BlockBeats will summarize key industry news for the week (July 14-20) and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and grasp industry trends.
Important news recap
This week, the cryptocurrency market continued its upward trend: Bitcoin broke through $123,000, setting a new historical high, while Ethereum surpassed $3,600.
On July 14, Bitcoin first broke through $123,000, setting a new historical high. Meanwhile, the huge short position of the "insider trader" @qwatio was completely liquidated, with a total value of $334 million. On July 18, ETH rose above $3,600, driving a surge in various altcoins, and the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies surpassed $4 trillion. Related articles: (ETH surged nearly 12% in a single day, which altcoins may follow suit?), (Which five macro benefits are boosting the strong rebound of the crypto market?), (Traders observe | How will the market behave after Bitcoin's new high?)
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed three cryptocurrency bills, and the GENIUS Act has been officially signed into law.
On July 18, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed three pieces of cryptocurrency-related legislation: the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS Act, and the anti-CBDC surveillance state bill. The CLARITY Act and the anti-CBDC surveillance state bill will be sent to the Senate for review. The GENIUS Act was formally signed into law by Trump at local time on Friday. Related articles: (The stablecoin act at hand, with restless Wall Street bankers), (A crypto milestone is approaching, what impact will the passage of the three major crypto laws have on the crypto industry?), (Washington's "Crypto Week" begins, how will the three major laws rewrite the fate of crypto?)
Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell regarding the renovation of the Federal Reserve building, to which Powell has responded.
On July 13, White House economic advisor Hassett stated that if there is evidence to support it, President Trump has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, adding that the Federal Reserve bears much responsibility for the cost overruns in the renovation of its Washington headquarters. However, in the following days, Trump's stance on whether to fire Powell was consistently wavering. On the 18th, Fed Chairman Powell responded to the Fed building renovation issue, stating that cooperation with the National Capital Planning Commission has been constructive and sound, which has been voluntarily promoted by the Fed. The changes to the project approved by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) only involved reductions and simplifications of construction content, without adding any new elements, and did not require further review. Related articles: (The story of Trump's pressure on Powell: A global liquidity crisis triggered by renovations),(On Powell's "stay or go" : The market listens to Trump, the interest rate market listens to Bessen)
Base held the "A New Day One" event this week, launching the "everything app" Base App to replace Coinbase Wallet.
On July 17, Base held the "A New Day One" event, where Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Base co-founder Jesse Pollak delivered speeches and announced the launch of the "everything app" — the Base App, aimed at attracting more users into the cryptocurrency economy. This new application, which replaces Coinbase Wallet, integrates wallet, trading, and payment functions while incorporating social media, instant messaging, and mini-program support, all operating on its self-developed Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base. Flashblocks were also introduced to increase the network's baseline speed by 10 times, making Base the fastest EVM chain currently. Related articles: (Base Conference Quick Report: From Superchain to Super App)(Coinbase no longer wants to be a trading platform), (A step ahead of Twitter, the new Coinbase Wallet evolves into WeChat)
Backpack has officially opened the channel for FTX debt sales.
On July 18, Backpack tweeted that it has officially opened the FTX debt sale channel. Users can complete the entire process on the platform: real-name verification, debt validation, price confirmation + settlement payment. Backpack will not charge any fees throughout the process. "To assist other users who still hold FTX debts, we will launch a non-profit, fully neutral debt sale channel starting today to help global debt holders connect with third-party buyers willing to purchase FTX debts."
Musk seeks names for the Grok male companion, triggering wild fluctuations in related meme coins.
On July 16, Musk sought names for the Grok male companion on the X platform. In response to the community's suggestion of "Taki, derived from your name (Musk)," Musk replied with a "heart" emoji, seemingly indicating approval. Affected by this news, related meme coins saw significant fluctuations, including: Ani briefly surging to a $40 million market cap before retreating; the original name of the male companion, CHAD, exceeding a $2 million market cap; and multiple meme coins named "Taki" appearing briefly. On the 17th, Musk announced that the name of the male companion in the Grok humanoid companion will be Valentine, named after the protagonist in Heinlein's novel (Stranger in a Strange Land). Subsequently, CHAD plummeted over 50%, with a market cap of less than $500,000, after previously exceeding $10 million that day. Additionally, meme coins related to the Grok humanoid companion, Ani and rudi, both fell sharply, with Ani's market cap dropping to $70 million and rudi's to $1.2 million. Related articles: (AI Girlfriend Concept Soars, What is Musk's Crazy Selling of Ani?)
The "silent whale" holding 80,000 BTC for 14 years transferred 40,010 BTC to Galaxy Digital this week, and another 40,000 BTC was transferred to an address starting with bc1qs.
On July 15, on-chain analyst Yu Jin monitored that a "silent whale" holding 80,000 BTC for 14 years moved 40,010 BTC, all transferred to Galaxy Digital, with an average transfer price of $117,391. This transfer may be for sale. On the 17th, on-chain analyst Ai Yi monitored that the whale transferred another 40,000 BTC to the address starting with bc1qs...f4au0, totaling $4.74 billion.
BlackRock's iShares submitted a staking application for their Ethereum ETF.
On July 18, BlackRock’s iShares submitted a staking application for their Ethereum ETF. According to a document submitted on Thursday, the application was made by Nasdaq under SEC Rule 19b-4. 21Shares and Grayscale have also submitted similar proposals to introduce staking features for their Ethereum ETFs. Due to this news, LDO briefly surged over 11%.
SharpLink's holdings have exceeded those of the Ethereum Foundation, becoming the largest holder of ETH.
On July 15, according to on-chain data, the publicly listed company SharpLink Gaming's ETH holdings have reached 294,000, with an average purchase price of about $2,695. SharpLink, as the largest holder of ETH, has surpassed the Ethereum Foundation's holdings of about 51,200 ETH, with the Foundation currently holding 242,500 ETH, ranking second. The Ethereum Foundation's holdings have decreased by 6.52% in the past 30 days, while SharpLink Gaming's holdings have increased by approximately 48.5% in the same period. Related articles: (The new landlord of ETH: Why are we betting on SBET?)
Ethereum will celebrate its 10th anniversary, with EF hosting global community events in cities like Shenzhen, China.
On July 18, according to official announcements, the Ethereum Foundation will hold global community events in cities like Shenzhen and Hong Kong on July 30, coinciding with Ethereum's 10th anniversary.
Trump will allow pension funds to invest in cryptocurrencies and gold.
On July 18, it was reported that Trump is preparing to open cryptocurrencies, gold, and private equity to the $9 trillion U.S. retirement market, which will stimulate a fundamental shift in the way Americans manage savings. According to three insiders, Trump is expected to sign an executive order as early as this week to allow 401k retirement plans to include alternative investments beyond traditional stocks and bonds. These investments will involve a wide range of asset classes, from digital assets to metals, as well as funds focused on corporate acquisitions, private loans, and infrastructure transactions. Related articles: (Will $9 trillion in pensions flood into crypto? Trump seeks to lift the ban on 401(k) investments in crypto assets)
Grayscale has secretly submitted its draft registration for an initial public offering (IPO) to the SEC.
On July 14, according to official news, Grayscale Investments announced that it has secretly submitted a draft registration statement for Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number of shares to be registered and the price range have yet to be finalized. This registration is expected to be implemented after the SEC completes its review process, depending on market and other conditions. Related articles: (Bitcoin peaks, asset management giant Grayscale "silently" initiates IPO plan)
Binance Wallet, in collaboration with Four.Meme, launched an exclusive TGE model based on the Bonding Curve mechanism.
On July 14, according to an official announcement, Binance Wallet will launch a brand new token generation event (TGE) model using the bonding curve mechanism — a pricing method that dynamically adjusts token prices based on market demand. This event is jointly launched by Binance and Four.Meme, marking the platform's first use of this mechanism for TGE. On July 16, the exclusive Bonding Curve version of TGE for Binance Wallet launched its first project, Hyperion (RION). Related articles: (What's the background of Binance's new Bonding Curve TGE regarding the first project Hyperion?)
Linea project leader: Token economics will be announced at the end of July rather than TGE, and the specific TGE time will depend on external factors such as CEX.
On July 14, Declan Fox, head of the Linea project, published a clear message on social media stating that: the economics and governance details of the Linea token will be announced at the end of July (not the token generation event TGE); a few days before the TGE, airdrop query tools and eligibility criteria will be released; the specific timing of the TGE will depend on external factors such as CEX, but will not be delayed too long; SBET is the stock code for Sharplink. The Linea token code is LINEA, and SBET, ETH, and LINEA will form a "trio" through Ethereum. Related articles: (Linea is finally about to TGE, a review of the 900 days of life and death of the L2 unicorn)
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that as of March, the agency only held 29,000 BTC, significantly lower than market speculation.
On July 17, according to information obtained by independent crypto journalist L0la L33tz through the Freedom of Information Act, the number of Bitcoins held by the U.S. Marshals Service is much lower than previously thought. The Department of Justice revealed in a response that as of March, the agency only held 28,988 Bitcoins. This figure significantly differs from other market data sources, with Arkham Intelligence estimating that the U.S. government agencies collectively hold nearly $25 billion in crypto assets; Bitcoin Treasuries data shows the U.S. government should hold 198,012 BTC (about $25 billion). Senator Cynthia Lummis, a major supporter of strategic Bitcoin reserves, stated: "It's shocking. Reports suggest that the U.S. has sold over 80% of its Bitcoin reserves, leaving only about 29,000. If true, this would be a major strategic blunder, causing the U.S. to fall years behind in the Bitcoin arena." Related articles: (Trump's crypto reserve plan thwarted, did the U.S. Marshals sell off 170,000 BTC?)
Former FSL Chief Growth Officer Mable Jiang announced the establishment of the social protocol Trends.
On July 17, Mable Jiang, Chief Growth Officer of Stepn's parent company FSL, announced her resignation and founded the social protocol Trends. Trends will be value-anchored and aims to advance the boundary of information finance. Trends has received early support from several outstanding founders and angel investors, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana Foundation chair Lily Liu, and Jupiter co-founder Meow & Siong. Mable stated that during years of exploring the popularization of crypto applications, she distilled three first principles: First, true Web3 innovation is accompanied by a significant reduction in the cost of value transfer; second, the trend of merging tokens as information containers with social media; third, the continuous decline in the cost of on-chain issuance and value transfer, with social scenarios being prepared for this. Related articles: (Solana All-Stars Support, How to Play Trends.fun, where "tweets become tokens")
Standard Chartered Bank has launched spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutional clients.
On July 15, Standard Chartered Bank launched spot trading services for Bitcoin and Ethereum for institutional clients through its UK branch to meet the growing demand for crypto assets. Standard Chartered Bank stated that it has become the first globally systemically important bank to provide deliverable Bitcoin and Ethereum spot trading services, with secure, compliant, and scalable access capabilities.
The Trump family's cryptocurrency project "WLFI token trading" proposal has passed.
On July 17, according to relevant page information, the Trump family's cryptocurrency project "WLFI token trading" proposal has concluded voting and passed. The goals of this proposal are: to enable WLFI tokens to be traded, allowing for broader community governance participation through peer-to-peer trading or secondary markets; to transition the WLFI ecosystem from closed participation to open participation; to enhance the utility and usage scope of the token; to initiate the next phase of community ownership and interaction; to align long-term token incentives with the adoption and success of the protocol. Related articles: (WLFI unlocking and launching soon, what is the valuation?)
Hungary implements the world's strictest cryptocurrency regulations, and digital asset trading may be criminalized.
On July 14, reports indicated that Hungary officially implemented one of the world's strictest cryptocurrency regulations on July 1, forcing several large fintech companies to suspend related services and may classify the digital asset trading activities of hundreds of thousands of citizens as criminal. This significant policy change has caused widespread chaos and concern in the fintech sector. The new regulations added two criminal offenses: "cryptocurrency asset abuse" and "providing unauthorized cryptocurrency exchange services." Individuals using unauthorized cryptocurrency trading services could face up to two years in prison for the underlying trading actions; if the trading amount exceeds 50 million Hungarian forints (approximately $140,000), the maximum sentence could be three years; if it exceeds 500 million forints (approximately $1.4 million), the maximum sentence could be five years.
The decentralized card game fantasy.top announced its migration to Base.
On July 15, the decentralized card game fantasy.top announced its migration to Base, with the cross-chain bridge needed for migration opening at 1 PM on July 15. Last December 13, the decentralized card game Fantasy.top based on Blast announced the launch of its second version, Fantasy V2, while completing a $4.25 million seed round financing led by Dragonfly with participation from Manifold Ventures. Related articles: (Ecosystem "flag bearer" Fantasy.top leaves, what happened to Blast?)
California's governor launched the "Breakthrough Project," inviting executives from crypto companies like Ripple and Coinbase to participate in government-enterprise collaborative reform.
On July 15, FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of the "California Breakthrough Project" and invited senior leaders from tech and crypto companies like Ripple and Coinbase to participate, aiming to provide advice and support to enhance the efficiency and inter-departmental collaboration of the California government. The project working group held its first meeting on June 6 at Ripple's headquarters in San Francisco, with other participants including executives from Instacart, Snapchat, Anduril Technologies, and well-known angel investor Ron Conway.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the CFTC have ended their investigation into Polymarket.
On July 15, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ended their investigation into the prediction platform Polymarket during Trump's administration.
NVIDIA will resume sales of the H20 chip in China.
On July 15, according to market news, NVIDIA (NVDA.O) announced it would resume sales of the H20 chip in China, introducing a new, fully compliant GPU for China. The U.S. government has assured NVIDIA that permission will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to begin deliveries soon. Related articles: (Jensen Huang: Financial freedom 30 years later, I have no dreams)
Bitcoin mortgage loans have made their debut in Australia.
On July 18, it was reported that Block Earner launched Australia's first Bitcoin mortgage loan. The company had fought with regulators for over two years in court. The launch of this product was made possible by a federal court ruling in April this year, which determined that Block Earner's cryptocurrency lending products do not fall under the "financial products" of the Companies Act. This ruling means that the company does not need to hold a financial services license to accept Bitcoin as collateral in mortgage loans.
Mainland virtual currency scams have reached Hong Kong, with over 100 Hong Kong residents deceived and 4 people arrested by police.
On July 18, according to Caixin, mainland virtual currency investment scams have developed to Hong Kong, with at least 118 people falling into the scam, with a total loss of about 3.2 million Hong Kong dollars. The Hong Kong police revealed that on July 15, they arrested four local Hong Kong individuals on charges of "conspiracy to defraud". They are suspected of organizing promotional dinners for mainland virtual currency scams, recruiting victims, and collecting scam funds of 3.89 million Hong Kong dollars, with only a small amount of funds withdrawn, while the remaining approximately 3.2 million Hong Kong dollars have not yet been recovered.
This week's large financing: Function, Two Prime, Dakota, Spiko, Ephemera, Blockskye, Substack, ACM.
On July 15, it was reported that the crypto infrastructure company Function completed a $10 million seed round financing, led by Galaxy Digital, with participation from Antalpha and Mantle.
On the 15th, it was reported that Two Prime, a registered investment advisor and institutional lender with the SEC, managing approximately $1.75 billion in assets, announced the completion of a $20 million equity financing round led by Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings (MARA), with participation from Susquehanna Crypto. In addition to acquiring equity in the company, MARA will also increase the number of Bitcoin allocated to Two Prime's institutional yield strategies from 500 BTC to 2,000 BTC.
On the 15th, it was reported that Dakota, an enterprise-focused crypto fusion banking platform, completed a $12.5 million Series A financing round, led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures and Triton Ventures, aiming to expand its borderless banking services.
On the 17th, it was reported that the tokenized money market fund platform Spiko announced the completion of a $22 million Series A financing round, led by Index Ventures, with participation from White Star Capital, Frst, Rerail, Bpifrance, and Blockwall.
On the 17th, it was reported that the developers of the decentralized messaging protocol XMTP, Ephemera, completed a $20 million Series B financing round, co-led by Union Square Ventures, a16z crypto, and Lightspeed Faction, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Offline Ventures, Sound Ventures, and others.
On the 18th, it was reported that Blockskye, which is building blockchain infrastructure for business travel, completed a $15.8 million Series C financing round led by Blockchange, with participation from United Airlines Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, KSV Global, Lasagna, and others.
On the 18th, it was reported that the content subscription platform Substack recently completed a $100 million financing round led by BOND and The Chernin Group, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Klutch Sports Group's Rich Paul, and Skims Body Inc co-founder Jens Grede.
On the 18th, the privacy finance protocol AI Cross Matrix (ACM) announced the completion of a $12 million seed round financing, with investors including Asva Capital, Genesis Capital, BuzzBridge Capital (BZB), Avalon Wealth Club, and M2M Capital.
The Indian crypto trading platform CoinDCX was hacked, resulting in a loss of approximately $44.2 million.
On July 19, on-chain detective ZachXBT reported that "it appears that India's centralized trading platform CoinDCX may have been hacked about 17 hours ago, resulting in a loss of approximately $44.2 million, but as of now, it has not disclosed this incident to the community. The attacker's address initially received 1 ETH through Tornado Cash as startup capital, then part of the stolen funds was transferred cross-chain from Solana to Ethereum. Thanks to @Cyvers for reminding me to pay attention to these unusual transfers. The affected CoinDCX hot wallet has not been publicly marked and is not listed in the current reserve proof, so I can only manually identify ownership by reviewing the counterparty addresses. On July 20, CoinDCX issued a follow-up announcement stating that the attack resulted in a loss of approximately $44.2 million, caused by the theft of an internal operational account due to server attacks. The CoinDCX wallet used to store customer assets was unaffected, and the related losses will be fully borne by CoinDCX's treasury reserves. They are currently working to freeze and recover assets and plan to launch a bug bounty program.
The UK Home Office plans to sell approximately $7 billion in seized crypto assets to fill the budget gap.
On July 20, according to the UK Telegraph, the Home Office in the UK is working with the police to sell a batch of seized cryptocurrencies to fill the budget gap. The total amount of cryptocurrencies seized by the police is still unclear, but in a 2018 raid, about 61,000 Bitcoins were seized from a Ponzi scheme case, which currently has a total value of over £5.4 billion (approximately $7 billion), having increased by about 20 times since being confiscated. The Home Office plans to establish a "cryptocurrency storage and liquidation framework" to allow law enforcement agencies to securely store frozen digital currencies and sell them. According to the tender notice issued by BlueLight Commercial, a company under the police representing the Home Office, the UK government will also provide a contract to operate a centralized service responsible for holding and selling the seized cryptocurrencies. The contract is worth up to $53.7 million and is valid for at least four years, but the proposal has not yet received acceptable bids. The time between asset seizure and the conclusion of legal procedures (liquidation) is typically long. The tender notice states: "The average time between asset seizure and the conclusion of legal procedures (liquidation) is less than one year; for more complex cases, it may take 3 to 4 years."
This week's popular articles
(The stablecoin law at hand, with restless Wall Street bankers)
The U.S. approval of the (GENIUS Act) and the (CLARITY Act) marks the official "arrival" of stablecoins, becoming officially endorsed financial instruments by the state. The increase in regulatory clarity has triggered traditional banks on Wall Street to collectively enter the market. JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America are all laying out stablecoins and on-chain payments, while Standard Chartered has directly opened spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Meanwhile, Peter Thiel and others have initiated a new bank, Erebor, to provide compliant stablecoin services to high-risk innovative enterprises. As the federal trust bank license reopens, Circle, Ripple, Anchorage, and others are actively seeking to access the Federal Reserve's clearing system, moving crypto finance from the fringes to the mainstream and igniting the next wave of reconstruction of financial infrastructure.
(The moment of change for ETH: from retail consensus to Wall Street collusion?)
ETH plummeted to $1,500 from the beginning of the year, which is actually a premeditated process of market washing and change of hands by institutions. On-chain data shows that chips are concentrating in the hands of a few large holders. Small-cap stocks like SBET and BMNR are borrowing PIPE financing to purchase ETH in large quantities, with backers including Pantera, Consensys, and Founders Fund among crypto OGs. The narrative of ETH's rise has shifted from speculation to structured financial instruments, attracting traditional financial capital. This script is orchestrated and executed by Ethereum's core capital, as ETH transitions from a community consensus asset to an institutional collusion asset. The narrative has changed, but the controllers remain familiar crypto veterans.
(Coinbase no longer wants to be a trading platform)
Coinbase is undergoing a deep transformation from a traditional trading platform to a provider of on-chain financial infrastructure. Facing challenges such as declining profits, loss of trading volume, and intensified competition, the company has built a comprehensive ecosystem covering payments, privacy, token management, and institutional services around Base chain, USDC network, wallet, and derivatives market through acquisitions of Spindl, Iron Fish, Liquifi, and Deribit, gradually reducing reliance on spot trading. Coinbase is positioning itself as the "Apple + Visa + AWS" of the Web3 world, using identity systems, on-chain social, and payment settlements as leverage to reshape the underlying structure of the crypto world, with its ultimate competitor no longer being crypto exchanges but the entire traditional financial system.
(If ETH reaches $5,000, how much can SBET rise?)
In the past month, as Ethereum skyrocketed from $2,100 to $3,000, ETH has quietly become a new strategic asset pursued by U.S. listed companies. Five U.S. companies collectively purchased over 540,000 ETH, with a market cap exceeding $1.6 billion. SharpLink (SBET) notably increased its holdings by nearly 50,000 ETH in just five days, with staking returns exceeding 300 ETH, surpassing the Ethereum Foundation's holdings. The mNAV metric indicates that the current valuation remains rational, without entering an emotional bubble phase. Institutions value ETH for its three main attributes — staking returns, RWA narrative, and replicable "MSTR model," driving an institutional value discovery process for Ethereum. If ETH continues to rise to $5,000, these "Ethereum coin stocks" may welcome a new round of valuation reassessment.
($PENGU's surge: Little Penguin aims to become the Face of Finance)
Pudgy Penguins is redefining the narrative and positioning of NFTs. Recently, its NFT floor price and token $PENGU have both surged, not due to hot speculation, but ignited by a collective action from major crypto companies changing their avatars to penguins, reflecting its rise as a symbol of industry consensus. From deep binding with core Web3 projects to ringing the Nasdaq opening bell, Pudgy Penguins is striving for the position of "visual spokesperson for the financial world," no longer just a meme or NFT project, but aiming to become a brand symbol connecting the mainstream and crypto.
(What conditions are there for projects from Binance Alpha to Binance spot trading?)
After Binance Alpha upgraded to 2.0, most of the projects listed on Binance spot are new projects with strong financing backgrounds and legitimate project parties, accounting for only about 20%, demonstrating a higher threshold for entry. These project types are diverse, showing no significant bias toward popular narratives or self-invested projects, but generally possess strong financing capabilities and a synchronized TGE + airdrop rhythm. From the performance perspective, over 70% of the projects had a maximum diluted market cap exceeding 20 times their financing amount on the first day of trading, indicating that the market's valuation expectations for "regular army" projects have gradually formed an invisible threshold.
(Is the whale frenzy at Plasma's XPL public sale so enticing?)
Plasma, backed by Tether's parent company Bitfinex and Peter Thiel, raised $27.5 million in just two months, reaching a valuation of $500 million, becoming the most notable stablecoin-specific public chain. It combines the security of Bitcoin's settlement layer with the compatibility of Ethereum's virtual machine, supporting USDT free transfers, privacy protection, and native BTC liquidity, attracting a large number of users to participate in XPL's public sale. Its unique fee mechanism and dual-layer architecture not only enhance performance but also open new revenue and influence sources for Tether, potentially becoming a new stablecoin leader challenging Tron.
(In the surge of cryptocurrency reserves companies, what potential "small pitfalls" are there?)
The "cryptocurrency treasury" of listed companies is evolving from merely buying coins to a meticulously designed financial engineering process, using traditional financing tools such as PIPE, SPAC, ATM, and convertible bonds to drive market capitalization through narrative and guide liquidity using structure. With the support of institutions like UTXO, Pantera, and Galaxy, several companies have transformed into "coin-based stocks," but this capital game also hides structural risks: information asymmetry, dilution pressure, and liquidity mismatch often leave retail investors passive. What truly drives stock price fluctuations may not be Bitcoin's price but the invisible logic of capital structure.
(Underestimated opportunities: Ethereum meme may be the wealth password for this cycle)
In this article, the author shares their specific strategy for achieving financial freedom through Ethereum meme coins: gradually exiting the Solana ecosystem with declining liquidity and shifting to liquidity-rich, DeFi-compatible Ethereum meme coins, focusing on blue-chip projects like PEPE, MOG, and SHIB, while moderately holding small to mid-cap coins to increase potential returns. The author emphasizes phased profit-taking, setting clear exit strategies, and believes meme coins will continue to explode in the next bull market.
(Peter Thiel: 2024 will be the first year Musk no longer believes in Mars)
The relationship between Silicon Valley and Trump is murky, stemming from deep-seated technological anxiety and ideological shifts in Silicon Valley. In a conversation with Ross Douthat, Peter Thiel reiterated his concerns about "technological stagnation," believing that society has gradually lost its momentum for progress since the 1970s, while "peace and security" hides a kind of soft totalitarianism. He criticized mainstream tech culture for losing its spirit of adventure and called for a rekindling of radical exploration, warning that environmentalism and global governance could become breeding grounds for future "Antichrist"-like control. In his view, AI is currently the only breakthrough in technology but it could either promote reconstruction or exacerbate stagnation. Facing the future, he maintains a realist clarity while holding onto the hope of free will.
(When Wall Street starts hoarding ETH, Ethereum welcomes its shining moment)
As Wall Street refocuses on crypto assets, ETH is becoming a core target in institutional views — it has ETF support, a strong on-chain stablecoin ecosystem, and is seen as a "digital gold beta." Although Ethereum still faces issues of scalability and value capture, in investors' perceptions, ETH, with its "Lindy effect" and relatively undervalued status, is attracting structural incremental capital inflows, gradually moving its asset pricing away from on-chain narratives toward potential historical highs.
("U.S. stock tokenization" launched two weeks ago: serious speculation, tracking the price of Amazon tokens is four times higher than the stock price)
Tokenized stocks on the blockchain aim to make it easier for global users to invest in U.S. stocks, but serious price deviations, insufficient liquidity, and regulatory risks have emerged in practice, raising concerns about market manipulation and insider trading. Several tokens experienced explosive price surges during their early issuance, far exceeding the underlying stocks, and tokens linked to unlisted companies launched by Robinhood have also faced official scrutiny. Although issuers claim that blockchain trading is more transparent, transactions on anonymous platforms are still viewed as potential regulatory loopholes.
(A new path for cross-ecosystem cooperation: HYPE surges to the top, Phantom reaps commission dividends)
Solana's ecosystem wallet Phantom has partnered with decentralized contract exchange Hyperliquid to allow users to conduct contract trading with up to 40x leverage directly within the wallet. The collaboration produces significant effects: Hyperliquid reaches tens of millions of users through this, causing its token price to hit a new high; Phantom rapidly profits through a rebate mechanism, expanding its product capabilities in contract trading; users enjoy better liquidity and near-institutional-level fees. This cross-ecosystem seamless integration is also seen as a practical example of the future of chain abstraction, showcasing a new direction for the evolution of crypto products.
(In the battle of Solana Meme platforms, is Raydium the biggest beneficiary?)
Letsbonk.fun has surpassed Pump.fun in terms of daily deployments and graduated token numbers, becoming the most popular meme token launch platform. Its Raydium-based LaunchLab architecture makes Raydium one of the biggest beneficiaries of this trend. As a large number of new tokens are issued through Letsbonk.fun, Raydium not only gains continuous trading fees but also increases the buyback intensity of RAY through the LaunchLab's fee mechanism. Currently, the buyback funds account for 12% of the circulating market cap, forming strong support. Additionally, the layout of U.S. stock tokenization trading on Raydium also indicates further growth potential for future revenue.
(Ethereum's two-year technology roadmap revealed: Which upgrades will become the strongest price support?)
In the next two years, Ethereum will advance technological innovation around five major directions: zkEVM, execution architecture, L1-L2 collaboration, validator mechanisms, and sharding. zkEVM will directly enhance main chain efficiency and institutional compliance, while the RISC-V architecture will reshape execution performance and cost structures. L1-L2 collaboration will break down cross-chain barriers and integrate massive liquidity. Optimizing validator thresholds and rewards is expected to increase staking rates and strengthen deflationary logic, while the restart of the sharding plan will pave the way for Web3 scaling. The combination of technological transformation and structural improvement in funding supply and demand may provide medium- to long-term support for ETH prices.
(From appointing to pressure: The seven-year power struggle between Trump and Powell, the resignation storm may trigger turbulence)
Trump's pressure on Powell over the renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters has escalated this seven-year political struggle into a high-risk event affecting global markets. If Powell is indeed forced to resign, it would undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve, trigger a devaluation of the dollar, cause severe fluctuations in U.S. Treasury yields, and exacerbate uncertainty in global financial markets. This is not only a contest over interest rates and inflation paths but also a direct confrontation between institutional authority and political power.
(From grassroots to a market value of $600 billion, Robinhood entertains to life)
Robinhood started as a zero-commission trading platform, rapidly attracting millennial retail investors with gamified design and order flow payment models, triggering a transformation of the commission structure in the industry. After the GameStop incident, the company's reputation suffered, but it seized the opportunity to accelerate its crypto strategy. With key milestones such as the Dogecoin craze, the launch of Robinhood Wallet, and SBF's investment, its crypto business surged. By 2025, Robinhood acquires Bitstamp, develops its own blockchain, and opens blockchain securities trading, completing its transformation from a retail brokerage to a global fintech platform, with stock prices exceeding $100 and a market cap over $88 billion, reshaping its narrative role in finance.
(Binance 2025 first half research report: Bitcoin shows high beta attributes, stablecoin mainstreaming accelerates)
In the first half of 2025, the overall cryptocurrency market is showing a pattern of oscillating recovery. Amidst macroeconomic headwinds and favorable policies, the total market capitalization has slightly increased by 1.99%. Bitcoin's market value remains stable at $2 trillion, boosted by ETF and corporate allocation, while Ethereum's ecosystem continues to show resilience. Solana and BNB Chain maintain high activity levels. DeFi has entered a mature phase, with RWA, prediction markets, and stablecoins becoming new growth points. The trend of institutional entry and tokenization of traditional financial assets is accelerating, with U.S. and EU regulations gradually clarifying, providing compliance support for the market. In the second half of the year, the market will continue to be profoundly influenced by monetary policy shifts, legislative advancements, and the integration process with TradFi.
(The surge of listed companies' cryptocurrency reserves: What potential "pitfalls" are there behind the scenes?)
An increasing number of listed companies are incorporating crypto assets into their financial strategies, creating a wave of "cryptocurrency treasury" from Bitcoin, Ethereum to stablecoins and AI tokens. Behind this are crypto venture capital and funds, including Pantera, Galaxy Digital, Animoca, Sora, and DWF Labs, which are promoting layouts through PIPE, convertible bonds, and mergers. These institutions not only provide capital but also participate in corporate governance and strategy formulation, pushing companies like MicroStrategy, SharpLink, and Upexi to build on-chain financial systems based on BTC, ETH, or SOL, accelerating the crypto transformation of traditional enterprises, and signaling that crypto assets are gradually becoming a new type of reserve asset class in the global capital market.
(Sold out in 12 minutes for $500 million, is PUMP's new listing just a game for institutions and whales?)
The PUMP pre-sale ignited market sentiment, selling $500 million in just 12 minutes, but the data shows that actual participants are extremely concentrated, with CEX channels almost empty, and Kraken had only two individuals receiving high quotas. While the official website had tens of thousands of participants, the median purchase amount was only $540, indicating that most users had limited actual investments; meanwhile, large holders bypassed restrictions through new wallets, dominating the capital flow. Overall, this seemingly participatory decentralized feast has become a precise layout for a few whales, with peripheral retail investors mostly being spectators and liquidity exiters.
(2024 Cryptocurrency Listing Wave: SPAC Replaces Traditional Shell Companies, Bitcoin Companies Rush to Go Public)
Strategy companies are leading the trend of listed companies holding Bitcoin with a debt-for-coin model, forming a "buy coins — finance — buy coins again" leverage flywheel; this model is being further simplified and replicated through SPAC reverse mergers, allowing new companies to enter the capital market without actual business, relying solely on holding coins and financial structuring. Although the SPAC path has advantages such as relaxed regulation and flexible narratives, it also faces pitfalls in transparency, governance, and risk accumulation. However, driven by bullish market sentiment and institutional endorsement, SPAC is becoming a new track for the securitization of Bitcoin exposure. Investors need to be wary of the complexity of its structure and the gap between the essence of the assets.
