Trump meme coin surge, Solana hits new ATH, Ethereum leadership changes | Weekly Recap

Today’s edition of the weekly recap spotlights the rise of Trump’s meme coin, major changes at Ethereum, MoonPay’s $175 million Helio acquisition, and Tether’s new El Salvador headquarters. Also, Nova Labs finds itself in the SEC’s crosshairs.

Trump meme coin sets new records

• Official Trump (TRUMP), Donald Trump’s official Solana-based meme coin, surged in value from Saturday to Sunday, reaching a peak of $73.43 before settling at $60.
• Stephen Findeisen, also known as Coffeezilla on YouTube, called the coin’s debut “a historic grift.”
• The launch comes as Trump prepares to establish cryptocurrency as a national policy priority through an executive order once he’s inaugurated on Monday, Jan. 20.

Solana’s record-breaking performance

• The blockchain hosting the Trump meme coin experienced its own success, with Solana (SOL) reaching an all-time high near $293.
• SOL showed DEX protocols handled $19.47 billion in volume, up from $19.37 billion the previous day. The previous daily record was $7.5 billion in November last year.
• The coin is $271.40 at the time of writing, with a 24-hour trading volume of $29 billion. This represents a 7.21% price increase in the last 24 hours and a 44% price increase in the past seven days.

SEC vs. Nova Labs

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Helium creator Nova Labs with unregistered securities offerings and fraud, alleging the company sold investment contracts through Hotspots and a Discovery Mapping Program, promising returns from building a wireless network.
• Nova Labs claimed major companies like Nestlé and Lime were using its network, but these relationships were allegedly false, prompting cease-and-desist letters from the companies.
• The SEC says these misrepresentations influenced investors and violated securities laws, seeking penalties, disgorgement of profits, and injunctions as part of its broader crackdown on crypto firms violating regulations. Helium founder Amir Haleem clapped back at the lawsuit via social media.

Ethereum Foundation’s strategic restructuring

• Vitalik Buterin announced fundamental changes to the Ethereum (ETH) Foundation’s leadership while maintaining its core mission.
• The co-founder shared specific objectives for improvement, including better technical expertise in leadership roles and better communication with the developer community.
• Notably, Buterin firmly rejected calls for increased regulatory lobbying, emphasizing Ethereum’s commitment to remaining a neutral global platform.

MoonPay acquires Helio for $175 million

• MoonPay secured a deal by acquiring Helio, a Solana-powered crypto payment processor, for $175 million.
• The Miami-based company aims to use Helio’s technology to advance its trading and marketplace infrastructure. 

Tether establishes first physical headquarters in El Salvador

• Stablecoin issuer Tether announced an operational shift by establishing its first brick-and-mortar headquarters in El Salvador.
• After securing necessary licensing as a stablecoin issuer in the country, the company will relocate its incorporated subsidiaries from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to El Salvador.
• The company confirmed it will maintain its existing presence in the Swiss crypto hub of Lugano.  

Regulatory and legal developments

• South Korea’s financial regulator imposed penalties on Upbit for anti-money laundering violations, potentially restricting new customer business for up to six months.
• The Financial Intelligence Unit’s notification requires the exchange’s response by Monday.

DCG and Genesis Settlement with SEC

• Digital Currency Group and former Genesis CEO Soichoro Moro reached a $38.5 million settlement with the SEC over securities fraud charges.
• DCG will pay $30 million, while Moro faces a $500,000 penalty. Neither party admitted wrongdoing, and Moro continues his role as chief strategy officer at INX.

WazirX makes progress in recovering stolen assets

• WazirX made progress in recovering assets from last year’s $230 million security breach, successfully freezing $3 million in USDT.
• The exchange plans to resume trading operations by February as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. 

Exchange and platform updates

• Crypto.com advanced toward full European operations after receiving in principle approval for an EU MiCA license from Malta’s Financial Services Authority.