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  • 3/13/25: Would You Like Fries With That ETH? 🍟💧🇦🇪

3/13/25: Would You Like Fries With That ETH? 🍟💧🇦🇪

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

Top News

  1. ETH/BTC hits 5-year low as stablecoins overtake Ethereum

  2. SEC reportedly preparing to drop Ripple lawsuit

  3. Abu Dhabi firm invests $2B in Binance via stablecoins

Specs’ Insights

1. ETH/BTC hits 5-year low as stablecoins overtake Ethereum

⌐◪-◪ → ETH is bleeding out. Is this the bottom?

Ethereum just hit a 5-year low against Bitcoin, and ETH sentiment is at rock bottom. The ETH/BTC ratio is now at levels we haven’t seen since May 2020, down 52% over the past three months. To make matters worse, Ethereum has been dethroned as the second-largest crypto—stablecoins now have a higher market cap at $235.7B—and it fell out of the top 20 protocols by 24-hour revenue.

So what’s the play? Some traders see this as a golden buying opportunity, betting that ETH is close to bottoming out. Others think ETH’s dominance is fading for good, pointing to Solana’s rapid rise, the decline in Ethereum’s revenue, or its own Layer 2 solutions pulling activity off mainnet.

At the same time, more aggressive traders are rotating into high-beta altcoins, expecting to outperform ETH while the market rebounds. The argument? If the market keeps dipping, you’ll bleed out either way—but if it pumps, you’ll want to be in the assets that move first.

Is this the moment to accumulate ETH, swap for BTC, or ape into stronger alts? Let me know what you think in Specs.Chat.

2. SEC reportedly preparing to drop Ripple lawsuit

⌐◪-◪ → The SEC’s Ripple lawsuit might be ending soon

Rumors are swirling that the SEC is preparing to end its lawsuit against Ripple. According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, negotiations are still ongoing, with Ripple's legal team pushing for more favorable settlement terms—specifically, better conditions around the $125M fine and the restrictions placed on XRP sales to institutions.

MetaLawMan, a reputable web3 lawyer/analyst, speculated that Ripple is trying to get the SEC to vacate key parts of Judge Torres’ ruling. While the decision was a massive win for XRP holders, Ripple itself was still hit with securities law violations and a permanent injunction. If they plan to IPO or issue an exempt securities offering in the future, that ruling could be a major roadblock.

It’s worth noting that the SEC would likely accept a deal right now—dismissing all appeals and taking the $125M penalty—if Ripple agrees. Whether or not Ripple will push for more remains to be seen.

If this lawsuit officially wraps up, it would mark yet another major SEC retreat from the crypto sector. Coinbase, Uniswap, Yuga Labs, and now potentially Ripple—the trend is clear.

Meanwhile, Ripple is full steam ahead on the global frontier and just secured full regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority — a first-of-a-kind license to operate in Dubai.

3. Abu Dhabi firm invests $2B in Binance via stablecoins

⌐◪-◪ → Abu Dhabi just sent Binance $2B in stablecoins

Binance just locked in its first-ever institutional investment, and it’s a big one—Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund has dropped $2 billion into the exchange, transacted entirely in stablecoins.

This isn’t just a huge deal for Binance—it’s the largest single investment into a crypto company in history and the biggest investment ever made via crypto rails. MGX, a fund backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and AI powerhouse G42, is looking to scale up its exposure to blockchain infrastructure.

Binance founder CZ commented on the move, saying, “More stables to buy alts soon.” He’s not wrong—this influx of capital could drive some serious market action.

Binance remains the undisputed king of crypto exchanges, dominating both spot and derivatives markets with volumes that crush competitors. With $21B in spot trading and $74B in derivatives volume in the last 24 hours alone, this partnership only strengthens its grip on the industry.

Could this be the start of a wave of institutional money moving directly into exchanges via stablecoins? If so, we might be on the brink of a new era for crypto finance.

Everything Else

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

🏦 Wall Street & VC

  • Rumble discloses $17M in Bitcoin treasury holdings

  • Bitdeer increases BTC holdings by 75% to 1,039 BTC

  • MEXC Ventures invests $36M in Ethena and USDe

  • BlockTower spins out Strobe Ventures, plans $100M Fund II

  • Solv raises $10M for Bitcoin reserve finance

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

🌎 Rest Of The World

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

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