The Fantasy Top collection surged to the top of CryptoSlam’s daily non-fungible token sales chart on Wednesday, exceeding $1 million in transactions for the first time this week.

The leading Blast collection reported 7,467 transactions involving 2,246 unique buyers and 2,749 sellers.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum blockchain outperformed other platforms on the same day, recording sales of $6.25 million, although this represented a 22.3% decline from the previous day’s $8.15 million. In the NFT rankings, Bitcoin’s NodeMonkes collection secured the second spot with sales of $908,671, up from the previous day’s $571,992.

NodeMonkes currently ranks 26th in CryptoSlam’s all-time list with total historic sales of $224.5 million, just $2.5 million short of surpassing Crabada, an Avalanche collection.

The third-ranking collection for the day was Mocaverse on the Ethereum chain, which achieved $830,873 in sales, a significant increase from the previous day’s $193,042. On Wednesday, Mocaverse released additional details about its upcoming NFT airdrops.

DMarket from Mythos claimed the fourth position with daily sales of $711,025, a slight dip from the previous day’s $734,617. The collection saw a high volume of activity with 28,120 transactions conducted by 3,635 unique buyers and 3,231 sellers.

Following closely were Solana’s Mad Lads and Ethereum’s The Captainz, ranking fifth and sixth, respectively. Mad Lads recorded $613,391 in sales from 50 transactions, while The Captainz generated $567,277 from 50 transactions as well.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a regular feature in CryptoSlam’s daily NFT charts, ranked seventh with $530,359 in sales from just 11 transactions, reflecting the high value of assets within the collection.

Rounding out the top ten were Immutable’s Guild of Guardians Avatars, Polygon’s SKGirl, and Bitcoin’s SOL BRC-20 NFTs, with sales of $514,252, $301,171, and $209,525, respectively.

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Ethereum experienced a remarkable rally on Monday, marking its largest daily gains in three years and surpassing industry giants like Mastercard and LVMH in market capitalization. The surge was triggered by increasing speculation regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) potential approval of a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).

News of the heightened probability of SEC approval for a spot Ethereum ETF sparked a frenzy of buying activity for ETH, driving its price from under $3,100 to over $3,800 within 24 hours. This significant surge, the largest since May 2021, reflects growing optimism among investors regarding the potential ETF approval.

The momentum was further fueled by a post from Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, who raised the probability of spot Ether ETF approval to 75%, citing emerging discussions within the SEC. Balchunas’ post quickly gained traction, amassing nearly five million views and igniting speculation within the crypto community.

The unexpected news surrounding the potential approval of spot ETH ETFs propelled Ethereum’s market cap to over $450 billion, positioning it among the top 20 companies worldwide by market capitalization. Notable companies that Ethereum surpassed include Mastercard (NYSE:MA), LVMH (LVMUY), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Samsung (KRW), and Bank of America (NYSE:BOA).

However, the approval process for ETFs is not straightforward, as it involves multiple forms and regulatory considerations. While the SEC may greenlight the 19b-4 forms allowing funds to list the ETFs, a decision on the detailed S-1 forms could be delayed. This approach would provide regulators with additional time to evaluate individual applications and understand the implications of ETF launches.

Despite the potential for regulatory complexities, many crypto enthusiasts remain optimistic about Ethereum’s prospects, anticipating a price surge beyond $4,000 and even new all-time highs above $4,900 in the event of spot ETF approval. Similar to Bitcoin’s price trajectory following ETF approvals, Ethereum could experience significant upside momentum.

As the crypto market awaits further developments, the potential approval of spot ETH ETFs could catalyze Ethereum’s continued growth and market dominance in the digital asset space.

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A 43-year-old software engineer, who previously worked on the BlackBerry in the 2000s and helped develop the Windows Phone app store at Microsoft, has now taken on a new challenge. Despite not having worked in crypto until early 2022, Laver is leading Solana Labs’ effort to revolutionize the crypto experience by integrating blockchain capabilities into a mobile device.

“This has that big, sky’s the limit energy,” Laver said in a rare interview with DL News. “This feels like madness, but at the same time, this feels like the end result.”

The end result is Solana’s second mobile phone, called Chapter 2, set to release in early 2025. With a $500 price tag for preorders, Solana has already secured more than 130,000 preorders, totaling $65 million.

A Bold Bet

This ambitious move is significant for the four-year-old blockchain network, given the heavily regulated mobile phone industry, which is dominated by giants like Apple and Samsung.

Why would Solana, a major player in decentralized finance (DeFi) with a token market cap of $82 billion and a leading brand in crypto, venture into hardware manufacturing?

“It’s a tough, tough ask,” said Chris Lewis, an independent telecoms analyst with over 40 years of experience, in an interview with DL News.

The answer lies in control. Solana aims to free crypto from desktop reliance and the restrictive app platforms of Apple and Google. These Silicon Valley giants have long hindered crypto-friendly mobile developers with high fees and app bans.

In today’s world, where investing, shopping, and banking are increasingly mobile, crypto is still struggling to establish a presence. “We’re used to everyone bringing a laptop to dinner, so you don’t miss a drop or a claim,” said Emmett Hollyer, head of business development and operations at Solana Labs.

Overcoming Past Challenges

Solana isn’t the first to challenge the incumbents. Over the past decade, numerous bespoke crypto phones have entered the market, but none have achieved significant success. Last year, Solana introduced the Android-powered Solana Saga, selling about 20,000 of the $600 handsets, far short of the 50,000 unit goal. In contrast, Apple shipped over 80 million iPhones in the fourth quarter alone.

Despite past setbacks, Solana is betting big on the Chapter 2, hoping to carve out a substantial niche in the mobile market and provide a seamless blockchain experience for its users.

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On Wednesday, the U.S. securities regulator urged lawmakers to reject a proposed bill designed to establish a new legal framework for digital currencies, warning it could undermine existing legal precedents and place capital markets at “immeasurable risk.”

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to consider the Republican-sponsored Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which aims to clarify the jurisdiction of various agencies over digital assets. Proponents of the bill argue that it will provide regulatory clarity, thereby fostering industry growth.

Despite its uncertain future in the U.S. Senate, the legislation comes at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve applications for spot ether exchange-traded funds, marking a surprising boost for the crypto industry.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler expressed strong opposition to the bill, stating that it “would create new regulatory gaps and undermine decades of precedent regarding the oversight of investment contracts, putting investors and capital markets at immeasurable risk.”

The bill has garnered support from crypto advocates and industry groups, who view Gensler’s SEC as a barrier to broader digital asset adoption. Gensler, however, has consistently argued that cryptocurrencies should be regulated under the same laws as other assets, citing numerous high-profile prosecutions, fraud cases, bankruptcies, and failures within the sector.

In his statement on Wednesday, Gensler highlighted that under the proposed bill, investment contracts recorded on a blockchain would no longer be classified as securities, thereby stripping investors of protections afforded by securities laws. Additionally, he criticized the provision allowing issuers of crypto investment contracts to self-certify their products as digital commodities not subject to SEC oversight, giving the agency only 60 days to challenge such certifications.

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AI-generated content poses a significant online disinformation threat, but blockchain technology can help verify and authenticate the truth, according to William Ogden Moore, Research Analyst at Grayscale Investments.

As AI integrates more into daily life, its impact on sectors like finance has been profound, facilitating smarter investments and market analysis. However, the rise of generative AI has also introduced risks, notably the creation of “deepfakes.” These highly realistic digital forgeries use AI to manipulate or generate visual and audio content, such as the deepfake video of Barack Obama created by comedian Jordan Peele to highlight the technology’s potential dangers.

The prevalence of deepfakes is increasing rapidly. A report by Sumsub Research noted that between 2022 and the first half of 2023, deepfakes as a proportion of content in the U.S. surged from 0.2% to 2.6%. Experts warn that deepfakes could sway public opinion and influence events like elections, posing a threat to democracies worldwide.

Public blockchains like Ethereum offer a potential solution. Their transparency, decentralized nature, and focus on network security and immutability make them well-suited to verify content authenticity. Public blockchains record information transparently and accessibly, allowing anyone to verify its validity, such as the creator or timestamp. This decentralized structure reduces the risk of manipulation and ensures tamper-resistant records.

Blockchain technology has already proven its ability to authenticate content, as seen with digital art in the form of non-fungible tokens. Blockchain can similarly authenticate videos, images, and text, laying the foundation for tools to combat deepfakes, such as OpenAI’s Worldcoin, Irys, and Numbers Protocol.

With AI-generated content expected to dominate the internet in the future, protecting against deepfakes is critical. Public blockchains, operated collectively by users, offer promising features to address these challenges. However, the technology is still in its early stages, and widespread adoption remains a challenge.

To uphold truth and transparency, society must remain committed to developing and implementing blockchain solutions as we navigate the risks posed by emerging technologies.

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