Crypto Vesting

Coinbase’s emergence as the Ethereum network’s largest node operator raises concerns about network centralization that could worsen as institutional adoption accelerates, industry executives told Cointelegraph. 

On March 19, Coinbase published a report disclosing that the US cryptocurrency exchange controlled more than 11% of staked Ether (ETH), more than any other Ethereum node operator. 

According to Karan Sirdesai, CEO of Web3 startup Mira Network, Coinbase’s growing dominance highlights “a systemic issue in Ethereum’s staking architecture.”

“We’re creating a system where a handful of major players control an outsized portion of network security, undermining the core promise of decentralization,” Sirdesai told Cointelegraph.

According to the report, Coinbase controlled 3.84 million ETH staked to 120,000 validators, representing 11.42% of staked Ether as of March 4. 

Liquid staking protocol Lido controls a larger share of staked Ether overall — approximately 9.4 million ETH,

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The Department of Government Efficiency team — or DOGE, which is not an official US government department — led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly moving into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to a March 28 Reuters report, Musk’s DOGE team contacted the SEC and was told it would be given access to the commission’s systems and data. The agency reportedly planned to establish a liaison team to work with the “efficiency” team, whose intentions were not immediately clear.

“Our intent will be to partner with the DOGE representatives and cooperate with their request following normal processes for ethics requirements, IT security or system training, and establishing their need to know before granting access to restricted systems and data,” said an email to SEC staff, according to Reuters.

After taking office as US President in January, Donald Trump signed an

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Opinion by: Eran Barak, CEO at Midnight 

It’s been almost 16 years since blockchain emerged from its esoteric fringes to enter global discourse, evidenced most recently by continued backing from Wall Street incumbents. Despite this remarkable ascendancy, the unfortunate truth is that this technology has yet to realize its true business potential. A core challenge persists: Too much sensitive data remains publicly unshielded.

The crux of the issue is that companies must keep business data confidential, and people strive to safeguard their personal information as best they can. Once data is put on a public blockchain, however, it becomes irreversibly and indefinitely exposed.

Even if a business takes every possible precaution to conceal data, mistakes made by others or vulnerabilities in the system can expose sensitive onchain data or metadata, including participants’ identities. This can lead to privacy breaches, compliance violations or both, undermining the foundational assumption that blockchain is trusted and underscoring

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Key takeaways

Bitcoin is legal in Australia and is regulated by AUSTRAC and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). 

You can buy Bitcoin on various platforms, including centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), P2P platforms and Bitcoin ATMs

Payment options are diverse, including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers and fiat cash deposits at ATMs

Store your Bitcoin securely and opt for cold wallets, which protect you better than custodial wallets from crypto exchanges. 

Bitcoin adoption continues to grow. More and more Australians are discovering the cryptocurrency as an investment vehicle, with ownership rising from 23% in 2023 to 32.5% in 2025, an impressive 41.3% increase. Because there are several platforms to choose from, buying Bitcoin is low-threshold and secure. 

This article covers several methods and describes the steps to safely start investing in Bitcoin. 

Is Bitcoin legal in Australia?

Yes, Bitcoin is legal in Australia, but it’s not considered a legal tender. The local

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Bitcoin (BTC) sought a local bottom on March 28 while US inflation data came in higher than expected.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin wobbles as PCE comes in hot

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD heading to $85,500 at the Wall Street open before reversing.

Down over 3% on the day, the pair saw lows under $84,500 on Bitstamp, marking its lowest levels since March 23.

The February print of the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index subsequently showed inflation quickening — in contrast to the result from a month prior.

While the month-on-month and year-on-year PCE tally conformed to market forecasts at 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively, their core PCE equivalents were both 0.1% higher than anticipated.

“Core inflation is back on the rise,” trading resource The

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Suspicious trading activity led decentralized exchange Hyperliquid to delist the Jelly-my-Jelly (JELLY) memecoin, with details of an exploit unraveling over the course of a few days. 

The decentralized finance sector has already seen historic exploits in 2025, as the space struggles with issues of oversight and security. The Bybit hack saw North Korean hackers get away with $1.4 billion in February alone.

The JELLY incident, in which a whale exploited the Hyperliquid exchange’s liquidation parameters, getting away with millions, is just the latest exploit to rock the industry. 

Observers roundly criticized Hyperliquid’s reaction to the short squeeze, with one even comparing it to the ill-fated FTX. Here’s a look at how the incident unfolded.

Jelly token price crashes ahead of Hyperliquid exploit

Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail launched the JELLY token as part of the JellyJelly Web3 social media project. Following the launch on Jan. 30,

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Blockchain developer platform Gelato is launching a new blockchain-as-a-service solution on Avalanche to meet the growing demand for sovereign blockchain infrastructure during a crucial “tipping point” for institutional adoption.

Gelato, which previously developed blockchain solutions for companies such as Kraken and Animoca Brands, unveiled the new upgrade that aims to let developers deploy fully sovereign chains faster and cheaper with full interoperability via Avalanche InterChain Messaging (ICM).

Gelato emphasized that its service is ideal for advanced applications such as financial technology (fintech) requiring identity verification (KYC) and specialized gaming economies, according to a March 28 announcement shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.

The service lets companies quickly deploy independent (“sovereign”) blockchains with fewer costs and faster launch times.

Luis Schliesske, founder of Gelato, said previously launching a blockchain required extensive technical knowledge and significant engineering resources. Gelato’s new product reduces the complexity involved. He told Cointelegraph:

“Gelato’s RaaS on Avalanche streamlines everything

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Community members backing a Broccoli memecoin on BNB Chain are outraged, claiming their project was unfairly denied victory in the network’s liquidity support program.

The BNB Chain Meme Liquidity Support Program, which kicked off on Feb. 18, offers $200,000 in permanent liquidity to the top-performing memecoins on the chain. But controversy erupted on day two of the competition on Feb. 19 when two memecoins — both inspired by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao’s dog Broccoli — went head-to-head.

In the end, the Broccoli token ending in address “714” was declared the winner over the one ending in “F2B.” However, supporters of the F2B token say the result doesn’t add up.

Related: BNB Chain scales up network as memecoin activity boosts transaction load

F2B Broccoli community investigation questions score

According to the official leaderboard, both tokens earned a daily score of 5.7 in a system where lower

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US stock exchange Nasdaq submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking permission to list Grayscale Investments’ spot Avalanche exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The document, filed on March 27, asks for a rule change to list the Grayscale Avalanche Trust (AVAX). The derivative product in question would be a conversion of Grayscale Investments’ close-ended AVAX fund launched in August 2024.

Grayscale said on its website that “its SEC-reporting Products present a strong case for uplisting when permitted by the U.S. regulatory environment.” The firm explained that, following the conversion, “the arbitrage mechanism inherent to ETFs would help the product more closely track the value” of the assets.

At the time of publication, the Grayscale Avalanche Trust holds $1.76 million worth of assets under management. The current net asset value per share is $10.86

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