by Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Today in crypto, Elon Musk sold social media platform X to his AI startup, two US federal agencies eased restrictions on companies engaging in crypto-related activities, including derivatives. Meanwhile, NFT sales plunged 63% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025.
Elon Musk’s sale of X to xAI just made fraud lawsuit a ‘lot spicer’
Billionaire investor Elon Musk has sold his social media platform X to his AI startup xAI, sparking controversy as it coincides with a US judge rejecting his bid to dismiss a lawsuit tied to the social media platform.
The transfer of ownership of X to xAI on March 28 means that the class-action lawsuit against Musk — accusing him of defrauding former Twitter shareholders by delaying the disclosure of his initial investment in the social media platform — has become “a whole lot spicer,” Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran said in a March 28 X post.
On the same day that Musk said “xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction,” a US judge reportedly rejected Musk’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Cochran said it has “opened up his AI entity to exposure here too, and it’s a much bigger pie.”
Musk said the deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, factoring in $12 billion in debt from the $45 billion valuation. He originally bought X, formerly Twitter, for around $44 billion in April 2022.
US regulators FDIC and CFTC ease crypto restrictions for banks, derivatives
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said in a March 28 letter that institutions under its oversight, including banks,
can now engage in crypto-related activities without prior approval. The announcement comes as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that digital asset derivatives wouldn’t be treated differently than any other derivatives.
The FDIC letter rescinds a previous instruction under former US President Joe Biden’s administration that required institutions to notify the agency before engaging in crypto-related activities. According to the FDIC’s definition:
”Crypto-related activities include, but are not limited to, acting as crypto-asset custodians; maintaining stablecoin reserves; issuing crypto and other digital assets; acting as market makers or exchange or redemption agents;
participating in blockchain- and distributed ledger-based settlement or payment systems, including performing node functions; as well as related activities such as finder activities and lending.”
FDIC-supervised institutions should consider associated risks when engaging in crypto-related activities, it said. These risks include market and liquidity risks, operational and cybersecurity risks, consumer protection requirements, and Anti-Money Laundering requirements.
NFT sales plunge 63% in Q1, but Pudgy Penguins, Doodles buck trend
Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, plunging 63% year-over-year. Still, a few standout collections defied the downturn and posted gains.
NFTs recorded $1.5 billion in total sales from January to March 2025, down from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2024, according to data from aggregator CryptoSlam. March accounted for the steepest decline, with sales falling 76% to $373 million compared with $1.6 billion last year.
Despite the slowdown, collections including Doodles, Milady Maker and Pudgy Penguins outperformed expectations, showing strength amid the downturn.
Among the largest NFT collections, CryptoPunks recorded $60 million in Q1 2025 sales, down 47% from $114 million in the first quarter of 2024.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) had an even bigger drop of 61%. The monkey-themed NFT collection had a sales volume of only $29.8 million in Q1 2025, down from $78 million in Q1 2024.
