Ethereum Fees Drop to 5-Year Low
Amid a lull in on-chain activity, the average transaction fee on the Ethereum network, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has dropped to levels not seen since May 2020. Analysts point out that such low values have historically often heralded price growth. This may mean that current conditions create a more favorable moment to enter the market — the risk of buying cryptocurrency is lower than usual. Currently, transaction fees on the Ethereum network are at a minimum of about $0.01.
Tether Becomes Largest Crypto Lender
Tether, Galaxy, and Ledn control 88.6% of the centralized segment of the digital lending market, according to Galaxy Digital. At the end of 2024, the market was valued at $36.5 billion, down 43% from its all-time high of $64.4 billion in 2021. The calculation also includes CDPs and stablecoins such as DAI. Analysts attribute the decline in the overall figure over the past four years to an outflow of lenders and weakening demand for loans from both institutional and retail participants.
Tether entered the sector after the collapse of major players such as BlockFi, Celsius Network, and Genesis Global Capital, which suffered in 2022 due to the collapse of the crypto market and failures in risk management. By the end of that year, Tether's share of the CeFi segment had grown to approximately 70%, up from less than 20% in the second quarter of 2021.
AWS Technical Glitch Temporarily Freezes Binance and KuCoin Operations
On Monday, a technical failure in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure temporarily paralyzed the work of major crypto exchanges, including Binance and KuCoin. The problems with cloud services disrupted the functioning of trading platforms and suspended withdrawals, causing concern among traders and highlighting the dependence of centralized crypto exchanges on the stability of external IT infrastructure.
Binance, the largest exchange by trading volume, was forced to suspend operations due to network failures in AWS data centers, which led to the shutdown of key systems. In an official statement on X (former Twitter), the exchange noted that "all services are gradually being restored," although some functions may still work with delays. The KuCoin platform was similarly affected, later stating that all operations were fully restored. Both companies emphasized that neither user funds nor security systems were affected. Trading and withdrawals on Binance and KuCoin are currently functioning normally.
Ethereum Roadmap Simplified
Ethereum's simplified roadmap focuses on scaling via blobs and improving L1 efficiency, according to Ethereum Foundation co-CEO Tomasz Stanczak. According to him, the network will continue to issue tokens on the first layer, support the development of stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA), and strengthen security and communication. Long-term goals include integrating AI agents, launching autonomous machines, developing private interactions, and creating an open-source system.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, responding to criticism, noted that updates can be implemented faster due to the willingness of developers to speed up the pace of hard forks. He also highlighted the upcoming Pectra and Glamsterdam upgrades, the latter of which provides for priority changes, including increasing the gas limit. According to him, if the work is completed earlier, the updates will be implemented before the official launch.
Tether Joins OCEAN Mining Pool
Tether will connect its current and future Bitcoin hashrate to the OCEAN mining pool, created by Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dash Jr. The pool uses the open DATUM protocol, which allows miners to form blocks themselves and reduce their reliance on centralized intermediaries.
Tether will implement DATUM gateways at all of its mining sites, including its African facilities. According to the company's vice president of mining, Giv Zanganeh, the protocol's architecture ensures stable operation even on weak internet, expanding the reach and resilience of the Bitcoin infrastructure.
Dash Jr., known for criticizing Ordinals and BRC-20, gave OCEAN users the choice of whether to include such transactions in blocks. As part of a restructuring in 2024, Tether spun off a new division, Tether Power, focused on sustainable mining and energy.
BASE Under Fire After Meme Token Crash
L2 network Base has faced criticism after the collapse of the "Base is for everyone" token launched via the social network Zora, which turns posts into crypto assets. On March 16, Base posted the message "Base for everyone" and later backed the token in X. The coin quickly gained popularity, its capitalization reached $ 17 million, but then fell by 95%.
Users accused Base of a "Pump & Dump" scheme. According to the head of AP Collective, large players controlled 47% of the supply, which caused the collapse. He noted that the participation of a network associated with Coinbase undermined the community's trust.
Lookonchain identified three wallets that purchased the token before public support - their profit was about $ 666,000. Base stated that the token was created automatically on the Zora platform and has no relation to the company itself. The description of the coin emphasized the high degree of risk and the lack of ties to Base or Coinbase. Despite the fall, the asset's capitalization has almost recovered and is $15.4 million. The price is $0.0153 (-5.8% per day).
