Decentralized social network Bluesky announced today that it has completed a $100 million Series B funding round, led by Bain Capital Crypto and completed in April 2025, though this was not previously disclosed. Other investors participating in this round include existing investors Alumni Ventures and True Ventures, as well as Anthos Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and Knight Foundation. Previously, Bluesky completed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Blockchain Capital (expected to close in 2024) and raised $8 million in seed funding the previous year from Neo and other angel investors. Bluesky did not disclose its latest valuation. The new funds will be used to expand Bluesky's team, while the company continues to develop the Bluesky app and its underlying technology, ATProto, which currently powers a range of applications within Atmosphere—a large open social ecosystem containing approximately 20 billion public records, including posts, likes, comments, and other interactions. (techcrunch)

The market is currently shifting from "short-term geopolitical shocks" to "long-term conflict pricing," with some funds reconsidering Bitcoin as an "escape asset" in a war environment. However, short-term gains are still largely driven by liquidity and speculation.

Standard Chartered and BSI have been unsuccessful in their attempts to join winding-up applications related to the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, as ruled by Singapore's High Court. Bloomberg posted on X, detailing the court's decision, which marks a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding 1MDB. The case involves complex financial transactions and alleged misappropriation of funds linked to 1MDB, which has been under scrutiny for several years. The High Court's ruling prevents Standard Chartered and BSI from being part of the legal process aimed at dissolving entities connected to the fund. This decision is part of broader efforts to address the financial irregularities associated with 1MDB, which have led to investigations and legal actions across multiple jurisdictions. The involvement of major financial institutions like Standard Chartered and BSI highlights the international scope of the 1MDB scandal. The ruling underscores the challenges faced by financial entities in navigating legal frameworks when dealing with cases of alleged financial misconduct. As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how this will impact the broader efforts to resolve issues related to 1MDB.

A phishing attack has led to the theft of approximately $200,000 in USDC and wmtUSDT, according to ChainCatcher. The incident involved a malicious Permit and Approve transaction signed by an address beginning with 0x9709. GoPlus has advised users to carefully verify transaction details and contract addresses when signing any on-chain authorizations or offline signature requests. This precaution is essential to prevent assets from being stolen through unauthorized or malicious requests.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has directed Australia's Treasury to explore the possibility of implementing a windfall tax on the nation's extensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Bloomberg posted on X, highlighting the government's intention to benefit from the surge in fuel prices. The move comes as Australia seeks to leverage its natural resources amidst global economic shifts. The proposed tax aims to ensure that the country gains from the increased revenues generated by the LNG industry, which has seen significant price hikes recently. This initiative reflects the government's strategy to optimize economic benefits from its natural gas reserves, aligning with broader fiscal policies.

State Bank of India (SBI) is closing the valuation gap with HDFC Bank, driven by increased demand for growth stocks and premium alcohol brands. Bloomberg posted on X, highlighting the competitive dynamics between these major financial institutions. The shift in investor interest towards growth stocks is contributing to SBI's improved market position. Additionally, the rising popularity of premium alcohol brands is influencing market trends, further impacting the valuation landscape. As these factors continue to evolve, the financial sector is witnessing significant changes in investment patterns.

According to SoSoValue data, the cryptocurrency market has declined for three consecutive days. The SocialFi sector fell 4.65% in the last 24 hours, with Toncoin (TON) down 5.48%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) fell 0.88% in the last 24 hours, briefly dipping below $69,000 before recovering to above $70,000. Ethereum (ETH) fell 1.94%, breaking below $2,200. Only the GameFi sector performed well, rising 0.24% in the last 24 hours, with Axie Infinity (AXS) rising 3.84%. In other sectors, the PayFi sector fell 0.50% in the last 24 hours, but eCash (XEC) rose 2.55%; the Meme sector fell 1.15%, with PIPPIN (PIPPIN) surging 12.38% within the sector; the Layer 1 sector fell 1.31%, with Zcash (ZEC) falling 6.13%; the Layer 2 sector fell 1.43%, with Celestia (TIA) falling 3.08%; the CeFi sector fell 1.45%, with OKB (OKB) falling 3.15%; the DeFi sector fell 1.49%, with Morpho Token (MORPHO) remaining relatively strong, rising 2.15%. Crypto sector indices reflecting historical sector performance show that the ssiSocialFi, ssiDeFi, and ssiLayer1 indices fell 4.89%, 1.62%, and 1.23%, respectively.

According to on-chain analyst Ember's monitoring, an address (0xc9db...5642) used a revolving loan strategy over the past year, borrowing USDC to collateralize WBTC and then continuing to buy WBTC, leveraging a long position of 742.8 WBTC at an average purchase price of approximately $89,137. Today, this address liquidated its 742.8 WBTC through FalconX at a price of $70,266, receiving 29.75 million USDC to repay its debt on Aave. This transaction resulted in a cumulative loss of $14.02 million.

Morgan Stanley has filed a second amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its application to launch a Bitcoin spot ETF, confirming that its Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will be listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol MSBT. The amended filing adds fund details: a basket size of 10,000 shares, with an initial seed basket of 50,000 shares, and an expected fundraising of approximately $1 million; BNY Mellon will act as the cash custodian and transfer agent, and Coinbase will act as the prime broker. If approved, Morgan Stanley will become the first major U.S. bank to directly issue and sponsor a Bitcoin spot ETF. (The Block)

On March 20, South Korea's stock market experienced fluctuations as major tech stocks turned negative due to foreign sell-offs. According to Jin10, foreign investors net sold 1.26 trillion Korean won (approximately $8.42 billion), leading to a reduction in the KOSPI index's early gains. Meanwhile, retail investors and institutions net purchased 7.464 trillion won and 5.248 trillion won worth of Korean stocks, respectively. Leading tech stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw declines of 0.25% and 0.2%, respectively. In contrast, LG Energy Solution, a battery manufacturer, rose by 0.94%, and Doosan Heavy Industries increased by 3.29%. Stocks in the biotechnology and financial sectors also showed upward movement. On the other hand, SK Square, an AI investment company, fell by 1.8%, while defense giant Hanwha Aerospace dropped by 4.73%. Major shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries decreased by 0.71%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics declined by 2.71%.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has officially become a member of the Hong Kong Police Force's Virtual Asset Intelligence Working Group, according to PANews. This strategic move aims to foster innovation and support the growth of Hong Kong's listed and digital asset markets. In the realm of digital assets, the SFC has recognized the tokenized retail currency fund, which has seen its managed asset value rise to HKD 8.66 billion (USD 1.11 billion) by December of last year, marking a 14% quarterly increase since its launch in 2025. Additionally, since the introduction of Asia's virtual asset spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in 2024, 11 such ETFs have been listed in Hong Kong. Their total market value has surged by 142% to over HKD 5.4 billion (USD 702 million) by December of last year. The total market value of SFC-recognized ETFs and leveraged and inverse products has also jumped 33.7% year-on-year to HKD 618.7 billion. Furthermore, net capital inflows into funds registered in Hong Kong skyrocketed by 118.5% year-on-year to HKD 356.7 billion in 2025. By December of last year, the assets managed by these funds grew by 38.3% year-on-year to HKD 2.28 trillion, while the total number of funds increased by 9.1% to 1,041.

Circle remains fundamentally a company that relies on reserve returns. Its profitability is driven more by the size of its stablecoin portfolio, reserve yield, and profit-sharing mechanisms than by monetization from software or payment services.

Animoca Brands has invested in Ava Labs and partnered with them to help grow projects on the Avalanche blockchain. The partnership will focus on Asia and the Middle East, supporting entertainment, digital identity, and tokenised real-world asset projects.

Electric Capital has identified 501 real-world yield sources and cross-referenced them with currently attractive on-chain RWA assets. The biggest challenge lies in asset distribution. Despite friction, on-chain real-world assets will continue to grow.

The global oil price war has begun. The higher the oil price, the greater the pain Iran will inflict on the world; the lower the oil price, the greater the room for maneuver for the United States and its allies during the ongoing conflict.

Jinse Finance launches its cryptocurrency and blockchain industry daily news bulletin, "Jinse at 8 AM," issue 3001, providing you with the latest and fastest news on the digital currency and blockchain industry.

Current market pricing revolves around "limited conflict," but tail risks have not been fully cleared, and fluctuations in geopolitical premiums will remain a key variable for asset prices in the coming weeks.

Jinse Finance launches the "Jinse Web3.0 Daily," providing you with the latest and fastest news on MEME, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and the metaverse industry.

If on-chain private lending wants to transcend the glamorous facade of the traditional private lending industry, it must first solve the trust issue before it can solve the profitability issue.

Hyperliquid: Three charts to tell you why S&P licensed its brand to Golden Finance; over 100-fold growth in 6 months.