flipped Ethereum in total staking market cap on April 20, with over $53.9 billion worth of SOL locked by more than 500,000 wallet holders. The event was triggered largely by SOL’s explosive price performance against ETH, which has surged tenfold since mid-2023.

Despite the milestone, some analysts argue the 8.31% yield offered by Solana staking is cannibalizing its own DeFi ecosystem. “It doesn’t make sense for you to provide liquidity on a SOL/USDC AMM when that might earn you 5% but staking earns you 7%,” said Multicoin Capital's Tushar Jain.

Ethereum continues to dominate in decentralized finance, with over $50 billion in TVL compared to Solana’s $8.85 billion. Additionally, Ethereum maintains a massive validator lead with 1.06 million active validators versus Solana’s 1,243.

Security concerns also cloud Solana’s staking model, which lacks automatic slashing for misbehaving validators. “It's very ironic to call it ‘staking’ when there is no slashing. What's at stake?” Ethereum researcher Dankrad Feist questioned.

New SEC Chair Atkins Faces 70+ Crypto ETF Filings

Incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins will oversee more than 70 crypto ETF applications, including proposals tied to Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and even novelty tokens like the Official Melania meme coin. Atkins, confirmed earlier this month, is expected to officially take over shortly, launching a new chapter of crypto-focused rulemaking under President Trump’s administration.

Analysts anticipate that 2025 could bring the broadest ETF approvals yet, following last year’s landmark greenlighting of Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs. These filings reflect rising demand from asset managers to broaden Wall Street’s exposure to digital assets, especially under a more deregulation-friendly SEC.

Atkins may soon decide whether altcoins qualify as commodity-based ETFs, a crucial step for their mainstream trading approval. Final decisions on XRP and others are likely by October, unless the agency delays again.

Zora Airdrop Sparks Insider Trading Controversy

Onchain social platform Zora, backed by Coinbase, announced its $ZORA token will go live on April 23, following weeks of hype driven by Base network founder Jesse Pollack. Two historical snapshots of user activity will determine eligibility, covering interactions from January 2020 through April 20, 2025. The platform drew over 230,000 new traders in a single weekend after several viral “content coin” mints.

Critics allege insider wallets profited from advance knowledge of these promotions, with one early buyer netting over $600,000 before the public caught on. While Coinbase and Pollack denied coordinating a stealth campaign, some observers accused the project of using airdrop hype to drive token liquidity. Zora says its launch remains focused on rewarding early users and fostering creator-inspired Web3 media.

Bybit CEO: Most Lazarus Hack Funds Still Traceable

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed that over two-thirds of the $1.4 billion in crypto stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group remains traceable, despite a web of laundering tactics. In a report released Monday, Zhou detailed how 68.6% of the stolen 500,000 ETH is still visible on-chain, while nearly 28% has "gone dark." Around 3.8% of the funds have been frozen in coordination with other exchanges.

The February breach remains the largest crypto hack in history and involved advanced use of mixers, bridges, and decentralized protocols like Thorchain. Zhou said 432,748 ETH had been swapped into Bitcoin, then dispersed across 35,000 wallets, making recovery more difficult. Bybit’s bounty program has yielded 70 solid leads, but the CEO emphasized more help is needed to track laundering as mixer activity intensifies.

Data of the Day

Circle’s USDC stablecoin supply has surged to nearly $61 billion, marking a 38.6% increase since January as institutional demand outpaces rival USDT. USDC’s year-to-date growth reflects mounting preference from regulated financial entities, as Circle eyes a potential IPO and boasts greater regulatory clarity. Meanwhile, Tether’s USDT grew more modestly from $138 billion to $145 billion.

Ethereum continues to dominate as the main stablecoin network, hosting $130 billion of the $226 billion total supply. USDC’s transparent reserves and compliance-first model are drawing adoption in U.S. and EU markets, particularly for DeFi protocols and traditional institutions. As stablecoin regulation solidifies, the market is increasingly rewarding issuers that prioritize regulatory alignment.

More Breaking News

• Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought another 6,556 BTC for $555M last week, pushing its total stash to over 538,000 coins and locking in a $10B paper profit.
• Uniswap, Solana, and Consensys donated to Trump’s $239M inaugural fund weeks before the SEC dropped investigations against them.
• Bitget will reverse trades and compensate users after abnormal VOXEL futures activity, which triggered suspicions of market manipulation and system failures.
• Japan’s Metaplanet added 330 BTC to its Bitcoin treasury as prices topped $87K, reinforcing its position as the country’s leading public crypto holder.
• South Korea’s central bank committed to shaping stablecoin laws, warning that unregulated usage could harm monetary policy and ripple into traditional finance.
• Upexi stock soared over 630% on Nasdaq after revealing a $100M raise and Solana treasury plan, backed by top crypto venture capital firms.

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