WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter - Mar 29

Welcome back to this week's edition of our WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter!

A new, gov-backed stablecoin

The defi protocol backed by the Trump family, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), will release a stablecoin called USD1 (it is not out yet so watch out for scams!). This will be a stablecoin backed by short-term U.S. government securities, USD deposits, and other cash managed by BitGo, a “digital asset trust and security company” based out of California. Also this week, Trump Media and Technology Group announced an agreement with Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus on “made in America” securities including BTC, CRO, and other crypto assets, expected to launch by the end of the year.

Many people have brought up concerns about the conflict of interest of a president launching another financial asset that will benefit him directly. This follows the TRUMP memecoin launched just before his inauguration, and very likely insider trading in WLFI. Some even suggest this may be breaking the constitution’s emolument clause because of how the stablecoin is being marketed as a way to improve cross-boarder transactions.

Learn more here.

Wyoming announces a stablecoin too

Separately, the US state of Wyoming announced it will release a stablecoin later this year, which will likely “be the first fiat-backed and fully reserved token issued by a public entity”. This, too, is not live yet, so be careful of scams!

Learn more here.

Hyperliquid hit again

Our March 15 newsletter covered a malicious liquidation on Hyperliquid, prompting the DEX to raise collateral requirements for long and short positions. While this helps liquid tokens, it doesn't benefit illiquid ones. This became evident on March 26 with the JELLYJELLY token, launched by Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail. Despite a $25M market cap, JELLYJELLY remained highly illiquid.

An attacker opened $7M in long and short positions—nearly a third of the token's market cap—causing rapid price swings and triggering a liquidation. Typically, the exchange acts as the counterparty, either paying out or reclaiming liquidations. But due to the sheer size of these positions, Hyperliquid couldn't cover it all at once. Instead, its 16 validators intervened, freezing the attacker’s accounts and altering the JELLY price oracle to halt the exploit.

This raises concerns about decentralization. Hyperliquid previously claimed it couldn’t restrict accounts—such as those linked to North Korean hackers—due to its decentralized nature. Yet here, validators acted collectively, more like a company than a decentralized network. So, is Hyperliquid truly decentralized, or does it selectively exert control when convenient?

Learn more here.

Ethereum’s next update set

April 30 is the date we can expect the Pectra upgrade on the Ethereum network. The devs were waiting to release a date until the update successfully went through on the Hoodi testnet. A good, in depth explanation of the upgrade and what to expect as a user was given on the Bankless podcast this week. Pectra includes a lot of things, including programmable wallets that allow for transaction bundling, gasless transacting, and account recovery; more scalability due to the possibility of larger staking sizes and more data throughput, and more. You can read all the details on Ethereum’s roadmap.

Learn more here.

Your genetic data on chain?

Would you want your genetic data to be stored on a blockchain? What about if it’s encrypted? What about if you could choose who to give it to or how to monetize it? All of these questions are being raised as the Sei Foundation announced it is considering acquiring the bankrupt genomics company 23andMe that has 15 million users’ genetic data and is considering selling it. The logistics of how this would actually work, how it would remain private, and how those users would gain control of it, are all questions that also need to be answered, but this could provide a way to have more private, personal control over your sensitive genetic data.

Learn more here.

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something!

- Theodore