The $4 billion bitcoin play

Twenty One Aims to Buy as Much Bitcoin as Possible. Can It Succeed?

Can a new company backed by Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald out-Saylor MicroStrategy?

A new company called Twenty One is making waves—with a launch strategy that echoes Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), a cap table that includes Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald, and a plan to acquire more Bitcoin than anyone else.

They’re starting with 42,000 BTC, worth nearly $4 billion, and they’ve hinted they’ll use convertible debt, equity raises, and other market mechanics to buy more.

But is this just a smarter MicroStrategy? Or a recipe for financial reflexivity gone wrong?

In this episode, Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, digs into:

• How the strategy works and why it could break

• What happens if the stock trades below NAV

• Why timing the market may be a feature, not a bug

• And whether this signals a new phase in corporate Bitcoin exposure

Sigel also shares a bold idea for “BIT Bonds” that could let the U.S. Treasury issue Bitcoin-linked government debt. Could it work?

Plus, Unchained regulatory reporter Veronica Irwin talks about her scoop this week that we might see a crypto market structure bill as early as this week.

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

Now, let’s get into this week’s news! In today’s edition:

• ⚙️ Vitalik wants to swap out Ethereum’s engine with RISC-V

• 🏦 Crypto firms eye bank charters as stablecoin bills advance

• 🔥 Mantra CEO burns $82M in OM tokens after market crash

• 🌍 ECB and Commission clash over U.S. crypto influence

• 📜 SEC’s new chair pledges a principled approach to crypto

• ⚖️ Matter Labs and Meteora hit with lawsuits in New York

• 💰 Trump’s inauguration draws big donations from crypto firms

• 🕵️‍♂️ Lazarus funds go dark as Bybit tracks the trail

• 🚫 Bitget freezes VOXEL trades after $12B volume spike

• 🍽️ Trump memecoin holders offered gala dinner or NFT

Vitalik Unveils Plan to Replace Ethereum’s Core Engine

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the network’s foundational smart contract engine, with RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture widely used in modern computing.

In a post shared on Ethereum’s main developer forum, Vitalik described the EVM as a long-standing “scaling bottleneck” and outlined how RISC-V could simplify and enhance the network’s execution layer. “Transitioning Ethereum to a RISC-V architecture will greatly improve the efficiency of the Ethereum execution layer,” he wrote, calling the move a potential alternative to ongoing zero-knowledge cryptography upgrades.

RISC-V is already used to simulate the EVM in some zero-knowledge systems and offers native support for encryption, which Vitalik sees as a path to long-term scalability.

The proposal comes amid declining activity on Ethereum’s base layer, with average transaction fees at their lowest since May 2020. Developers would likely explore the transition over an extended timeline, similar to prior long-term initiatives like the Beam Chain.

Crypto Firms Eye Bank Charters Amid Regulatory Shift: WSJ

Several leading crypto firms are preparing to apply for U.S. bank charters as lawmakers weigh new stablecoin regulations, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Circle and BitGo are actively pursuing licenses that would allow them to operate under a banking framework. Coinbase and Paxos are also considering similar steps. The moves come as Congress debates the STABLE and GENIUS Acts, which propose stricter oversight of stablecoin issuers and would require federal or state-level licensing.

A bank charter would allow these firms to handle deposits and issue loans, but would also subject them to rigorous federal compliance requirements, including anti-money laundering protocols and reserve standards.

The push follows the Federal Reserve’s 2024 decision to deny Custodia Bank access to a master account, highlighting the ongoing challenges crypto firms face in integrating with traditional finance.

Mantra CEO Burns $82M in Tokens

John Patrick Mullin, CEO of real-world asset blockchain Mantra, has initiated the burn of 150 million OM tokens valued at approximately $82 million in an effort to restore community confidence following a dramatic market collapse.

The token burn follows an April 13 crash in which OM’s price plummeted over 90 percent in under an hour, wiping out more than $5.6 billion in value. Mullin’s move comes amid allegations of a potential “rug pull,” which he has firmly denied.

“This is a first step in rebuilding trust with the community, but far from the last,” Mullin wrote on X.

The burn represents 99.5 percent of Mullin’s OM holdings, with only 800,000 tokens remaining in his possession. Sent to an irretrievable address, the tokens are permanently removed from circulation.

Mullin said he would not support any future attempt to recover the burned tokens.

ECB Pressures Brussels to Rethink Crypto Rules

Tensions are rising in Europe as the European Central Bank calls for urgent revisions to the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation, MiCA, warning that U.S. policies under President Trump could threaten financial stability across the bloc.

In a policy paper obtained by POLITICO, the ECB expressed concern that American support for crypto, particularly dollar-backed stablecoins, could trigger capital flight and economic disruption in Europe. The bank highlighted pending U.S. legislation, including the STABLE and GENIUS acts, as factors that could expand the dollar-denominated stablecoin market tenfold by 2028.

The European Commission has rejected the ECB’s assessment, arguing that the risks are overstated and current MiCA provisions are sufficient. “The risks arising from such global stablecoins seem to be overstated and are manageable under the existing legal framework,” the Commission stated in a briefing distributed during an April 14 meeting of EU finance officials.

Atkins Pledges ‘Principled’ Crypto Strategy as SEC Chair

Paul Atkins has officially taken the helm as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sworn in on Monday, Atkins brings prior SEC experience and a deregulatory philosophy that contrasts sharply with his predecessor, Gary Gensler.

Atkins outlined his vision during the swearing-in ceremony, pledging to construct a “rational, coherent and principled approach” to crypto oversight. He emphasized collaboration with Congress and industry stakeholders to establish a stable framework for digital asset regulation.

Under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda earlier this year, the SEC created a Crypto Task Force to foster dialogue and reassess enforcement practices. That momentum is expected to continue under Atkins, who supports clarifying crypto classifications and easing restrictions on stablecoins and mining activities.

Matter Labs and Meteora Hit With Lawsuits

Two blockchain firms are facing legal action in separate New York courts over allegations of intellectual property theft and fraudulent crypto schemes, shedding light on growing scrutiny within the crypto industry.

Matter Labs, the developer behind the Ethereum layer 2 network ZKsync, has been sued by defunct digital banking platform BANKEX, CoinDesk first reported. Filed in the New York State Supreme Court, the complaint alleges that former BANKEX developers Alexandr Vlasov and Petr Korolev used proprietary Plasma-related code to secretly establish Matter Labs. The suit claims the technology was misappropriated while the two were still employed at BANKEX and working on Ethereum scaling solutions. 

Matter Labs has raised over $450 million in venture capital and is now one of the largest zero-knowledge projects in crypto. A spokesperson told CoinDesk that the lawsuit was “entirely without merit,” insisting that “ZKsync is original technology.”

In a separate case, Solana-based decentralized exchange Meteora and its CEO Benjamin Chow are being sued in U.S. District Court for orchestrating what plaintiffs describe as a pump-and-dump involving the $M3M3 memecoin. The class-action suit alleges that Meteora executives, along with venture partner Kelsier Labs, used more than 150 wallets to secretly acquire 95% of the token’s supply before launch in December 2024. According to the complaint, public trading was initially restricted, allowing insiders to inflate the price through coordinated trades. The price crashed shortly after their mass sell-off, resulting in an estimated $69 million in investor losses.

Crypto Giants Fuel Trump’s Inauguration With Big-Dollar Donations

A newly filed Federal Election Commission disclosure revealed that several major crypto firms and industry leaders contributed significantly to President Trump’s inaugural fund, helping raise a record $239 million.

Among the newly reported donors are Solana Labs, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams, and NFT giant Yuga Labs. Solana Labs contributed $1 million. Adams, despite previous support for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, donated over $245,000. Yuga Labs added $100,000, just weeks after the SEC closed its NFT investigation into the firm.

Other contributors include Consensys and Cypherium Blockchain, each donating $100,000 or more. Previously disclosed donors such as Ripple, Coinbase, and Circle also gave seven-figure sums.

Many of the firms had representatives at the March 7 White House Crypto Summit, held shortly after the administration moved to pause or dismiss multiple SEC enforcement actions against crypto companies.

Bybit CEO Says Stolen Lazarus Funds Now Untraceable

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed that over a quarter of the funds stolen in February’s $1.4 billion hack by North Korea’s Lazarus Group have “gone dark.” In a post on X, Zhou stated that 27.6% of the stolen Ethereum has been laundered through privacy mixers and is no longer traceable.

He confirmed that 68.57% remains trackable through blockchain forensics, though only 3.84% has been successfully frozen. Zhou identified Wasabi as the primary mixer used, with additional transfers routed through CryptoMixer, Tornado Cash, and Railgun.

Bitget to Reverse VOXEL Trades After Suspected Manipulation

Crypto exchange Bitget will roll back trades in its VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures market after detecting “abnormal trading activity” that triggered its risk-control systems.

The price of VOXEL,  the native token of the Polygon-based RPG Voxie Tactics, surged 127% in two hours on Sunday, followed by another 100% spike. Trading volume soared past $12.7 billion, briefly surpassing that of bitcoin on the platform. The token peaked at $0.13 before falling back to $0.08 early Monday.

Bitget said certain accounts “potentially engaged in market manipulation” and temporarily suspended related accounts, halting their deposits and withdrawals. “To ensure a fair and secure trading environment, Bitget will initiate a rollback of irregular trades within 24 hours,” the exchange stated. Affected users will be eligible for compensation.

Fun Bits: Trump Memecoin Buys You a Seat at the Table

Forget campaign donations… now it’s crypto that buys you face time with a sitting president. On Wednesday, the $TRUMP memecoin surged 75% after revealing that the top 220 holders will be treated to a private gala dinner with President Trump. The top 25 get even more: a special reception and, originally, a “VIP White House Tour,” though that White House bit was quietly scrubbed from the site.

Hold the most tokens the longest, and you’re in. Fall short, and you might walk away with… a Trump NFT. Not exactly steak and state secrets, but hey, collectibles count too. Critics are calling it a “pay-to-play scheme dressed up as a meme,” while the market just calls it Wednesday. Meanwhile, insiders’ lockup expired last week. Coincidence? Maybe.

Watch the weekly recap on YouTube!