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- 2/26/25: Uniswap Breaks Free đŚđŞď¸âď¸
2/26/25: Uniswap Breaks Free đŚđŞď¸âď¸
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Top News
SEC drops investigation into Uniswap, will not file enforcement action
Ethereum Foundation donates $1.25M to Tornado Cash developer defense
Ethereum explores Poseidon hash function to improve zero-knowledge proofs

Specsâ Insights
1. SEC drops investigation into Uniswap, will not file enforcement action
The SEC (under the previous admin) tried to claim that Uniswap Labs operated an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency, and issued an unregistered security. Those claims have now been dropped.
@Uniswap Labs is not a broker. The Uniswap Protocol is not an unregistered⌠x.com/i/web/status/1âŚ
â Hayden Adams đŚ (@haydenzadams)
6:20 PM ⢠Feb 25, 2025
ââŞ-⪠â Uniswap Just Dodged a BulletâAnd So Did DeFi
The SEC has officially closed its investigation into Uniswap Labs with no enforcement actionâa major win for DeFi.
Since 2021, the SEC had been trying to paint Uniswap as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency while claiming UNI was a security. Now, those charges are gone.
Uniswapâs CEO, Hayden Adams, slammed the case as arbitrary enforcement, saying the SEC tried to force DeFi into a regulatory framework that doesnât fit. He also called out the tollâboth financially and personallyâreminding us that in U.S. regulation, âthe investigation IS the punishment.â
This isnât just a victory for Uniswap; itâs a signal that the SEC is backing off its attack on DeFi under new leadership. But the fight isnât overâUniswap is pushing for real regulatory clarity to keep innovation in the U.S.
For now, one thing is clear: DeFi just got a green light.
2. Ethereum Foundation donates $1.25M to Tornado Cash developer defense
đ¨ TODAY: The Ethereum Foundation is donating $1.25M to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev.
â Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph)
11:44 AM ⢠Feb 26, 2025
ââŞ-⪠â Ethereum Foundation backs Tornado Cash dev.
The Ethereum Foundation just put up $1.25M to support the legal defense of Alexey Pertsev, the Tornado Cash developer convicted of money laundering.
This case has been a flashpoint for privacy in crypto. Tornado Cashâa protocol designed to obscure transaction historyâwas sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022, and Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison for his role in developing it. Heâs now appealing while under electronic monitoring.
Ethereum Foundationâs stance is clear, âPrivacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.â Theyâre not aloneâParadigm also donated $1.25M to support another Tornado Cash dev, Roman Storm, whoâs facing charges in the U.S.
If Pertsevâs conviction stands, it could set a dangerous precedent, where building open-source privacy tools makes you criminally liable. If he wins, it could embolden developers to continue innovating in privacy tech.
The fight over financial privacy in crypto isnât going away anytime soon.
3. Ethereum explores Poseidon hash function to improve zero-knowledge proofs
Highly encourage researchers to participate in the Poseidon cryptanalysis program.
We are seriously considering migrating Ethereum to the Poseidon hash to optimize zk-prover friendliness, so having more information about its security properties is extremely high value.
â vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin)
9:31 AM ⢠Feb 26, 2025
ââŞ-⪠â Ethereum is getting a serious cryptographic upgrade
Ethereum researchers are pushing to integrate Poseidon, a new cryptographic hash function, to improve zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) ahead of the Pectra upgrade.
Poseidon is optimized for ZKPs, using 8x fewer constraints per bit than traditional hash functions like SHA-256âmeaning faster, cheaper proofs. This could make rollups like zkSync and StarkNet more efficient, cutting costs and boosting Ethereumâs scalability.
Vitalik Buterin is urging deeper cryptographic analysis before moving forwardâbecause while Poseidon looks promising, it hasnât been as battle-tested as SHA-256. A proposal from 2022 (EIP 5988) already suggests adding Poseidon as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) precompile, making it easier to use in smart contracts.
If Poseidon is integrated, Ethereum could see a major leap in privacy, scalability, and efficiencyâbut only if the cryptographers give it the green light. Of course, there are many ways it could go wrong executionally and with marketing/narratives.

Everything Else
âď¸ Crypto & DeFi
Bitcoin could drop toward $80Kâor much lowerâsays experts
Prediction markets no longer see $150k BTC in 2025, $124k new target
Solana hits lowest price in 2025, down over 50% since January peak
Dogecoin dives as Solana and Ethereum meme coins crash
Crypto market cap falls to November 2021 lows after Bybit hack
Uniswap Labs faces âbiggest disasterâ in DAO governance
Polygon could lose over $300M in TVL if Aave votes to halt lending
Ethereum Foundation names Aya Miyaguchi as president
Top EF researchers discuss Ethereum's 'endgame' in 'ask me anything'
Avalanche launches a Visa card for mass crypto adoption
Polygon faces a $300M TVL loss as Aave halts PoS chain lending
OKX shares approach for handling compliance failures
Bio Protocol discusses DeSci and the future of DAOs
Voltage aims to bring Bitcoin's Lightning Network to every business
DeFi mindshare increases amid market downturn, says KaitoAI
Tether CEO says competitors are trying to kill Tether
Bybit hackers launder $113M in the last 24 hours
SMS scams targeting Binance users are on the rise
Solana whale unstakes $198M today and transfers to FalconX
Solana SIMD-0228 proposal wants to change SOL emissions schedule
đŚ Wall Street
MicroStrategy extends decline to -12% on the day
Michael Novogratz's Galaxy hires Zac Prince, former BlockFi CEO
Bitcoin ETFs see record $1B daily outflows
Bernstein maintains a $200K Bitcoin target despite market correction
Grayscale files for a spot Polkadot ETF, SEC acknowledges filing
Ark Invest buys $8.7M in Coinbase shares, dumps Bitcoin ETF
Bitwise raises $70M to strengthen balance sheet
GameStop CEO responds to $5B Bitcoin conversion proposal
Bitdeer stock drops 20% after reporting a $532M loss
Leveraged ETFs tied to bitcoin stockpiler Strategy drop nearly 50% in five days
đ Venture Capital
Echo crypto fundraising platform surpasses $100M in total funds raised
Mavryk Dynamics raises $5.2M for blockchain-based RWA ownership
Multicoin leads an $8M investment in GPS alternative Geodnet
đď¸ Legal & Regulatory
Oklahoma strategic BTC reserve bill passes the House committee
Jeremy Allaire urges US to enforce stablecoin issuer registration
Circle and Tether trade barbs over stablecoin regulation
đ Rest Of The World
China accelerates research on legal treatment of crypto despite its ban
EU includes crypto exchange Garantex in new Russian sanctions package
Waste expert gives UK man a 1 in 902M chance of recovering lost Bitcoin
India's CBI raids 60 locations in GainBitcoin scam crackdown
Bybit vows to go after North Korean hackers, extends bounty program
đźď¸ NFTs & Metaverse
Only 4 Pump.Fun tokens are over $100M market cap
PumpFun activity down 50-70% from peak, hits 5-month low
Telegram bots made $1.14B last year
OMB black-eye collection mints out pulling in $6.7M in total
Ethereum Layer-2 Starknet gets first gaming app-chain
'Fortnite' adds fake crypto tokenâdegens turned it into a Solana meme coin
AI agents ditch human talk, switch to 'Gibberlink' in viral video
'Hamster Kombat' Telegram game launches its own TON Layer-2 network
