Trump-Linked MOVE Purchase Raises Eyebrows as DOGE News Leaks

Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial scooped up MOVE, the native digital token of the Movement blockchain, minutes before a report that the project

Happy hump day! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.

In today’s edition:

🔥 Trump-linked MOVE purchase raises eyebrows

👊 AI16z to rebrand after push from a16z

🚨 Aerodrome suspends two over VVV trades

🏛️ Utah moves closer to Bitcoin reserve

📈 Cboe BZX files for Solana ETFs

🐶 More ETF action with Dogecoin fund bid

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What’s Poppin’?

By Sage D. Young and Tikta

Trump’s Crypto Project Buys MOVE as DOGE News Leaks

Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial scooped up MOVE, the native digital token of the Movement blockchain, minutes before a report that the project might be discussing blockchain use with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, a development that drove its price around 20% higher on Tuesday.

Blockchain data showed that a crypto wallet address linked to Trump’s decentralized finance project bought about $2 million of the tokens as the price was climbing.

The timing prompted some commenters on social media to wonder aloud whether the transaction was a case of “inside buying.”

Ai16z to Rebrand After Request From VC Firm a16z

Decentralized autonomous organization AI16z, which integrates artificial intelligence into treasury management and investment, will change its name following a request from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z.

A16z Crypto managing partner Chris Dixon revealed the request in the latest episode of Unchained.

“We were not connected with AI16z,” Dixon said. “I believe they are in the process of changing [their name]. We’ve asked them to. It just was creating a little bit of confusion.”

A spokesperson for a16z confirmed by email that by “we,” Dixon had meant a16z, not a16z crypto.

Aerodrome Suspends Two Over Alleged VVV Insider Trading

DeFi protocol Aerodrome Finance suspended two contributors over their alleged insider trading of Venice AI’s VVV token at its launch.

Venice AI is a privacy-focused artificial intelligence project created by crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees.

“The timing of a small percentage of the trading activity around the VVV launch was flagged by internal monitoring in less than 30 minutes — triggering an internal investigation,” the Aerodrome team said on X.

Two contributors identified as a result of that investigation were suspended within three hours of VVV’s launch, Aerodrome said.

The VVV token amassed a fully diluted value of $1.65 billion a little over two hours after launching.

“Really appreciate Aerodrome's transparency on this,” Voorhees said. “They reached out and let us know when they found out. Been great to work with them.”

Utah Moves to Adopt Bitcoin as Strategic Reserve

The Utah House Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, making Utah the second U.S. state to push forward with plans for a BTC strategic reserve after Arizona.

Arizona’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act was passed by its Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 27 and will now move to the Senate Rules Committee for final debate and amendments. Approval by the Senate would send the bill to the House of Representatives.

Utah’s bill is awaiting a Senate vote and, if passed, will allow the state to invest certain public funds in qualifying digital assets. State treasurers will also be authorized to stake and lend those assets under certain conditions.

The move comes on the heels of earlier crypto-related regulatory developments in Utah. In 2019, the state enacted amendments to the Money Transmitter Act, providing specific definitions and regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

That legislation clarified that blockchain tokens are not classified as money transmissions under Utah law, exempting several crypto firms from certain licensing requirements.

Cboe BZX Reapplies for Four Solana ETFs

Cboe BZX Exchange on Tuesday refiled 19b-4 applications for four Solana exchange-traded funds — the VanEck Solana Trust, the Canary Solana Trust, the Bitwise Solana ETF, and the 21Shares Core Solana ETF.

The resubmissions come after previous applications for the ETFs were reportedly rejected by the Gary Gensler-led U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year.

The new applications aim to address the issues that led to the earlier rejections and are part of a broader effort to gain approval for investment vehicles that would provide investors with direct exposure to SOL.

If the SEC acknowledges the filings, it will begin a formal review process, including a public comment period with the filings published in the Federal Register.

Bitwise Files for Dogecoin ETF

Bitwise Asset Management on Tuesday applied to the U.