Morning News | Based completes $11.5 million Series A financing; USD1 faces organized attacks; Jupiter votes to "reduce JUP net release to zero"
Overview of Important Market Events on February 23整理：ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Wu Jihan responds to Bitdeer liquidating Bitcoin: It does not mean we won't hold in the future
- Voting passes to "reduce JUP net release to zero," Jupuary airdrop will be indefinitely postponed
- Vitalik proposes introducing a transaction simulation mechanism to enhance Ethereum security and user experience
- JPMorgan admits for the first time it closed Trump's account after the Capitol Hill incident
- WLFI: USD1 faced organized attacks, token still maintains 1:1 peg
- Zhao Changpeng: Binance hopes to expand its US business, including seeking a banking license
- Web3 payment app Based completes $11.5 million Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital
What important events happened in the past 24 hours?
According to ChainCatcher, cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com announced on Monday that it has received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to apply for a federally chartered national bank license in the future.
This approval will allow Crypto.com to offer digital asset custody and staking services under a federal regulatory framework.
Data: Strategy increased its holdings by 592 Bitcoins last week
ChainCatcher reports that according to official sources, Strategy increased its holdings by 592 Bitcoins last week, spending $39.8 million, with an average purchase price of $67,286. As of February 22, 2026, Strategy holds a total of 717,722 BTC, with a total cost of approximately $54.56 billion, averaging about $76,020 per coin.
Web3 payment app Based completes $11.5 million Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital
ChainCatcher reports that according to The Block, Based, a Web3 trading and payment application built on Hyperliquid infrastructure, announced the completion of $11.5 million in Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, and Karatage.
Based stated that it has over 100,000 registered users, 30,000 monthly active users, a cumulative trading volume of approximately $40 billion, and nearly $14 million in cumulative revenue. The company plans to expand its AI-driven "agentic commerce" business and enter the North American market. This round of financing began in the fourth quarter of 2025 and ended last week, structured as equity investment plus token warrants.
Zhao Changpeng: Binance hopes to expand its US business, including seeking a banking license
ChainCatcher reports that Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) stated during an interview with Bloomberg at the World Liberty Financial Forum, "Binance wants to do more business in the US and hopes to bring excellent products to the US, making it easier for American consumers to access these quality products."
CZ revealed in the interview that after the SEC lawsuit was filed against Binance.US in 2023, the company lost a significant number of banking channels and market share, facing numerous obstacles. However, the lawsuit was dismissed last year under the leadership of SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, appointed by Trump. With a friendlier regulatory environment emerging, options that were once out of reach, including deeper banking relationships and even seeking a banking license, are now "entirely possible," but he emphasized that any such moves would depend on having the right team and legal guidance.
Eric Trump retweets WLFI-related tweets again, seemingly responding to community doubts
ChainCatcher reports that Eric Trump retweeted WLFI-related tweets on X again, seemingly in response to community doubts.
Previously, on-chain detective ZachXBT claimed that a significant investigation report targeting a highly profitable company in the crypto industry would be released on February 26, leading to a brief drop in WLFI and USD1 temporarily losing its peg.
WLFI: USD1 faced organized attacks, token still maintains 1:1 peg
ChainCatcher reports that WLFI issued a statement saying that USD1 faced an organized attack on the morning of the announcement. The announcement pointed out that relevant individuals hacked multiple WLFI co-founders' accounts and spread negative information through channels while establishing a large number of short positions on WLFI.
WLFI stated that USD1 relies on a 1:1 asset-backed and minting and redemption mechanism, and currently still maintains equal trading with the pegged asset. The team emphasized that they will continue to advance their established plans and advise users to rely on information from officially certified channels.
Wu Jihan responds to Bitdeer liquidating Bitcoin: It does not mean we won't hold in the future
ChainCatcher reports that Wu Jihan posted on X in response to the "Bitdeer liquidating Bitcoin" matter, stating, "Having a holding of 0 now does not mean it will always be this way in the future. Thank you for your attention."
ChainCatcher reports that according to official sources, Wu Jihan's Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer (BTDR) stated on X, "Our decision to sell Bitcoin should not cause concern in the entire market.
Bitdeer is currently assessing multiple non-binding land acquisition opportunities, and therefore believes that preparing liquidity in advance is a wise move. Bitdeer's hash rate will continue to grow, and it will continue to mine more Bitcoin to protect shareholder interests."
Arthur Hayes reveals current investment portfolio, holding crypto assets BTC, ETH, ZEC, HYPE
ChainCatcher reports that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes shared his current investment portfolio on social media, including stocks (gold, silver, copper, uranium miners, oil giants, "war merchants," Latin American energy companies), crypto assets (BTC, ETH, ZEC, HYPE), and physical gold.
BlackRock, Citadel, and other traditional financial giants successively buy DeFi governance tokens, possibly to secure infrastructure usage rights
ChainCatcher reports that according to The Block, earlier this month, BlackRock, Citadel Securities, and Apollo Global Management successively disclosed their plans to purchase DeFi governance tokens. BlackRock tokenized its treasury bond fund BUIDL on-chain through UniswapX and bought UNI tokens; Citadel Securities supported the launch of LayerZero's "Zero" blockchain and acquired ZRO tokens; Apollo or its affiliates reached an agreement with Morpho to acquire up to 90 million MORPHO tokens over 48 months, accounting for about 9% of the total supply.
Several investors told The Block that the motivation behind these institutions buying governance tokens is not to allocate them as part of their investment portfolio but to secure infrastructure usage rights.
In terms of future predictions, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan have been mentioned by multiple investors as the next potential entrants, with a focus on blue-chip projects related to stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and trading infrastructure.
Voting passes to "reduce JUP net release to zero," Jupuary airdrop will be indefinitely postponed
ChainCatcher reports that the voting on Jupiter's proposal to "reduce future token net releases to zero" officially ended today at 19:00, with the community passing the proposal with a 75% support rate.
Previously, Jupiter initiated a new proposal to reduce JUP net releases to zero for the foreseeable future, mainly targeting the three major sources of JUP releases at present ------ Jupuary airdrop, team share unlock, and Mercurial quota unlock. The specifics are as follows:
First, indefinitely postpone the Jupuary airdrop, returning all 700 million JUP to the community multi-signature cold wallet for future use. The usage amount and staking snapshot at the current time will be retained. When the market environment, token status, and market sentiment are more suitable, this matter will be re-discussed with the DAO.
Second, indefinitely suspend the release of tokens to team members. As an alternative, team members will receive JUP in the form of Jupiter's balance sheet debt; if any member wishes to sell their allocated tokens, they will be directly bought by Jupiter's balance sheet. This move will further strengthen JUP reserves while demonstrating the team's commitment to the future of the JUP token.
Third, fully hedge against selling pressure from Mercurial stakeholders, accelerating its unlocking process, and purchasing an equivalent amount of tokens through Jupiter's own balance sheet to absorb any impact from potential token sales.
Ethereum's market cap drops to 89th among global mainstream assets
ChainCatcher reports that according to 8 Market data, as Ethereum falls below $1,900, its market cap has now dropped to $225.6 billion, below Siemens (market cap $227.14 billion), ranking 89th among global mainstream assets.
Vitalik proposes introducing a transaction simulation mechanism to enhance Ethereum security and user experience
ChainCatcher reports that according to Cointelegraph, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on X on Sunday, suggesting that mechanisms such as "transaction simulation" be introduced to improve the security and user experience of Ethereum wallets and smart contracts.
Vitalik believes that security and user experience are not independent fields; both revolve around user intent, with the core being to ensure that the operations executed by the protocol align with user expectations. His proposed "intent security" plan includes: allowing users to view the simulated results of an operation before executing it on-chain, and then choosing to confirm or cancel; additionally, introducing spending limits and multi-signature approval mechanisms, allowing execution only when user intent, expected results, and risk limits align, thereby lowering the threshold for low-risk operations while increasing the difficulty of executing risky operations.
Vitalik also pointed out that defining user intent itself is extremely complex, which is the fundamental reason why there is no perfect security solution; it is not due to flaws in machines or designers, but because user intent itself is a complex object that users themselves find difficult to grasp clearly. He stated that the common feature of excellent security solutions is allowing users to express intent in multiple mutually corroborating ways, and the system only executes operations when these expressions are consistent.
Missouri's Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund Bill HB2080 enters the House Business Committee review stage
ChainCatcher reports that according to Cointelegraph, Missouri's Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund Bill HB2080 has now been submitted to the state House Business Committee for review. If passed, the state treasurer will be allowed to receive, invest, and hold Bitcoin under certain circumstances.
JPMorgan admits for the first time it closed Trump's account after the Capitol Hill incident
ChainCatcher reports that according to Cointelegraph, Dan Wilkening, former CEO of JPMorgan, the largest bank in the US, admitted in court documents that the bank decided in February 2021 to close business and private banking accounts related to Trump, marking JPMorgan's first formal acknowledgment of "de-banking" Trump.
Trump filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan at the end of January this year, accusing the bank of illegally terminating his accounts for political reasons, placing him and his family on a reputational "blacklist," and seeking $5 billion in damages. His legal team characterized the acknowledgment as a "devastating concession." JPMorgan spokesperson Trish Wexler responded that the bank's decision to close accounts was based on legal or regulatory risks, not political or religious reasons.
Trump's son Eric Trump has repeatedly stated that it was due to "de-banking" that the family fully turned to the crypto space. He revealed that Capital One had closed all 300 of their bank accounts overnight, and this experience directly prompted him to lead the establishment of the Trump family's crypto platform, World Liberty Financial.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of February 24, 09:00,
The top five popular tokens in ETH over the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, ONDO
The top five popular tokens in Solana over the past 24 hours are: USELESS, PENGUIN, Punch, WhiteWhale, CHILLHOUSE
The top five popular tokens in Base over the past 24 hours are: PEPE, B3, SKYA, TOSHI, toby
What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?
Web3 incentive mechanisms are at a singular moment of returning from "traffic illusion" to "value essence." Over the past few years, the Odyssey model has undergone a baptism from peak to bottleneck, revealing that simple pattern replication can no longer create ripples in the information-overloaded on-chain world.
This summer, the world's largest derivatives trading market, CME Group, will launch individual stock futures, allowing users to trade futures on over 50 top US stocks, including Alphabet, NVIDIA, Tesla, and Meta.
These reconstructions demonstrate the changing ways people participate in finance. In recent years, nothing illustrates this better than the explosion of the perpetual markets.
2028 Global Intelligence Crisis: A Financial Historical Thought Experiment from the Future
If our bullish expectations for AI continue to materialize… but what if this is actually a bearish signal?
The following describes a hypothetical scenario rather than an accurate prediction. This is not intended to incite panic or to serve as a fan fiction for AI doomsayers. The sole purpose of this article is to model a relatively underexplored scenario. Our friend Alap Shah raised this question, and we collaboratively conceived the answer. We wrote this part, while he wrote the other two parts.
We hope that after reading this article, when AI makes the economy increasingly bizarre, you will be better prepared for potential left-tail risks.
Below is a macro memo released by CitriniResearch in June 2028, detailing the evolution and aftermath of the "global intelligence crisis."
Risk warning
