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THORChain’s $618,000 Live Swap Puts Blockchain Transparency to the Test

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Nexo Partners with Bakkt for US Crypto Exchange and Yield Programs

TLDR:

    • A single $618,000 BTC-to-USDC swap on THORChain exposed every transaction detail to the public in real time.
    • GemWallet’s 50 basis point fee was written directly into the transaction memo, visible on-chain to anyone worldwide.
    • THORChain allows users to swap assets without creating an account, submitting an ID, or seeking any permission.
    • Every swap ever executed on THORChain remains permanently traceable, dating all the way back to its first transaction.

THORChain recently showcased blockchain transparency through a live transaction on its network. A user swapped 8.99 BTC, worth roughly $67,393, for 611,637 USDC in under 17 minutes.

The swap totaled approximately $618,000 moving across chains. Every detail of this trade remained publicly visible to anyone with an internet connection.

What the Transaction Revealed About On-Chain Visibility

THORChain shared the transaction publicly, noting that every detail was traceable without any permission required.

The sending wallet address, destination address, exact amounts, fees, and processing time were all recorded permanently on a public blockchain. No compliance department or regulatory body controls access to this data.

The transaction memo also showed that GemWallet processed the swap and charged 50 basis points as a service fee.

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That fee was written directly into the transaction instructions, not buried in a terms of service document. Anyone on earth could verify this at the moment it happened.

THORChain posted about the event, stating: “There is no compliance department to call, no freedom of information request to file, no company deciding what data you are allowed to see.”

This reflects a core design principle of public blockchain infrastructure. The data exists on-chain and remains accessible indefinitely.

This level of auditability extends beyond a single transaction. Every swap ever executed on THORChain traces back to the network’s first transaction, all publicly accessible without creating an account or submitting identification documents.

How THORChain Contrasts With Traditional Financial Systems

THORChain draws a direct comparison between its model and traditional finance. In conventional systems, users cannot meaningfully audit the infrastructure they trust with their money.

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Access also requires clearing increasingly complex identity verification processes before any transaction can occur.

According to THORChain, opacity and gatekeeping come bundled together in traditional finance. Users are told this is simply how financial infrastructure must function. The protocol presents itself as evidence that this assumption does not hold.

The protocol operates under a model where full transparency and permissionless access coexist by default. A user can make a swap without asking anyone for permission, without creating an account, and without submitting any identification. Both features run simultaneously within the same system.

THORChain noted: “Full transparency and no gatekeepers are not mutually exclusive. They can coexist, and on a public blockchain they do by default.”

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This positions the network as a functional alternative to systems where financial data remains controlled and access remains conditional. The transaction itself serves as a working example rather than a theoretical argument.

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The S&P 500 is officially coming to crypto with its first-ever 24/7 perpetual futures product

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The S&P 500 is officially coming to crypto with its first-ever 24/7 perpetual futures product

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced Wednesday that it is bringing the S&P 500 to the blockchain via the Hyperliquid platform, making it easier for investors to trade the most widely tracked equity index 24 hours a day.

The company said it licensed its flagship stock index to Trade[XYZ], which is launching the first officially approved S&P 500 perpetual contract on the Hyperliquid blockchain.

In simple terms, this means eligible non-U.S. investors can trade the S&P 500 onchain, around the clock, without using traditional stock exchanges.

Perpetual futures contracts, or “perps,” are derivative instruments without expiration dates that allow investors to place bets on an asset’s price without owning it, using funding rates, typically every few hours, to keep prices aligned with spot markets. Their infinite duration (perpetual futures contracts never expire, unlike traditional contracts), high-leverage options, and round-the-clock access have made them extremely popular in the crypto space and have generated billions in daily trading volume across exchanges.

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For the S&P 500, it is the first time it has been turned into a perpetual product with official backing from S&P. It also uses the firm’s real-time index data, bringing a more traditional finance standard into crypto trading. This guarantees the accuracy of index trading while the traditional market remains closed.

S&P says the goal is to expand where and how its indexes can be used. “This collaboration expands access” to its benchmarks in digital markets, said S&P’s Chief Product Officer Cameron Drinkwater.

24//7 trading

The move opens the door for non-U.S. investors to get leveraged exposure to the S&P 500 through a blockchain-based platform.

For example, if big macro news hits on the weekend, when the market is closed, traders traditionally need to speculate on how the S&P 500 will move on Monday, when the market opens. However, with these new perpetual contracts, traders can place bets immediately and with accuracy as soon as news breaks. Recently, crypto traders were able to trade oil futures on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid on a weekend, when the first missile hit Iran, while traditional oil markets remained closed.

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Trade[XYZ] runs on Hyperliquid, a decentralized network built for fast trading. The platform says its markets are always open, unlike stock exchanges that close after hours and on weekends. XYZ markets have exceeded $100 billion since October, with an annualized run rate of more than $600 billion.

The news seems to have helped HYPE, the native token of the Hyperliquid platform. The token is up 2.2% over the past 24 hours, 14.2% over the past 7 days, and 35.5% over the past month. Hyperliquid has recently become a crypto trader’s favorite platform for trading markets outside traditional finance.

Recently, Maelstrom CIO and BitMEX Co-Founder Arthur Hayes said traders are increasingly using Hyperliquid to access markets unavailable on traditional platforms, noting that the HYPE token could reach $150, citing the platform’s strong revenue, real trading activity, and disciplined token supply.

Trade[XYZ] said the S&P 500 is just the starting point as it looks to bring more traditional assets onchain. “The S&P 500 is a natural starting point. It represents the most widely tracked equity index on earth and has been the defining benchmark for global equities for decades,” said Collins Belton, chief operating officer and general counsel of Trade[XYZ]’s parent company.

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The announcement builds on S&P DJI’s prior decentralized finance initiatives, including its recent launch of the S&P Digital Markets 50 index, the company said.

Read more: 2026 Marks the Inflection Point for 24/7 Capital Markets

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Ethereum Foundation Deposits Another $7.5M in ETH From Its Treasury into Morpho

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Ethereum Foundation Deposits Another $7.5M in ETH From Its Treasury into Morpho

The move follows the EF’s first deployment into the DeFi lending protocol in October, and is part of its updated treasury policy.

The Ethereum Foundation has deposited another 3,400 ETH — worth roughly $7.5 million at today’s prices, near $2,220 — into DeFi lending protocol Morpho, with 1,000 ETH allocated specifically to Morpho Vaults V2, according to a X post from the EF today, March 18.

The move follows an initial deployment in October 2025, when the EF put 2,400 ETH (~$5.3 million) and approximately $6 million in stablecoins into the protocol — bringing the Foundation’s total Morpho commitment to just under $19 million to date.

According to the post, the DeFi deployments are a direct expression of the EF’s refreshed treasury policy, first unveiled in June 2025, which codified a new “Defipunk” framework to guide on-chain capital allocation.

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As The Defiant reported at the time, the policy signaled that DeFi was no longer a sideshow for the Foundation — it was putting its ETH where its mouth is, prioritizing permissionless, immutable, audited protocols aligned with cypherpunk values over passive ETH sales to cover operations.

The EF also elaborated on why it chose to deploy in Morpho, and in particular praised Morpho Vaults V2, which launched in September. The Foundation cited the product’s GPL-2.0 open-source license — a deliberate choice, it noted, that makes the codebase permanently able to be audited and forked.

Crucially, Vaults V2’s core contracts are immutable: no admin keys, no upgrade mechanisms, no emergency switches. “The true cypherpunk infrastructure doesn’t ask you to trust its builders, and it removes the need entirely,” the Foundation wrote in its X announcement.

According to DefiLlama, Morpho is currently the second-largest DeFi lending protocol behind Aave, with a total total value locked (TVL) of over $6.9 billion. The protocol has attracted significant institutional interest in recent months, including a deal for Apollo Global Management — which manages nearly $940 billion in assets — to acquire up to 9% of Morpho’s 1 billion total token supply over four years.

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The EF framed the Morpho allocation as a question of ecosystem direction:

“What kind of DeFi ecosystem is Ethereum aiming to support, and how should it weigh short-term performance against long-term resilience and openness? Choices like licensing and architecture may seem small, but they shape which of these paths remain viable over time.”

The treasury move comes amid a busy stretch for the Foundation. Just last week, the EF published its 38-page EF Mandate, which sparked debate in the community over whether the Foundation risks taking a backseat at a critical moment for institutional adoption.

In February the EF also pledged to deepen its support for privacy-first, permissionless DeFi, forming a dedicated internal unit to support builders adhering to those principles. The Morpho deposit suggests the commitment is more than rhetorical.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

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Views for next Fed rate cut pushed back after hot inflation report

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Views for next Fed rate cut pushed back after hot inflation report

Construction work continues at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, on Dec. 30, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation reading for February had traders contemplating the possibility that the Federal Reserve won’t be lowering interest rates at all this year.

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Following a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the producer price index posted its biggest gain in a year, futures markets took any realistic chance of a cut off the table until at least December.

Even then, odds of a reduction at the final Fed meeting of the year fell to about 60% as persistently higher inflation — brought on by tariffs, the Iran war and elevated services costs — will keep the central bank on hold. The PPI report came just hours before the Federal Open Market Committee was to release its latest interest rate decision.

The wholesale inflation reading “likely reinforces a hold decision by the Federal Reserve later today but tilts the risk toward a more hawkish tone in today’s FOMC” statement, said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James. “Even if rates are left unchanged and we see multiple dissents, the messaging may lean toward ‘higher for longer,’ especially with energy inflation set to re-enter the picture in coming months.”

Prior to the war that began Feb. 28, traders had been looking for interest rate cuts in both June and September, with an outside possibility of one more in December as the Fed sought to balance its dual mandate of stable prices and low unemployment.

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But odds for a June cut have now slumped to just 18.4%, July is down to 31.5% and September to 43.6%, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool, which calculates probabilities using 30-day fed funds futures contracts.

Low conviction

Chances for a December reduction were at 60.5%, indicating that traders are leaning toward a cut, though with a relatively low level of conviction. Historically, the 60% level or above has been associated with Fed moves in either direction.

Futures are implying a 3.43% fed funds rate by the end of 2026, compared to the current level of 3.64%.

To be sure, trading in fed funds futures is volatile, and the Fed could be pushed back into an easing stance if the labor market weakens further. Fed Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller have been advocating for immediate cuts, though the rest of the committee seems more inclined to hold rates where they are until the economic picture clears.

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Correction: The Iran war began Feb. 28. A previous version misstated the country’s name.

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SBI VC Trade Launches USDC Lending Service for Japan Users

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SBI VC Trade Launches USDC Lending Service for Japan Users

SBI Holdings’ digital asset arm, SBI VC Trade, said it will launch a USDC lending service in Japan on Thursday, allowing retail users to lend stablecoins to the platform under fixed-term agreements in exchange for returns.

On Wednesday, the company said users will be able to lend Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin to the platform and receive interest payments, with a maximum application of 5,000 USDC per offering. The product is structured as a loan to SBI VC Trade rather than a deposit, meaning users take direct counterparty risk. SBI said it may also re-lend the borrowed USDC as part of its operations.

The launch marks a further step in Japan’s stablecoin rollout, bringing a consumer-accessible USDC yield product to market through a licensed domestic platform.

SBI said the product is intended as an alternative to traditional US dollar deposits in Japan, though, unlike bank deposits, segregation protections do not cover user assets and may not be fully recoverable in the event of insolvency. Users are also unable to withdraw or transfer funds during the fixed lending term, limiting their ability to respond to market conditions.

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Translated table comparing tax treatment of USDC lending and foreign currency deposits in Japan. Source: SBI VC Trade

SBI expands stablecoin footprint

The launch follows an initial announcement in November, when SBI VC Trade said it planned to launch a USDC lending product and was exploring exchange-traded fund (ETF) products, according to Reuters. 

The development comes as SBI has been expanding its stablecoin strategy. SBI VC Trade began a full-scale USDC launch in Japan on March 26, 2025, after receiving regulatory approval earlier that month. Circle said the approval made USDC the first approved global dollar stablecoin for use in Japan.

Related: SBI Holdings targets majority stake in Singapore crypto exchange Coinhako

On Aug. 22, SBI announced the establishment of a joint venture with Circle, aiming to promote the use of USDC in Japan and create new use cases for the stablecoin in digital finance. 

On Dec. 16, the company partnered with Startale to develop a regulated yen-denominated stablecoin aimed at tokenized assets and global settlement, with a planned launch in the second quarter of 2026.

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