The Blockchain Bulletin, Feb 27: SEC Accepts Grayscale’s Filing for Staking in ETH ETF
Hey Folks! Welcome to the latest edition of The Blockchain Bulletin. Over the last 24 hours, significant developments have occurred in the crypto space. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially acknowledged the filing of Grayscale to introduce staking in its Ethereum ETFs, signaling a new era of regulated staking rewards. Meanwhile, the SEC quietly walked away from its investigation into Uniswap, marking a “win for DeFi” and leaving crypto enthusiasts wondering—since when does the SEC hand out free passes?
At the same time, Ethereum is on a rollercoaster, testing the $2,300 support level while analysts warn it could be a trap. If it slips, ETH might tumble toward the $2,000-$1,500 zone. On-chain data shows 36 million ETH sitting at $2,000 and 33 million ETH near $2,900, making these levels major price magnets.
After its $1.4B ETH hack, Bybit obtained 157,660 ETH worth $437.83 million from OTC desks and another 109,033 ETH valued at $304.12 million from exchanges, Following this action, ETH bounced back 6%, and Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced that the exchange has fully recovered, with a Proof-of-Reserves audit on the way.
Related: Vitalik Backs Poseidon Hash for Ethereum Privacy: Report
While Bybit patched its wounds, Bitcoin ETFs were bleeding money. On February 25, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their largest single-day outflow of $937.7 million. Fidelity’s FBTC led the exit with $344.7 million gone, while BlackRock’s IBIT lost $164.4 million. Clearly, investors are pulling out faster than traders seeing red candles on leverage.
On the other hand, Ethereum researchers, led by Vitalik Buterin, are working on the Pectra upgrade, which will double blob transactions per block, slashing fees and improving efficiency. As if that’s not enough, they’re also exploring the Poseidon hash function, a cryptographic tool that could make Ethereum’s zero-knowledge proofs faster and more secure.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation isn’t just upgrading tech—it’s backing Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev with a $1.25 million legal defense donation. Pertsev, convicted of money laundering, is fighting his case as regulators crack down on privacy tools. The foundation’s stance? “Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.” Seems like the Ethereum camp is playing both offense and defense these days.
Crypto whales have been making waves. Santiment data shows extreme bearish sentiment, with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana drowning in a negative market commentary. Bitcoin’s price plunged 13.7% from $99,600, while Ethereum and XRP followed suit, confirming that FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) is alive and kicking. As of time, the token is trading at a piece of $2,300 with a 5.21% reduction in the past 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap and has also a market capitalization of $284.37B, signaling how volatile the token is in the market.
Meanwhile, XRP whales dumped 370 million tokens over four days, slashing its price by 21.9%. And just when things couldn’t get stranger, two whales withdrew 23.93 million ENA from Binance, fueling speculation about upcoming price moves.
Then, there’s GameStop. Strive Asset Management proposed turning its $5 billion cash pile into Bitcoin, arguing that fiat is a “shrinking asset.” While the market wrestles with chaos, Singapore is busy innovating. Metro, a major department store, now accepts USDT, USDC, and WUSD for payments, making it the first retailer in the country to embrace stablecoins. Next stop? Buying groceries with crypto while the cashier explains slippage and gas fees.
Related: XRP Whales Sell 370M Tokens in Four Days as Price Falls
Elsewhere, ARK Invest pulled a classic market move—buying 41,032 Coinbase shares worth $8.7 million while offloading $8.6 million of its spot Bitcoin ETF. This marks ARK’s first Coinbase purchase since October 2024, right before the crypto market’s last rally. With Bitcoin and Coinbase stocks both in a downward spiral, ARK’s balancing act is one to watch.
