Circle plans to bring $900M money market fund under DABA license

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's five-year-long lawsuit against Ripple Labs could be over soon, Fox Business reported Thursday. One final issue being discussed is a comparison with Ethereum. At issue is whether XRP continues to trade and have a utility that makes it more of a commodity than a security.

"I am told the @ethereum example is key," Fox's senior correspondent Charles Gasparino wrote Thursday in a post on X. "$ETH was obviously issued as an ICO; its characteristics on issuance was no different than $XRP--both used to finance the buildout of a platform, yet Ripple got sued and Ethereum didn't because $ETH had since morphed into a commodity."

The SEC views ether as trading as a pure commodity, Gasparino said, and the agency is trying to determine if the commission can make that case with XRP.

Late Wednesday, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett said the SEC vs. Ripple could be wrapping up soon.

"My understanding is that the delay in reaching an agreement is due to Ripple's legal team negotiating more favorable terms regarding the August district court ruling, which imposed a $125M fine on the company and included a permanent injunction preventing the company from selling $XRP to institutional investors," Terrett wrote on X. "The argument, I’m told, is that if the new SEC leadership is wiping the enforcement slate clean for all previously-targeted crypto firms because it believes regulatory clarity will resolve the underlying issue, why should Ripple still be penalized?"

If Ripple accepts the Torres ruling as is, it would be akin to admitting wrongdoing — yet even the SEC now appears uncertain if any violation took place, Terrett said. With no clear precedent for a situation like this, the case is taking longer to resolve than others.

Ripple vs. SEC

In December 2020, the SEC accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, which it said was an unregistered security.

Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in July 2023 that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP did not violate securities laws due to the use of a blind bid process. However, she determined that direct XRP sales to institutional investors qualified as securities. Later that August, she ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in fines.

In December 2024, U.S. President Donald Trump tapped long-time crypto supporter Paul Atkins to lead the SEC following Gary Gensler's resignation. However, Atkins has yet to face confirmation hearings. In the meantime, the agency has rescinded controversial crypto accounting guidance and dropped cases against Coinbase, OpenSea, Robinhood and UniSwap.

Of note is that a crypto task force led by Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce launched last month and has been working on distinguishing which crypto assets are securities, among other priorities.

Earlier this week, Franklin Templeton became the largest asset manager yet to file for a spot XRP ETF. Under the Trump administration, crypto-friendly policies have fueled a surge in ETF filings beyond bitcoin and ether.

The price of XRP is up 1% over the past 24 hours to $2.25, according to The Block's XRP price data.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of the crypto exchange Coinbase, has become a group lead for the onchain investment platform Echo.

In this new role, Coinbase Ventures will focus on funding projects built on Base, the Coinbase-incubated Layer 2 network, through the Base Ecosystem Fund on Echo, according to a Thursday company release.

Since its unveiling in September 2023, the Base Ecosystem Fund has funded over 40 projects, including the decentralized exchange Aerodrome, DeFi lending protocol Morpho, web3 restaurant loyalty platform Blackbird, and others.

"Onchain investing allows accredited and qualified investors to participate in ways that were previously out of reach, while giving founders access to a broader and more dynamic capital base," Coinbase Vice President of Corporate & Business Development Shan Aggarwal and Head of Base and Coinbase Wallet Jesse Pollak said in a statement. "We’re excited to broaden access to capital for Base builders and enable more people to participate in the next wave of innovation."

Echo allows individual crypto traders to band together and invest collectively in web3 projects. A group lead on Echo gives investment deal access to a select circle of users.

The high-profile crypto trader Jordan Fish, known as "Cobie," launched Echo in March 2024, The Block previously reported.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Publicly listed bitcoin miners are likely to continue gaining a larger share of the bitcoin network hashrate as they cut costs and sustain profitability, according to JPMorgan analysts.

These miners are increasingly pursuing vertical integration — securing their own power sources and developing proprietary mining chips — to lower operational costs amid rising hashrates and bitcoin price fluctuations, JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a report Wednesday.

For example, last month, Mara Holdings acquired a wind farm in Texas, while Bitdeer purchased a gas-fired power plant project in Canada. "These strategic moves not only meet energy requirements but also drive costs lower," the analysts said. Meanwhile, Bitdeer’s partnership with TSMC to develop more efficient bitcoin mining chips has allowed it to replace older rigs and sell surplus equipment in secondary markets.

A popular meme coin has shown signs of recovery as it entered bullish territory with analysts showing optimism for the future of the crypto in the upcoming months. Analysts predict that Dogecoin’s current momentum will push it to a possible 318% rally, giving their insights on what is driving this move upward.

Price Rally Around The Corner?

An analyst said in a post that Dogecoin could be heading for a 318% increase, which is possible since the breakout experienced by the meme coin aligns with its historical price movements.

“With the breakout target at $0.6533, another +318% increase to reach it can be in the works and prices may only be preparing here to do so,” JavonTM1 said.

JavonTM1 made the prediction after the meme coin soared by 129% following a breach of a critical resistance trendline. “Prices of $DOGE (Dogecoin) are still up nearly +129% since breaking out of the pictured resisting trend, and with prices still broken out and, in a position to confirm another set of Higher Lows, even more upside can be coming!”

The Doody Fission item launch allows $APRS holders to convert their tokens into a new meme coin, creating a unique opportunity for price movement. Memecoins often have speculative value, leading to rapid price spikes or drops. If the community embraces this new coin, it could sharply increase demand and price. However, if it fails to attract interest, $APRS and the meme coin could both experience price declines. It's a short-term event with potential for high volatility, making it hard for traders to predict outcomes. Stay updated on community sentiment to assess its impact. source