Look Who the SEC Chair Might Be 👀👀

Happy Friday! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.

In today’s edition:

• 🕵️ A new contender for SEC Chair

• 🎨 NFTs stir again—hype or here to stay?

• 🛑 Crypto czar or crypto ban?

• 🔥 Could bitcoin hit $180K next year?

• 👀 Gensler signals exit

• 🚀 EigenLayer welcomes DIN

• 💡 Tether pushes tokenization to the masses

With over 20 licensed or regulated assets on-chain and a global ecosystem of 400k+ ramps, Stellar is the network of choice for real-world asset tokenization.

Download a Free Guidebook.

What’s Poppin’?

by Juan Aranovich

This Lawyer With Crypto Know-How Could Be the Next SEC Chair

Brad Bondi, a seasoned lawyer and Global Co-Chair of Investigations at Paul Hastings, has emerged as a strong contender for SEC Chair under President-elect Donald Trump. 

As Unchained’s Veronica Irwin reported, Bondi is no stranger to the crypto world. The most interesting detail to me? He has reportedly advised several DeFi projects, and one source even claimed to have exchanged crypto trading strategies with him over the years.

Bondi’s hands-on experience could mark a significant departure from Gary Gensler’s aggressive enforcement approach, which has left crypto companies guessing about compliance. Bondi has long criticized the SEC’s tendency to govern through ad hoc enforcement rather than clear rules. 

His connections to both Wall Street and the Trump administration add to his appeal as someone who could bring regulatory clarity while fostering growth in the industry.

Unlock zero trading fees, up to 5.1% APY on USDC, boosted staking rewards and more with Coinbase One.

Try it free for a month with code UNCHAINED.

Can NFTs Make a Comeback?

NFTs, the once-dominant stars of the 2021 bull run, are showing signs of life post-election. Trading volumes for CryptoPunks spiked nearly 400% in 24 hours, while Doodles partnered with McDonald’s to put NFT designs on over 100 million coffee cups. 

Meanwhile, Blur is exploring new fee structures, and speculation about an OpenSea airdrop is driving activity on that platform as well.

NFTs as a technology are undeniably cool—offering verifiable ownership of digital assets has massive potential. But I’ll be honest, I’ve never been sold on the whole “JPEG of monkeys” craze. 

That said, plenty of people made millions flipping these last cycle, just as memecoin traders are doing now. Whether this revival focuses more on utility or is just another round of hype remains to be seen.

Should Trump’s ‘Crypto Czar’ Be Allowed to Own Crypto?

Federal ethics rules that prevent officials from owning significant amounts of crypto are creating a roadblock for Trump’s rumored “Crypto Czar” position. This restriction also applies to countless other roles across agencies like the SEC and Treasury, making it harder to recruit regulators who actually understand the industry. 

According to several sources, Trump’s transition team is considering lifting the rule, following lobbying from groups like The Digital Chamber.

This rule is a classic example of well-meaning regulation gone wrong. Someone with skin in the game is far more likely to understand the nuances of crypto and craft policies that balance innovation and risk. By excluding knowledgeable insiders, we’re left with regulators who either don’t get crypto or see it as a threat. 

If Trump wants to reshape the regulatory landscape—and put an end to the scattershot enforcement of the Gensler era—removing this rule would be a good first step.

What’s Poppin’?

by Tikta

VanEck Predicts Bitcoin Will Hit $180,000 This Market Cycle

Bitcoin rallied to record after record last week as the crypto market seemed largely receptive to Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. 

However, the rally has since cooled, with bitcoin trading about 5.7% below its all-time high of $93,400.

While some analysts suggest the so-called “Trump trade” may be losing steam, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, believes the current market cycle still has significant upside potential. Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Boxon, Sigel said VanEck’s price target for bitcoin is $180,000.

“That would be a 1,000% return from the bottom to the peak of this cycle,” Sigel explained. “That is still the smallest Bitcoin cycle by far. We think we could reach that next year.”

VanEck has been actively involved in launching bitcoin ETFs and related products across multiple markets including the U.S., Australia and Europe.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler Hints at Resignation

Gary Gensler has signaled that a departure from his role as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman could be imminent.

In a speech on Thursday, Gensler remarked on his tenure, saying it had been a “great honor to serve” with SEC staff in their efforts to ensure that “our capital markets remain the best in the world.” He added, “I’ve been proud to serve with my colleagues at the SEC who, day in and day out, work to protect American families on the highways of finance.”

Gensler also defended the securities regulator’s actions towards the crypto industry, saying that the many courts had sided with the SEC’s view that several digital assets were offered and sold as securities.

He noted that “aside from speculative investing and possible use for illicit activities, the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases.”

Gensler’s future as SEC Chair has been a topic of political tension, particularly with incoming President Donald Trump, who has pledged to remove him from his role on day one. However, under current law, Trump can only demote Gensler to a lesser position within the commission.

Consensys and Infura’s DIN Launches as EigenLayer AVS

Ethereum infrastructure company Consensys and validator node provider Infura’s Decentralized Infrastructure Network (DIN) plans to launch as an EigenLayer AVS (Actively Validated Service), the companies announced at Devcon 2024 in Bangkok.

An AVS on EigenLayer is a decentralized solution built on Ethereum that offers tailored validation mechanisms for off-chain operations.

According to Consensys, DIN becoming an EigenLayer AVS would help web3 builders “tap into the security guarantee of staked ETH and the intersubjective nature of EIGEN to run a wide array of services.”

DIN, launched in November 2023 with partners such as Microsoft, Tencent Cloud, and Chainstack, operates as a decentralized RPC (Remote Procedure Call) marketplace. It aims to provide developers with high-performance, reliable, and accessible blockchain infrastructure across a dozen networks, including Ethereum, Starknet, and ZKsync.

Tether Launches Tokenization Platform Hadron

Stablecoin issuer Tether has launched a new platform called Hadron, aimed at making asset tokenization more accessible, the company announced Thursday. 

Hadron is designed to enable the tokenization of various assets, including stocks, bonds, commodities, stablecoins, real estate, and loyalty points. 

The platform allows users to manage token lifecycles, such as issuance and burning, and supports multiple smart-contract-enabled blockchains, including Bitcoin layer-2 solutions such as Blockstream's Liquid.

This launch aligns with Tether's broader expansion strategy, which includes ventures into traditional finance through Tether Trade Finance and the development of a wallet development kit for Bitcoin and USDT wallets.

“Our goal is to create new opportunities for businesses and governments, while also making the digital asset space more accessible and transparent,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

Earn bitcoin on Gemini here.

Daily Bits… ✍️✍️✍

• 🔒 Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein received a five-year prison sentence for laundering 120,000 bitcoin from the 2016 hack, with his cooperation in other crypto investigations contributing to a reduced sentence, while co-conspirator Heather Morgan awaits sentencing.

• 🛡️ South Korea's FIU is investigating Upbit for up to 600,000 KYC violations, which could result in $71,500 fines per case and jeopardize its business license renewal.

• 📜 Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act to enable the state treasurer to invest in bitcoin and crypto ETFs as a hedge against inflation, mirroring federal efforts like Sen. Lummis' Bitcoin Act.

• 💱 Franklin Templeton expanded its $410 million OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund to Ethereum, leveraging the blockchain’s dominance in tokenized asset issuance and further integrating into the $1.6 billion tokenized treasury market.

• ⚖️ World Liberty Financial adopted Chainlink’s interoperability and data standards to enhance the security and scalability of its DeFi ecosystem.

• 📈 Ethena’s USDe is now integrated into Gate.io, offering spot trading, derivatives collateral with up to 45% APR rewards, and native staking options.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

• 📊 Bitwise filed Form 19b-4 to convert its $1.3 billion BITW Crypto Index Fund into an Exchange-Traded Product on NYSE Arca, featuring assets like Bitcoin and Solana to offer broader access to cryptocurrency markets.

The $$$ Corner…

• 🪙 Folks Finance raised $3.2 million in an oversubscribed Series A round, valuing the DeFi platform at $75 million and bringing its total funding to $6.2 million.

• 💰 Portal Ventures raised a $75 million oversubscribed fund focused on pre-seed crypto startups, bringing its total capital to $115 million and targeting early-stage ventures with high-risk, ground-level opportunities.

What Do You Meme?

📈 Your Market Update 📉

• BTC is down 1.4%, trading at $89,813

• ETH is down 2.8%, trading at $3,093

• BTC dominance: 57.34%

• Crypto market cap: $3.12T

*All data as of today, 07:40 am ET. Source: CoinGecko

Recommended Reads

1. Fortune Crypto: Polymarket's Shayne Coplan was raided by the FBI: What it means

2. Bitcoiner Troy Cross on “the order of capitulation”

We Are Hiring!

1. A Part-Time Sponsorships Manager to generate and manage sponsorships across Unchained’s platforms. See the details and apply here. 

2. A Bitcoin Reporter to cover all things Bitcoin. See the details and apply here. 

3. An Audience Development Director to broaden the reach of the publication’s content, whether through the web, social media, newsletters, podcast platforms, or videos. See the details and apply here.

🔝 Are you hiring and want to promote the postings in the Unchained newsletter? Let us know!

Thank you for reading Unchained. This post is public so feel free to share it. 📩📤