The Pyth Universe Expands | Newsletter #52

Welcome to The Pythiad, the official newsletter of the Pyth Network. Ready to hear what’s new? Biweekly updates on all things DeFi await you below. Let’s get started.

What’s New with Pyth

• March was a big month for Pyth Network:
  • The network facilitated over $7.0 billion in TVS and $87.1 billion in trading volume–64% of that volume came from non-Solana chains.
  • To date, the Pyth oracle secures 56 blockchains.
• Q1 is officially over. Here are the major highlights from the official report:
  • The investment banks are joining Pyth, starting with Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital.
  • Pyth’s community growth is unmatched, with a 120% increase since January.
  • New Pyth product for random-number generation: Entropy, which is currently live on Blast, Chiliz Chain, and more.
  • Phase 2 of Pyth’s Retrospective Airdrop is complete.
  • Pyth Governance is running smoothly. Councils are elected. As always, the community awaits your ideas and feedback.

What’s New with DeFi

Regulations

• Coinbase files an interlocutory appeal in its case against the SEC, claiming substantial grounds for differences of opinion.
• Hong Kong could approve spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs as early as Monday.
• JP Morgan analysts believe there is a 50/50 chance that the SEC rejects spot Ethereum ETFs next month.

Technology and Development

• The congestion issues on Solana have resulted in slower transaction processing and higher drop rates, which is why Solana's validator client team, Anza, has released proposed congestion fixes on devnet.
• TON Foundation is partnering with HashKey to drive crypto on-ramping in Telegram.
• Pectra, Ethereum’s up-and-coming upgrade, could include relief for institutional stakers and wallet UX improvements.

Stablecoins

• First Digital is expanding the usage of its stablecoin, FDUSD, among DeFi users. To date, FDUSD has become the fourth-largest stablecoin with a market cap of $3.3 billion.

Ecosystems

• Layer 1 blockchain developer Berachain raises $100 million in Series B funding co-led by Framework Ventures and the Abu Dhabi branch of Brevan Howard Digital. 
• BlackRock Bitcoin ETF continues to rise, crossing $15 billion in total gains.

Exchanges

• Bitkub, the Thai crypto exchange, could be valued as high as $3 billion in its upcoming IPO.
• Kraken, one of the biggest centralized crypto exchange platforms in the world, is planning on delisting $XMR, a popular privacy-focused altcoin in two European nations in the coming months.

Gaming

• Kaidro, the anime RPG, rises on Mavis Market after a successful launch on ronin.
• Nova Frontier X, a new mobile game, is set to launch on April 16th, and will allow players to battle in space with NFT spaceships.

Community Shoutout

This week, we’ve received some amazing artwork by Pythians PapiChuloGrim, Naheed, Zarp, and mailtolemos. Keep up the good work, everyone!

We want to hear your feedback. Join the Pyth Discord and Telegram, and follow Pyth on X and LinkedIn. You can also learn more about Pyth here.