The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved eight spot Ethereum ETFs, including those from BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark, Invesco Galaxy, and Franklin Templeton.

This approval came through an omnibus order confirming these issuers' acceptance of 19b-4 forms. However, the ETFs can only begin trading after their S-1 registration statements are effective, a process that could take several weeks to a few months, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.

The approval marks a significant and unexpected shift from the SEC, which had previously shown little engagement with the issuers. The sudden change, which led to a rush of last-minute filings, suggests possible political influences. A group of bipartisan House lawmakers had recently urged the SEC to approve the ETFs, citing the need for consistency following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier in the year.

As news of potential approval grew, the discount on Grayscale's Ethereum Trust shrank from -24% to -6%, anticipating the conversion to an ETF which allows holders to exchange shares for the underlying ether's cash value.

The approval of Ethereum ETFs is notable but may not match the massive inflow seen with Bitcoin ETFs. Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas predicts Ethereum ETFs could gather 10 to 15% of the assets compared to Bitcoin ETFs, amounting to $5 to $8 billion, which is still significant for new launches. This approval reflects a broader acceptance and integration of cryptocurrency into traditional financial markets.

Gala Games Exploited for $200m worth of tokens, Exploiter Returns $21m in ETH💸

The wallet address associated with the recent Gala Games exploit has partially returned the stolen funds.

On-chain data indicates the wallet transferred 5,913.2 ETH, valued at $22.5 million. This matches the amount of GALA tokens sold off following the Monday exploit. Gala Games has been contacted for confirmation as the situation continues to develop.

The exploit occurred on Monday when an unknown attacker minted 5 billion GALA tokens, worth over $200 million, causing the token's price to drop by 15%. Gala Games co-founder Eric Schiermeyer, known online as Benefactor, explained that the exploiter sold 600 million GALA, valued at around $21 million, and burned the remaining 4.4 billion tokens. Schiermeyer noted that Gala Games secured and removed unauthorized access to the GALA contract within 45 minutes, with ETH for GALA remaining secure under a multi-signature wallet.

"We messed up our internal controls," Schiermeyer admitted. "This shouldn't have happened, and we are taking steps to ensure it doesn't ever again. We believe we have identified the culprit and are working with the FBI, DOJ, and international authorities."

He also mentioned that the issue of daily token distribution would be addressed through a node vote, allowing the community to decide the next steps. Gala Games reassured users on social media that the affected wallet had been frozen and that they were collaborating closely with law enforcement to investigate the breach.

Following the exploit, GALA's price fell to $0.040.

Taiko Announces Airdrop for Community🪂

Taiko, an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup project, has announced a "genesis airdrop" for its community members ahead of its mainnet launch.

This airdrop will distribute 5% of Taiko’s 1 billion token supply to eligible participants, including those who interacted with the Taiko testnet, block proposers and provers, contributors to specific GitHub repositories, and Ethereum ICO participants.

Taiko's token allocation plan includes 48.5% reserved for key stakeholders: 20% for Taiko Labs and the core team, 16.88% for Taiko Foundation reserves, and 11.62% for investors. The DAO Treasury will hold 20% of the tokens. Additionally, 5% is allocated for Grants and RetroPGF, another 5% for liquidity and market making, and 10% for a separate Trailblazer airdrop.

Taiko’s mainnet, expected to launch soon, follows extensive development across six Testnets over the past few years. The network will function as an Ethereum-equivalent ZK-EVM (Type-1), ensuring compatibility with the Ethereum mainnet.

Taiko Labs has secured significant funding, raising $22 million across two rounds. The $10 million seed round in 2022 was led by Sequoia China, and Generative Ventures led a $12 million pre-Series A round in 2023.

Daniel Wang, co-founder and CEO of Taiko Labs, stated that the team will not disclose detailed airdrop rules to avoid "unnecessary debates." He emphasized the goal of fairness, acknowledging that not everyone will be satisfied. “Congratulations to those who received TKO, and apologies to those who did not,” Wang said.

Beloved DOGE Meme Icon Kabosu Passes Away at 18🐶

Kabosu, the shiba inu who became the face of Dogecoin, passed away on May 24 at 18, according to a blog post by her owner.

Dogecoin’s official account on X confirmed the news. It states, “Today, Kabosu, our community's shared friend and inspiration, peacefully passed, in the arms of her person. The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable.”

Kabosu's image went viral in the early 2010s, inspiring the creation of Dogecoin (DOGE) in 2013. Since then, DOGE has become the largest memecoin by market capitalization and has inspired other dog-themed memecoins like Shiba Inu and Floki. Over the past 24 hours, Dogecoin saw $2.87 billion in trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap.

A memorial ceremony for Kabosu will be held on Sunday at Flower Kaori in Kotsu no Mori, Narita City, from 1 pm to 4 pm.

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