Crypto investors celebrated this week as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped one of the most contentious lawsuits in the crypto sector, concluding a legal struggle with Ripple Labs that lasted over four years. In a separate regulatory advancement, Solana-based futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have made their debut in the U.S., which could indicate that lawmakers are poised to approve spot Solana (SOL) ETFs as the next logical progression.
### SEC’s XRP Reversal Marks a Triumph for the Industry: Ripple CEO
The SEC’s decision to dismiss its prolonged lawsuit against Ripple Labs, the entity behind the XRP Ledger blockchain, has been hailed as a significant win for the crypto sector by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Speaking at the 2025 Digital Asset Summit in New York, Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the SEC would cease its legal action against Ripple, which had accused the company of conducting an unregistered securities sale worth $1.3 billion in 2020. “This feels like a victory for the entire industry and signals the start of a new chapter,” Garlinghouse remarked during the Summit, which Cointelegraph attended.
### Solana Futures ETF to Boost Institutional Interest, Despite Limited Inflows
The crypto landscape is poised for the introduction of the first SOL futures ETF, a move that could set the stage for the approval of spot SOL ETFs, which industry experts view as the next logical step for crypto trading instruments. On March 20, Volatility Shares will launch two SOL futures ETFs: the Volatility Shares Solana ETF (SOLZ) and the Volatility Shares 2X Solana ETF (SOLT). Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, stated that the launch of these ETFs could significantly enhance Solana’s status in the market by driving demand and liquidity for SOL, potentially closing the gap with Ethereum’s market capitalization. He emphasized that these ETFs would provide a regulated investment option, attracting substantial capital and strengthening Solana’s competitive stance against Ethereum, although he acknowledged that Ethereum’s established ecosystem remains a significant challenge.
### Pump.fun Introduces Its Own DEX, Competing with Raydium
Pump.fun has launched a decentralized exchange (DEX) named PumpSwap, which could potentially challenge Raydium as the primary trading platform for Solana-based memecoins. Starting March 20, memecoins that successfully establish liquidity, or “bond,” on Pump.fun will transition directly to PumpSwap, according to an announcement on X. Previously, these bonded tokens migrated to Raydium, which has been popular among Solana traders, particularly for memecoins. Pump.fun claims that PumpSwap operates similarly to Raydium V4 and Uniswap V2, aiming to create a more seamless trading experience. The platform stated that previous migration processes created friction, slowing down a coin’s momentum and complicating things for new users. Now, migrations will occur instantly and at no cost.
### Bybit Reports 89% of Stolen $1.4B in Crypto Remains Traceable Post-Hack
A significant portion of the stolen funds from Bybit remains traceable following a historic cyber heist, as blockchain investigators work to freeze and recover the assets. On February 21, Bybit suffered a massive hack, losing over $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether (stETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH), and other digital currencies. Blockchain security firms have identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the likely perpetrator of the Bybit breach, as the hackers attempt to obfuscate the stolen funds. Despite their efforts, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, reported that more than 88% of the stolen amount is still traceable. In a March 20 post on X, Zhou shared that out of the $1.4 billion in hacked funds, 88.87% remains identifiable, with a portion having been frozen and others gone dark. He noted that a substantial amount was converted into Bitcoin (BTC) across numerous wallets, primarily using mixers to obscure the transactions.
### Creator of “Wolf of Wall Street” Memecoin Sees 99% Crash
The creator of the Libra token has introduced a new memecoin that shares troubling on-chain characteristics, indicating potential insider trading activity before its staggering 99% drop in value. Hayden Davis, co-creator of the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) and Libra tokens, launched the Wolf (WOLF) memecoin on March 8, riding on speculation about a potential token from Jordan Belfort, famously known as the “Wolf of Wall Street.” The token peaked at a $42 million market cap, but reports indicated that approximately 82% of WOLF’s supply was concentrated under a single entity. Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps highlighted suspicious transfer patterns, linking Davis to the movement of funds across various addresses prior to the launch. The WOLF memecoin plummeted over 99% in value within just two days, dropping from its peak market cap to a mere $570,000 by March 16, according to Dexscreener data.
### DeFi Market Overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicates that the majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week on a positive note. Among these, the BNB Chain-native Four (FORM) token emerged as the week’s biggest gainer, soaring more than 110%, while PancakeSwap’s CAKE token experienced a weekly rise of over 48%.
Thank you for following our recap of the most significant developments in the DeFi space this week. Be sure to join us next Friday for more news, insights, and educational content about this rapidly evolving sector.
