The Ukrainian government has teased cryptocurrency donors with news of an incoming airdrop, leading to an influx of microdonations on the Ethereum blockchain from users looking to participate in the distribution.

Investment brokerage firm Charles Schwab has filed to create a “Crypto Economy ETF,” an exchange-traded fund which aims  to “track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index that is designed to deliver global exposure to companies that may benefit from the development or utilization of cryptocurrencies.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating the non-fungible token (NFT) market to determine whether NFTs have been used to raise funds like traditional securities.

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ukraine’s Upcoming Airdrop Triggers Micro-Donation Influx
• Charles Schwab Files to Launch ‘Crypto Economy ETF’
• U.S. SEC Investigating NFT Market Over Potential Securities Violations
• How to Stake Solana
• CCDAS Summit - Get 10% Off for Being a Loyal Reader

Ukraine’s Upcoming Airdrop Triggers Micro-Donation Influx

The Ukrainian government has teased cryptocurrency donors with news of an incoming airdrop, leading to an influx of microdonations on the Ethereum blockchain from users looking to participate in the distribution.

The country’s official Twitter account has “confirmed” it’s moving forward with an airdrop, with a snapshot being taken today, March 3, at 6 pm Kyiv time (UTC +2).

Ukraine’s tweet led to thousands of donations ranging from 0.0001 ETH to 0.01 ETH (between $0.30 and $30) to its official Ethereum wallet. The country has so far raked in $40 million in cryptocurrency donations after accepting the nascent asset class on February 26.

The number of unique wallets that donated to Ukraine exploded shortly after it announced an airdrop was “confirmed,” suggesting users are trying to game the airdrop via a Sybil attack on the country’s Ethereum wallet. Such an attack involves making small donations from multiple wallets in a bid to get a larger share of the airdrop.

What Ukraine will be airdropping is still unclear. Ethereum blockchain data shows that 7 billion Peaceful World (WORLD) tokens were minted on March 2 at 10:15pm UTC and sent to Ukraine’s official cryptocurrency donation wallet address, although whether they’ll be airdropped by Ukraine or were airdropped to Ukraine is unclear.

Ukraine’s wallet has since sent nearly 1 million of these tokens to a wallet that used them to seed a liquidity pool on decentralized exchange Uniswap. The country’s official wallet has sent 1.03 Peaceful World tokens to the 30 wallet addresses that first sent cryptocurrency funds to its official wallet.

Charles Schwab Files to Launch ‘Crypto Economy ETF’

Investment brokerage firm Charles Schwab has filed to create a “Crypto Economy ETF,” an exchange-traded fund which aims  to “track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index that is designed to deliver global exposure to companies that may benefit from the development or utilization of cryptocurrencies.”

These cryptocurrencies, according to the filing, include bitcoin and “other digital assets,” and the business activities connected to “blockchain and other distributed ledger technology.” If approved the ETF would trade on the NYSE Arca exchange.

The fund is not looking to invest in cryptocurrencies directly, nor will it invest in initial coin offerings. It may, the filing adds, have “ indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies by virtue of its investments in companies that use one or more digital assets as part of their business activities or that hold digital assets as proprietary investments.”

U.S. SEC Investigating NFT Market Over Potential Securities Violations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating the non-fungible token (NFT) market to determine whether NFTs have been used to raise funds like traditional securities.

Over the last few months, attorneys in the SEC’s enforcement unit have sent subpoenas demanding information on token offerings. The regulator is seeking information on fractional NFTs, which involve breaking down assets into units that can be easily bought and sold.

Data from Chainalysis has shown about $4 billion worth of cryptoassets was sent to smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain tied to NFTs last year, up from $106 million the year before. The explosion in the market has seen NFT marketplaces remove projects that might put them in regulators’ crosshairs, such as those offering royalties.

It’s currently unclear whether digital assets including NFTs are securities and therefore subject to the same rules as stocks. While the SEC has said many tokens fall under this category, it still applies the Howey test, which comes from a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision, to determine i something is a security.

How to Stake Solana

Solana (SOL) is a decentralized, web-scale blockchain that aims to become “an open, fair, censorship-resistant global marketplace.” It has been dubbed an ‘Ethereum killer’ by various sources due to its scalability which allows it to process up to 50,000 TPS.

The Solana network uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism that relies on validators to secure the blockchain. A validator is similar to a Bitcoin or Ethereum miner as they are responsible for processing incoming transactions and can vote to decide on which blocks are appended to the blockchain. Validators play a key role in maintaining and securing the Solana network.

On the Solana blockchain, not all votes are weighted equally. The more Solana you have staked, the more valuable your vote is. Validators with less stake have less weight in determining a vote outcome, and validators with no stake cannot influence the outcome of a vote at all.

In decentralized networks like Solana, anyone can become a validator if they desire. Naturally, some bad actors will try to take advantage of this system by running a validator to manipulate the network for their own benefit - e.g. submitting fraudulent or incorrect transactions.

Find out how to stake Solana using our guide below.

CCDAS Summit - Get 10% Off for Being a Loyal Reader

CryptoCompare's Digital Asset Summit is returning on 30th March at Old Billingsgate, London. As Europe's flagship institutional summit for digital assets, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with key industry decision-makers and leading names in finance who are adopting and embracing the digital asset revolution.

Time is running out to secure your place at The CryptoCompare Digital Asset Summit! CryptoCompare readers can save 10%  today with code NEWSLETTER10. You can find more information here

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