Crypto Morning Brief: Backpack Plans to Offer Equity to Stakers; WLFI Claims USD1 Was Attacked
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Crypto Morning Brief: Backpack Plans to Offer Equity to Stakers; WLFI Claims USD1 Was Attacked
The Ethereum Foundation has established a DeFi team to support the development of new protocols, reaffirming its belief in the “DeFipunk” ethos.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday’s Market Updates
U.S. Media: Trump Administration Considers New National Security Tariffs on Six Industries, Including Batteries, Pig Iron, and Iron Fittings
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is considering imposing new “national security tariffs” on six industries. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that potential targets may include large batteries, pig iron and iron fittings, plastic pipes, industrial chemicals, and grid and telecommunications equipment. These tariffs would be levied under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The new U.S. tariffs on these six sectors will be implemented separately from the proposed global 15% tariff. It remains unclear when the Department of Commerce will announce its investigation into these tariffs—or when they will ultimately take effect. Section 232 mandates an extensive investigation prior to tariff imposition, but once enacted, the President may unilaterally modify them.
U.S. Trade Representative: Bilateral Trade Agreements Remain Valid Following Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
According to JIN10, U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi stated on Sunday’s CBS program “Face the Nation” that agreements the U.S. has reached with the EU, South Korea, and other countries remain valid. She sought to distinguish those agreements from the 15% global tariff plan announced by Trump on Saturday. Bianchi said: “We want them to understand that these deals will be successful deals. We will fully support these deals—and we expect our partners to do the same.” She also noted that other U.S. trade tools—including investigations into other countries’ trade practices—will provide the U.S. with strategic advantages. Over the weekend, she spoke with EU officials and plans further discussions with senior trade officials from other major U.S. trading partners to reassure them.
WLFI Response: Attackers Breached Co-Founders’ Accounts to Spread FUD and Short WLFI En Masse—but Attack Failed
World Liberty Financial issued an official announcement on social media:
“This morning, a coordinated attack targeted USD1. Attackers breached multiple WLFI co-founders’ accounts, hired KOLs to spread panic, and opened substantial short positions on WLFI—attempting to profit from this artificially induced chaos.
However, the attack failed.
Thanks to USD1’s robust minting and redemption mechanism and full 1:1 asset backing, USD1’s trading price remained consistently stable at par value. No fraudster can shake the long-term commitment of the entire WLFI team and its co-founders to USD1.
Users are reminded to obtain accurate information exclusively through verified official channels.”
Meme Coin TRUMP Team to Allocate Up to 5% of Tokens for Ecosystem Growth Initiatives
According to official announcements, the TRUMP meme coin team has entered its next development phase, focusing on enhancing market liquidity depth, expanding use cases, and driving long-term value growth through disciplined capital deployment. In response to community feedback, the project will simultaneously advance three initiatives: yield and liquidity programs, institutional-grade market structure optimization, and strategic treasury management—to improve trading quality and strengthen the ecosystem.
On the liquidity front, holders will soon be able to participate in yield programs via the Kamino Treasury, earning rewards in both TRUMP tokens and stablecoins. Total incentives may exceed $10 million to support on-chain liquidity and DEX capital efficiency. Additionally, new professional market makers will bolster liquidity across both centralized and decentralized markets, improving price discovery and trade execution stability.
Furthermore, TRUMP will strategically allocate up to 5% of its total token supply—unlocked according to its publicly disclosed vesting schedule—over the coming months for ecosystem investments, partnerships, and growth initiatives. This includes up to $3.5 million for an ecosystem fund, potential acquisitions and collaborations, and entertainment and gaming initiatives led by The TRUMP Game Studio—with its first project being the Web3 game TRUMP Billionaires Club.
Bitdeer Responds to Bitcoin Sale Decision: Preparing Liquidity for Land Acquisition; Hashrate Growth Plan Unchanged
Bitdeer (BTDR), the Bitcoin mining company founded by Wu Jihan, stated: “The company’s decision to sell Bitcoin should not raise concerns at the market level. This move aims to prepare liquidity in advance for several non-binding land acquisition opportunities currently under evaluation. The company emphasizes that hashrate will continue growing and that mining operations will persist to serve shareholders’ interests.”
Ethereum Foundation Establishes DeFi Team to Support New Protocol Development, Reaffirms Belief in the “DeFipunk” Vision
According to The Block, the Ethereum Foundation is forming a dedicated decentralized finance (DeFi) team within its Application Relations group to support new protocol development. The Foundation has appointed former DELV CEO and MakerDAO governance architect Charles St. Louis as DeFi Protocol Specialist, and Gearbox Protocol co-founder Ivan (“ivangbi”) as DeFi Coordinator.
The Ethereum Foundation stated: “We want to see DeFi thrive—but we hold a clear vision for what it should be: permissionless, censorship-resistant, privacy-first, self-custodial, and open-source.” St. Louis added on X: “The Ethereum Foundation believes in DeFipunk—not finance that’s slightly better than traditional finance, but finance that simply wouldn’t exist without Ethereum.”
This team will support existing DeFi projects while also exploring “DeFi of tomorrow,” including user-controlled AI and high-throughput on-chain futures markets.
Backpack Plans to Offer Company Equity to Token Stakers; 20% Equity Reserved for This Initiative
According to Decrypt, cryptocurrency exchange Backpack plans to allow holders of its upcoming token to earn company equity through staking. As stated by Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante on social media, users who stake the token for at least one year will be able to redeem it for company equity at a fixed ratio. The company has already reserved 20% of its equity for this initiative.
Ferrante explained that this move aims to improve upon existing models, noting that many projects have failed to deliver on promises supporting utility-based tokens. The exchange has yet to announce its token launch date but has begun requiring users to verify personal information to determine eligibility.
Tether Announces Discontinuation of Offshore RMB Stablecoin CNH₮
On February 21, Tether announced via official statement that it will gradually discontinue its CNH₮ stablecoin service effective February 20, 2026. As of now, Tether has ceased issuing new CNH₮ tokens and will fully terminate redemption support one year later.
This decision follows changing market conditions, low product interest, and limited community demand relative to other assets. CNH₮ holders are advised to redeem their holdings promptly—and must complete redemptions before the deadline.
Director of Shanghai Financial Development Lab: Regulators Distinguish RWA Tokens from Virtual Currencies for First Time—and Do Not Mandate Absolute Decentralization
Caijing News published an article titled “Strict Oversight of Offshore RWAs,” quoting Zeng Gang, Director and Chief Expert of the Shanghai Financial Development Lab, who noted that the joint regulatory framework outlined in Document No. 42—issued by eight ministries—adopts a “domestic prohibition, overseas strict supervision” approach, marking the first time regulators have explicitly distinguished RWA tokens from virtual currencies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) identifies “asset-backed securities tokens” as the first actionable RWA category, creating a concrete pathway for compliant offshore issuance by domestic enterprises. Regulators neither dismiss the potential value of RWA tokens as novel financing instruments nor relax risk controls. Document No. 42 specifies the use of “cryptographic technologies and distributed ledger or similar technologies,” without mandating absolute decentralization. Core principles include: ensuring domestic entities remain completely isolated from token trading throughout the offshore issuance process; requiring all inbound funds to flow through compliant cross-border investment and foreign exchange management channels; and establishing a post-issuance event reporting mechanism to ensure timely notification of material developments to the CSRC.
U.S. Private Credit Giant Blue Owl Capital Announces Sale of ~$1.4B in Loan Assets
According to CoinDesk, U.S. private credit giant Blue Owl Capital announced the sale of approximately $1.4 billion in loan assets to meet redemption requests from investors in its retail-oriented private credit fund. The fund—Blue Owl Capital Corp II—will return roughly 30% of its net asset value (NAV) to qualified investors, with assets sold at 99.7% of face value. As a result, Blue Owl’s stock (OWL) fell nearly 15% this week and over 50% year-on-year; shares of other private equity firms—including Blackstone, Apollo Global, and Ares Management—also declined significantly.
Experts liken this development to the “canary in the coal mine” signal preceding the 2007 financial crisis—such as the Bear Stearns hedge fund collapse—warning that excessive expansion in the private credit market (particularly AI-related investments) could trigger systemic risks, credit contraction, and banking contagion. If mounting pressure forces central banks to cut rates and inject liquidity, a repeat of the post-pandemic 2020 scenario may occur—potentially fueling Bitcoin and broader crypto markets and catalyzing the next bull run.
SBI Holdings Launches ¥10 Billion On-Chain Bond, Rewarding Investors with XRP
According to CoinDesk, Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings has launched a ¥10 billion (approx. $64.5 million) on-chain bond—the “SBI START Bonds”—targeting retail investors. The bond is fully issued, managed, and settled on the blockchain platform “ibet for Fin.” Eligible investors—those holding an SBI VC Trade account and having invested over ¥100,000—will receive XRP rewards equivalent to their investment amount at issuance and during each subsequent interest payment (through 2029), with ¥100,000 qualifying for ¥200 worth of XRP. The three-year bond offers a fixed interest rate, and secondary trading will begin on March 25, 2026, on the Osaka Digital Exchange.
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