Coinbase Receives a Wells Notice, Consensys Launches Institutional Staking Marketplace

Market Update Markets are rallying today following yesterday’s FOMC meeting where the Fed unanimously decided to raise interest rates by another quarter point. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have both risen over 1%, while US Treasury yields and the US dollar are showing declines. $BTC (+4.25%) and $ETH (+5.24%) are displaying strength amid Arbitrum’s native token launch ($ARB), which has injected over $1 billion of fresh capital into the crypto ecosystem. Token claims went live at 9 AM EST, and heavy user traffic crashed both the Arbiscan and Arbitrum Foundation websites. $ARB initially traded down from $5 to roughly $1.10 but has since stabilized around $1.25, giving it a circulating market cap of approximately $1.6 billion. This puts Arbitrum in the top 40 coins by market cap right off the bat. It will be interesting to watch if the airdrop leads to sustained ecosystem activity, as yesterday marked the most daily transactions in Arbitrum’s history, reaching over 1.3 million.Late Wednesday afternoon, Brian Armstrong tweeted that Coinbase has received a Wells Notice from the SEC regarding staking products and asset listings, implying that Coinbase has been listing unregistered securities. Wells Notices typically precede legal action, and Coinbase will have the opportunity to p