Strategy's $21B Bitcoin Purchase Plan

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Good Morning.

I saw a post showing that the ETH price was also ~$1,900 when Bitcoin was worth $23,000 in 2023 — that one data point alone pretty much sums up the mood on crypto Twitter. Altcoins are not seeing significant bids yet, and we’re still in an uncertainty period given what’s happening with Trump, equities, and the broader macro markets.

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In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Strategy’s $21B Stock Offering 💰️ 

• Case Study: Compound Morpho Proposal 🔎 

• Governance & Features: Circle Cuts USDC Settlement ⏩️ 

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WHAT MATTERS

Strategy’s $21B Stock Offering to Buy BTC

State of play: Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) has launched a $21B at-the-market (ATM) offering of its Series A preferred stock (STRK) to fund further bitcoin purchases.

• This move comes after a brief pause in acquisitions, with the company currently holding nearly 500,000 BTC, worth approximately $42B.

• Bitcoin rose to $83,000 following the news, recovering from a Sunday dip to $80,000.

• MSTR shares dropped 5.5% in premarket trading and are down 50% from their late November peak.

Why it matters: Even with this announcement, the price of Bitcoin did not react significantly, meaning that macro forces are still at play and there’s just not much appetite for risk-on assets.

Our take: Senator Lummis’ Bitcoin ACT is one interesting piece of legislation to watch.

For builders and investors: Be patient.

CASE STUDY

Compound Faces Oversight Over Gauntlet Conflict

Compound DAO faces scrutiny after risk manager Gauntlet proposed integrating competitor Morpho into its operations on Polygon.

• Critics, including Aave delegate Marc Zeller, argue this presents a conflict of interest, benefiting Morpho at Compound’s expense.

• Compound itself suffered a $25M governance attack last year, and in 2022, a faulty proposal bricked its $830M ETH market for a week.

• Chainrisk has called for more transparency, while Gauntlet defends the move as a strategic opportunity.

• The dispute underscores broader DeFi governance risks, with past failures leading to governance attacks and protocol disruptions.

• Meanwhile, DeFi markets remain under pressure, with TVL dropping over a third since December and nearly $900M liquidated in the latest sell-off.

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INSIGHTS

Maker Whale Dodges $16M Liquidation

A crypto whale narrowly avoided liquidation on Maker after ETH approached his $1,932 liquidation price, risking a $16M penalty on a $75M loan.

• In a last-minute move, he deposited 2,000 ETH and later $1.5M in DAI, lowering his liquidation threshold to $1,836 and boosting his collateral ratio to 181.95%.

• Currently, his liquidation price is at $1,781.

• Maker’s hourly oracle updates provide a short window for intervention, but the whale has to add more collateral or repay debt, his position remains at risk.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Circle Cuts USDC Cross-Chain Settlement

Circle has launched Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol V2 (CCTP V2), a major upgrade that reduces USDC cross-chain settlement time from 13–19 minutes to just seconds.

• Initially available on Avalanche, Base, and Ethereum, CCTP V2 will expand to more blockchains throughout the year.

• The upgrade introduces new smart contracts, APIs, and "Hooks", which allow developers to automate post-transfer actions on destination blockchains.

• While CCTP V1 remains active on 11 blockchains, V2 aims to enhance transaction speed, interoperability, and developer flexibility.

• Since launching in 2023, CCTP has processed over $36B in transaction volume, strengthening USDC’s position in the $235B stablecoin market.

Other notable feature updates:

• Aave is now live on Sonic.

• Aevo introduced Options OTC 2.0.

• Royco Protocol is now live on Sonic.

• Ondo Finance is deploying OUSG to XRPL.

• Pendle introduced a community listing process.

• Solv Protocol has joined the Soneium ecosystem.

• Kaito AI launched the @MitosisOrg Yapper Leaderboard.

• Aave has introduced the Aavenomics implementation proposal.

QUICK BITES

• Circle trims USDC cross-chain settlement time.

• House votes to repeal controversial IRS crypto tax rule.

• OKX could lose MiCA license as EU probes Bybit hack funds.

• Sony’s Soneium collaborates with LINE on onchain mini-apps.

• Sen. Lummis reintroduces bill to create Trump's planned SBR.

• Bitwise launches ETF tracking companies holding at least 1,000 BTC.

• EU says Trump's crypto support may damage EU's monetary sovereignty.

• CoreWeave agrees to an infrastructure deal worth ~$11.9B with OpenAI.

• Taproot Wizards hold the first public auction of the Bitcoin Ordinals project.

• Anchorage & Copper to provide BTC custody services for Cantor Fitzgerald.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• cryptoian’s read on for the love of the game.

• 0xKyle’s read on first principles thinking in crypto.

• Dragonfly Capital’s read on airdrop geoblocking cost for US token holders.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.