Morning, morning, morning! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.

In today’s edition:

• 💰 U.S. gets nod to sell Silk Road bitcoin

• 🕒 Mountains of evidence delay Do Kwon’s trial

• 🛠️ Starknet boost for custom blockchains

• 📊 Binance’s user assets soar

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What’s Poppin’?

By Tikta

U.S. Cleared to Sell $6.5B of Silk Road Bitcoin

The U.S. government has been authorized to sell some 69,000 BTC worth around $6.5 billion seized from dark web marketplace Silk Road.

That’s according to a report by DB News that cited an unnamed official as having said that permission for the sale had been granted by a federal judge.

The judicial ruling ends a years-long dispute as Battle Born Investments, which had purchased rights to the seized bitcoin through a bankruptcy estate connected to Silk Road, lost a bid to delay the sale, claiming that the Department of Justice was abusing the civil asset forfeiture process.

The DOJ had pushed for the sale on the grounds that bitcoin’s price was highly volatile.

Such sales may prove more difficult for government departments when the administration of incoming President Donald Trump takes charge.

Trump said in an interview in August that selling bitcoin is “something [the U.S. government] shouldn't be doing because they [sic] should be trying to build it.”

“It’s a very modern currency,” he said.

Learn more: What Is the History of the Silk Road in Crypto?

Do Kwon’s Criminal Trial to Begin in 2026

Terra co-founder Do Kwon’s criminal trial likely won’t begin until next January, as U.S. prosecutors expect to face significant delays in processing evidence.

Specifically, attorneys said they would need time to review six terabytes of data produced during discovery.

That review includes accessing encrypted information and unlocking four cellphones provided by Montenegrin authorities when Kwon was extradited. Some of the materials may need to be translated from Korean.

District Judge Paul Engelmayer said that scheduling the start date of a trial for more than a year from the initial conference was "unprecedented" in his career.

Engelmayer gave the defense one week to request an earlier trial this year.

Starknet Rolls Out Custom Blockchain Software Suite

Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution Starknet unveiled a new software suite named SN Stack, aimed at enabling developers to create custom blockchains using Starknet's zero-knowledge technology.

The new tool will allow developers to create validity rollup chains with customizable parameters such as block times and sizes, utilizing proven components of Starknet including Starknet OS, CairoVM, and the Blockifier execution engine.

SN Stack comes in three different configurations: a StarkWare sequencer that mirrors the public Starknet stack, app chain framework Madara and gaming-focused Dojo.

The launch positions Starknet as a competitor in the rollup stack market, alongside established players such as Optimism's OP Stack and Arbitrum's Orbit.

Binance User Assets Topped $160B in 2024

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, says 2024 was a record-breaking year as the custodial assets of its users topped $160 billion for the first time.

In an annual year-end report, the exchange reported having a quarter of a billion users last year, a 47% increase on the previous year.

That growth wasn’t limited to retail investors. Binance said the number of registered institutional users grew by 97% over the year.

The exchange’s cumulative historical trading volume now exceeds $100 trillion. The platform also said it processed a record 4.44 million requests per second last year.

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Bits + Bips: Trump Will Soon Be President. Where Will Bitcoin and Crypto Prices Go?

Bitcoin’s strong start to 2025 raises questions about its sustainability as Trump’s inauguration, macro trends and Fed decisions shape the road ahead. Plus, James, Alex and guest Charles Edwards discuss whether AI agents will someday hire people.

In this episode, James Seyffart and Alex Kruger are joined by Charles Edwards of quant fund Capriole Investments to break down the macro trends shaping Bitcoin’s trajectory. From Trump’s inauguration to the Fed’s looming decisions on quantitative tightening, they analyze the key factors influencing risk assets. Plus, they unpack the premium on MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings, the future of AI agents in crypto and whether AI agent swarms might someday hire humans, and their bold predictions —supercycle? SOL ETFs?—for 2025.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Daily Bits… ✍️✍️✍

• ⚡ Decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid addressed decentralization criticisms, refuting claims of validator seat purchases while announcing plans for increased transparency and open-source node code once its system is secure.

• 💥 More than $500 million in crypto liquidations occurred within 24 hours, driven by heightened market volatility in bitcoin and ether prices, with long positions accounting for a significant portion of the losses.

• 💨 Solana pushed validators to test Frankendancer, an early iteration of its Firedancer upgrade that aims to boost blockchain speeds to an unprecedented one million transactions per second.

• ⏳ A federal judge postponed the sentencing of Avi Eisenberg, convicted for exploiting DeFi trading platform Mango Markets, to April 10, citing the case’s complexity and the need for an additional review of sentencing issues.

• ❌ FTX clarified that Backpack’s acquisition of its EU arm has not been court-approved, contradicting earlier claims by Backpack regarding creditor repayment authority and its readiness to operate.

• 🇰🇷 South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced plans to lift restrictions on institutional crypto trading, signaling a gradual shift toward boosting institutional participation and supporting the local crypto industry.

• 🔎 Outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler defended his crypto crackdown, reiterating the need for compliance in a sector he describes as “rife with bad actors” while reflecting on regulatory progress during his time at the regulator’s helm.

• 🔥 Bitcoin miner manufacturer Canaan unveiled the Avalon Mini 3, a bitcoin miner that doubles as a home heater, aiming to make crypto mining more accessible and less eco-unfriendly by recycling heat to reduce energy costs.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

• 🤝 Decentralized data platform Pyth Network partnered with online-only bank Revolut to bring financial market data from more than 500 markets into DeFi, further integrating traditional finance with decentralized ecosystems.

• 🪙 Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers introduced the Bitcoin Freedom Act, state-level legislation that would allow Oklahoma residents and employees to opt for bitcoin payments, emphasizing financial sovereignty amid concerns over inflation.

The $$$ Corner…

• 💸 Blockchain developer Movement Labs is reportedly set to close a $100 million funding round, valuing the Ethereum layer 2 firm at $3 billion.

• 💰 Crypto research platform SoSoValue has achieved a $200 million valuation following a $15 million series-A funding round co-led by venture capital firms HongShan and SmallSpark.ai, marking a 300% valuation increase since its seed round.

What Do You Meme?

📈 Your Market Update 📉

• BTC is down 2%, trading at $93,410

• ETH is down 1.8%, trading at $3,295

• BTC dominance: 54.11%

• Crypto market cap: $3.43T

*All data as of today, 07:08 am ET. Source: CoinGecko

Recommended Reads

1. VC firm Multicoin Capital: Frontier Ideas For 2025

2. Full Steam Ahead: All Aboard Fiscal Dominance by independent financial analyst Lyn Alden

3. Dinero: Staking Redefined by crypto research firm Kaito

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