DeFi Dreams & Blockchain Dramas | Moonypto Weekly Recap

From Presidential Fintech to Kidnapped Founders

Every time someone asks me how the crypto week went, I feel like I’m starring in an Interstellar epic "everyday here is 7 years on earth" so lets see what happened in crypto world in this week so far

1. Trump Media & Technology Group Enters the Decentralized Finance Space
( Mr President ready to RUG ehh.. I mean serve the people )
The Trump Media & Technology Group has unveiled TruthFi, a new brand dedicated to financial services and fintech, marking its entry into decentralized finance. The board has approved investments of up to $250 million, which may be allocated across separately managed accounts (SMAs), exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin, and other similar cryptocurrencies or crypto-related securities.

2. Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler Returns to Teaching at MIT
(XRP army now knows where to find Gary!)
Gary Gensler, who formerly led the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has rejoined MIT as a Practice Professor within the Global Economics and Management Group as well as the Finance Group. In his new role, he will focus on teaching and researching topics including artificial intelligence, finance, fintech, and public policy

3. Arizona Senate Finance Committee Advances “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act”
Arizona’s “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” now allows the state to invest up to 10% of its public funds in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Co-sponsored by Wendy Rogers and Jeff Weninger, the act requires that these digital assets be held in secure, segregated accounts. Following its passage in the Finance Committee, the bill moves to the Senate Rules Committee, which will establish the parameters for debate and possible amendments. If the full Senate and subsequently the House approve the measure, Arizona would become the first state in the US to invest public funds in Bitcoin.

Representative John Cabello from Illinois recently introduced a similar bill (HB1844) proposing the creation of a state-level Bitcoin reserve fund that must be maintained for at least five years before any sale or conversion. The proposal is now with the Rules Committee to finalize regulatory details and awaits legislative approval, potentially positioning Illinois alongside Arizona in this pioneering effort.

4. KuCoin Settles with the US Department of Justice
KuCoin has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and its founders—Chun Gan (Michael Gan) and Ke Tang (Eric Tang) have also individually settled with the DOJ. Under the terms of the agreements, all charges against the founders will be dropped once they meet certain conditions. As part of the settlement, Michael Gan has stepped down from all roles related to KuCoin and its affiliates. A judge has imposed a fine of roughly $113 million and mandated the forfeiture of $184.5 million, while KuCoin will exit the US market for at least the next two years.

5. Czech National Bank Governor Proposes Allocating Up to 5% of 140 Billion Euros to Bitcoin
Aleš Michl, the governor of the Czech National Bank, is preparing to propose that 5% of the bank’s 140 billion euro reserves be invested in Bitcoin as a diversification strategy. If approved, this move would make the Czech National Bank the first Western central bank known to hold crypto assets. Despite Bitcoin’s high volatility, Michl noted that the recent launch of Bitcoin ETFs and crypto-friendly policies under the Trump administration have significantly increased institutional interest.

6. Ethereum Community Conducts Informal OnChain Vote to Endorse Danny Ryan for Leadership
An informal on-chain vote among Ethereum community members has overwhelmingly (99% approval) endorsed Danny Ryan—a former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation—as the next leader of the organization. Organized by the account “votedannyryancom,” the vote involved 296 wallets collectively holding over 50,000 ETH (worth about $160 million) and was executed via onchain signatures. Although the vote is not legally binding, it reflects strong community support for Ryan’s leadership. Previously, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin had suggested that Danny Ryan and Jerome de Tychey (president of ETH France) jointly head the Foundation to bolster its technological direction. Currently, however, Vitalik Buterin retains the final decision-making authority regarding leadership changes.

7. MicroStrategy Buys 10,107 BTC for Approximately $1.1 Billion
(Forbes cover curse is real guys!)
MicroStrategy has purchased 10,107 BTC for roughly $1.1 billion, resulting in an average acquisition price of $105,596 per Bitcoin and yielding a 2.90% return year to date in 2025. As of January 26, 2025, the company’s holdings total 471,107 BTC, with an overall average acquisition cost of $64,511 per Bitcoin, amounting to a cumulative cost of about $30.4 billion.

8. Roger Ver Appeals to Trump Amid 109 Year Imprisonment Threat
Roger Ver has taken to Twitter to seek Trump’s help, claiming that he faces up to 109 years in prison if he is extradited to the United States. Ver maintains that he was the first investor in the Bitcoin ecosystem but now confronts charges alleging that he failed to report capital gains from Bitcoin sales in 2017 and underestimated the value of his holdings when renouncing his US citizenship in 2014. Previously, Ver was arrested in Spain on US criminal charges and now awaits extradition, while Elon Musk has remarked that, having renounced his US citizenship, Ver is not eligible for a pardon.

9. Ledger CoFounder Loses a Finger During Kidnapping; Partial Crypto Ransom Paid Before Rescue (stop bragging about your 0.000001 BTC in social media guys,you might just become the next target!)
On January 21, David Balland, a cofounder of Ledger, and his wife were kidnapped from their home in central France. The kidnappers held them at separate locations and demanded a ransom of around 10 million euros in cryptocurrency. To further intimidate the victim, the kidnappers severed one of Balland’s fingers and sent a video of the act to Ledger’s other co-founder. French police rescued Balland in Châteauroux on January 22, and his wife was located the following day. Ten suspects were arrested during the operation. Balland is receiving treatment for his hand injury, and although his wife was physically unharmed, she experienced severe trauma. Authorities have already traced and frozen part of the cryptocurrency ransom.

10. Forbes Releases 2025 Global Ranking of the Most Trusted Crypto Exchanges
Forbes has published its 2025 ranking of the world’s most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges after analyzing over 200 platforms. Top-ranked exchanges include CME Group, Coinbase, Bitstamp, Binance, and Robinhood, all noted for their strong emphasis on compliance and asset security. Global crypto exchanges are estimated to hold approximately $1.2 trillion in custody, and Forbes projects that there were at least 500 million crypto users worldwide by the end of 2024.

Fundraising Announcements

Cryptio – The crypto accounting platform secured $15 million in Series A funding.
D3 – The domain-name registration startup raised $25 million.
Pod – The Layer 1 network developer completed a $10 million seed funding round.
Humanity Protocol – Announced a new financing round that brought in $20 million.
Radius – The shared sequencer solution raised $7 million in seed funding led by Pantera Capital.
Ranger Protocol – The crypto derivatives exchange secured $1.9 million in funding.
Breez – The Bitcoin payment startup raised $5 million.
SignalPlus – Completed an $11 million Series B financing round.
Printr – The chain-abstracted meme-coin launch platform secured $2.5 million in funding.
Fogo – Raised $8 million in funding, with its mainnet expected to launch in the second quarter.
Analog – The blockchain interoperability protocol completed a $5 million financing round.
Pixion Games – Announced a strategic financing round that raised $12.4 million.
Mevvy – Secured $2.8 million in seed funding, led by Multicoin Capital.
Inception – The DeFi platform raised $3.5 million in seed funding.
Alliance DAO– Announced an investment in the AI application FreedomGPT.
YZi Labs– Invested $16 million in Sign, an on-chain credential verification and token-distribution platform.

Stars fade, but knowledge shines forever. In the vast universe of crypto, the greatest asset isn’t just your portfolio it’s what you know. The only way to truly go interstellar is to master the journey before taking off. Invest in your mind, and the profits will follow