Welcome to The Daily Crypto Briefing! Good day, crypto enthusiasts and market watchers. I'm your host bringing you the most significant developments in the cryptocurrency world today. As digital assets continue to reshape the financial landscape, we aim to keep you informed with timely insights and analysis that matter to investors, traders, and blockchain enthusiasts alike. Today, we'll cover Bitcoin and gold rallying while equities struggle, Solana's brief flipping of Ethereum in staked value, the incoming SEC chair facing over 70 crypto ETF applications, controversy surrounding Zora's token airdrop, tracking of the Lazarus Group hack funds, and the impressive growth of USDC stablecoin. Let's start with the major market moves. Bitcoin has surged 2.4% while gold gained 3% in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has plummeted over 3% during the same period. This divergence clearly signals a flight to alternative stores of value as traditional markets tumble. Investors appear to be seeking refuge in both digital and physical assets with perceived scarcity during this market turbulence. In a significant milestone, Solana briefly overtook Ethereum in total staking market cap on April 20th, with more than $53.9 billion worth of SOL locked by over 500,000 wallet holders. This flip was largely driven by SOL's impressive price performance against ETH, having surged tenfold since mid-2023. However, analysts note that Solana's 8.31% staking yield may actually be cannibalizing its own DeFi ecosystem. Ethereum still maintains dominance in decentralized finance with over $50 billion in Total Value Locked compared to Solana's $8.85 billion. Ethereum also boasts a massive validator advantage with 1.06 million active validators versus Solana's 1,243. Turning to regulatory developments, incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins will have his hands full with more than 70 crypto ETF applications awaiting review. These proposals include funds tied to Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and even novelty tokens like the Official Melania meme coin. Atkins, who was confirmed earlier this month, is expected to take office shortly and usher in a new era of crypto-focused rulemaking under President Trump's administration. Market observers anticipate that 2025 could bring the broadest ETF approvals yet, building on last year's landmark approval of Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs. Final decisions on XRP and other applications are expected by October, barring any regulatory delays. The crypto community is buzzing about Zora's token airdrop scheduled for April 23rd. The onchain social platform backed by Coinbase has drawn considerable attention, with over 230,000 new traders joining in a single weekend following viral "content coin" mints. However, controversy has emerged as critics allege insider wallets profited from advance knowledge of promotions, with one early buyer reportedly making over $600,000 before public awareness spread. While Coinbase and Base network founder Jesse Pollack have denied coordinating a stealth campaign, some observers claim the project leveraged airdrop hype to boost token liquidity. In cybersecurity news, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has revealed that over two-thirds of the $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea's Lazarus Group remains traceable on-chain. According to Zhou, 68.6% of the stolen 500,000 ETH is still visible, while nearly 28% has "gone dark." Approximately 3.8% of the funds have been frozen through coordination with other exchanges. The February breach stands as the largest crypto hack in history and involved sophisticated use of mixers, bridges, and decentralized protocols. Zhou noted that 432,748 ETH had been converted to Bitcoin and spread across 35,000 wallets, complicating recovery efforts. In the stablecoin sector, Circle's USDC supply has expanded to nearly $61 billion, representing a 38.6% increase since January. This growth outpaces rival Tether's USDT and reflects mounting institutional demand for USDC as Circle pur