Here are some of the major developments in the world of crypto over the past few days.
Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol, controls more than 28.5% of the market. Lido Finance has become the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on Ethereum, reaching 1 million validators. Lido Finance, the largest liquidity staking protocol on Ethereum, announced this milestone in an April 29th post. According to Dune data, most of Ether's shares (28.5%) are invested in Lido Finance, and 13.6% are invested in the Coinbase exchange.
Over 27% of the total Ether supply is currently staked. Liquid staking protocols like Lido are growing rapidly because they offer liquidity benefits to users. Users who stake Ether on Lido will receive the protocol's Lido Staked ETH (stETH), which can be staked into other DeFi protocols. The total value locked (TVL) of DeFi protocols increased from a low of $36 billion in Q4 2023 to a high of $97 billion in Q1 2024.
According to DefiLlama, the total DeFi TVL is currently $92.32 billion. With a total TVL of $47.6 billion across 164 protocols, liquid staking protocols remain the largest protocol category in DeFi. Loans came in second with a TVL of $30.7 billion, followed by cross-chain bridges, with a total TVL of $21.8 billion. Prominent cryptocurrency founders have previously expressed concerns about Lido's growing dominance.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) wants to ensure that crypto investors are not lured into the ecosystem by misleading advertising. On April 29, the Thai SEC warned all virtual currency exchange operators against glorifying virtual currency investments and reminded them to comply with prescribed advertising standards. The warning came from Deputy Secretary General Anneke Yuyuen, who said the commission is concerned about virtual currency exchanges offering special privileges to onboard users.
Regulators of major cryptocurrency markets are also taking similar measures to minimize losses from cryptocurrency investments. For example, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 450 warnings regarding illegal crypto advertising in 2023 alone. In addition, the National Securities and Exchange Commission, Spain's main securities market regulator, warned about fraudulent promotion of crypto assets in November 2023, reiterating that companies must comply with local laws.
The SEC reminded cryptocurrency exchanges to include sufficient warnings about investment risks and to refrain from attracting new users through special promotions. He warned that violations of the above guidelines will be punishable by law. Wallet drainer scams lure users to fake websites and ask them to link their cryptocurrency wallets. Once connected, scammers can withdraw funds to personal wallet addresses without the user's authentication or permission.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) denies a motion to dismiss conspiracy and money laundering charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm and argues that the submission addresses the facts at issue. In the Department of Justice's response, prosecutors analyzed why the Tornado Cash co-founders should be held accountable for the alleged crimes with which they were charged. The Justice Department disputed the defence's classification, noting that Tornado Cash was launched in 2019 as a cryptocurrency mixer.
In September 2023, Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on $2 million bail shortly after his arrest. He is primarily prohibited from travelling outside of New York, New Jersey, Washington, and some areas of California. His attorneys' motion to dismiss emphasized that Tornado Cash does not operate as a custodial mixed service and does not meet the criteria for a "financial institution." They argued that Storm lacked the control to prevent companies like Lazarus Group from using its services.
In their submissions, the prosecution team led by Damien Williams alleges that Storm was responsible for running the cryptocurrency mixer and that he had developed a system to maintain the anonymity of criminals. They criticized the Tornado Cash co-founders for not making enough changes to exclude sanctioned addresses. This comes as the US government continues to crack down on virtual currency mixing services. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said cryptocurrency mixing services are not inherently criminal, following the recent arrest of the Samourai Wallet founder.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) denies a motion to dismiss conspiracy and money laundering charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm and argues that the submission addresses the facts at issue. In the Department of Justice's response, prosecutors analyzed why the Tornado Cash co-founders should be held accountable for the alleged crimes with which they were charged. The Justice Department disputed the defence's classification, noting that Tornado Cash was launched in 2019 as a cryptocurrency mixer.
In September 2023, Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on $2 million bail shortly after his arrest. He is primarily prohibited from travelling outside of New York, New Jersey, Washington, and some areas of California. His attorneys' motion to dismiss emphasized that Tornado Cash does not operate as a custodial mixed service and does not meet the criteria for a "financial institution." They argued that Storm lacked the control to prevent companies like Lazarus Group from using its services.
In their submissions, the prosecution team led by Damien Williams alleges that Storm was responsible for running the cryptocurrency mixer and that he had developed a system to maintain the anonymity of criminals. They criticized the Tornado Cash co-founders for not making enough changes to exclude sanctioned addresses. This comes as the US government continues to crack down on virtual currency mixing services. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said cryptocurrency mixing services are not inherently criminal, following the recent arrest of the Samourai Wallet founder.