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WE-Launch
This Week in Review | Berachain and Solayer Launch Tokens; Justin Sun and Li Lin Involved in '$30 Million' Financial Dispute
BlockBeats will summarize the industry's key news of the week (2.3-2.9) in this article and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and industry trends.
Important News Recap
This Week, BTC Falls Below $100,000, Mainstream Altcoins Drop Over 20%, Resulting in Over 700,000 Liquidations
On February 3, Bitcoin suddenly experienced a sharp drop, briefly falling below $93,000 with a 24-hour drop of 8.3%; subsequently, several altcoins followed the decline, with some falling over 20%. On the day of the market-wide decline, a total of $2.028 billion was liquidated within 24 hours, with long liquidations totaling $1.766 billion and short liquidations totaling $270 million. In addition, due to the intense price fluctuations in the crypto market, a total of 700,594 people were liquidated globally on that day.
Due to the significant price volatility, the liquidation data is not entirely accurate. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, stated that the actual total liquidation amount in the cryptocurrency market on February 3 far exceeded $2 billion, with his estimate ranging from at least $8 billion to $10 billion. Bybit alone had a 24-hour liquidation amount of $2.1 billion.
The reason for the imprecise data is the API limitations in the real-time data feed from major exchanges.
Justin Sun and Li Lin Engage in a $30 Million Dispute Over HTX Acquisition, Prepared to Go to Court
This week, TRON founder and HTX Global Advisory Council member Justin Sun posted on social media, stating, "Those familiar with the situation know that Lili [Li Lin] concealed the due diligence materials at the time, left a $30 million hole in the company internally, and when I discovered the sabotage and exposed it, he refused to admit to it and was entirely uncooperative. I personally lent the company the money to cover for it."
Huobi founder Li Lin responded to Justin Sun's accusations by stating that during the October 2022 HTX settlement process, there was a significant discrepancy between the parties in the calculation of user assets, and there have been multiple communications with Justin Sun who explicitly expressed a desire to further reconcile accounts and clarify facts. Therefore, this is not about any alleged "concealment of allocation" or "funds hole," but rather a misunderstanding in the calculation of financial data during the settlement due to significant changes in key personnel and financial data over the two years since the settlement.
Justin Sun's mention of a "$30 million fund hole" is fundamentally related to the exchange's margin trading business and the liquidations that occurred due to extreme market conditions. During the settlement, this portion of the financial handling was already done using company revenue, and the assets delivered to the sellers completely covered the user assets, with no existence of a supposed "funds hole." Full support is provided for fair adjudication through the legal system in Hong Kong or a third-party arbitration organization to uphold the legitimate rights of all parties through legal means, rather than engaging in one-sided judgment through social media.
Binance Caught in Public Opinion Controversies Such as "Wash Trading" and "BFF Coin," How One Responds in Space
On February 3, in response to the recent phenomenon on Binance where new listings over the past year often experienced a "pump at listing" scenario, many users believed that Binance's listing standards were opaque and that listed projects seemed to be "insiders"; the voices of "wash trading" were widespread. In response to this, Binance co-founder He Yi, who had previously initiated Space dialogues with several projects that debuted on Binance Launchpad, addressed market concerns.
He Yi admitted that there are indeed issues with Binance's listings, a problem that is determined by current market structure and Binance's scale. Although Binance has been internally researching solutions to this issue, including discussions on voting for listings and Dutch auctions, they also face challenges in target selection and regulatory balance (any listing will need to provide a report to regulators). Therefore, Binance has not yet found a better solution and welcomes constructive suggestions from users and investors.
Meanwhile, Jason, the founder of Binance's 29th Launchpad project, Hooked Protocol, stated in Space that he has indeed had a romantic relationship with Primitive Ventures co-founder Dovey, but he denied any misconduct or favoritism issues between them during the Binance listing process. Dovey Wan also stated in another Space session the next day that she has known Hooked Protocol founder Jason for many years and had communicated with him when he first started Hooked, but they were not in a romantic relationship at that time. When she initially invested in Hooked Protocol, the valuation was $30 million, and the unlocking period was the same as other investors. Dovey Wan added that due to her unique identity, she did not actively participate in helping Hooked Protocol raise funds when the project sought financing, and she was also very surprised when Binance announced the launch of Hooked Protocol on Binance Launchpad.
He Yi stated in Space that he no longer serves on the investment committee of YZi Labs and will not have any investment impact on YZi Labs. The YZi Labs investment committee is currently mainly presided over by CZ and Ella.
US SEC Officially Announces Top Ten Priorities of Cryptocurrency Working Group, Website Launched
On February 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially launched a brand new cryptocurrency working group website: https://www.sec.gov/about/crypto-task-force, and announced the top ten priorities. This series of actions marks a significant shift in the SEC's regulatory strategy towards crypto assets, moving from the previous emphasis on "enforcement" to a gradual shift towards "guidance and regulation."
Former Deputy Director of Beijing Financial Supervision Bureau Sentenced to 11 Years in Bitcoin Money Laundering Case
On February 8, according to Caixin, former Deputy Director of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau Hao Gang was sentenced to 11 years in the first instance. In addition to being involved in Bitcoin money laundering, Hao Gang had also assisted a senior executive of a leading Bitcoin mining company in lifting a border control order, and accepted bribes totaling millions of RMB. The Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court sentenced the defendant Hao Gang to eight years in prison for bribery and imposed a fine of RMB 500,000; and sentenced him to four years in prison for money laundering and imposed a fine of RMB 800,000, deciding to execute a ten-year prison term and impose a fine of RMB 1.3 million. The illegally obtained gains and interest from bribery were confiscated and turned over to the national treasury.
First Repayment by FTX to Begin on February 18, 2025
FTX creditor representative Sunil revealed on X that the FTX repayment will start at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on February 18, 2025, and will first repay creditors with claim amounts below $50,000. The repayment allocation will include 100% of the adjudicated claim value (up to $50,000), as well as an additional compensation amount of 9.0% annual interest on the adjudicated claim value from November 11, 2022, to the initial distribution date.
Berachain Issues Token BERA, Community Criticizes Airdrop Rules
On February 4, the Berachain Foundation officially announced that the Berachain token TGE would take place simultaneously with the mainnet launch. On February 6, the Berachain token BERA airdrop query was opened, and the tokenomics were disclosed. The total supply of tokens during the BERA Genesis period is 500 million, with initial core contributor allocation at 16.8%; investor allocation at 34.3%; community airdrop allocation at 15.8%; future community incentive allocation at 13.1%; and ecosystem and development allocation at 20%. After the token issuance announcement, several exchanges including Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, Upbit, and Bithumb announced the listing of BERA.
However, the airdrop query has sparked community criticism. Many users who participated in the interaction previously expressed dissatisfaction with the airdrop amount, with many in the community stating that their efforts did not proportionally match their rewards, even though they participated in the testnet. Related Reading: "Berachain Airdrop Criticized: Almost "Wiped Out" by Looting Studio; Pre-deposit Requires 3-Month Lockup"
Solana Staking Platform Solayer Launches Token
On February 7th, according to official sources, Solana staking platform Solayer unveiled the LAYER tokenomics, with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens and an initial circulating supply of 220 million tokens. LAYER will be distributed through the Emerald Card community sale and a genesis airdrop to early users. The LAYER tokenomics breakdown is as follows: Community and ecosystem 51.23%; Core contributors 17.11%; Investors 16.66%; Foundation 15%. For early eligible community members, the Genesis Drop will unlock immediately upon launch.
ETH Supply Surpasses Ethereum PoS Merge Levels
On February 5th, according to Ultrasound data, the current ETH supply has surpassed the Ethereum PoS merge levels. The data shows that the current ETH supply is 120,521,291 coins, slightly higher than the 120,521,140.92 coins at the time of the merge on September 15, 2022. Since Ethereum completed the transition to a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, 1,947,607.01 ETH has been burned, while 1,947,757.18 ETH has been newly issued, resulting in a net supply increase of 150.17 ETH.
Bloomberg Criticizes Trump's New Policies Plunging Crypto Into Chaos, Lack of Effective Presidential Oversight in the U.S.
On February 7th, Bloomberg published an article questioning a series of actions in the crypto space by Trump since taking office, stating that the President and his entourage seem eager to establish their crypto empire. The family not only hopes to steer the U.S. towards a more crypto-friendly regulation but also seeks to carve out a place for themselves in the positive outcomes.
Based on the current (volatile) spot price, the TRUMP holdings of Trump-related entities are currently valued at approximately $14.9 billion, with risks equally staggering. As token buyers and industry insiders see an opportunity to curry favor with Trump, cronyism and corruption are sure to increase. Furthermore, ethical risks abound.
When Eric Trump tweeted insinuating Ethereum is a good buy, he was far from a neutral observer—his removal of the "you can thank me later" line from a post on X seemed to acknowledge this. Additionally, the company moved most of its reserves to Coinbase Global Inc., denying any sell-off plans, but it's hard to assess what specific insider information might be at play. Trump's tariff policies are certainly not favorable to the crypto market, and Eric Trump's pump effect is equally limited.
Bloomberg believes that without effective regulation enforcement and strengthening, oversight of the president's actions would become ineffectual, and currently Trump appears undisturbed by any constraints. The series of actions by Trump and Musk is a "textbook case of overconfidence," especially considering Trump was once convicted of fraud.
MicroStrategy Rebrands to Strategy, Sets $10 Billion "BTC Earnings" Target for 2025
On February 6, MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq: $MSTR) announced that the company is now operating under the name Strategy™. Strategy is the world's first and largest Bitcoin treasury reserve company, the largest independent publicly-traded business intelligence company, and a component of the Nasdaq 100 Index. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has set a 2025 target for "BTC earnings" of $10 billion and has revised its 2025 annual BTC earnings yield target to at least 15%. The company achieved a 74.3% BTC yield in its 2024 fiscal year and recorded 2.9% for the first quarter of 2025.
Multiple Celebrities Report Twitter 'Hack' to Promote Meme Tokens, Kanye West Says Someone Paid for Deception
This week, several celebrities in various fields promoted meme tokens, with some claiming their Twitter was hacked after the token issuance. These tokens often experience rapid pumps and dumps before eventually "rug pulling," leaving the community meme players in distress.
On February 8, Kanye West took to social media to reveal that someone proposed a $2 million payment to him to launch a meme coin to defraud his fan community. Kanye himself has rejected this "collaboration" request. According to screenshots shared by Kanye, the "collaboration" sought to have Kanye promote a rug pull meme coin, prepaying $750,000, then declaring his account "hacked" after 8 hours of posting, and finally paying $1.25 million 16 hours after the post, with the mastermind behind the scenes claiming this "collaboration" could generate tens of millions of dollars in profits.
Upon this revelation, many community members questioned whether previous instances of celebrities posting about coins were indeed hacks or merely coordinated efforts between celebrities and behind-the-scenes actors to exploit retail investors.
Top Articles of the Week
"Sun Yuchen's 8 Years in the Crypto World, a Crypto Tale of Two Cities"
Justin Sun's influence in the cryptocurrency world continues to rise. Recently, he made headlines for splurging $6.2 million on a banana artwork, establishing connections with the Trump family, and getting involved in a financial dispute with Huobi founder Leon Li. Meanwhile, the once-touted "Ethereum killer" EOS has been gradually fading into obscurity as its parent company, Block.one, has been accumulating Bitcoin, becoming the world's second-largest BTC holder. The contrasting fates of these two projects are stark: Tron (TRON) has seen continued growth thanks to its USDT ecosystem and trading volume, while EOS has been marginalized after missing key opportunities. Today, Justin Sun's wealth and influence continue to expand, while Block.one relies on its Bitcoin reserves to maintain a capital advantage. The crypto industry's tale of two cities is still unfolding.
"Cryptocurrency Market Liquidation of $2 Billion, What Are the Reasons for the Decline?"
Bitcoin has recently experienced significant volatility, briefly dropping below $92,000. On February 3, the entire network saw a liquidation of over $2.28 billion, primarily influenced by three major factors. Firstly, the domestic AI large model DeepSeek caused market turbulence, with US officials accusing it of "stealing," leading to a slump in tech stocks and risk assets like Bitcoin. Secondly, the Trump administration implemented high tariffs, sparking market concerns about an escalation in the global trade war, causing Bitcoin to briefly fall to $91,000. Lastly, El Salvador revoked Bitcoin's legal tender status. Though the government continues to accumulate BTC, negative market sentiment further intensified the downward pressure on Bitcoin.
The Berachain team recently announced the launch of an airdrop query tool and released the economic model of its token BERA, with an initial supply of 5 billion tokens and no maximum supply limit. Token allocation includes core contributors, investors, and the community, with the community portion covering airdrops, future initiatives, ecosystem, and development. Berachain is an Ethereum-compatible L1 public chain using a unique PoL consensus mechanism, dedicated to advancing the development of the decentralized finance ecosystem. The project has raised over $140 million and will be listed on multiple exchanges. However, despite the buzz surrounding the airdrop event, some users of the testnet have expressed dissatisfaction with the token distribution, especially raising concerns about the lockup period and airdrop rules.
"Market Manipulation, Retail Harvesting? Wintermute Founder Responds: We Are Not a Charity"
Wintermute's founder Evgeny Gaevoy responded to questions about his company's trading activities and market manipulation, expressing his frustration with the "keyboard warriors" on social media. He explained Wintermute's core business of profiting in the market through DeFi, CeFi, and OTC trades, emphasizing that the company is not shorting the market but earning profits through market-making strategies and arbitrage. Additionally, he clarified misconceptions about the company's market-making behavior, pointing out that the fundamental reasons for cryptocurrency market price fluctuations lie in supply and demand dynamics and macroeconomic influences.
"Is Trump Still Good for the Crypto Industry?"
After Trump launched meme coins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA, a significant amount of funds flowed in, leading to a liquidity crisis in the crypto industry. Meanwhile, Trump's policies such as imposing tariffs caused intense market volatility, with major coins like Bitcoin experiencing a significant price drop. Trump's changing attitude towards cryptocurrency and frequent policy adjustments could either bring new development opportunities to the industry or exacerbate market uncertainty and risks. Investors need to monitor policy developments and prudently navigate potential market turbulence.
"6 Young People 'Rocking' America, Musk Reveals Mystery DOGE Team: Average Age 22"
Musk-led "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) recently garnered widespread attention for shutting down the over 60-year-old U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). DOGE is composed of a young elite team, with members mostly aged between 19 and 25, including 19-year-old Edward Christian, who previously interned at Neuralink, and 23-year-old Luke Faritol, who worked for GitHub. The team's primary mission is to reshape government institutions through efficient technological means. Despite media criticism of the team's youthfulness, Musk insists that they are among the world's top software engineers. Whether this core team focused on simplicity and high technology can successfully drive government reform remains to be seen.
"28-Year-Old American Guy Gave a Coin to the Once $700 Billion Enron?"
This article revolves around the New Enron Company, telling a story that combines performance art with business. New CEO Connor Gaydos staged a social experiment and satire by reviving the bankrupt Enron company, gradually introducing a series of bizarre business moves, such as launching the Enron Nuclear Egg and releasing the cryptocurrency $ENRON, all framed as "performance art." These seemingly absurd actions not only satirize the former Enron tragedy but also prompt reflections on the complexity of information dissemination and public responses. In the end, Gaydos successfully crafted himself as an alternative artistic figure in the Web3 world through all these means.
"48-Hour Frenzy: 186,000 SOL Acquired, Decrypting the Crypto Culture Experiment Triggered by PAIN"
PAIN is a meme coin project incubated by Memeland, which raised approximately $38 million in just 48 hours, making it one of the largest meme coin presales in history. The project team later announced an 80% refund of the funds raised, sparking widespread controversy. Supporters believe that this move reflects an anti-rug-pull attitude, while skeptics point out that the refunded funds have depreciated and the remaining 20% is still sufficient to launch the project. PAIN's success was facilitated by Memeland's resources and celebrity effect, but its long-term development faces challenges. Over-commercialization may weaken its original charm, and meme coins are vulnerable to market fluctuations.
"BTC in Sideways Trading, Altcoins at New Lows, Has the Bull Market Ended? | Trader's Observation"
The Trump administration's policy impact on the cryptocurrency market has been limited and has brought negative impacts due to its macroeconomic policies and trade wars. Interest rate hikes and a strong dollar have led to market turmoil, especially with the poor performance of altcoins. Despite the short-term wealth effect of a meme coin bearing Trump's name, the market is doubtful about whether the bull market still exists. While Bitcoin has experienced some rebound, overall market sentiment is subdued, with liquidity shifting to Bitcoin. Macro-economic data shows a strong U.S. labor market, reducing the possibility of interest rate cuts, leading to a more complex market response.
"Is it Time to Exit the Cryptocurrency Market? Nearly 20% of Indicators Have Peaked and Retreated"
Some indicators in the current market have shown signs of a market peak, such as Bitcoin's Rhodl ratio, USDT current account financing rate, and altcoin seasonality index. These signals suggest that the market may be entering an overheated zone but do not necessarily mean the peak has been reached. Investors should remain vigilant, consider gradually reducing their holdings, convert profits into stablecoins or fiat currency, and avoid chasing higher-risk altcoins. Maintaining rationality and exiting in a timely manner is more important than waiting for the perfect top.
The Base ecosystem is rapidly gaining prominence in the Ethereum L2 ecosystem, thanks to the efforts of numerous developers and community members. BlockBeats' latest initiative, the "Base Builder Talk" column, has invited Asian teams and developers deeply involved in Base construction to share their experiences and insights. Onchain researcher Aaros (183Aaros.base.eth) mentioned in the interview that what attracted him to Base was its vision of a "global on-chain economy," especially Jesse's idea of "not just coders, but also creators and community builders." Furthermore, Aaros proposed the concept of "cyber reality," stating that on-chain economics is an interdisciplinary integration that emphasizes a new interactive mode of production and consumption, with the Base ecosystem driving the realization of this new paradigm.
"SEC Announces Top Ten Priorities of Cryptocurrency Working Group, Official Website Launched"
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently launched a new cryptocurrency working group and released the top ten priorities, signaling a shift in its regulatory strategy from "enforcement" to a greater emphasis on "guidance and regulation." The new working group will focus on issues such as the securities attributes of crypto assets, cross-border regulatory cooperation, while easing enforcement efforts to create a more flexible regulatory environment for the industry. These changes aim to provide clearer regulatory guidance for investors and entrepreneurs, promote innovation and market development, and ensure effective anti-fraud protection.
"Beyond the Bear Market, Comprehensive Overview of Upcoming Popular Public Chain Ecosystem Projects"
After its launch on mainstream trading platforms, Berachain briefly surged above $15 but saw a rapid billion-dollar trading volume and a significant price drop, demonstrating the market's high volatility. Current popular crypto projects include MegaETH, Monad, Story, and Abstract. The GTE trading platform within the MegaETH ecosystem raised $10 million in funding and attracted market attention through an innovative decentralized trading model. Projects within the Monad ecosystem, such as aPriori, Kuru, and Kintsu, aim to optimize network performance through innovative liquidity staking and market mechanisms. The Story platform combines AI and cryptocurrency to introduce a new decentralized IP governance approach.
"DeepSeek’s Bursting of the AI Bubble: Is Crypto AI a Blessing or a Curse?"
The release of DeepSeek R1 and its open-source strategy has transformed the Crypto AI ecosystem, driving forward the decentralization of AI. Its groundbreaking self-learning training approach and low-cost model training have led to a major reshuffle in the Crypto AI market, with many token prices experiencing a sharp decline. However, this has actually paved the way for the long-term development of Crypto AI. DeepSeek R1 has not only challenged traditional closed-source AI models but has also impacted the hardware market, particularly NVIDIA's dominant position. Furthermore, DeepSeek's open-source model and new technology have brought innovation and cost reduction to several Crypto AI projects, providing an opportunity for the resurgence of the crypto market.
In this article, Arthur Hayes criticizes two main desires in the current cryptocurrency industry: establishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (BSR) and promoting cryptocurrency regulatory bills. The author believes that the government's purchase of Bitcoin as a reserve asset may create market instability due to political motives. Additionally, the complexity of crypto regulation will only benefit large centralized companies, harming the spirit of decentralized innovation. The article argues that the truly effective solution should be to treat Bitcoin as a neutral global reserve asset, avoiding reliance on government intervention, and promoting a more equitable and meaningful development of cryptocurrency.
"From VC Coins to Meme Frenzy, the Crypto Market Has Had Enough"
This article delves deep into the changes in the crypto market, especially the fatigue among retail users. It is evident that the market has transitioned from a venture capital-dominated market at the beginning of 2024 to the meme coin frenzy. While meme coins initially provided retail investors with a more level playing field, they eventually became overly speculative, leading to a worsened market condition. Retail users are tired of losses, and the market has become rapid and competitive, emphasizing the importance of finding a new balance and calling for more attention to projects with practical applications and fair distribution mechanisms.
"AI Market Cools Off, Is Venice Based on DeepSeek Still an Ideal Pump Target?"
This article reviews the market fluctuations of AI projects, noting that emerging crypto projects often experience pullbacks after rapid growth, a process that helps filter out projects with long-term value. Despite many AI projects experiencing significant market cap declines, Venice AI has demonstrated long-term potential with its decentralized, uncensored nature and innovative tokenomics. However, Venice's launch process has also sparked controversy, especially regarding team operations and transparency.
"WSJ: Making Billions, He Gambled Big on Bitcoin to Turn It Around"
Michael Saylor made a large-scale Bitcoin purchase through MicroStrategy. Although the company did not launch a hot product, it raised funds to support its Bitcoin investment through stock and bond offerings, causing the stock price to soar and making him a representative figure of the Bitcoin craze. Despite the enormous risks and market volatility brought about by this strategy, Saylor remains steadfast in his bullish view of Bitcoin's scarcity and digital nature, believing it to be a revolutionary hedge against inflation. His company attracts funds through innovative investment tools while facing the risks of Bitcoin price fluctuations, yet its financial situation remains relatively stable for now.
"Event Update | Consensus HongKong 2025 to Be Held on February 18-20"
From February 18 to 20, 2025, CoinDesk will host Consensus Hong Kong in Hong Kong, bringing together key companies and figures in the blockchain, digital asset, and Web3 fields to drive industry development. The event's themes include the future of Bitcoin, the prospects of decentralized finance, and the evolution of the crypto market, with guest speakers including the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Binance, Solana, Tron, and other industry leaders. As the official media partner, The BlockBeats will provide readers with exciting on-site coverage. In addition, multiple related peripheral events will also take place in Hong Kong concurrently, covering technical exchanges, social gatherings, and industry summits.
"Tutorial | How to Find a KOL's Trading Address? With a File of a Hundred KOL Addresses Attached"
The influence of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) can significantly impact a project, and understanding their trading dynamics is of significant value to investors. Platforms such as gmgn and chain.fm can be used to find KOL addresses and analyze them based on their trading style, win rate, and other data. In addition to conventional public channels, some KOLs share specific trading information on Twitter. By combining this information, their addresses can be identified. Once you find a KOL's address, monitoring tools like debot can help you promptly receive trading information. For KOLs without publicly disclosed addresses, tracking their trading dynamics through forensic analysis can also be done.
"How Did the U.S. Become the Crypto Capital? a16z Releases 11 Articles Explaining"
The U.S. government is gradually adjusting its stance on blockchain and cryptocurrency, taking a more supportive attitude, providing clear rules and guidance to help the industry develop. Despite facing multiple challenges, recent actions such as the White House's executive order supporting blockchain development, the SEC establishing a new working group, and Congress advancing relevant legislation, show a more proactive regulatory trend. In addition, industry experts have raised several key issues, including the importance of decentralization, SEC adjustment suggestions, and support for the staking industry, providing valuable references for policymakers and driving innovation and leadership in the U.S. crypto sector.
In 2024, the annual report released by Tokenomist revealed several key trends in the crypto market, such as token unlocks, low-circulating supply high FDV tokens, Memecoins, and the rise of AI agents. The report highlights the significant impact of token unlock events on market liquidity, especially in large-scale unlock events, such as Arbitrum and Sui, where the market sentiment before and after unlocking and changes in funding rates reflect investors' different expectations. Additionally, Memecoin returns have far outpaced Bitcoin and Ethereum, but their long-term success rate is low, with many projects short-lived. AI agents combining Memecoins and social media elements showcase a new trend in the crypto market, expected to further develop in 2025, bringing new innovations and challenges.
"Decrypting Moonshot Listing Data: 50% Face Inevitable Zeroing, TRUMP Emerges as the Top Dog"
Moonshot is a Meme coin trading platform based on the Solana blockchain that attracted a large number of users by simplifying the trading process and offering multiple fiat deposit methods amidst a subdued market sentiment. In the second half of 2024, with Trump launching the TRUMP token, the platform's trading volume surged, attracting many new users. However, out of the 116 tokens listed on Moonshot, over 85% of the project prices experienced significant declines, with most projects rapidly zeroing out in the short term. This demonstrates the high-risk nature of the Meme coin market, where the returns from short-term speculation often prove unsustainable, reminding investors to react rationally to market fluctuations.
"Controversy Arises Over megaETH NFT Sale: Giving Back to the Community or Seizing an Opportunity?"
megaETH has announced the launch of a new NFT series, The Fluffle, with a total supply of 10,000 and a price of 1 ETH per non-fungible SBT. Holders will receive a future 5% token allocation, sparking a heated debate in the market. Supporters believe the valuation is reasonable, with significant growth potential, and the project has rejected high VC investments to give the community a chance. Opponents, however, question whether this is a disguised ICO, selling tokens before the mainnet is live, possibly taking advantage of the bull market to prematurely harvest the community. There remains a divergence of opinions on the long-term impact of this model on the market.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a more crypto-friendly stance under the new government leadership and has expedited the review process for cryptocurrency spot ETFs. Currently, the spot ETF applications for SOL, LTC, and XRP are leading the way, with SOL and LTC each having applications from 5 institutions. The LTC ETFs from Grayscale and Canary and the SOL ETF from Grayscale have been accepted by the SEC. The XRP spot ETF, applied for by 5 institutions, is awaiting SEC confirmation. Analysts believe that the SEC's change in attitude may be related to leadership changes, and the market holds an optimistic view on the approval of the LTC ETF. In addition, ETF applications for other crypto assets such as DOGE and DOT are also making progress.
This article explores the development trends of Web2 and Web3 AI Agents based on Y Combinator's 2025 Spring "Request for Startups." It outlines six major tracks: AI open-source software, Agent development tools, vertical AI Agents, personal AI assistants, AI app stores, and B2A (Business-to-Agent). Web3 empowers AI Agents with decentralization, trustlessness, and composability, driving the rise of the AI + Crypto ecosystem.
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$COIN Joins S&P 500, but Coinbase Isn't Celebrating
On May 13, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Coinbase would officially replace Discover Financial Services in the S&P 500 on May 19. While other companies like Block and MicroStrategy, closely tied to Bitcoin, were already part of the S&P 500, Coinbase became the first cryptocurrency exchange whose primary business is in the index. This also signifies that cryptocurrency is gradually moving from the fringes to the mainstream in the U.S.
On the day of the announcement, Coinbase's stock price surged by 23%, surpassing the $250 mark. However, just 3 days later, Coinbase was hit by two consecutive events: a hack where employees were bribed to steal customer data and a demand for a $20 million ransom, and an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the authenticity of its claim of having over 100 million "verified users" in its securities filings and marketing materials. These two events acted as mini-bombs, and at the time of writing, Coinbase's stock had already dropped by over 7.3%.
Coincidentally, Discover Financial Services, being replaced by Coinbase, can also be considered the "Coinbase" of the previous payment era. Discover is a U.S.-based digital banking and payment services company headquartered in Illinois, founded in 1960. Its payment network, Discover Network, is the fourth largest payment network apart from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
In April, after the approval of the acquisition of Discover by the sixth-largest U.S. bank, Capital One, this well-established digital banking company of over 60 years smoothly handed over its S&P 500 "seat" to this emerging cryptocurrency "bank." This unexpected coincidence also portrayed the handover between the new and old eras in Coinbase's entry into the S&P 500, resembling a relay race scene. However, this relay baton also brought Coinbase's accumulated "external troubles and internal strife" to a tipping point.
Over the past decade, cryptocurrency exchanges have been the most stable "profit machines." They play a role in providing liquidity to the entire industry and rely on trading fees to sustain their operations. However, with the comprehensive rollout of ETF products in the U.S. market, this profit model is facing unprecedented challenges. As the leader in the "American stack," with over 80% of its business coming from the U.S., Coinbase is most affected by this.
Starting from the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, traditional financial capital has significantly onboarded users and funds that originally belonged to exchanges in a more cost-effective, compliant, and transparent manner. The transaction fee revenue of cryptocurrency exchanges has started to decline, and this trend may further intensify in the coming months.
According to Coinbase's 2024 Q4 financial report, the platform's total trading revenue was $417 million, a 45% year-on-year decrease. The contribution of BTC and ETH's trading revenue dropped from 65% in the same period last year to less than 50%.
This decline is not a result of a decrease in market enthusiasm. In fact, since the approval of the Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, the inflow of BTC into the U.S. market has continued to reach new highs, with asset management giants like BlackRock and Fidelity rapidly expanding their management scale. Data shows that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) alone has surpassed $17 billion in assets under management. As of mid-May 2025, the cumulative net inflow of 11 major institutional Bitcoin spot ETFs on the market has exceeded $41.5 billion, with a total net asset value of $1214.69 billion, accounting for approximately 5.91% of the total Bitcoin market capitalization.
Institutional investors and some retail investors are shifting towards ETF products, partly due to compliance and tax considerations. On one hand, ETFs have much lower trading costs compared to cryptocurrency exchanges. While Coinbase's spot trading fee rate varies annually in a tiered manner but averages around 1.49%, for example, the management fee for IBIT ETF is only 0.25%, and the majority of ETF institution fees fluctuate around 0.15% to 0.25%.
In other words, the more rational users are, the more likely they are to move from exchanges to ETF products, especially for investors aiming for long-term holdings.
According to multiple sources, several institutions, including VanEck and Grayscale, have submitted applications to the SEC for a Solana (SOL) ETF, with some institutions also planning to submit an XRP ETF proposal. Once approved, this may trigger a new round of fund migration. According to a report submitted by Coinbase to the SEC, as of April, the platform's trading revenue from XRP and Solana accounted for 18% and 10%, nearly one-third of the platform's fee revenue.
However, the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs passed in 2024 also reduced the fees for these two tokens on Coinbase from 30% and 15% to 26% and 10%, respectively. If the SOL and XRP ETFs are approved, it will further undermine the core fee revenue of exchanges like Coinbase.
The expansion of ETF products is gradually weakening the financial intermediary status of cryptocurrency exchanges. From their original roles as matchmakers and clearers to now gradually becoming mere "on-ramps and off-ramps" for funds, exchanges are seeing their marginal value squeezed by ETFs.
On May 12, 2025, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins gave a keynote speech at the Tokenization and Cryptocurrency Working Group roundtable. The theme of his speech revolved around "It is a new day at the SEC," where he indicated that the SEC would not approach enforcement and regulation the same way as before but would instead pave the way for cryptocurrency assets in the U.S. market.
With signs of cryptocurrency compliance such as the SEC's "NEW DAY" declaration, an increasing number of traditional brokerages are attempting to enter the cryptocurrency industry. One of the most representative cases is the well-known U.S. brokerage Robinhood, which began expanding its crypto business in 2018. By the time of its IPO in 2021, Robinhood's crypto business revenue accounted for over 50% of the company, with a significant boost from the Dogecoin "moonshot" promoted by Musk.
In Q1 2025 earnings report, Robinhood showcased strong growth, especially in revenue from cryptocurrency and options trading. Fueled by Trump's Memecoin, cryptocurrency-related revenue reached $250 million, nearly doubling year-over-year. Consequently, Robinhood Gold subscription users reached 3.5 million, a 90% increase from the previous year, with the rapid growth of Robinhood Gold providing the company with a stable source of income.
Meanwhile, RobinHood is actively pursuing acquisitions in the cryptocurrency space. In 2024, it announced a $2 billion acquisition of the long-standing European cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp. Additionally, Canada's largest cryptocurrency CEX, WonderFi, which recently went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, also announced its integration with RobinHood Crypto. After obtaining virtual asset licenses in the UK, Canada, Singapore, and other markets, RobinHood has taken a proactive approach in the compliant cryptocurrency trading market.
Furthermore, an increasing number of brokerage firms are exploring the same path. Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers, and others are also dipping their toes into cryptocurrency trading, with some having applied for or obtained the VA license from the Hong Kong SFC. Although their user bases are currently small, traditional brokerages have a natural advantage in user trust, regulatory licenses, and low fee structures. This could pose a threat to native cryptocurrency platforms in the future.
In April 2025, security researchers discovered that some Coinbase user data was leaked on the dark web. While the platform initially responded by attributing it to a "technical misinformation," it still raised concerns among users regarding its security and privacy protection. Just two days before Dow Jones Indexes announced Coinbase's addition to the S&P 500 Index, on May 11, 2025, Coinbase received an email from an unknown threat actor claiming to have obtained customer account information and internal documents, demanding a $20 million ransom to keep the data private. Subsequent investigations confirmed the data breach.
Cybercriminals obtained the data by bribing overseas customer service agents and support staff, mainly in "non-U.S. regions such as India." These agents abused their access to Coinbase's internal customer support system and stole customer data. As early as February this year, blockchain detective ZachXBT revealed on X platform that between December 2024 and January 2025, Coinbase users lost over $65 million to social engineering scams, with the actual amount potentially higher.
Among the victims was a well-known figure, 67-year-old Ed Suman, an established artist in the art world for nearly two decades, having been involved in the creation of artworks such as Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" sculpture. Earlier this year, he fell victim to an impersonation scam involving fake Coinbase customer support, resulting in a loss of over $2 million in cryptocurrency. ZachXBT critiqued Coinbase for its inadequate handling of such scams, noting that other major exchanges have not faced similar issues and recommending Coinbase to enhance its security measures.
Amidst a series of ongoing social engineering incidents, although there has not been any impact on user assets at the technical level so far, it has raised concerns among many retail and institutional investors. Especially institutions holding massive assets on Coinbase. Just considering the U.S. BTC ETF institutions, as of mid-May 2025, they collectively hold nearly 840,000 BTC, and 75% of these are custodied by Coinbase. If we price BTC at $100,000, this amount reaches a staggering $63 billion, which is equivalent to the nominal GDP of two Iceland in the year 2024.
In addition, Coinbase Custody also serves over 300 institutional clients, including hedge funds, family offices, pension funds, and endowments. As of the Q1 2025 financial report, Coinbase's total assets under management (including institutional and retail clients) reached $404 billion. The specific amount of institutional custodied assets was not explicitly disclosed in the latest report, but it should still be over 50% based on the Q4 2024 report.
Once this security barrier is breached, not only could the rate of user attrition far exceed expectations, but more importantly, institutional trust in it would undermine the foundation of its business. Therefore, after a hacking event, Coinbase's stock price plummeted significantly.
Facing a decline in spot trading fee revenue, Coinbase is also accelerating its transformation, attempting to find growth opportunities in derivatives and emerging assets. Coinbase acquired a stake in the options platform Deribit at the end of 2024 and announced the official launch of perpetual contract products in 2025. This acquisition fills in Coinbase's gap in options trading and its relatively small global market share.
Deribit has a strong presence in non-U.S. markets, especially in Asia and Europe. The acquisition has enabled Coinbase to gain a dominant position in bitcoin and ethereum options trading on Deribit, accounting for approximately 80% of the global options trading volume, with daily trading volume remaining above $2 billion.
Meanwhile, 80-90% of Deribit's customer base consists of institutional investors, with their professionalism and liquidity in the Bitcoin and Ethereum options market highly favored by institutions. Coinbase's compliance advantage, coupled with its already robust institutional ecosystem, makes it even more suitable. By using institutions as an entry point, it can face the squeeze from giants like Binance and OKX in the derivatives market.
Facing a similar dilemma is Kraken, which is attempting to replicate Binance Futures' model in non-U.S. markets. Since the derivatives market relies more on professional users, fee rates are relatively higher and stickiness is stronger, making it a significant source of revenue for exchanges. In the first half of 2025, Kraken completed the acquisition of TradeStation Crypto and a futures exchange, aiming to build a complete derivatives trading ecosystem to hedge the risk of declining spot transaction fee income.
With the surge of Memecoin in 2024, Binance, OKX, and various CEX platforms began massively listing small-market-cap, highly volatile tokens to activate active trading users. Due to the wealth effect and trading activity of Memecoins, Coinbase was also forced to join the battle, successively listing popular tokens from the Solana ecosystem such as BOOK OF MEME and Dogwifhat. Although these coins are controversial, they are frequently traded, with fee rates several times higher than mainstream coins, serving as a "blood-boosting" method for spot trading.
However, due to its status as a publicly traded company, this practice is a riskier endeavor for Coinbase. Even in the current crypto-friendly environment, the SEC is still investigating whether tokens like SOL, ADA, and SAND constitute securities.
In addition to the forced transformation strategies carried out by the aforementioned CEXs, they are also starting to lay out RWAs and the most talked-about stablecoin payment fields, such as the PYUSD launched through a collaboration between Coinbase and Paypal, Coinbase's support for the Euro stablecoin EURC by Circle that complies with EU MiCA regulatory requirements, or the USD1 launched through a collaboration between Binance and WIFL. In the increasingly crowded trading field, many CEXs have shifted their focus from just the trading market to the application field.
The golden age of transaction fees has quietly ended, and the second half of the crypto exchange platform game has silently begun.
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1.Binance Alpha Launches HIPPO, BLUE, and Other Tokens
2.Believe Ecosystem Tokens See General Rise, LAUNCHCOIN Surges Over 250% in 24 Hours
3.Tiger Securities Introduces Cryptocurrency Deposit and Withdrawal Service, Supports Mainstream Cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH
4.Current Bitcoin Rally Possibly Driven by Institutions, Retail Traders Yet to Join
5.Binance Wallet's New TGE Privasea AI Participation Requires a 198 Point Threshold, with a Point Consumption of 15
Source: Overheard on CT (tg: @overheardonct), Kaito
PUMP: Today's discussions about PUMP focus on its new creator revenue-sharing model: the platform will allocate 50% of PumpSwap revenue to token creators, sparking varied reactions from users. Some criticize the move as insufficient or even misleading, while others view it as a positive step the platform is taking to reward creators. Meanwhile, PUMP faces market pressure from emerging competitors like LetsBONKfun and Raydium, which are rapidly gaining market share. Users also express concerns about PUMP's sustainability and potential regulatory risks in the U.S., with discussions extending to the platform's impact on the entire memecoin ecosystem.
COINBASE: Today, Coinbase became the first crypto company to join the S&P 500 Index, replacing Discover Financial Services, sparking widespread industry attention. The entire crypto community views this milestone as a significant development, signaling that crypto assets are further integrating into the mainstream financial system. The news has sparked lively discussions on Twitter, with many users pointing out that this may attract more institutional investors to enter the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets.
XRP: XRP became the focal point of today's crypto discussion, with its significant market movements and strategic advances drawing attention. XRP has surpassed USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, sparking market excitement and discussions about its future potential. The surge in market capitalization and price is believed to be related to increasing institutional interest, deepening strategic partnerships, and its role in the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, XRP's integration into multiple financial systems and its potential as a macro asset class are also seen as key factors driving the current market sentiment.
DYDX: Today's discussions about DYDX mainly focused on the dYdX Yapper Leaderboard launched by KaitoAI. The leaderboard aims to identify the most active community participants, with a total of $150,000 in rewards to be distributed over the first three seasons. This initiative has sparked broad community participation, with many users discussing the potential rewards and the incentive effect on the DYDX ecosystem. Meanwhile, progress on the ethDYDX to dYdX native chain migration and historical airdrop events have also been topics of discussion.
1. "What Is 'ICM'? Holding Up the $4 Billion Market Cap Solana's New Narrative"
Overnight, the hottest narrative in the crypto space has become "Internet Capital Markets," with a host of crypto projects and founders, led by the Solana ecosystem's new Launchpad platform Believe, releasing this phrase. Together with "Believe in something," it has become the new slogan heralding the onset of a bull market. What exactly is the so-called "Internet Capital Market," will it become a short-lived hype phrase like the Base ecosystem's previous Content Coin, and what related targets are available for selection?2.《LaunchCoin Surges 20x in One Day, How Did Believe Create a $200M Market Cap Shiba Inu After Going to Zero?｜100x Retrospective》
LAUNCHCOIN broke through a $200 million market cap today, with the long-lost liquidity and such a high market cap "Memecoin" almost bringing half of the on-chain crypto community CT into the fray. The community is crazily discussing this token, with half of it being FOMO and the other half being FUD. This token, originally issued by Believe founder Ben Pasternak under his personal identity, transformed into a new platform token after a renaming. From once going to zero to a $200 million market cap, what happened in between?May 14 On-chain Fund Flow
Within 24 hours, GOONC's market cap soared to 70 million, could GOONC be the next billion-dollar dog on the Believe platform?
Bitcoin has broken $100,000, Ethereum has surpassed 2500, and is Solana's hot streak about to make a comeback?
The current market is in a state of macro euphoria, with GOONC riding the wave today, skyrocketing 10x in just a few hours, reaching a market cap of tens of millions of dollars, trading volume soaring past 50 million, and rumors swirling that the developer may be from OpenAI (unconfirmed but intriguing enough).
A ludicrous and absurd Solana meme that some actually buy into.
GOONC is a meme coin that has sprouted from the "gooning" subculture, offering no technological innovation or practical use, its sole function being speculation.
It takes inspiration from an NSFW term "gooning," which refers to a person being deeply immersed in certain content (you know what), eventually entering a nearly religious-like trance.
In Reddit (such as r/GOONED, r/GoonCaves) and some counterculture media outlets (such as MEL Magazine in 2020), "gooning" has gradually transitioned from an adult label to a meme-addicted, digital content and virtual self-indulgence synonym, arguably the epitome of Degen spirit.
GOONC is playing around with this concept, packaging the addictive nature, uselessness, and irony of gooning into a tradable financial product. The project team has made it clear: "We do not solve blockchain problems, we only trade absurdity." Blunt but oddly genuine.
GOONC launched on May 13, 2025, using the meme coin launch platform Believe App's LaunchCoin module on Solana. This tool is highly Degen: zero technical barriers, a few clicks to create a coin, perfect for projects like GOONC that can come up with ideas out of the blue.
The mastermind behind GOONC is also quite something and is the most talked-about, with KOL @basedalexandoor on X platform (alias "Pata van Goon") personally involved. His profile even caught the attention of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, making onlookers unable to resist speculating if GOONC has a hint of OpenAI lineage.
While this 'OpenAI Endorsement' is currently just community speculation, it is definitely a good card to play to fuel hype. Saying "we are pure speculation" on one hand, while tagging a few "AI + a16z" on the other.
GOONC took off as soon as it launched. After its launch on May 13, 2025, its market capitalization skyrocketed to $22 million within 4 hours, with a trading volume exceeding $25.6 million in 24 hours. According to platform data, the first day of trading saw an astonishing +41,100% surge, soaring from $0.0000001 to $0.02, becoming a "missed-the-boat" situation.
GOONC quickly formed an active trading community post-launch, with a lot of discussion and trading signals appearing on X platform (such as the 292x return signal provided by DeBot). Liquidity pools on exchanges like Raydium and Meteora grew rapidly, supporting high trading volumes and price increases.
The real climax occurred between May 13 and May 14, with the market cap rising to $5.5 million in the morning and directly surpassing $55 million in the afternoon. By the 14th, it briefly approached a $70 million market cap, with the trading volume soaring to $59 million. Some community members even posted screenshots claiming an increase of +85,000%, creating a new myth out of the ruins.
As of 1:30 pm on May 14, the price stabilized around $0.039, with a total market cap and FDV both around $39.6 million, and a 24-hour trading volume of $5.43 million. Active platforms include XT.COM, LBank, Meteora, and others.
Although there was a slight pullback from the peak ($0.07), the coin's popularity remains strong. For a coin that relies purely on "irony + community + X post" to thrive, this performance is already at a stellar level.
Currently, the background of the token's development team is not transparent, increasing the potential risk of a rug pull. Rugcheck.xyz warns that the creator of the GOONC contract may have permission to modify the contract (e.g., change fees or mint additional tokens), posing certain security risks.
Community members speculate that the meteoric rise of GOONC may be the "last hurrah".
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After Surging 40%, Has Ethereum Price Peaked Upon Exiting the Craze?
Whether you are an insider or an outsider, these days you must be familiar with the news about Ethereum. The reason is simple, causing Ethereum enthusiasts to sigh with emotion and almost throwing off-guard those who defend Ethereum, Ethereum, with a "3-day surge of 40%," climbed to the top of the Douyin Hot List.
As we all know, Ethereum launched the Pectra upgrade on May 7th. This most significant network upgrade since early 2024 integrates the Prague execution layer hard fork and the Electra consensus layer upgrade, significantly improving Ethereum's performance through 11 improvement proposals. The account abstraction feature (EIP-7702) allows users to flexibly manage wallets through social media accounts or multi-signature schemes, reducing the user threshold, attracting more users and developers. The staking mechanism optimization increases the validator ETH cap from 32ETH to 2048ETH and introduces a flexible withdrawal method, making it easier for institutions and individuals to participate in network security, enhancing the market's confidence in Ethereum's long-term value.
At the same time, Pectra optimized the interaction efficiency of Layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum and Optimism, making transactions faster and cheaper, leading to a surge in on-chain activity. As a crucial step for Ethereum's transition from "2G" to "5G," the Pectra upgrade not only enhances network vitality but also "recharges confidence" in the market, directly driving the price increase.
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It's not just Ethereum itself, as Wall Street also brought important bullish news.
The world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, proposed to the SEC allowing Ethereum ETFs for staking. This proposal is expected to elevate Ethereum ETFs from a mere investment tool to a bond-like "interest-bearing asset," bringing investors both capital appreciation and passive income, igniting market optimism about Ethereum's future potential.
Specifically, BlackRock has proposed to amend its S-1 filing to allow investors to create and redeem ETF shares directly with Ethereum instead of the U.S. dollar (i.e., in-kind redemption). This move, combined with its $2.9 billion BUIDL Fund launched in March 2024, aims to deepen the integration of traditional finance with blockchain. The BUIDL Fund is a tokenized fund operating on the Ethereum network, investing in traditional assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds. This setup is highly attractive to institutional investors, as they can not only benefit from Ethereum's price appreciation but also earn stable cash flow through staking.
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's Head of Digital Assets, stated in a CNBC interview in March 2025 that the addition of staking functionality will significantly enhance the appeal of the Ethereum ETF. He admitted that when the Ethereum spot ETF was launched in July 2024 without staking functionality, the market demand was lackluster, and staking could be the key to reversing this trend.
Meanwhile, the SEC's shifting stance on cryptocurrency regulation has also fueled this upward trend. During the tenure of the previous SEC chairman, the regulatory approach was tough, and staking was strictly viewed through the Howey test as a potential unregistered security. Therefore, when approving the Ethereum spot ETF in May 2024, staking functionality was explicitly prohibited.
However, with Trump back in the White House and Paul Atkins taking over the SEC, there has been a noticeable relaxation in crypto regulation. Apart from BlackRock, ETF issuers such as Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, and 21Shares have also submitted applications for similar staking and in-kind redemption.
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If staking ETFs are approved, the benefits are likely to go beyond price appreciation. The introduction of staking functionality could redefine the role of crypto assets, making them more similar to traditional financial products that provide returns and value appreciation, thereby driving Ethereum closer to mainstream finance.
Currently, the SEC still needs to address several decisions related to crypto ETFs, including whether to approve ETFs for Solana, XRP, Litecoin, and even Dogecoin. With the calls for an "altcoin season" growing louder, Ethereum's strong performance may just be the beginning of a larger crypto market frenzy.
In addition, the Trump family-related DeFi project WLFI is also bullish on this wave of rise, with frequent on-chain activities. According to on-chain data analyst @ai_9684xtpa's monitoring, a WLFI-related address is currently borrowing coins to go long on ETH, borrowing 4 million U from Aave to buy 1590 ETH at an average price of $2515 per ETH.
For this epic surge of Ethereum after half a year of silence, the community has indeed gained more confidence and hope, which has also led to a revival of the entire altcoin market. However, amidst the joy, there are also voices of pessimism. Below is a summary conducted by BlockBeats based on community discussions.
The optimists point out that the current market structure is similar to the eve of the bull markets in 2016 and 2020, predicting a life-changing surge in the next 3-6 months, where some altcoins may even achieve astonishing single-day gains of up to 40%.
@liuwei16602825 stated that this surge signifies the return of the bull market as a sure thing. There is no need to worry about a pullback. The driving force behind the surge uses a high-cost isolated operation, fearing a drop more than any retail investor and will definitely do everything to support the price.
Related Reading: "Ethereum Leads the Surge Triggering the 'Altcoin Season' Speculation, How Do Traders View the Future Market?"
The bears mainly believe that this surge is different from the bull market of 2021, as the current market lacks the confidence of large-scale retail investors entering and holding positions for the long term, with funds rotating too quickly.
@market_beggar observed that a Bitfinex E/B whale has started to close positions and believes that if this whale maintains its high-speed position-closing operation for the next few days, it can be inferred that the whale no longer sees the upside potential of ETH, preparing to take profits and exit. The closing time will be a key focus going forward.
@FLS_OTC stated that there are still many uncertainties at the macro level, and the liquidity cannot support a major bull market. At this stage, it is a "last hurrah," not a complete reversal, and will continue to remain in a short position.
@off_thetarget believes that after ETH transitioned from POW to POS, it lost the "gold standard" of mining machine power cost support. The staking economic model led to a breakdown in value anchoring. Additionally, the L2 ecosystem (such as Starknet, zkSync, etc.) suffered from liquidity fragmentation, failing to establish an effective capital inflow mechanism, causing the collapse of the split disc pattern. Furthermore, the ETH community's excessive pursuit of technical narratives divorced from real-world needs resulted in a weak ecosystem growth. Therefore, he believes that ETH's intrinsic value system has crumbled, and the price is bound to plummet to the 800-1200 range, with a decisive short position at 1800.
@Airdrop_Guard, based on the core logic of the "High Probability Trading Strategy," where three sets of underlying logic different trading systems (such as volume depletion, price supply-demand, long/short position funding rate, etc.) simultaneously issue a short signal at the same point (2580), creating a high-probability trading opportunity. He emphasizes that these systems must be based on different algorithms and logics (rather than mere technical indicator overlays). The current ETH trend aligns with the short conditions in multiple independent dimensions of his trading system, hence the decision to short.
Overall, Bitcoin still maintains over 54% market dominance, and institutional funds' continued preference for it may limit the altcoin's upward potential. The market's future direction will depend on multiple factors, such as Bitcoin's price trend, global macroeconomic conditions, and whether funds can effectively rotate from Bitcoin to the altcoin sector.
Although Ethereum's recent leadership in the market has brought about optimistic sentiment, investors still need to remain rational as different sectors of altcoins are likely to show divergence in trends. Whether this round of Ethereum's rise will usher in a true altcoin frenzy may require more time and conducive conditions.
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$COIN Joins S&P 500, but Coinbase Isn't Celebrating
On May 13, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Coinbase would officially replace Discover Financial Services in the S&P 500 on May 19. While other companies like Block and MicroStrategy, closely tied to Bitcoin, were already part of the S&P 500, Coinbase became the first cryptocurrency exchange whose primary business is in the index. This also signifies that cryptocurrency is gradually moving from the fringes to the mainstream in the U.S.
On the day of the announcement, Coinbase's stock price surged by 23%, surpassing the $250 mark. However, just 3 days later, Coinbase was hit by two consecutive events: a hack where employees were bribed to steal customer data and a demand for a $20 million ransom, and an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the authenticity of its claim of having over 100 million "verified users" in its securities filings and marketing materials. These two events acted as mini-bombs, and at the time of writing, Coinbase's stock had already dropped by over 7.3%.
Coincidentally, Discover Financial Services, being replaced by Coinbase, can also be considered the "Coinbase" of the previous payment era. Discover is a U.S.-based digital banking and payment services company headquartered in Illinois, founded in 1960. Its payment network, Discover Network, is the fourth largest payment network apart from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
In April, after the approval of the acquisition of Discover by the sixth-largest U.S. bank, Capital One, this well-established digital banking company of over 60 years smoothly handed over its S&P 500 "seat" to this emerging cryptocurrency "bank." This unexpected coincidence also portrayed the handover between the new and old eras in Coinbase's entry into the S&P 500, resembling a relay race scene. However, this relay baton also brought Coinbase's accumulated "external troubles and internal strife" to a tipping point.
Over the past decade, cryptocurrency exchanges have been the most stable "profit machines." They play a role in providing liquidity to the entire industry and rely on trading fees to sustain their operations. However, with the comprehensive rollout of ETF products in the U.S. market, this profit model is facing unprecedented challenges. As the leader in the "American stack," with over 80% of its business coming from the U.S., Coinbase is most affected by this.
Starting from the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, traditional financial capital has significantly onboarded users and funds that originally belonged to exchanges in a more cost-effective, compliant, and transparent manner. The transaction fee revenue of cryptocurrency exchanges has started to decline, and this trend may further intensify in the coming months.
According to Coinbase's 2024 Q4 financial report, the platform's total trading revenue was $417 million, a 45% year-on-year decrease. The contribution of BTC and ETH's trading revenue dropped from 65% in the same period last year to less than 50%.
This decline is not a result of a decrease in market enthusiasm. In fact, since the approval of the Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, the inflow of BTC into the U.S. market has continued to reach new highs, with asset management giants like BlackRock and Fidelity rapidly expanding their management scale. Data shows that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) alone has surpassed $17 billion in assets under management. As of mid-May 2025, the cumulative net inflow of 11 major institutional Bitcoin spot ETFs on the market has exceeded $41.5 billion, with a total net asset value of $1214.69 billion, accounting for approximately 5.91% of the total Bitcoin market capitalization.
Institutional investors and some retail investors are shifting towards ETF products, partly due to compliance and tax considerations. On one hand, ETFs have much lower trading costs compared to cryptocurrency exchanges. While Coinbase's spot trading fee rate varies annually in a tiered manner but averages around 1.49%, for example, the management fee for IBIT ETF is only 0.25%, and the majority of ETF institution fees fluctuate around 0.15% to 0.25%.
In other words, the more rational users are, the more likely they are to move from exchanges to ETF products, especially for investors aiming for long-term holdings.
According to multiple sources, several institutions, including VanEck and Grayscale, have submitted applications to the SEC for a Solana (SOL) ETF, with some institutions also planning to submit an XRP ETF proposal. Once approved, this may trigger a new round of fund migration. According to a report submitted by Coinbase to the SEC, as of April, the platform's trading revenue from XRP and Solana accounted for 18% and 10%, nearly one-third of the platform's fee revenue.
However, the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs passed in 2024 also reduced the fees for these two tokens on Coinbase from 30% and 15% to 26% and 10%, respectively. If the SOL and XRP ETFs are approved, it will further undermine the core fee revenue of exchanges like Coinbase.
The expansion of ETF products is gradually weakening the financial intermediary status of cryptocurrency exchanges. From their original roles as matchmakers and clearers to now gradually becoming mere "on-ramps and off-ramps" for funds, exchanges are seeing their marginal value squeezed by ETFs.
On May 12, 2025, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins gave a keynote speech at the Tokenization and Cryptocurrency Working Group roundtable. The theme of his speech revolved around "It is a new day at the SEC," where he indicated that the SEC would not approach enforcement and regulation the same way as before but would instead pave the way for cryptocurrency assets in the U.S. market.
With signs of cryptocurrency compliance such as the SEC's "NEW DAY" declaration, an increasing number of traditional brokerages are attempting to enter the cryptocurrency industry. One of the most representative cases is the well-known U.S. brokerage Robinhood, which began expanding its crypto business in 2018. By the time of its IPO in 2021, Robinhood's crypto business revenue accounted for over 50% of the company, with a significant boost from the Dogecoin "moonshot" promoted by Musk.
In Q1 2025 earnings report, Robinhood showcased strong growth, especially in revenue from cryptocurrency and options trading. Fueled by Trump's Memecoin, cryptocurrency-related revenue reached $250 million, nearly doubling year-over-year. Consequently, Robinhood Gold subscription users reached 3.5 million, a 90% increase from the previous year, with the rapid growth of Robinhood Gold providing the company with a stable source of income.
Meanwhile, RobinHood is actively pursuing acquisitions in the cryptocurrency space. In 2024, it announced a $2 billion acquisition of the long-standing European cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp. Additionally, Canada's largest cryptocurrency CEX, WonderFi, which recently went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, also announced its integration with RobinHood Crypto. After obtaining virtual asset licenses in the UK, Canada, Singapore, and other markets, RobinHood has taken a proactive approach in the compliant cryptocurrency trading market.
Furthermore, an increasing number of brokerage firms are exploring the same path. Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers, and others are also dipping their toes into cryptocurrency trading, with some having applied for or obtained the VA license from the Hong Kong SFC. Although their user bases are currently small, traditional brokerages have a natural advantage in user trust, regulatory licenses, and low fee structures. This could pose a threat to native cryptocurrency platforms in the future.
In April 2025, security researchers discovered that some Coinbase user data was leaked on the dark web. While the platform initially responded by attributing it to a "technical misinformation," it still raised concerns among users regarding its security and privacy protection. Just two days before Dow Jones Indexes announced Coinbase's addition to the S&P 500 Index, on May 11, 2025, Coinbase received an email from an unknown threat actor claiming to have obtained customer account information and internal documents, demanding a $20 million ransom to keep the data private. Subsequent investigations confirmed the data breach.
Cybercriminals obtained the data by bribing overseas customer service agents and support staff, mainly in "non-U.S. regions such as India." These agents abused their access to Coinbase's internal customer support system and stole customer data. As early as February this year, blockchain detective ZachXBT revealed on X platform that between December 2024 and January 2025, Coinbase users lost over $65 million to social engineering scams, with the actual amount potentially higher.
Among the victims was a well-known figure, 67-year-old Ed Suman, an established artist in the art world for nearly two decades, having been involved in the creation of artworks such as Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" sculpture. Earlier this year, he fell victim to an impersonation scam involving fake Coinbase customer support, resulting in a loss of over $2 million in cryptocurrency. ZachXBT critiqued Coinbase for its inadequate handling of such scams, noting that other major exchanges have not faced similar issues and recommending Coinbase to enhance its security measures.
Amidst a series of ongoing social engineering incidents, although there has not been any impact on user assets at the technical level so far, it has raised concerns among many retail and institutional investors. Especially institutions holding massive assets on Coinbase. Just considering the U.S. BTC ETF institutions, as of mid-May 2025, they collectively hold nearly 840,000 BTC, and 75% of these are custodied by Coinbase. If we price BTC at $100,000, this amount reaches a staggering $63 billion, which is equivalent to the nominal GDP of two Iceland in the year 2024.
In addition, Coinbase Custody also serves over 300 institutional clients, including hedge funds, family offices, pension funds, and endowments. As of the Q1 2025 financial report, Coinbase's total assets under management (including institutional and retail clients) reached $404 billion. The specific amount of institutional custodied assets was not explicitly disclosed in the latest report, but it should still be over 50% based on the Q4 2024 report.
Once this security barrier is breached, not only could the rate of user attrition far exceed expectations, but more importantly, institutional trust in it would undermine the foundation of its business. Therefore, after a hacking event, Coinbase's stock price plummeted significantly.
Facing a decline in spot trading fee revenue, Coinbase is also accelerating its transformation, attempting to find growth opportunities in derivatives and emerging assets. Coinbase acquired a stake in the options platform Deribit at the end of 2024 and announced the official launch of perpetual contract products in 2025. This acquisition fills in Coinbase's gap in options trading and its relatively small global market share.
Deribit has a strong presence in non-U.S. markets, especially in Asia and Europe. The acquisition has enabled Coinbase to gain a dominant position in bitcoin and ethereum options trading on Deribit, accounting for approximately 80% of the global options trading volume, with daily trading volume remaining above $2 billion.
Meanwhile, 80-90% of Deribit's customer base consists of institutional investors, with their professionalism and liquidity in the Bitcoin and Ethereum options market highly favored by institutions. Coinbase's compliance advantage, coupled with its already robust institutional ecosystem, makes it even more suitable. By using institutions as an entry point, it can face the squeeze from giants like Binance and OKX in the derivatives market.
Facing a similar dilemma is Kraken, which is attempting to replicate Binance Futures' model in non-U.S. markets. Since the derivatives market relies more on professional users, fee rates are relatively higher and stickiness is stronger, making it a significant source of revenue for exchanges. In the first half of 2025, Kraken completed the acquisition of TradeStation Crypto and a futures exchange, aiming to build a complete derivatives trading ecosystem to hedge the risk of declining spot transaction fee income.
With the surge of Memecoin in 2024, Binance, OKX, and various CEX platforms began massively listing small-market-cap, highly volatile tokens to activate active trading users. Due to the wealth effect and trading activity of Memecoins, Coinbase was also forced to join the battle, successively listing popular tokens from the Solana ecosystem such as BOOK OF MEME and Dogwifhat. Although these coins are controversial, they are frequently traded, with fee rates several times higher than mainstream coins, serving as a "blood-boosting" method for spot trading.
However, due to its status as a publicly traded company, this practice is a riskier endeavor for Coinbase. Even in the current crypto-friendly environment, the SEC is still investigating whether tokens like SOL, ADA, and SAND constitute securities.
In addition to the forced transformation strategies carried out by the aforementioned CEXs, they are also starting to lay out RWAs and the most talked-about stablecoin payment fields, such as the PYUSD launched through a collaboration between Coinbase and Paypal, Coinbase's support for the Euro stablecoin EURC by Circle that complies with EU MiCA regulatory requirements, or the USD1 launched through a collaboration between Binance and WIFL. In the increasingly crowded trading field, many CEXs have shifted their focus from just the trading market to the application field.
The golden age of transaction fees has quietly ended, and the second half of the crypto exchange platform game has silently begun.
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