The Daily: Solana’s inflation-cutting proposal fails to pass, Russian oil companies reportedly using crypto to circumvent sanctions and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.It's Friday! Crypto markets remain under pressure from macro headwinds, though the past 24 hours have been relatively quiet, providing a little relief. While some analysts remain confident in another leg higher, others warn that further selling pressure could push bitcoin toward $72,000.In today's newsletter, Solana's key SIMD-228 inflation reduction proposal fails to pass, Russia is reportedly using crypto in its oil trade with China and India to skirt Western sanctions, the Trump family-backed DeFi project World Liberty Financial completes its public token sale and more.Meanwhile, Ethereum developers plan to launch a new "Hoodi" testnet ahead of the blockchain's much-anticipated Pectra upgrade.Let's get started.Solana's inflation-cutting proposal fails to passSolana's SIMD-228 governance proposal, aimed at reducing SOL inflation, failed to pass despite garnering 61.4% of votes in favor, falling short of the 66.67% majority threshold required.The proposal sought to replace Solana's fixed inflation schedule with a dynamic emissions model based on staking participation, potentially lowering inflation below 1% annually.Proponents believed the proposal would increase token scarcity and value, while critics feared it could harm the profitability of smaller stakers and validators.Around 74% of staked SOL participated in the record-breaking SIMD-228 voting process."SIMD-228 was the biggest crypto governance vote ever — by both the number of participants and participating market cap of any ecosystem, chain or network," Tushar Jain, co-author of SIMD-228 and co-founder of Multicoin Capital, wrote on X. "This vote is evidence that the network is thriving and fully decentralized."As things stand, SOL emissions remain unchanged, with inflation currently set at 4.6% annually, decreasing by 15% per year until stabilizing at 1.5%.Russia using crypto in oil trade to skirt Western sanctionsRussia is using crypto in its oil trade with China and India to skirt Western sanctions, Reuters reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.Russian oil companies are using bitcoin and ether via intermediaries to smooth the conversion of yuan and rupees to rubles in trading with the countries, the sources said.The companies are also using stablecoins like USDT, though issuer Tether can freeze funds to comply with regulations, including sanctions evasion.One of the sources familiar with a Russian oil trader's operations said its crypto sales to China are worth tens of millions of dollars per month.WLF concludes $550 million public token saleThe Trump family-backed DeFi project World Liberty Financial has raised $550 million from selling 25% of its 100 billion WLFI supply after completing its public token sale.Following an initial sale of 20 billion WLFI tokens in January, raising $300 million at $0.015 per token, the project opened another 5 billion tokens for sale at a higher price of $0.05 each.This additional sale was completed on Friday, raising $250 million, bringing World Liberty Financial's total funding to $590 million, including private rounds.However, WLF co-founder Zak Folkman said 63% of the total supply would be sold to the public, suggesting that more token sales may take place in the future.BlackRock's BUIDL first onchain fund to cross $1 billionBlackRock's BUIDL surpassed $1 billion in assets under management on Thursday, becoming the first tokenized fund to cross the milestone.Launched in March 2024, BUIDL is pegged to the U.S. dollar and offers daily yields through a basket of short-term U.S. Treasuries, operating like a revenue-earning alternative to stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.BUIDL has captured about a quarter of the $4.2 billion tokenized Treasury market, surpassing competitors like Franklin Templeton's BENJI and Hashnote's USYC.BUIDL was launched on Ethereum and has since been deployed on Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism and Polygon, using the Wormhole bridge for cross-chain swaps.Treasury pressured to halt Trump's bitcoin reserve planTop Democrat of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Rep. Gerald Connolly pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt President Trump's plan for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, citing conflicts of interest tied to his crypto ventures.In a letter to Bessent on Thursday, Connolly said Trump did not consult Congress nor "seek congressional authorization" before pushing for the reserve, which he argued could benefit Trump and his allies at taxpayer expense.In his March 6 executive order, Trump directed Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin for the reserve beyond those already seized by the government, provided they have no incremental costs to American taxpayers.Looking ahead to next weekEurozone CPI inflation data are due Wednesday, alongside the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision. The Bank of England's rate decision and U.S. jobless claims figures follow on Thursday.The U.S. FOMC is holding a press conference on Wednesday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak on Thursday. FOMC member John Williams speaks on Friday.Startknet, Sei, Arbitrum and ApeCoin are set for token unlocks during the next seven days.Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5/4 and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.