The Daily: Bitcoin ETFs post largest inflows in six weeks, Solana retracts ad amid crypto community backlash and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! While a dovish surprise from the Fed tomorrow could provide a short-term boost, bitcoin will likely continue consolidating in the absence of clear catalysts, 21Shares Crypto Research Strategist Matt Mena told The Block. 

In today's newsletter, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs register their largest daily net inflows in six weeks, Solana retracts a controversial ad following a community backlash, Cronos is set to reissue 70 billion previously burned CRO tokens and more.

Meanwhile, GLIF protocol launched its governance token, distributing 94 million GLF in an airdrop, as it seeks to expand beyond Filecoin.

Let's get started.

Bitcoin ETFs post largest daily inflows in six weeks

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $274.6 million worth of net inflows on Monday to post the largest daily figure in six weeks .

• Since the last time they witnessed daily inflows of more than $100 million on Feb. 4, five consecutive weeks of net outflows have drained over $5 billion from the Bitcoin ETFs, with their cumulative all-time net inflows reduced to $35.9 billion.
• "This shift suggests growing confidence, driven by bitcoin's price stabilization and renewed institutional interest," BTC Markets crypto analyst Rachael Lucas said.
• Quarter-end institutional portfolio rebalancing and rising demand for lower-fee ETFs also contributed to the positive flows, she added.
• Fidelity's FBTC led the inflows with $127.3 million, followed by Ark Invest's ARKB with $88.5 million and BlackRock's IBIT with $42.3 million.
• Grayscale's BTC and Bitwise's BITB also logged net inflows, with no funds experiencing net outflows on Monday.

Solana retracts ad amid crypto community backlash

Solana removed a video ad designed to promote its upcoming Accelerate conference within hours of posting it to social media on Monday after facing backlash from the crypto community, though copies continue to circulate on X.

• The video featured content deemed insensitive toward gender issues, with some claiming that the ad was anti-queer.
• It depicted an individual named "America" undergoing therapy for "rational thinking syndrome," suggesting they wanted to "invent technologies, not genders."
• "If you want to celebrate America, why not keep the message positive instead of dunking on people and making light of serious cultural issues," David McIntyre, COO of DoubleZero and a former director of the Solana Foundation, said.
• The Solana Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

Cronos to reissue 70 billion burned CRO tokens following controversial vote

A governance proposal by Cronos, a Layer 1 blockchain from crypto exchange Crypto.com, to reissue 70 billion CRO tokens previously burned in 2021 , was approved on Monday, returning the total supply from 30 billion to its original cap of 100 billion.

• The newly issued tokens will be placed in a "strategic reserve wallet," subject to a multi-year vesting schedule.
• However, according to the voting data provided on Mintscan, it appears a few large Crypto.com-affiliated validators tipped the vote in favor of approval despite independent validators largely opposing the proposal.
• That sparked criticism and accusations of centralization and manipulation due to a last-minute vote surge.
• The move comes as Crypto.com plans to file an ETF application for CRO, aiming to tap into the growing institutional interest in crypto.

a16z crypto leads $20 million Series A for Halliday

Web3 workflow protocol developer Halliday has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by a16z crypto .

• Avalanche Blizzard Fund, Credibly Neutral, Alt Layer and several angel investors also participated in the round, bringing Halliday's total funding to $26 million.
• Halliday aims to streamline smart contract creation by allowing developers to delegate workflows to autonomous systems.
• With the fresh capital in place, the firm plans to expand its existing team of 17 and continue developing its workflow protocol and Halliday Payments application.

Bernstein says crypto market cycle is 'still in its early stages'

While some have suggested the crypto market has already peaked, analysts at Bernstein argue that the current cycle is "still in its early stages" and has "multiple legs to run further" amid a more crypto-friendly U.S. regulatory backdrop.

• "We expect bitcoin to touch a $200,000 cycle peak towards 2025-end," they said in a note to clients. "If 2025 markets remain jittery on macro and Trump disruption risk, we may see a delay in achieving our bitcoin cycle highs and we may see a potential elongated bitcoin bull cycle into 2026."
• The Bernstein analysts also initiated coverage for Coinbase on Tuesday with an outperform rating, setting a price target of $310 for its stock — 69% to the upside.

In the next 24 hours

• Eurozone CPI inflation data will be released at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision follows at 2 p.m.
• The U.S. FOMC is holding a press conference at 2:30 p.m.
• IOTA and Ethena are set for token unlocks.

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