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Tether’s competitors are exerting progressively much unit to propulsion the world’s largest stablecoin issuer retired of the crypto market, including governmental unit aimed astatine reducing the firm’s starring marketplace share.
In the wider crypto markets, analysts are suggesting that astir cryptocurrencies won’t spot a wide “altcoin season” rally successful 2025, and lone prime tokens with sustainable capitalist involvement and revenue-generating models volition beryllium capable to outperform the remainder of the tokens.
Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians mean to “kill Tether”
Tether’s competitors are moving to propulsion the world’s largest stablecoin issuer retired of the crypto market, according to the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino.
Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDt (USDT), has a marketplace capitalization of much than $142 cardinal — implicit doubly arsenic ample arsenic Circle’s USD Coin’s (USDC) $56 billion, according to Cointelegraph data.
However, the stablecoin issuer faces mounting unit from competing firms and politicians, Ardoino said successful a Feb. 25 X post.
“While our competitors’ concern exemplary should beryllium to physique a amended merchandise and adjacent bigger organisation network, their existent intent is ‘Kill Tether.’ Every azygous concern oregon governmental gathering that they person culminates with this intent.”“I’ll permission it to you to specify a rival trying to usage lawfare to termination an opponent, alternatively of focusing connected amended products,” Ardoino added.
Tether volition proceed focusing connected its ngo to beforehand planetary fiscal inclusion, peculiarly successful underdeveloped economies, Ardoino said, noting that USDT is utilized by much than 400 cardinal radical and gains 35 cardinal caller wallets each quarter.
Ardoino’s comments followed Tether’s exclusion from the database of 10 firms approved to contented stablecoins nether the European Union’s Markets successful Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework.
Altseason 2025: “Most altcoins won’t marque it,” CryptoQuant CEO says
Most cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ether whitethorn not acquisition a wide “altcoin season” rally successful 2025, but projects with beardown fundamentals and revenue-generating models could outperform the broader market, according to Ki Young Ju, the laminitis and CEO of CryptoQuant.
“Most altcoins won’t marque it” during the 2025 marketplace cycle, Ju wrote successful a Feb. 25 X post.
Cryptocurrencies with imaginable exchange-traded money (ETF) approvals, robust revenue-generating models and sustained capitalist attraction whitethorn outperform the remainder of the market, Ju said. Still, “The epoch of everything pumping is over,” helium added.
Source: Ki Young Ju
Ju’s outlook comes arsenic 24% of the 200 largest cryptocurrencies person fallen to their lowest levels successful much than a year, sparking speculation astir imaginable marketplace capitulation.
Top 200 cryptocurrencies. Source: Jamie Coutts
The existent downturn whitethorn awesome an incoming marketplace capitulation, according to Juan Pellicer, elder probe expert astatine crypto quality level IntoTheBlock.
“The caller marketplace correction, with important liquidations (especially successful assets similar Solana) and a driblet successful full crypto marketplace headdress to $3.13 trillion, points toward imaginable capitulation arsenic overleveraged positions are flushed out,” Pellicer told Cointelegraph.
Bybit hacker launders $335M arsenic funds proceed to move
The hacker down the $1.4 cardinal Bybit exploit has laundered much than $335 cardinal successful integer assets, with investigators continuing to way the question of stolen funds.
Crypto capitalist sentiment was deed by the largest hack successful crypto history connected Feb. 21, erstwhile Bybit lost implicit $1.4 billion successful liquid-staked Ether (STETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH) and different integer assets.
Onchain information shows that the hacker has moved 45,900 Ether (ETH) — worthy astir $113 cardinal — successful the past 24 hours, bringing the full magnitude laundered to much than 135,000 ETH, valued astatine $335 million.
That near the hacker with astir 363,900 ETH, worthy astir $900 million, according to pseudonymous blockchain expert EmberCN.
US lawmakers beforehand solution to repeal “unfair” crypto taxation rule
US lawmakers successful the House of Representatives person precocious a solution to repeal the “DeFi broker rule,” which requires brokers to study integer plus transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
Set to instrumentality effect successful 2027, the IRS broker regularisation was approved connected Dec. 5 and would expand existing reporting requirements to see decentralized exchanges. It would necessitate brokers to disclose gross proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies, including accusation regarding the taxpayers progressive successful the transactions.
During its Feb. 26 committee markup, the House Ways and Means Committee, a cardinal radical wrong the House that deals with fiscal issues, voted 26 to 16 to beforehand the resolution.
Source: Ways and Means Committee
In a statement, Miller Whitehouse-Levine, the CEO of DeFi advocacy radical the DeFi Education Fund, said the regularisation is an “unlawful and unconstitutional overreach” and needed to beryllium overturned to “protect Americans’ state of prime successful however they transact.”
MetaMask adds fiat off-ramp for 10 blockchains to amended crypto accessibility
Ethereum-based cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask is expanding its fiat off-ramp services to enactment 10 further blockchain networks. The move, successful concern with payments supplier Transak, is aimed astatine simplifying the process of converting integer assets into accepted currency.
MetaMask users were antecedently forced to swap assets into Ether (ETH) tokens earlier being capable to person them into fiat money, adding other steps and transaction fees.
However, arsenic portion of MetaMask’s ongoing concern with Transak, the wallet volition adhd enactment to 10 caller networks: the Arbitrum mainnet, Avalanche C-Chain mainnet, Base, BNB Chain, Celo, Fantom, Moonbeam, Moonriver, Optimism and Polygon.
The archetypal 4 tokens to person contiguous off-ramping enactment see ETH connected Ethereum, ETH connected Optimisim, BNB (BNB) and the Polygon (POL) token. Support for the further six networks volition beryllium gradually rolled out.
“By expanding off-ramping capabilities with Transak, MetaMask is removing barriers betwixt crypto and accepted currency, allowing users to person a broader scope of tokens straight to cash,” said Lorenzo Santos, elder merchandise manager astatine Consensys.
DeFi marketplace overview
According to information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, astir of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by marketplace capitalization ended the week successful the red.
The Solana-based decentralized speech Raydium’s (RAY) token fell implicit 55% arsenic the week’s biggest loser, followed by the Lido DAO (LDO) token, down implicit 34% connected the play chart.
Total worth locked successful DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for speechmaking our summary of this week’s astir impactful DeFi developments. Join america adjacent Friday for much stories, insights and acquisition regarding this dynamically advancing space.
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