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VanEck received regulatory effectiveness for its new Onchain Economy ETF, an actively managed fund designed to give investors broad exposure to companies powering the digital asset ecosystem.Regulatory effectiveness means the SEC has approved the fund’s registration, allowing it to begin offering shares to the public.Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research and NODE’s active portfolio manager, shared the development in an April 16 post.According to the filing, the firm intends to launch the ETF on May 14 under the ticker NODE.NODEThe actively managed fund will seek exposure to equities tied to the crypto industry and may allocate up to 25% of its assets to crypto-linked exchange-traded products (ETP).Sigel said that NODE will select 30 to 60 names from over 130 companies operating in the on-chain and digital infrastructure sectors.These include publicly listed exchanges, miners, data center operators, payment firms, hardware manufacturers, asset managers, and firms holding crypto on their balance sheets. The ETF will charge a management fee of 0.69%.The fund’s active approach aims to track the transition of traditional financial and industrial operations toward blockchain-enabled models.In contrast to spot crypto ETFs, NODE will not hold direct crypto positions and instead target public companies with strategic exposure to digital assets or blockchain infrastructure.VanEck initially filed for the Onchain Economy ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 15. The ETF builds on the structure of existing crypto equity products while adopting a broader investment scope and revised branding strategy.Filing and investment scopeAccording to the filing, the fund intends to allocate at least 80% of its net assets to securities defined as “Digital Transformation Companies” or digital asset instruments.The filing describes Digital Transformation Companies as firms that generate revenue from activities involving crypto, blockchain, or other distributed ledger technologies. These may include small- and mid-cap issuers, foreign entities, and emerging market stocks.The ETF also permits investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies, American and global depositary receipts, and select commodity-linked instruments.The ETF includes an offshore subsidiary domiciled in the Cayman Islands. This structure enables indirect exposure to digital asset instruments such as commodity futures, swaps, and pooled investment vehicles while complying with US federal tax regulations that limit direct exposure by registered investment companies.VanEck specified that investments in this subsidiary would not exceed 25% of the fund’s total assets at the end of each quarter

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENEIt's nothing new for crypto games to be derided as "Ponzi schemes"—but some players are using the tag as a positive after a new crypto-earning game quickly surged and then cooled just as rapidly. And they're looking for the next promising "Ponzi game" to jump into.Abstract-based crypto mining simulation game Bigcoin caught the attention of traders last week, with the token price rising as more and more players bought in and started earning crypto rewards.But after its token crashed 83% on Saturday, according to DEX Screener—and remains down substantially from last week's peak—some players that enjoyed the wild Bigcoin ride are looking for the next potential "Ponzi" winner.Rate my Bigcoin rig Am I gmi? pic.twitter.com/TL1J2zsQEn — TylerD 🧙‍♂️ (@Tyler_Did_It) April 8, 2025Bigcoin has a fairly simple concept, where players buy in-game miners that earn them BIG tokens on Ethereum layer-2 network Abstract—akin to how real-world Bitcoin miners work. The goal is to constantly earn BIG, and then use the tokens to upgrade your in-game set up so you earn more.But many industry observers believed that the game purely works on “Ponzinomics,” with players only earning rewards due to new players flowing capital into the game. But that isn’t necessarily being seen as a bad thing. If anything, it’s what attracted so many players in such a short span of time.f*ck it, they got me new crypto ponzi game, called bigcoin ◘ buy miners that mine X amount of $BIG per day (miners are deflationary)◘ use $BIG to buy more miners, flex items, etc., future value?◘ farm abstract XP◘ it's f*cking pixels lol i remember how cryptovalleys… pic.twitter.com/lkra5UhwzV — MINHxDYNASTY (@MINHxDYNASTY) April 11, 2025“Ponzi games are the best games

Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENEPanama City plans to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for public services, signaling that lawmakers there and throughout Panama are adopting more crypto-friendly attitudes.The city's council passed a proposal this week enabling its local offices to accept payments in crypto, Panama City Mayor Mayer Mizrachi said Wednesday in an X post. Under the new law, locals will be able to pay for taxes, tickets, permits, and fees with several digital assets, beginning with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the USDC and Tether (USDT) stablecoins.It is unclear if and when Panama City will accept other kinds of digital assets in exchange for public services.Prior administrations tried to push a bill in the senate to make this possible, but we found a simple way to do it without new legistlation. Legally public institutions must receive funds in $, so we partner with a bank who will take care of the transaction receiving in crypto… — Mayer Mizrachi (@Mayer) April 15, 2025A Panama City representative did not immediately respond to Decrypt's request for comment on the matter.“Prior administrations tried to push a bill in the senate to make this possible, but we found a simple way to [accept crypto payments] without new legislation,” Mizrachi said in the post.In order to facilitate crypto payments to its local government offices, Panama City will partner with banks equipped to receive digital assets and convert them to fiat, Mizrachi added.Panama City's pro-crypto push comes amid growing adoption worldwide of digital assets as mediums of exchange.In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, with the Central African Republic following less than a year later. Meanwhile, Fiji and Tonga have explored recognizing the token as an official currency.In Switzerland, officials have also greenlit Bitcoin payments for some public services in a few of the country's regions.Although Panama's capital has signaled it is warming up to virtual currencies, Panamanian lawmakers haven't always embraced crypto.In 2022, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo partially vetoed a bill that would regulate Bitcoin and legalize decentralized autonomous organizations, sending the draft legislation back to the country's National Assembly for debate.He reasoned the bill “require[d] adaptation to the norms that regulate our financial system,” local media outlet La Prensa reported at the time.Edited by James Rubin