The Blockchain Bulletin March 25: Fidelity Joins Blockchain with Digital Fund
Hey folks! Welcome to our latest edition of Blockchain Bulletin, which covers insights that hit the headlines in the past 24 hours. In a week marked by the fusion of traditional finance with blockchain, Fidelity Investments has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce a new “OnChain” share class for its Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX). This innovative move will allow the Ethereum blockchain to record share ownership, enhancing transparency.
Despite this blockchain integration, traditional book-entry records will remain the official ownership ledger, with daily reconciliations to ensure consistency. The fund will focus on capital preservation, investing at least 99.5% in U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents, aiming for a tax-advantaged position. This fund, subject to regulatory approval, is set to launch on May 30, 2025.
At the same time, Peter Schiff, an outspoken Bitcoin critic, stunned the crypto community with a shift in his stance. On his 62nd birthday, Schiff announced the creation of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve funded by modest donations, totaling 0.05 BTC (roughly $4,500). In a post on X, Schiff revealed that the coins would remain untouched, signaling a subtle change in his long-held skepticism about Bitcoin. This move comes after his successful transfer of the BTC from an exchange to a hardware wallet, a decision that adds humor to his past anti-Bitcoin rhetoric.
Meanwhile, the U.S. inflation saw a surprising decline in February, cooling to 2.8%—a 0.2% decrease from January’s 3%. This drop was mainly caused by falling costs in sectors like groceries, housing, airfares, and gas. However, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, remained steady at 3.1%, pointing to continuing inflationary pressure. Market analysts are also concerned that Trump’s proposed tariff policies could complicate further progress toward stabilizing prices.
Coinbase has voiced its opposition to Brazil’s Central Bank’s proposed stablecoin regulation, which would prevent users from transferring stablecoins to self-custody wallets. Tom Duff Gordon, Coinbase’s VP of international policy, argued that such a restriction undermines user sovereignty, pointing out the potential threat to basic crypto principles. Brazilian authorities argue that these measures are necessary to combat tax evasion and money laundering, though the debate remains contentious.
Related: UK Urged to Tax Crypto to Boost Local Stock Investments
On the investment front, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), backed by Donald Trump’s family, has made a significant move into the digital asset space, purchasing $3 million worth of Mantle’s MNT tokens. This acquisition, following a major upgrade to the Mantle network, expands WLFI’s already diversified portfolio, which includes Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, and Chainlink. Recently, the WLFI has launched a stablecoin project USD1, which is yet to be made available for trading.
Further, digital asset investment products reversed a five-week streak of outflows, recording $644 million in inflows last week. This marked a clear shift in sentiment, with U.S. investors contributing most of the capital. The increased confidence is seen as a sign of the crypto market’s recovery, as total assets under management grew by 6.3%.
In Southeast Asia, Gcash, the Philippines’ largest digital wallet, has connected its 100 million users to Circle’s USDC stablecoin network through its GCrypto platform. This latest functionality allows users to convert Philippine pesos directly into USDC, enabling more seamless access to global financial services. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted the milestone as a step toward enhancing financial inclusion in the Philippines, with the stablecoin backed 1:1 by cash and equivalent reserves.
Meanwhile, Metaplanet has continued its aggressive Bitcoin buying strategy, which has been seen by the firm acquiring 150 BTC for $12.6 million, increasing its total token holdings to 3,350 BTC. This move is part of Metaplanet’s broader strategy to significantly ramp up its Bitcoin reserves in 2025, after purchasing 1,288 BTC in just the first 11 weeks of the year.
Related: Is Dogecoin (DOGE) About to Skyrocket? Analysts See Big Move
On the market side, Shiba Inu solidified its presence by listing on over 110 exchanges, with 212 active trading pairs. This growing liquidity has bolstered SHIB’s credibility, making it more attractive to both institutional and retail investors. SHIB marketing lead Lucie hinted that the token could be on the path to an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), asserting that SHIB is no longer just a meme coin, but a decentralized, community-driven asset.
With Bitcoin showing signs of breaking through its resistance levels, currently hovering around $87,600, the market is abuzz with anticipation. Crypto Aman’s analysis suggests a strong shift in sentiment as the net taker volume histogram shows a steady increase in demand, which could indicate a bullish trend ahead. Finally, in the regulatory sphere, the U.S. Treasury has officially dismissed legal objections to its Tornado Cash sanctions, following a federal appeals court ruling that the sanctions were unlawful. The Treasury removed the crypto mixer and its associated smart contracts from the OFAC SDN list on March 21, signaling the end of an era of regulatory intervention that stemmed from its alleged connections to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
