Welcome to The Daily Crypto Briefing! In today's rapidly evolving crypto landscape, we're witnessing a significant market shift as Bitcoin and gold rally while traditional equities stumble. Meanwhile, Solana achieves a milestone against Ethereum, the SEC prepares for a flood of ETF applications, and controversy surrounds Zora's upcoming token launch. Let's dive into these developments shaping the digital asset world today. First, let's look at what we'll cover: - The current market dynamics showing Bitcoin's strength amid equity weakness - Solana's remarkable staking milestone versus Ethereum - The regulatory landscape as new SEC Chair Paul Atkins faces dozens of crypto ETF filings - Zora's airdrop controversy and alleged insider trading - An update on the Lazarus Group hack funds Bitcoin and gold are demonstrating their appeal as alternative stores of value, with BTC gaining 2.4% and gold up 3% while the S&P 500 has dropped over 3% in just 24 hours. This divergence highlights crypto's evolving role during traditional market uncertainty. In a significant development, Solana briefly surpassed Ethereum in total staking market cap, reaching $53.9 billion with over 500,000 wallet holders participating. This milestone was largely driven by SOL's impressive price performance against ETH, surging tenfold since mid-2023. However, analysts point out that Solana's attractive 8.31% staking yield may actually be cannibalizing its own DeFi ecosystem. Ethereum still maintains dominance in DeFi with $50 billion in TVL compared to Solana's $8.85 billion, and vastly outpaces Solana with 1.06 million active validators versus just 1,243 for SOL. On the regulatory front, incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins faces more than 70 crypto ETF applications, including proposals for Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and even meme tokens. Analysts expect 2025 could bring the broadest ETF approvals yet, following last year's Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF approvals. This regulatory shift reflects growing demand from asset managers seeking broader Wall Street exposure to digital assets under a potentially more crypto-friendly SEC. Meanwhile, Coinbase-backed social platform Zora has announced its token launch for April 23rd, following intense speculation. The airdrop will be based on two historical snapshots of user activity dating back to January 2020. However, the launch faces controversy as critics allege insider wallets profited from advance knowledge before public announcements, with one early buyer reportedly making over $600,000. Lastly, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou revealed that over two-thirds of the $1.4 billion stolen by North Korea's Lazarus Group remains traceable despite sophisticated laundering attempts. According to a new report, 68.6% of the stolen 500,000 ETH is still visible on-chain, while nearly 28% has "gone dark" and 3.8% has been frozen by exchanges. As we wrap up today's briefing, the crypto market continues to demonstrate its resilience and evolution. Bitcoin's performance against traditional equities suggests growing maturity as a potential hedge, while Solana's milestone against Ethereum shows the competitive landscape of blockchain ecosystems. Regulatory developments and security concerns remain critical factors shaping the industry's future. We'll continue monitoring these stories as they develop, bringing you the latest insights on The Daily Crypto Briefing. Until tomorrow, stay informed and trade wisely.