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WE-Launch
After 767 days, what does SBF's comeback tweet signify?
Two years later, SBF tweeted again, discussing the experience of firing employees. He wrote that firing employees is a very difficult and unpleasant thing, but often it is a problem in company management that leads to employees having to be let go, keeping employees in the company who have no value is instead a waste. SBF's lengthy discussion of firing also inevitably evokes recent crazy "layoffs" by the U.S. government.
The market has reignited the expectation that SBF will be pardoned, with FTT briefly breaking through $2.2, now priced at $2.05, a 24-hour increase of 11.8%.
SBF Changes Political Alignment, Clearly "Sides" with Trump to Seek Pardon
It all started when Trump took office.
On January 22, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social stating that he had pardoned the Silk Road founder, "Just got off the phone with Ross William Ulbricht's mother, told her, I am honored to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son Ross."
By the end of the month, insiders leaked that SBF's parents, Stanford Law School professor Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, had recently met with lawyers and other Trump insiders in an attempt to seek a pardon for SBF, but it is unclear whether they have contacted the White House.
On February 18, like many in the crypto industry hoping to gain political points in Trump's second term, SBF, in an interview with the New York Sun, openly "sided" with Trump: "I have spent a lot of time studying crypto policy, and I am very frustrated and disappointed by what I have seen and heard from the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. The Biden administration is very destructive and difficult to work with, frankly, the Republicans are much more reasonable."
SBF hinted that his right-leaning tendency began in 2022 because he and Trump share a common enemy, namely Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is responsible for the FTX fraud case and the Trump federal defamation case trial.
In 2020, SBF was the second-largest donor to the Biden campaign, but SBF now says, "I used to think of myself as center-left, but now I don't see myself that way anymore. The tech industry has undergone an atmospheric shift, with former outspoken Democrats like Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen now all supporting Trump."
Bringing DOGE Close, What Does SBF Mean?
In SBF's return tweet, he core-expressed one thing, and that is "Firing employees is one of the hardest things in the world," which inevitably reminds people of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose most accomplished act after taking office was to fire government officials. Even SBF's prosecutor resigned due to the "new leader takes office with a bang," as the Justice Department asked her to halt her corruption investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
According to The Washington Post, in the three weeks since Trump's second term began, a series of actions with advisor Musk has sparked widespread controversy. Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency in the United States has intervened in 18 federal agencies, terminated 199 federal contracts, and attempted to dismiss tens of thousands of federal employees.
On February 16, the local time on the 15th, the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk (DOGE) sent dismissal notices to over a dozen staff members of the United States Digital Service. The office is an information technology (IT) department of the White House's Executive Office of the President, now under the management of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Even the SEC had to make changes. On February 25, according to two sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to replace top leadership in its regional offices nationwide as part of its cost-cutting proposal to the Trump administration.
Sources said the SEC told directors of its 10 regional offices on Friday that their positions will be eliminated according to the plan to be submitted next month. The SEC oversees over $100 trillion in U.S. capital markets and is currently under pressure from Trump to downsize and cut costs.
SBF's heartfelt and lengthy tweet can be said to hit the nail on the head.
Attached SBF Tweet Full Translation
I sympathize greatly with government employees: I myself have not checked my email in several hundred days. And I can confirm that being unemployed is harder than it looks.
Firing employees is one of the most challenging things in the world and is a terrible thing for all involved parties.
My experience is:
a) Firing employees is usually not their fault.
b) But often, firing them is still the right decision.
A more common issue is that the company simply did not have a position that was the right fit for them.
I tell every person who has been laid off: This is also our fault because we did not find the right position for them, or we did not find the right person to manage them, or we did not provide the right work environment for them.
Perhaps at that time, we did not have the right people to manage them. Maybe they performed best when working remotely, but our company is primarily based on face-to-face communication. Maybe they wanted to be involved in a specific project, but that project happened to not be what the company needed.
Or perhaps the department they were in had issues of its own. This situation happens. We have seen it at our competitors' where they hired an excess of 30,000 employees and had no idea how to allocate them—resulting in the whole team sitting there every day doing nothing.
We have also seen this internally, where when a manager becomes too busy or distracted, half of the department loses direction at the same time. In such situations, the employees are not at fault. If the employer does not know how to allocate them or does not have the right people to manage them effectively, it is not their fault. If internal politics cause the department to lose its way, that is not their fault either. But keeping them in the company, doing nothing, is futile.
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This Week in Review | Trump to Host Dinner for TRUMP Holders; Musk and US Treasury Secretary Engage in Heated Argument at the White House
One Month Left in Office, Has Trump and Musk's Political Alliance Broken Down?
Recently, a high-profile dispute at the White House once again brought the U.S. government into the spotlight. The head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk, and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Bennett engaged in a heated argument due to ideological differences, almost escalating into a physical confrontation. In the end, Trump accepted Bennett's appointment proposal, raising concerns about cracks in the relationship between Trump and Musk. Behind this conflict is not only a power clash between Silicon Valley and Washington but also a revealing of the complex game from "close allies" to "power balancing" between Trump and Musk.
Looking back to the beginning of the year, Trump's most significant political reform involving Musk was the establishment of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) to promote radical reform under the guise of "streamlining the government." Its core objectives include reducing government spending, digitizing the bureaucratic system, and replacing human decision-making with algorithms. The core team consists of 6 technical elites aged 19-25. Since Trump took office on January 20th, DOGE has swiftly carried out its restructuring, from shutting down the U.S. International Development Agency to significantly reducing the number of federal government employees, and even obtaining taxpayer privacy information to enhance fiscal efficiency. Under Trump's direction and support, Musk has bravely faced the challenges and spearheaded a radical reform storm in the United States.
Related Reading: "Terminating hundreds of contracts in 18 days, Musk and six post-00s revolutionize the United States" "Cutting billions of dollars in contracts again, what peculiar government departments has Musk's D.O.G.E identified?"
According to DOGE's official website data, as of April 20, 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $160 billion in total, averaging about $993.79 saved per taxpayer, with savings in various areas:
Contract Terminations: 8,454 contracts terminated, saving about $30 billion. For example, terminating the Risk Management Agency's lease in Topeka, Kansas, with an annual rent of $121,800, is expected to save approximately $964,000 over multiple years.
Grant Cancellations: 9,699 grants terminated, saving about $33 billion. For example, terminating grants from the U.S. International Development Agency to the Global Vaccine and Immunization Alliance Foundation, saving a total of $1.75 billion.
Lease Terminations: 643 leases terminated, saving about $3 billion.
However, an NPR analysis points out that some contract terminations did not result in actual savings. For example, 794 contract cancellations were expected to bring no savings as the funds were already fully committed. Additionally, the DOGE calculated savings using the potential highest value of the contract rather than actual expenditures, leading to controversy.
As early as the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Musk began frequent interactions with Trump. At that time, Musk contributed $259 million, mobilized all Silicon Valley resources, and with his personal influence endorsement, became a key supporter for Trump's return to the White House. After Trump took office, as his "angel investor," Musk naturally gained unprecedented political status and power.
On February 7, Musk publicly expressed his support for Trump on social media. He said his love for Trump was "the maximum love that a straight man can give to another man."
On March 4, while attending Trump's State of the Union address, Musk was wearing a tie borrowed from Trump.
As Musk massively laid off federal employees from government agencies, a wave of vandalism against Tesla cars, intimidation of owners, and protests at dealership stores erupted nationwide. Tesla factories faced peaceful demonstrations and acts of destruction, including charging station fires. Vandalism of Cybertrucks surged across the U.S., with some owners even graffitiing their own Tesla vehicles to protest against Musk.
Reports of Tesla car and dealership vandalism as well as protest activities suggest that opposition to Musk has reached a boiling point. Bell Analyst Ben Carlo stated on CNBC, "When people's cars are at risk of being scratched or burned, even those who support Musk or are indifferent to Musk may have second thoughts about whether to buy a Tesla."
Musk has also stated multiple times that running his own businesses is "very challenging." Tesla's stock price has experienced its most severe drop in five years, and his social media company X has also suffered multiple outages.
However, such swift reforms are bound to harm the interests of a considerable portion of people. From the day Musk entered politics, opposition voices have been constant. Tesla's stock has plummeted since Musk took office, nearly halving its market value, marking the most severe decline in five years. This has led to Musk's personal assets evaporating by approximately $121 billion since the beginning of the year.
As Musk's biggest political backer and ally, Trump inevitably had to stand up for him when Musk came under attack.
On the afternoon of March 11th, local time in the U.S., Trump held a 30-minute press conference on the White House driveway. The press conference looked more like a large-scale Tesla car show—accompanied by Musk, Trump answered questions about the U.S. stock market, Canadian tariffs, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict while test-driving five different types and colors of Tesla cars.
"The one I like is that one," Trump pointed to a bright red Model S priced at about $80,000, saying. In the end, Trump chose the Model S and said he would write an $80,000 check to buy the car in full.
Trump also criticized those who were boycotting Tesla, believing that they were harming a great American company. He claimed that if the boycotters continued to treat Tesla this way, he would root out these people and "curse" them to "hell." White House spokesperson Harrison Fields also stated: "The despicable acts of violence being continuously carried out by radical left-wing activists against Tesla are no different from domestic terrorism."
Under Trump's "endorsement," Tesla's stock price rebounded during trading on Tuesday, rising 3.79% at the close.
To show loyalty, on March 24th, at Trump's third cabinet meeting, Musk wore a red hat with the words "Trump is always right."
During this period, the two were still intimate comrades-in-arms dedicated to advancing reform. Trump needed a "sharp tool" to expand his territory, while Musk needed a platform to realize his political ambitions. Both were highly aligned in their goals and interests.
Since Trump announced his high tariffs policy, a conflict arose between Trump's political goals and Musk's personal interests, leading to a crack in their relationship. The high tariffs caused a sharp drop in the U.S. stock market in a short period, and Musk's assets have shrunk by over $100 billion since the beginning of the year. Musk, as an entrepreneur, views issues from an economic rather than political perspective, supporting barrier reduction and free trade. He has also repeatedly expressed his opposition to the tariff policy.
On April 5, during the Italian Alliance Assembly held in Florence, Musk, in a video call interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, expressed, "Ultimately, I hope that Europe and the United States can reach an agreement. In my view, ideally, we should move towards zero tariffs, effectively establishing a free trade area between Europe and North America." On April 7, Musk shared a video on Twitter featuring the late free-market economist Milton Friedman discussing the benefits of free trade. Musk did not add any text, but this move was widely interpreted as a criticism of Trump's tariff policies.
Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, also criticized Trump's tariff policy on Twitter, pointing out that "Taxing consumption means less consumption, which also means fewer job opportunities, leading to even less consumption and fewer job opportunities." He believes that taxation is a "structural, permanent tax on American consumers."
Particularly targeted at trade advisor Peter Navarro, Musk has also made many criticisms and sarcastic comments. On April 8, he replied to a post quoting Navarro's interview where Navarro referred to Tesla more as an "assembler" than a "manufacturer," criticizing its components coming from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Musk directly responded in a heated manner, stating, "Navarro is a complete idiot, what he said here is obviously false," followed by a community note proving the Tesla Model Y is the "most American-made car." One retort apparently wasn't enough, as Musk further referred to Navarro as "dumber than a sack of bricks" in another post.
Their contradictory stances on the tariff issue gradually fermented in the intricate power struggle.
On April 23, local time, it was reported by insiders that on April 17, Musk and Treasury Secretary Bezos had a heated clash during a meeting in the West Wing of the White House. Bezos lost control of his emotions and erupted with profanity, to which Musk provocatively responded with a "raise your voice." The confrontation even escalated to personal attacks, with Bezos angrily accusing Musk of exaggerating the DOGE budget cut issue, leading to no progress. Musk, in turn, directly retorted that Bezos was a "Soros puppet" and mocked him for his previous hedge fund debacle. The argument alarmed Trump and visiting Italian Prime Minister Meloni, and it took assistant intervention to separate the two.
The direct cause of this conflict was the controversy over the appointment of the IRS Commissioner. As Elon Musk, serving as the head of the U.S. Department of Efficiency, proposed the appointment of Gary Sharply as the Acting Commissioner of the IRS without the approval of Treasury Secretary Bennett, Bennett viewed this as a violation of his authority. He lobbied President Trump to revoke the appointment and instead support his own deputy, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Falkend, for the position of IRS Commissioner.
The outcome of this power struggle seemed to favor Bennett as President Trump eventually supported Bennett's proposal, revoked Musk's nomination of Sharply, and appointed Falkend as the Acting Commissioner of the IRS.
The fact that two top U.S. officials could be so enraged as to publicly curse each other at the White House gates despite their public image was due to their long-standing animosity. Back when Trump first took office, Musk had strongly advocated for nominating Howard Lutnick as Treasury Secretary, but Trump ultimately chose Bennett and appointed Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce. Perhaps from the beginning, Trump had strategically set up a situation where his subordinates would check each other, siding with whoever aligned more with his own ideas. This set the stage for future conflicts.
The conflict between the two was fundamentally a power struggle and game of influence between two factions within the Trump administration. The reformist faction represented by Musk sought to reshape the landscape through new policies, while the traditional faction represented by Bennett resisted actions that harmed their own interests. Trump's handling of this event was seen as a sign of Musk's diminished influence within the government.
It is worth noting that, regarding tariff policies, Bennett, unlike Musk's clear opposition, had publicly supported tariff policies, believing that implementing new tariffs in the U.S. was necessary. He also refuted the idea that new tariffs would cause an economic downturn. Perhaps the consistency in policy preferences was also a reason why Trump gradually leaned towards Bennett and distanced himself from Musk. After all, to Trump, a businessman by background, permanent interests matter more than permanent friends.
Musk's role was constrained by the 130-day term limit for special government employees, which began counting from Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025, and is expected to expire at the end of May. Anonymous sources within the White House hinted at the end of February that Musk "will stay," but on March 31, Trump himself openly acknowledged Musk's prioritization of his commercial duties and showed no signs of insisting on retention. Perhaps as the mission of DOGE is accomplished, Musk's 130-day government employee term enters its final phase, and Trump will gradually sideline Musk from the power center, shifting to new allies who align more with his current interests. In retrospect, it's a poignant reminder of how fleeting alliances can be.
The world's richest person, Musk, experienced the thrill of a "Tech Disruption Workplace" at the center of American politics. He ignited a fire for Trump's "New Sheriff in Town," touching the interests of countless people. He reformed the behemoth of the American government at an incredible speed, leaving behind not only a controversial outline of "Algorithmic Governance" but also exposing the deep-seated contradictions between capital and power in American politics. This radical experiment of "Tech Transforming Politics" seems to be nearing its conclusion. When Musk truly departs, that red hat proclaiming "Trump Is Always Right" may perhaps become the most dramatic footnote to this brief "political marriage."
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This Week in Review | US Imposes Additional Tariffs Leading to Market Plunge; Blockchain Gaming Projects Face Financial Crisis
BlockBeats will summarize the industry's key news content for the week (3.31-4.6) in this article and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and grasp industry trends.
On April 3, Trump announced in the White House Rose Garden that the U.S. would impose a comprehensive 10% tariff on all imports. The detailed tariff measures for each country are as follows: 46% tariff on Vietnam; 10% tariff on the UK; 31% tariff on Switzerland; 49% tariff on Cambodia; 36% tariff on Thailand; 30% tariff on South Africa; 32% tariff on Indonesia; 10% tariff on Brazil; 10% tariff on Singapore. A 20% retaliatory tariff will be imposed on the EU on a country-by-country basis; a 24% tariff will be imposed on goods imported from Japan. Due to the 10% comprehensive tariff, which was at the low end of the previous expectations (10%-20%), Bitcoin briefly surged by 2.7% that evening, breaking through $88,000. However, after the detailed tariff announcement, Bitcoin quickly fell by 3.35%, Nasdaq futures plummeted, widening the decline to 1.2%, and the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) also experienced a 0.5% fluctuation. Additionally, it is worth noting that energy commodities are exempt from Trump's comprehensive tariff, including crude oil, natural gas, and refined oil products.
On the same day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson wrote, "I suggest that all countries refrain from taking retaliatory action. We can see if there will be a different lower limit for tariffs (from the announced numbers). Trump's mindset might be to temporarily stabilize things. I was not part of the negotiations, but we will see if there are any negotiations before April 9 (the effective date of retaliatory tariffs)." Previously, senior White House officials stated that the base tariff rate (10%) would take effect early on April 5, and the retaliatory tariffs would take effect early on April 9. Related Readings: "U.S. Stock Market Evaporates $2 Trillion in 15 Minutes, Is the 'Retaliatory Tariff' the Last Straw for the Bull Market?", "How Do Tariffs Stir Up Cryptocurrency Prices?"
On April 2, Justin Sun posted on social media claiming that the FDUSD issuer, First Digital Trust (FDT), had actually gone bankrupt and was unable to fulfill customer fund redemption obligations. He strongly advised users to take immediate action to protect their assets. Subsequently, FDUSD temporarily plummeted below $0.9. As a result, several FDUSD-related trading pairs on Binance experienced extreme price surges: BTC reached a high of 98,950 FDUSD, and ETH reached a high of 2165 FDUSD. Since FDUSD is the new stablecoin supported by Binance after BUSD was delisted, Binance, as the primary use case, responded to this news by stating that a 1:1 redemption is possible.
In the early hours of the 3rd, Justin Sun once again posted stating that this FUD was only directed at FDT and not at Binance. At noon on the 3rd, First Digital issued a statement denying Sun's claims, mentioning that the initial redemptions after the FUD had already been processed. FDUSD is still fully backed at a 1:1 ratio, its redemption channels are operating smoothly, and all redemption requests will continue to be processed promptly.
According to reports from Hong Kong media, Wu Kit-chee, Chairman of the Web3 and Virtual Asset Development Subcommittee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, responded to the dispute between Justin Sun and FDT by suggesting that regulatory systems should be reviewed as soon as possible. Wu Kit-chee stated that due to the current lack of regulated custodianship, Web3 companies rely on trust companies to help third parties custody assets. While conducting this properly is not an issue, there are individuals who may take advantage of this gap to engage in illegal activities, raising concerns about trust in Hong Kong's financial center. He recommended that the authorities should do more in terms of education and review to optimize the existing framework.
On April 3, during a live press conference, Justin Sun stated, "We have over $500 million USD deposited in FDT but cannot withdraw." He also called on FDT to hire a third-party auditing firm to conduct an audit, believing that the audit results would show FDT is insolvent. He further mentioned that due to FDT's failure to pay investment interest in 2023, Techteryx conducted an investigation and found a significant amount of client funds had been misappropriated. Justin Sun personally provided assistance to Techteryx to ensure TUSD had sufficient liquidity to protect the interests of all TUSD holders. TrueCoin was implicated in colluding with FDT and illegally transferring $456 million USD of TUSD reserves to a company in Dubai. Justin Sun stated, "I will provide a $50 million reward to law enforcement agencies and tipsters to recover the $456 million USD." First Digital later responded to the allegations stating that the dispute only involved TUSD and was completely unrelated to FDUSD. First Digital has more than enough liquidity to meet its obligations. It also described this as a typical smear campaign by Justin Sun aimed at undermining its business competitors. Related Reading: "FDUSD Depegging Crisis: Justin Sun Accuses FDT of Embezzling $456 Million, Latter Denies Insolvency"
On April 1st, several meme tokens experienced a sharp decline in prices, with ACT plummeting over 50% briefly; DEXE dropping over 28% briefly; and DF plunging over 17.7% briefly, among others. This sell-off was triggered by a large number of short-term sell orders, leading to a significant increase in spot trading volume. Subsequently, crypto influencer Benson Sun analyzed in a post stating, "ACT suddenly flash crashed by 50%, as Binance adjusted ACT's leverage position limit, allowing a maximum position of only $4.5 million at 1x leverage. Some market makers' positions exceeded the limit, leading to liquidation at market price, causing a collapse in the contract price and a massive price spread between the contract and spot markets, resulting in a cascade sell-off in the spot market as well." Wintermute's founder and CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, responded to community skepticism claiming, "The flash crash was initiated by Wintermute's dumping," stating, "It has nothing to do with us, but I'm curious to know what happened in the aftermath analysis." He also added, "If you ask me to guess, we reacted only after the price violently fluctuated, arbitraging the AMM pools."
In the early hours of April 2nd, Binance responded to the sudden fall in prices of certain meme coins like ACT, stating, "Upon preliminary investigation, we found that individual low-market-cap tokens experienced a cascading drop event, including 3 VIP users engaging in roughly $514,000 USDT worth of token cross-market sell-offs within a short period and a non-VIP user transferring a large amount of ACT from another platform, selling around $540,000 USDT worth of tokens on the spot market in a brief timeframe. As prices dropped, some users' futures contracts were liquidated, leading to a drop in other tokens as well." It is worth noting that in the following days, tokens such as MASK, LEVER, TROY, CATI, among others, once again experienced a significant volume-driven decline, with trading volume spiking 5 to 10 times higher than usual. Related Read: "ACT Flash Crash Night: When Exchange 'Circuit Breaker' Turns into a Bearish Bullet"
On April 1st, according to Slow Mist monitoring, the zkLend hacker (from an incident in February) mistakenly clicked on a phishing website while attempting to use Tornado Cash, leading to the theft of 2930 ETH. The hacker then sent an on-chain message to zkLend, stating, "Hello, I intended to transfer the funds to Tornado Cash, but I mistakenly used a phishing site, and as a result, all funds were lost. I am devastated. I deeply apologize for the chaos and loss caused by this. All 2930 ETH has been taken by the operators of that site. I have no coins left in my possession. Please focus your efforts on those site operators to see if any funds can be recovered."
On the same day, the zkLend team released a statement indicating that the phishing website appears to have been operational for over 5 years. At this stage, the security team has no concrete evidence linking the phishing site to the attackers. As a precautionary measure, zkLend has incorporated these new wallet addresses from the phishing site into its fund tracking efforts for real-time monitoring and has been in contact with CEX and authorities. The team will continue to actively track these funds. Related reading: "zkLend Hacker Also Hacked, Is the On-Chain Apology Truly Remorseful or Staged?"
On April 1, according to HTX market data, Bitcoin had a first-quarter return of -11.82%, and Ethereum had a first-quarter return of -45.41%, marking their worst performances to date since 2019. In 2018, Bitcoin saw a first-quarter return of -49.7%, and Ethereum had a first-quarter return of -46.61%. Additionally, historical data indicates that Bitcoin typically performs well in the second quarter, with a 12-year average quarterly return of 24.86% and a median quarterly return of 7.19%. However, its performance has been lackluster in the past five years as follows: a 42.33% increase in Q2 2020, a 40.36% decline in Q2 2021, a 56.2% decline in Q2 2022, a 7.19% increase in Q2 2023, and an 11.92% decline in Q2 2024. In April over the past 12 years, Bitcoin has seen 7 increases and 5 declines, with a monthly average return of 12.03% and a monthly median return of 2.81%. However, its performance has been mediocre in the past five years with: a 34.26% increase in April 2020, a 1.98% decline in April 2021, a 17.3% decline in April 2022, a 2.81% increase in April 2023, and a 14.76% decline in April 2024.
On April 1, the publicly traded U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase experienced its worst quarter performance since the 2022 FTX exchange crash, with its stock price declining by 33% in the first quarter of 2025. Despite strong revenue expectations, Coinbase's stock price still suffered. Coinbase is expected to release its 2025 financial data in early May. The company's recent shareholder letter indicated that as of February 11, the company had generated approximately $750 million in transaction revenue and expects subscription revenue to be between $685 million and $765 million. While Coinbase has not yet disclosed first-quarter profit data, MarketBeat analysis estimates its profit to be around $1.87 billion. Coinbase is not alone as most publicly listed crypto companies reported similar results in the first quarter of 2025. Leading crypto mining company Marathon Digital Holdings saw its stock price near $17.5 at the beginning of the first quarter and closed at $11, a loss of over 37%.
On March 30, according to 8marketcap data, Ethereum's market cap dropped to $218.73 billion, with a 7-day decrease of 9.98%, ranking it 68th on the global asset market cap list. McDonald's surpassed Ethereum with a market cap of $219.4 billion, placing it 67th on the global asset market cap list.
On April 1, according to CNBC, OpenAI completed a $40 billion funding round, bringing its post-investment valuation to $300 billion (including new capital). According to CB Insights data, this valuation makes OpenAI one of the highest-valued private companies globally, second only to SpaceX at $350 billion, alongside TikTok's parent company ByteDance. This round of funding was led by SoftBank from Japan, with an investment of $30 billion, and received support from a group of other investors, including key investor Microsoft, as well as institutions like Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive. Sources revealed that the initial investment was $10 billion, with the remaining $30 billion expected to be in place by the end of 2025. However, this round of funding comes with a condition: if OpenAI fails to restructure into a profitable entity by December 31, 2025, the funding amount may be reduced by up to $10 billion.
On March 31, the SpaceX Crew Dragon began its sixth manned space mission (Fram-2) on April 1, marking humanity's first polar orbit manned spaceflight lasting 3 to 5 days. The launch took place from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on April 1. The crew for this mission consists of 4 astronauts, namely F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun, Janick Michelsen, Labéaurogue, and Anärykphillips. Wang Chun's team independently funded nearly $200 million for this flight plan, making it the first privately contracted polar orbit mission in commercial spaceflight history, with Wang Chun serving as the mission's commander. The spacecraft will enter a polar orbit with an inclination of 90° at an altitude between 425 and 450 kilometers. It will travel along the polar orbit, flying from over the South Pole to the North Pole, and then back from the North Pole to the South Pole, repeating this path. Related Read: "From Bitcoin Miner to Polar Astronaut: Wangchun's Magical Realism Rags-to-Riches Story"
On March 31, Elon Musk, during the "America PAC" town hall meeting held in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 30, stated that the US government has no plans to use the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. He pointed out that the federal "Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)" is not associated with Dogecoin, saying "they are just namesake, the government is not going to use Dogecoin, at least not that I know of." Despite this, the D.O.G.E. official website briefly displayed Dogecoin's Shiba Inu mascot in February, sparking market speculation about the government's relationship with cryptocurrency and driving DOGE up by 14%, with a market cap exceeding $580 billion. Related reading: "Musk Denies Relationship Between DOGE and US Government, Is Dogecoin Really Over?"
On April 3, Bitcoin developer Ruben Somsen wrote that the Bitcoin Development Group BitcoinDev's email list was "permanently removed" by Google. Ruben had previously stated, "To my knowledge, no inappropriate content has been posted." An update later stated, "It turns out we did receive more information, but it was all thrown into the spam folder (the irony). It's clear we have been 'permanently removed.' What was our fault? We were deemed 'unwanted content.' Really, Google? Is open-source development 'unwelcome'? It looks like we have to migrate again." Block CEO Jack Dorsey has retweeted in support of Ruben Somsen's tweet and questioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
On April 3, John, the Chief Contributor of the blockchain gaming ecosystem Treasure DAO, announced that due to worsening financial conditions, they are facing restructuring and will terminate game operations and the Treasure Chain. Documents show that their annual operating expenses are as high as $8.3 million, while the current treasury holds only $2.4 million, originally estimated to be sustainable only until July 2025. John, the Chief Contributor, has resumed a leadership role, revealing that the team once reached 40 people, with annual personnel costs of $6.1 million and infrastructure costs of $3 million, including a fixed annual cost of $450,000 for the Treasure Chain. Faced with survival pressure, the DAO has laid off 15 people, decided to terminate game issuance support and the Treasure Chain, and assist partners in migrating to other chains.
To extend the runway, John proposed withdrawing $785,000 in idle funds from the liquidity provider Flowdesk. If approved, the stablecoin balance will increase to $3.2 million, and operations can be optimistically extended until February 2026. Additionally, the ecosystem fund holds 22.3 million MAGIC tokens (valued at $2.3 million), but if the MAGIC price experiences a sharp decline, the DAO may struggle to continue between December of this year and February of next year. The future strategy will focus on four main products: Market, Bridgeworld, Smolworld, and AI Agent Expansion Technology, aimed at showcasing the utility of MAGIC through Smols and Bridgeworld and developing the Neurochimp agent to enhance market competitiveness.
According to Blockworks, the cryptocurrency shooting game "Shrapnel" developer Neon Machine is in a severe financial predicament. The company has now depleted nearly $86.9 million in operating funds. Despite generating $21.7 million in revenue in 2024, a net loss of $11.4 million was incurred due to $33 million in operating costs.
The company is currently burning $2-3.5 million per month, with cash reserves depleted and owing external vendors millions of dollars in debt. A new round of financing planned for early 2025 has failed to materialize. The company has already gone through at least three rounds of layoffs, reducing the workforce from nearly a hundred people to just over ten, with the Seattle headquarters closed at the end of March. Despite the concerning financial situation, Neon Machine still publicly claims to be in its "strongest state ever" and plans to globally launch "Shrapnel" by the end of 2025. However, insiders are skeptical of this assertion.
The social media app Phaver has ceased operations, with its token price plummeting by 99% since the September 2024 TGE. Phaver team members cited several reasons for the shutdown: first, technical issues during the TGE and airdrop prevented users from timely claiming their tokens, leading to FUD; second, Phaver spent over $1 million to list on five CEXs; and third, due to the depressed market sentiment, the team did not sell tokens during the TGE, resulting in insufficient operational funds.
As a Finnish company, Phaver still needs to pay severance costs equivalent to 1 to 2 months' salary to its employees. Some former team members are now developing SocialDAO to explore new use cases for the SOCIAL token.
On April 2nd, Binance announced the start of the second round of its Coin Listing Vote. The coins participating in this event include: VIRTUAL, BIGTIME, UXLINK, MORPHO, GRASS, ATH, WAL, SAFE, ZETA, IP, ONDO, PLUME. The voting period is from April 2, 2025, 21:30 to April 10, 2025, 07:59. During the voting period, users must be logged in with a verified account, hold at least 0.01 BNB in their main account for their vote to count. Each user can vote for up to 5 projects, with a maximum of one vote per project.
On April 1st, Binance Wallet announced a joint TGE event with PancakeSwap for the AI-driven Bitcoin asset management solution, PumpBTC, with a subscription line of 3BNB. On the same day, PumpBTC unveiled the PUMP tokenomics, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens, 9% of which will be used for airdrops. The breakdown is as follows: Community Ecosystem 38%; Initial PUMP Claim 9%; Marketing 5%; Liquidity 3.5%; Contributors 19.5%; Investors 20%; IDO 5%. In the early hours of April 2nd, PumpBTC concluded its allocation and token distribution, with a final input of 406,023 BNB, oversubscribed by 327.56 times.
On April 3rd, Binance Wallet listed the StakeStone TGE, with a total fundraising amount of $1,000,000 in BNB, and an open subscription of 50,000,000 STO tokens (5% of the total supply). The final input was 369,445 BNB, oversubscribed by 218.2 times.
On April 1st, according to a cybersecurity firm's monitoring, there were over 60 cryptocurrency hacking incidents in the first quarter of 2025, resulting in a total loss of $1.63 billion, a 131% increase from the first quarter of 2024's $706 million. In March 2025, there were 20 cryptocurrency hacking incidents, with losses totaling $33.46 million, including a $5 million hack affecting 1inch, of which 90% has been recovered.
On March 31, according to WSJ, the Trump family is actively advancing its cryptocurrency strategy, this time targeting Bitcoin mining. The president's two sons are investing in a Bitcoin mining company, further expanding the Trump family's footprint in the cryptocurrency business sector. The Trump sons' American Data Centers will merge with American Bitcoin and hold a 20% stake. American Bitcoin is a mining operation majority-owned by the publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company Hut 8. They plan to jointly build the world's largest digital currency mining enterprise and intend to establish their own "Bitcoin reserve."
On March 31, crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted that the House of Representatives will hold a hearing on cryptocurrency market structure legislation. The House Financial Services Committee's Digital Assets Subcommittee will hold a hearing next Wednesday, April 9, to discuss issues surrounding establishing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The hearing, titled "American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: Adjusting the US Securities Laws to the Digital Age," marks the first public push by the 119th Congress to establish rules regulating the operation of the $2.7 trillion crypto industry in the United States.
"US Stocks Evaporate $2 Trillion in 15 Minutes, Is 'Reciprocal Tariffs' the Final Straw that Broke the Bull Market's Back?"
Trump signed an executive order for "reciprocal tariffs," with the US imposing a 10% baseline tariff on trading partners and higher rates, up to 49%, on some countries. This move triggered intense market fluctuations, with Bitcoin and the stock market first rising and then falling, while gold hit a historic high. The tariff calculation method has been criticized as "pseudoscience," with widespread concern in the economic community that it will raise inflation, hit manufacturing and consumer confidence, and backlash against US companies, keeping the market in a wait-and-see mode on whether negotiations will be initiated.
"FDUSD Unpegging Crisis: Justin Sun Accuses FDT of Defrauding $456 Million, the Latter Denies Insolvency"
In the late night of April 2, Justin Sun accused the stablecoin FDUSD's issuer, First Digital Trust (FDT), of being insolvent, leading to a severe temporary depegging of FDUSD, causing market panic and user sell-offs, with the price dropping to as low as $0.76; despite Binance later debunking this and stating that FDUSD's reserve was sufficient, the price gradually recovered to $0.98. However, the incident exposed a trust crisis between Sun and FDT due to a TUSD custody dispute, also triggering community doubts about Binance's untimely disclosure of information and suspicion of "rug pulling."
"When ETH Fell Below $1800, What Is Vitalik Pondering?"
Vitalik recently published two blog posts expressing his in-depth thoughts on the relationship between real-world political culture and technological development, calling for a shift in focus from "public goods funding" to a clearer, more actionable "open-source funding." He proposed the "Tree Ring Model," suggesting that culture's attitude towards new and old things is deeply influenced by historical stages and is difficult to change rapidly, while the crypto space provides a relatively free soil suitable for nurturing new behavioral patterns. At the same time, he believes that the term "public goods" has been overused in practice, with "open source" having a clearer definition and more explicit practices, making it more suitable as a core concept for funding and innovation in the digital age.
"ACT's Flash Crash Nightmare: When the Exchange's 'Circuit Breaker Mechanism' Turns into a Short Selling Bullet"
On April 1, Binance adjusted the contract rules for some low-market-cap tokens, causing several tokens, including ACT, to halve in price in a short period, with a drastic drop in contract positions, triggering market panic and stampedes. Although Binance attributed the cause to whale sell-offs, on-chain anomalies of market maker Wintermute, synchronous price drops of some tokens, and user liquidation data all indicate that this flash crash was not a random event, but rather the result of factors such as the exchange's risk control adjustments, MEME coin liquidity fragility, and market maker high leverage strategies, exposing the limits of risk control in the crypto market and the structural disadvantages of retail traders.
"Circle's IPO Rush to a $50 Billion Valuation, Do Stablecoins Now Have Blue-Chip Stocks?"
Circle is accelerating its IPO plan, aiming for a valuation of 40 to 50 billion USD, and plans to submit its prospectus by the end of April. This is its second attempt to go public after the failed 2021 SPAC merger, amid clearer global stablecoin regulations and improved policy environment. With USDC gradually narrowing the gap with USDT through compliance and transparency, and receiving support from institutions like Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock, Circle's IPO success is expected to not only provide funding for its expansion but also potentially drive reshuffling in the stablecoin market, further challenging Tether's market dominance.
"New Article by Arthur Hayes: Signals of the Fed's Policy Shift Emerging, Can Bitcoin Break $250,000 by the End of the Year?"
Powell, under pressure from Treasury Secretary Benson, found himself in a psychological dilemma and sought counseling, reflecting the limited independence of the Fed in the "fiscal dominance" scenario. Against the backdrop of high debt and persistent deficits, the Fed faces the realistic pressure to loosen policy to sustain government financing, potentially restarting quantitative easing and exempting banks from leverage restrictions. Despite strong economic indicators and high inflation, the Fed has shown signs of a policy shift, indicating a gradual softening of its anti-inflation stance. The changing global liquidity landscape has provided an opportunity for assets like Bitcoin to rise, and the entanglement of politics, mathematics, and history has also revealed the increasingly complex role of central banks.
"Exclusive Interview with Independent Developer Haole: Working at a Tech Giant During the Day, Building Dreams on the Blockchain at Night | Base Builder Talk"
In the third episode of Base Builder Talk, Haole, a steadfast independent developer driven by technical ideals, who has witnessed the rise and fall of Steemit and DeFi, is now actively building the Recaster client on the Farcaster protocol, exploring the possibilities of decentralized social media. Using minimal cost to invest his spare time in product development, not for commercialization but to respond to his belief in data sovereignty and open networks. In the current AI frenzy and mainstream focus on centralization, he has chosen a more difficult yet more authentic path, practicing the belief that "data belongs to the users," demonstrating a rare perseverance and clarity.
"40 Million Token Liquidity Stalemate: How Do Project Teams 'Make a Living' in a Bear Market?"
The liquidity of stablecoins in the cryptocurrency space has significantly decreased, reflecting the current zero-sum game situation in the industry—where the number of projects has surged, but funding has not grown in sync, leading to resource dispersion and community weakening. Short-term attention cannot bring about sustainable development; only projects with cash flow and real demand can survive. Depending on the stage of development, crypto protocols should adopt corresponding revenue strategies: early stages should focus on survival and experimentation, mid-term should balance growth and distribution, and mature projects should focus on robust operation and value feedback. Additionally, good investor relations and transparency become key moats for building trust and driving long-term development.
"Unveiling Funding Rate Arbitrage: How Institutions 'Earn While Sleeping,' and Retail Investors 'See but Can't Taste'?"
Perpetual contracts are a type of derivative with no settlement date, using the funding rate mechanism to keep their price anchored to the spot market long-term. When there is an imbalance of long and short forces, the funding rate acts as a market regulation tool, encouraging one party to pay the other to restore price balance. Arbitrageurs can earn funding rate returns through position hedging, with mainstream strategies including single-platform arbitrage, cross-platform arbitrage, and multi-currency arbitrage, focusing on risk hedging and compounding effects. While the theoretical threshold is not high, institutions have an advantage in systematic risk management, data monitoring, and execution efficiency, making it difficult for retail investors to implement despite understanding the strategy. Retail investors are suitable for participating in compliant institutional products to earn stable returns.
"ETH Hangzhou On-site Survey: ETH Has Become a Middle-aged ‘Greasy Uncle,’ Price Unlikely to Reach New High in 3 Years?"
In the first quarter of 2025, Ethereum faced a trough, with the ETH/BTC exchange rate hitting a nearly five-year low, and the price falling below $1800, causing community anxiety. However, at the ETH Hangzhou event, many developers remained actively engaged in ecosystem development. A small-scale survey showed that most participants held a limited amount of ETH and believed that Ethereum has entered its "middle-aged" phase. While the ecosystem infrastructure is sound, it lacks support from new narratives. Expectations for future prices are generally pessimistic, with many believing it will be challenging to reach a new high in three years, depending mainly on new asset forms, application development, or major breakthroughs. Although ETH is seen as replaceable, it remains the core battlefield in the current crypto space.
"Exclusive Interview with Cat President: I'm in Japan, Selling Houses with Cryptocurrency"
Cat President is an executor who combines traditional finance with crypto assets. With years of experience in banking and wealth management, coupled with a sharp sense of cryptocurrency, he successfully pioneered the path of buying houses with digital currencies like USDT in Japan. Understanding both the crypto language and the Japanese real estate process, in an information asymmetric market, he provides trustworthy services to crypto investors. Rather than chasing trends, he steadily navigates through each transaction process, accumulating word-of-mouth through real delivery and personalized content, turning "crypto buying houses" into a realistic and trusted choice.
"After Translating Circle's IPO Prospectus, Executive Compensation Keeps Rising, Company's Gross Profit Keeps Falling"
Stablecoin issuer Circle has officially launched its U.S. listing plan, aiming to be listed on the NYSE with a valuation expected to reach $5 billion, under the ticker symbol CRCL. Its core product USDC is the world's second-largest stablecoin, with a market value projected to reach $60.1 billion in 2024, capturing a 24% market share of the stablecoin market. Circle mainly earns revenue through reserve asset interest, with total revenue reaching $1.68 billion in 2024, 99% of which comes from reserve earnings, but heavily reliant on interest rates. Despite enhancing USDC's ecosystem penetration through partnerships with Coinbase, Binance, and others, high distribution costs have eroded profits. This IPO is Circle's reattempt after the failed SPAC merger, and if successful, it will become the first stablecoin issuing company to go public, facing tough competition from Tether, PayPal, and other strong rivals, while also hoping to seize a compliance advantage amid increasingly clear regulatory frameworks.
"a16z Accelerator CSX Accelerates 'Money Spray Mode' Again, Are the Next Explosive Hits Here?"
a16z's crypto startup accelerator CSX is becoming a key driver in the Web3 startup community, assisting early-stage companies in quickly realizing their ideas through funding, intensive mentoring, and industry resources, attracting significant follow-up investments. Even during market downturns, CSX continues to incubate innovative projects such as AminoChain, Cork Protocol, and Cambrian Network, spanning multiple areas such as biotech, fintech, and AI blockchain. Its "star-making factory" model and strong mentor team are accelerating the development and breakthrough of the entire crypto ecosystem.
"Laughter Continues, but the Crypto World Has 'Alienated': When All Narratives Collapse into Just Selling Coins"
The crypto world is no longer in a traditional bull-bear market pattern but rather in an alienated state centered around "selling coins." Project teams and VCs no longer focus on product and innovation, with only the trading end remaining active. Intermediaries extract resources through promotions, listings, etc., leading to value creation exhaustion and a gradual disappearance of entrepreneurs. The entire market has degenerated into a high-spread distribution chain, losing its ability for a positive feedback loop and will face long-term ecological decline. Nevertheless, the market will eventually return to cyclical patterns, and breakthroughs in technological innovation and usage scenarios may still bring about a new round of rebuilding. However, before that, a difficult and chaotic period must be traversed.
"In-Depth Analysis: Timeline and Landscape of Traditional Institutions Embracing the Crypto Industry"
Since 2020, traditional financial institutions have gradually deepened their integration with the crypto industry. By early 2025, around 15% of Bitcoin is held by institutions, with major banks and asset management companies launching various crypto-related products. Key factors driving this process include the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the rise of real asset tokenization, and the widespread use of stablecoins in settlements. Despite regulatory uncertainty, technological integration, and market volatility remaining obstacles, a clearer global compliance framework is emerging, allowing institutions to explore blockchain efficiency and innovation potential through permissioned DeFi and other means. The tokenization trend has become a bridge connecting TradFi and DeFi, signaling that the next few years will be a crucial period for deep integration of the financial system.
"Decoding Saylor's Bitcoin Financial Magic: Stock Price Triples Since Last October"
Under the leadership of founder Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy (MSTR) has raised significant funds to purchase Bitcoin through efficient and flexible financial means, holding over 506,000 BTC. Its core strategy involves issuing options, convertible bonds, and preferred shares to generate cash flow, while opportunistically issuing new shares to achieve a low-cost, high-leverage yet low-risk Bitcoin reserve model. This model operates similarly to a bank in terms of logic but does not rely on government backing, instead primarily relying on Bitcoin's capital appreciation for returns. As market recognition of this model grows, its potential impact and sustainability continue to strengthen.
"Web3 New Tale of Two Cities: Stablecoins and Money Market Funds"
The regulatory controversy surrounding stablecoins mirrors what money market funds (MMFs) experienced half a century ago. MMFs initially provided cash management for corporations but faced criticism due to lack of deposit insurance and susceptibility to runs, impacting bank stability and monetary policy. Nevertheless, MMF assets now exceed $7.2 trillion. The 2008 financial crisis led to the collapse of the Reserve Fund, and in 2023, the SEC is still advancing MMF regulatory reform. The history of MMFs suggests that stablecoins may face similar regulatory challenges but could ultimately become a key part of the financial system.
"Analyzing Current Market 'HODL Anxiety' from Binance Launchpool Data"
Binance's disclosed LaunchPool data reveals market sentiment and fund flows: despite cautiousness in the market, idle funds within the ecosystem have increased rather than decreased. The growing number of participants indicates that investors are choosing to cash out but not exit the market. The increase in average lock-up amount shows that funds are concentrated in the hands of large holders, who, after completing wealth redistribution, remain optimistic about the future and patiently await the next opportunity.
"From Bitcoin Miner to Polar Astronaut: Wangchun's Magical Realism Success Story"
Wangchun, who dreamt of "landing on the moon" at the age of 7, transitioned from an early Bitcoin player to building the world's largest mining pool, F2Pool, and then spending $200 million to board SpaceX's spacecraft. Using a combination of "geek spirit + business acumen," he turned science fiction into reality. Not only did he send the mining pool's logo into space but also participated in the space economy by collecting climate data in polar orbits, completing a magnificent transformation from a coder to an astronaut. With a Casio watch, a Bitcoin cold wallet, and the phrase "giving light-years to time," he made idealism shine brightly in the vacuum of space.
"VC Perspective: Hyperliquid Incident Reveals the Power Struggle Between CEX and DEX"
The short-selling squeeze triggered by the memecoin JELLYJELLY exposed significant flaws in Hyperliquid's decentralized exchange mechanism, including opaque market-making mechanisms, a virtually non-existent governance process, and internal conflicts of interest. In an effort to salvage its HLP liquidity pool, the platform intervened in the market by manipulating oracle prices, leading to widespread questioning of its "decentralization" credibility. At the same time, Binance's and OKX's swift interventions are seen as competitive strikes against Hyperliquid. This event not only reflects the vulnerability of DeFi platforms in extreme situations but also ignites a new round of contemplation on topics such as Decentralized Science (DeSci) and stablecoin regulation, revealing the deep-seated tensions among centralization of power, lack of transparency, and regulatory gamesmanship in the crypto industry.
"From Wealth to Loss: A Profound Reflection on the 'Four-Year Cycle'"
The author reviewed his own experience in the crypto market, from the excitement of 2017 to the crash of 2018, and then to the resurgence of new hot topics such as NFTs and agents. He pointed out that the market cycle continuously creates frenzy and illusions, leading investors to mistakenly believe they have grasped the pattern, only to still suffer losses in the end. Emotions drive people to repeat the same mistakes, and the market always operates counter to expectations. The only way to survive is to take profits as much as possible during the uptrend and reduce losses during the downtrend, but this is harder than imagined. The market will not change, and the real challenge lies in how to control one's emotions and decisions.
"Paradigm: Unraveling the Mystery of the North Korean Hacker Group Lazarus Group Threat"
In February 2025, the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit experienced the largest hack in history, with over $1 billion in assets stolen. The mastermind behind the attack was believed to be North Korea's Lazarus Group hacker organization. Investigations revealed that the attackers disrupted Bybit's Safe Wallet infrastructure and injected malicious code to trick engineers into signing malicious transactions, indirectly taking control of the cold wallet. North Korea's cyber attack operation is extensive, involving multiple organizations such as RGB and MID, with branches like TraderTraitor, APT38, and AppleJeus, who excel in social engineering, supply chain attacks, and disguised infiltration, posing a continuous threat to the crypto industry. To prevent such attacks, users and organizations are advised to strengthen permission management, use two-factor authentication, raise security awareness, and establish an effective industry collaboration network to swiftly respond to potential threats.
"Berachain Founder's Entrepreneurship Reflection: Don't Let Tokens Drag Down Your Project"
This article discussed the recent phenomenon of several projects in the Berachain ecosystem issuing tokens, cautioning founders not to blindly issue tokens. Tokens should drive growth when the product reaches market fit to avoid impacting user adoption. In a sluggish market environment with limited community funds, a token price drop can damage the product's image. Token issuance should avoid competing at the same time, ensure a reasonable valuation, and focus on long-term value rather than short-term exit. The author supports Berachain's development but emphasizes that success requires patience and strategy, recommending that the team prioritize profitability and user growth.
"Ethereum OG Lambasts 'ETH Dilemma': Foundation Needs to Confront Four Major Strategic Mistakes, Once Holding the World's Strongest Hash Rate but Missing Opportunities"
Ethereum has recently entered a slump, with ETH/BTC hitting a new five-year low, sparking community dissatisfaction and pessimism. The core issue is attributed to the EIP-1559 and deflation narrative driven in 2021, which not only failed to bring the expected development but also led to community division, developer exodus, and an increasingly politicized atmosphere. Additionally, Ethereum missed the opportunity to transition from PoW to AI computational power, and although upgrades continue, user experience remains lackluster, causing the brand's perceived value to gradually detach from its actual value, potentially leading to a continued weak trend in the future.
"Coinbase Hit by 'Insider Threat'? $300 Million Scam Reveals Precise Data Breach"
A large number of Coinbase users have recently fallen victim to social engineering scams, with over $46 million stolen in March and potential losses for the year reaching $300 million. Scammers have used methods such as impersonating official phone calls, phishing emails, and clone websites to induce users to transfer funds to a "secure wallet." They also seemingly have detailed user information, raising concerns about Coinbase's internal data access management. The incident of Coinbase employees inappropriately accessing account records, along with rumors of user data leaks from platforms like Gemini and Kraken, indicates that the crypto industry is facing a serious crisis in terms of information security and internal risk control.
"Ethereum at a Crossroads: To Pivot or Persevere?"
Ethereum is currently at the center of a valuation dispute: bulls believe that its position as a core infrastructure of Web3 is solid, with technical upgrades and macro trends injecting long-term value, and its ecosystem and developer advantages remaining apparent. On the other hand, bears point out its weakening value-capture ability, negative price impacts from its technical roadmap, a narrative shift, and user outflow to new public chains, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a five-year low. Overall, Ethereum faces a misalignment between technical progress and price lag, still holding long-term potential but requiring caution in the short term amid intensified competition and wavering market confidence.
"In-Depth Comparison of GMX, Jupiter, and Drift: Who Will Be Solana's Sustainable King?"
This article analyzes the primary on-chain derivatives protocols of Solana, including GMX-Solana, Jupiter Perps, and Drift, comparing their liquidity, trading volume, capital efficiency, and risk management. Jupiter and Drift show sustained growth but lower capital efficiency, while GMX-Solana exhibits higher capital efficiency but lower liquidity. As Solana introduces better features and incentives into the protocol, market competition will intensify, with the DEX to CEX derivatives trading volume ratio reaching a historical high. Solana is poised to benefit from this trend.
Key Market Insights for May 16th, how much did you miss out on?
This Week in Review | Trump to Host Dinner for TRUMP Holders; Musk and US Treasury Secretary Engage in Heated Argument at the White House
One Month Left in Office, Has Trump and Musk's Political Alliance Broken Down?
Recently, a high-profile dispute at the White House once again brought the U.S. government into the spotlight. The head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk, and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Bennett engaged in a heated argument due to ideological differences, almost escalating into a physical confrontation. In the end, Trump accepted Bennett's appointment proposal, raising concerns about cracks in the relationship between Trump and Musk. Behind this conflict is not only a power clash between Silicon Valley and Washington but also a revealing of the complex game from "close allies" to "power balancing" between Trump and Musk.
Looking back to the beginning of the year, Trump's most significant political reform involving Musk was the establishment of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) to promote radical reform under the guise of "streamlining the government." Its core objectives include reducing government spending, digitizing the bureaucratic system, and replacing human decision-making with algorithms. The core team consists of 6 technical elites aged 19-25. Since Trump took office on January 20th, DOGE has swiftly carried out its restructuring, from shutting down the U.S. International Development Agency to significantly reducing the number of federal government employees, and even obtaining taxpayer privacy information to enhance fiscal efficiency. Under Trump's direction and support, Musk has bravely faced the challenges and spearheaded a radical reform storm in the United States.
Related Reading: "Terminating hundreds of contracts in 18 days, Musk and six post-00s revolutionize the United States" "Cutting billions of dollars in contracts again, what peculiar government departments has Musk's D.O.G.E identified?"
According to DOGE's official website data, as of April 20, 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $160 billion in total, averaging about $993.79 saved per taxpayer, with savings in various areas:
Contract Terminations: 8,454 contracts terminated, saving about $30 billion. For example, terminating the Risk Management Agency's lease in Topeka, Kansas, with an annual rent of $121,800, is expected to save approximately $964,000 over multiple years.
Grant Cancellations: 9,699 grants terminated, saving about $33 billion. For example, terminating grants from the U.S. International Development Agency to the Global Vaccine and Immunization Alliance Foundation, saving a total of $1.75 billion.
Lease Terminations: 643 leases terminated, saving about $3 billion.
However, an NPR analysis points out that some contract terminations did not result in actual savings. For example, 794 contract cancellations were expected to bring no savings as the funds were already fully committed. Additionally, the DOGE calculated savings using the potential highest value of the contract rather than actual expenditures, leading to controversy.
As early as the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Musk began frequent interactions with Trump. At that time, Musk contributed $259 million, mobilized all Silicon Valley resources, and with his personal influence endorsement, became a key supporter for Trump's return to the White House. After Trump took office, as his "angel investor," Musk naturally gained unprecedented political status and power.
On February 7, Musk publicly expressed his support for Trump on social media. He said his love for Trump was "the maximum love that a straight man can give to another man."
On March 4, while attending Trump's State of the Union address, Musk was wearing a tie borrowed from Trump.
As Musk massively laid off federal employees from government agencies, a wave of vandalism against Tesla cars, intimidation of owners, and protests at dealership stores erupted nationwide. Tesla factories faced peaceful demonstrations and acts of destruction, including charging station fires. Vandalism of Cybertrucks surged across the U.S., with some owners even graffitiing their own Tesla vehicles to protest against Musk.
Reports of Tesla car and dealership vandalism as well as protest activities suggest that opposition to Musk has reached a boiling point. Bell Analyst Ben Carlo stated on CNBC, "When people's cars are at risk of being scratched or burned, even those who support Musk or are indifferent to Musk may have second thoughts about whether to buy a Tesla."
Musk has also stated multiple times that running his own businesses is "very challenging." Tesla's stock price has experienced its most severe drop in five years, and his social media company X has also suffered multiple outages.
However, such swift reforms are bound to harm the interests of a considerable portion of people. From the day Musk entered politics, opposition voices have been constant. Tesla's stock has plummeted since Musk took office, nearly halving its market value, marking the most severe decline in five years. This has led to Musk's personal assets evaporating by approximately $121 billion since the beginning of the year.
As Musk's biggest political backer and ally, Trump inevitably had to stand up for him when Musk came under attack.
On the afternoon of March 11th, local time in the U.S., Trump held a 30-minute press conference on the White House driveway. The press conference looked more like a large-scale Tesla car show—accompanied by Musk, Trump answered questions about the U.S. stock market, Canadian tariffs, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict while test-driving five different types and colors of Tesla cars.
"The one I like is that one," Trump pointed to a bright red Model S priced at about $80,000, saying. In the end, Trump chose the Model S and said he would write an $80,000 check to buy the car in full.
Trump also criticized those who were boycotting Tesla, believing that they were harming a great American company. He claimed that if the boycotters continued to treat Tesla this way, he would root out these people and "curse" them to "hell." White House spokesperson Harrison Fields also stated: "The despicable acts of violence being continuously carried out by radical left-wing activists against Tesla are no different from domestic terrorism."
Under Trump's "endorsement," Tesla's stock price rebounded during trading on Tuesday, rising 3.79% at the close.
To show loyalty, on March 24th, at Trump's third cabinet meeting, Musk wore a red hat with the words "Trump is always right."
During this period, the two were still intimate comrades-in-arms dedicated to advancing reform. Trump needed a "sharp tool" to expand his territory, while Musk needed a platform to realize his political ambitions. Both were highly aligned in their goals and interests.
Since Trump announced his high tariffs policy, a conflict arose between Trump's political goals and Musk's personal interests, leading to a crack in their relationship. The high tariffs caused a sharp drop in the U.S. stock market in a short period, and Musk's assets have shrunk by over $100 billion since the beginning of the year. Musk, as an entrepreneur, views issues from an economic rather than political perspective, supporting barrier reduction and free trade. He has also repeatedly expressed his opposition to the tariff policy.
On April 5, during the Italian Alliance Assembly held in Florence, Musk, in a video call interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, expressed, "Ultimately, I hope that Europe and the United States can reach an agreement. In my view, ideally, we should move towards zero tariffs, effectively establishing a free trade area between Europe and North America." On April 7, Musk shared a video on Twitter featuring the late free-market economist Milton Friedman discussing the benefits of free trade. Musk did not add any text, but this move was widely interpreted as a criticism of Trump's tariff policies.
Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, also criticized Trump's tariff policy on Twitter, pointing out that "Taxing consumption means less consumption, which also means fewer job opportunities, leading to even less consumption and fewer job opportunities." He believes that taxation is a "structural, permanent tax on American consumers."
Particularly targeted at trade advisor Peter Navarro, Musk has also made many criticisms and sarcastic comments. On April 8, he replied to a post quoting Navarro's interview where Navarro referred to Tesla more as an "assembler" than a "manufacturer," criticizing its components coming from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Musk directly responded in a heated manner, stating, "Navarro is a complete idiot, what he said here is obviously false," followed by a community note proving the Tesla Model Y is the "most American-made car." One retort apparently wasn't enough, as Musk further referred to Navarro as "dumber than a sack of bricks" in another post.
Their contradictory stances on the tariff issue gradually fermented in the intricate power struggle.
On April 23, local time, it was reported by insiders that on April 17, Musk and Treasury Secretary Bezos had a heated clash during a meeting in the West Wing of the White House. Bezos lost control of his emotions and erupted with profanity, to which Musk provocatively responded with a "raise your voice." The confrontation even escalated to personal attacks, with Bezos angrily accusing Musk of exaggerating the DOGE budget cut issue, leading to no progress. Musk, in turn, directly retorted that Bezos was a "Soros puppet" and mocked him for his previous hedge fund debacle. The argument alarmed Trump and visiting Italian Prime Minister Meloni, and it took assistant intervention to separate the two.
The direct cause of this conflict was the controversy over the appointment of the IRS Commissioner. As Elon Musk, serving as the head of the U.S. Department of Efficiency, proposed the appointment of Gary Sharply as the Acting Commissioner of the IRS without the approval of Treasury Secretary Bennett, Bennett viewed this as a violation of his authority. He lobbied President Trump to revoke the appointment and instead support his own deputy, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Falkend, for the position of IRS Commissioner.
The outcome of this power struggle seemed to favor Bennett as President Trump eventually supported Bennett's proposal, revoked Musk's nomination of Sharply, and appointed Falkend as the Acting Commissioner of the IRS.
The fact that two top U.S. officials could be so enraged as to publicly curse each other at the White House gates despite their public image was due to their long-standing animosity. Back when Trump first took office, Musk had strongly advocated for nominating Howard Lutnick as Treasury Secretary, but Trump ultimately chose Bennett and appointed Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce. Perhaps from the beginning, Trump had strategically set up a situation where his subordinates would check each other, siding with whoever aligned more with his own ideas. This set the stage for future conflicts.
The conflict between the two was fundamentally a power struggle and game of influence between two factions within the Trump administration. The reformist faction represented by Musk sought to reshape the landscape through new policies, while the traditional faction represented by Bennett resisted actions that harmed their own interests. Trump's handling of this event was seen as a sign of Musk's diminished influence within the government.
It is worth noting that, regarding tariff policies, Bennett, unlike Musk's clear opposition, had publicly supported tariff policies, believing that implementing new tariffs in the U.S. was necessary. He also refuted the idea that new tariffs would cause an economic downturn. Perhaps the consistency in policy preferences was also a reason why Trump gradually leaned towards Bennett and distanced himself from Musk. After all, to Trump, a businessman by background, permanent interests matter more than permanent friends.
Musk's role was constrained by the 130-day term limit for special government employees, which began counting from Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025, and is expected to expire at the end of May. Anonymous sources within the White House hinted at the end of February that Musk "will stay," but on March 31, Trump himself openly acknowledged Musk's prioritization of his commercial duties and showed no signs of insisting on retention. Perhaps as the mission of DOGE is accomplished, Musk's 130-day government employee term enters its final phase, and Trump will gradually sideline Musk from the power center, shifting to new allies who align more with his current interests. In retrospect, it's a poignant reminder of how fleeting alliances can be.
The world's richest person, Musk, experienced the thrill of a "Tech Disruption Workplace" at the center of American politics. He ignited a fire for Trump's "New Sheriff in Town," touching the interests of countless people. He reformed the behemoth of the American government at an incredible speed, leaving behind not only a controversial outline of "Algorithmic Governance" but also exposing the deep-seated contradictions between capital and power in American politics. This radical experiment of "Tech Transforming Politics" seems to be nearing its conclusion. When Musk truly departs, that red hat proclaiming "Trump Is Always Right" may perhaps become the most dramatic footnote to this brief "political marriage."
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