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The Calculated Collapse of $TG: How a “Utility” Token Was Engineered for a Rug Pull
In the unpredictable world of cryptocurrency, new tokens launch daily, each one a shining beacon of innovation, community engagement, and long-term value.
But sometimes, these beacons shine light on something far less noble. The recent unraveling of $TG—a token that was purportedly anchored in utility and growth—was an occasion in which a deck was stacked against investors, with rules set to favor the house. Even with these advantages, the perpetrators of $TG needed the cover of its enshrined idiom in order to succeed.
The Illusion of Innovation: A Familiar Trap in Disguise
At launch, $TG didn’t shout “meme coin.” It set itself up as a utility token on a clear mission: community-driven development, long-term value, and unique tokenomics. Let’s break that down a little. Now, community-driven development is a pretty neat idea. How many times have you wished you could directly influence the development of a product you use? If a community token can get a developing team to listen to it, then all power to the community.
At the heart of this trap lay the bonding curve, a mechanism used to control token supply and price via a smart contract. Although bonding curves are not malicious in and of themselves, they can be manipulated—and were in the case of $TG.
Right after launch, the developer of $TG utilized a bundler to buy up almost the whole bonding curve, doing so via 18 distinct wallets. This created the appearance of an early, diverse interest in the token. But it was later discovered that all 18 wallets were controlled by the same entities that controlled the developer wallet. There is little doubt that they were also using that wallet to accumulate a large amount of total token supply.
Faking Distribution: The Anatomy of a Controlled Ecosystem
Once the bonding curve was cornered, the developer started the second phase of their plan—simulated distribution. Minuscule amounts of $TG were sent to a new group of wallets, again making it look like fresh, organic growth from different users entering the project. But these wallets were just another part of the same controlled network. It was all a carefully staged narrative designed to get real buyers to step in and fund the operation.
The $TG team didn’t try to create a hyper-inflated token price like many other scams. Instead, they went for a slow, believable rise. They bought from new wallets at intervals that made it look like the token was just climbing steadily. And each green candle on the chart was like a little whisper from the coin: “I’m totally real and going places.” To anyone who might have been observing the token from a distance, this was just a new coin gaining traction.
Throughout this time, the developers were discreetly cashing out. They sold small amounts through controlled wallets to maintain appearances and avoid triggering a market panic. It was a psychological game—reward early believers just enough to keep them optimistic, while ensuring that the exit door remained open for the insiders.
The Final Betrayal: From Strategic Hope to Sudden Collapse
With the chart’s continued rise and Crypto Twitter’s Nasdaq-like vibes, ever more investors poured into the ethereal dollar. This was the clean-it-just-left-in-a-luxury-car plan that some folks will even see as a perversion of the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
Then arrived the dump.
No alerts. No facade. Simply a sharp and aggressive sell-off that plummeted the token into a nosedive. The very wallet that had taken part in the initial, well-planned purchases—wallet-4KGFJFxUi3mCHHCjV6Evv27EwfcLQPAb1iDMSyBwf2Xv—was subsequently utilized to commence the slam, underscoring its involvement in the larger operation.
The not-a-panic-collapse was the closing act in a long-play rug pull, and not a carefully executed one at that. The steps taken were too obvious, to the point that even a couple of crypto nerds snickering over the weekend at pictures of Eduardo Saverin’s face in the May 2020 issue of Time and teddy bears with Salvador Dalí mustaches knew something was up.
This was the weekend that the heist got involved.
Lessons from the $TG Collapse
The fall of $TG serves as a sobering reminder that not every token claiming to offer utility is built on integrity. Sometimes, the most dangerous rugs are the ones that don’t look like rugs at all. Investors are urged to look beyond surface-level tokenomics, to monitor wallet behaviors, and to remain skeptical of too-perfect chart patterns.
In an area where innovation frequently outstrips regulation, maintaining constant surveillance is the next best thing to having the state intervene. Surveillance allows us to see through the smoke and mirrors that fast-paced scammers and con artists throw up to conceal what they’re really up to.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post The Calculated Collapse of $TG: How a “Utility” Token Was Engineered for a Rug Pull appeared first on The Merkle News.
But sometimes, these beacons shine light on something far less noble. The recent unraveling of $TG—a token that was purportedly anchored in utility and growth—was an occasion in which a deck was stacked against investors, with rules set to favor the house. Even with these advantages, the perpetrators of $TG needed the cover of its enshrined idiom in order to succeed.
The Illusion of Innovation: A Familiar Trap in Disguise
At launch, $TG didn’t shout “meme coin.” It set itself up as a utility token on a clear mission: community-driven development, long-term value, and unique tokenomics. Let’s break that down a little. Now, community-driven development is a pretty neat idea. How many times have you wished you could directly influence the development of a product you use? If a community token can get a developing team to listen to it, then all power to the community.
At the heart of this trap lay the bonding curve, a mechanism used to control token supply and price via a smart contract. Although bonding curves are not malicious in and of themselves, they can be manipulated—and were in the case of $TG.
Right after launch, the developer of $TG utilized a bundler to buy up almost the whole bonding curve, doing so via 18 distinct wallets. This created the appearance of an early, diverse interest in the token. But it was later discovered that all 18 wallets were controlled by the same entities that controlled the developer wallet. There is little doubt that they were also using that wallet to accumulate a large amount of total token supply.
Faking Distribution: The Anatomy of a Controlled Ecosystem
Once the bonding curve was cornered, the developer started the second phase of their plan—simulated distribution. Minuscule amounts of $TG were sent to a new group of wallets, again making it look like fresh, organic growth from different users entering the project. But these wallets were just another part of the same controlled network. It was all a carefully staged narrative designed to get real buyers to step in and fund the operation.
The $TG team didn’t try to create a hyper-inflated token price like many other scams. Instead, they went for a slow, believable rise. They bought from new wallets at intervals that made it look like the token was just climbing steadily. And each green candle on the chart was like a little whisper from the coin: “I’m totally real and going places.” To anyone who might have been observing the token from a distance, this was just a new coin gaining traction.
Throughout this time, the developers were discreetly cashing out. They sold small amounts through controlled wallets to maintain appearances and avoid triggering a market panic. It was a psychological game—reward early believers just enough to keep them optimistic, while ensuring that the exit door remained open for the insiders.
The Final Betrayal: From Strategic Hope to Sudden Collapse
With the chart’s continued rise and Crypto Twitter’s Nasdaq-like vibes, ever more investors poured into the ethereal dollar. This was the clean-it-just-left-in-a-luxury-car plan that some folks will even see as a perversion of the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
Then arrived the dump.
No alerts. No facade. Simply a sharp and aggressive sell-off that plummeted the token into a nosedive. The very wallet that had taken part in the initial, well-planned purchases—wallet-4KGFJFxUi3mCHHCjV6Evv27EwfcLQPAb1iDMSyBwf2Xv—was subsequently utilized to commence the slam, underscoring its involvement in the larger operation.
The not-a-panic-collapse was the closing act in a long-play rug pull, and not a carefully executed one at that. The steps taken were too obvious, to the point that even a couple of crypto nerds snickering over the weekend at pictures of Eduardo Saverin’s face in the May 2020 issue of Time and teddy bears with Salvador Dalí mustaches knew something was up.
This was the weekend that the heist got involved.
Lessons from the $TG Collapse
The fall of $TG serves as a sobering reminder that not every token claiming to offer utility is built on integrity. Sometimes, the most dangerous rugs are the ones that don’t look like rugs at all. Investors are urged to look beyond surface-level tokenomics, to monitor wallet behaviors, and to remain skeptical of too-perfect chart patterns.
In an area where innovation frequently outstrips regulation, maintaining constant surveillance is the next best thing to having the state intervene. Surveillance allows us to see through the smoke and mirrors that fast-paced scammers and con artists throw up to conceal what they’re really up to.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post The Calculated Collapse of $TG: How a “Utility” Token Was Engineered for a Rug Pull appeared first on The Merkle News.
Staked Ethereum Hits Record High As Whale Accumulation Signals Bullish Long-Term Sentiment
Once more, Ethereum is commanding the spotlight as fresh figures indicate that the amount of ETH locked in staking contracts has hit a new peak.
Over 35 million ETH are now in these contracts, which makes up over 28.3% of the total circulating supply. This remarkable achievement not only speaks to the steadily building confidence that folks seem to have in the long-term profitability of Ethereum but also hints at a dangerously low supply of ETH in the crypto market.
Although some recent price volatility has affected ETH, big investors (often called whales) have been using the pullback to accumulate massive amounts of ETH. Indeed, short-term market sentiment seems mixed, but there’s no way to deny that (1) staking activity is growing, (2) whale activity is, if anything, intensifying, and (3) institutional engagement is on the rise. Putting those pieces together, it’s hard not to see a favorable shift in Ethereum’s market trajectory.
Record ETH Staking Reduces Liquid Supply
Since the network transitioned to proof-of-stake, Ethereum staking has been increasing steadily. But the recent uptick staking to 35 million ETH staked marks an all-time high. This is now over 28 percent of Ethereum’s total supply, and so that really reflects a strong commitment from the holders of Ethereum staking to the long-term development and security of this network. And then, you know, we have ETH staked and effect; that means much less ETH is available to trade on exchanges.
Liquid ETH supply is tightening right now. This is happening for two main reasons: first, that demand for liquidity in the Ethereum economy tends to be higher in the second half of any given year; and second, that large-scale liquidations of staked ETH aren’t happening as quickly or as frequently, which means that plenty of ETH is still being locked up in staking contracts. Ethereum’s supply is becoming sufficiently inelastic that any meaningful increase in demand could provoke a price shock.
The wider context includes an increasing interest from conventional finance. A growing number of companies listed on the Nasdaq have started to integrate cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC into their treasury management. This trend is being taken as an indicator of the increasing recognition of crypto assets by the mainstream as long-term stores of value and component parts of a viable corporate treasury management strategy.
Whales Double Down Despite Market Dip
The case for the long-term value of Ethereum is being further strengthened by whale activity. One major investor, identified by wallet address 0xd8d0, has re-entered the market after previously racking up over $30 million in profits on ETH. This investor, whose recent purchase came after a dip in ETH’s price, bought 30,000 ETH, worth roughly $73 million at the time of the transaction.
The same wallet has not spent nearly $295 million USDC since June 11 to accumulate a total of 115,465 ETH. The average price of the 115,465 ETH was $2,555, but the wallet now holds a position down by about $15 million.
Another major whale, operating from wallet address 0x7055, borrowed $10 million USDC from the decentralized lending protocol Aave just four hours ago to buy 4,170 ETH at a price of $2,400. On June 12, this same whale spent 86.79 million USDC to acquire 31,458 ETH at a price of $2,759.
These transactions indicate a strategy of leveraging short-term volatility to build a large ETH position at what these whales presumably view as discounted prices. This kind of accumulation from major players during low retail enthusiasm has historically been a strong signal of coming bullish momentum.
Tightening Supply Meets Strategic Buying
High staking levels, aggressive whale buying, and increasing corporate adoption all seem to be painting a very bullish picture for Ethereum. Recent price stagnation notwithstanding, over one-quarter of the total ETH supply now finds itself locked in staking, while available for immediate sale, the amount of ETH seems to be shrinking fast—thanks in no small part to the tens of thousands of coins that have, in recent weeks, been scooped up by large investors.
Accumulation by whales, particularly when juxtaposed with a dwindling supply of liquid assets, is generally a precursor to upward price moves. Much of this is because these large players tend to act ahead of the broad market—in other words, they front-run the retail trader—placing buy orders in the dark so that only they benefit when the price goes up.
At the same time, Ethereum can still give staking rewards, which emphasizes its usefulness as something that can and should yield rewards. This probably has the effect of encouraging even more long-term holders because those holders are now in a position where they might be able to obtain two different types of rewards from their holding.
Ethereum’s fundamentals, across the board, are solidifying—ranging from the participation of the network’s validators to the activity of its users to the investing behavior of its various constituencies. And yet, for all that, the price of ETH has been going down. It seems not so much an uprise of any one or another particular kind of Ethereum fundamental as a plight of Ethereum on the price charts. But does it directly translate into the common Solidity situation of Ethereum right now? Evidently yes.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Staked Ethereum Hits Record High as Whale Accumulation Signals Bullish Long-Term Sentiment appeared first on The Merkle News.
Over 35 million ETH are now in these contracts, which makes up over 28.3% of the total circulating supply. This remarkable achievement not only speaks to the steadily building confidence that folks seem to have in the long-term profitability of Ethereum but also hints at a dangerously low supply of ETH in the crypto market.
Although some recent price volatility has affected ETH, big investors (often called whales) have been using the pullback to accumulate massive amounts of ETH. Indeed, short-term market sentiment seems mixed, but there’s no way to deny that (1) staking activity is growing, (2) whale activity is, if anything, intensifying, and (3) institutional engagement is on the rise. Putting those pieces together, it’s hard not to see a favorable shift in Ethereum’s market trajectory.
Record ETH Staking Reduces Liquid Supply
Since the network transitioned to proof-of-stake, Ethereum staking has been increasing steadily. But the recent uptick staking to 35 million ETH staked marks an all-time high. This is now over 28 percent of Ethereum’s total supply, and so that really reflects a strong commitment from the holders of Ethereum staking to the long-term development and security of this network. And then, you know, we have ETH staked and effect; that means much less ETH is available to trade on exchanges.
Liquid ETH supply is tightening right now. This is happening for two main reasons: first, that demand for liquidity in the Ethereum economy tends to be higher in the second half of any given year; and second, that large-scale liquidations of staked ETH aren’t happening as quickly or as frequently, which means that plenty of ETH is still being locked up in staking contracts. Ethereum’s supply is becoming sufficiently inelastic that any meaningful increase in demand could provoke a price shock.
The wider context includes an increasing interest from conventional finance. A growing number of companies listed on the Nasdaq have started to integrate cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC into their treasury management. This trend is being taken as an indicator of the increasing recognition of crypto assets by the mainstream as long-term stores of value and component parts of a viable corporate treasury management strategy.
Whales Double Down Despite Market Dip
The case for the long-term value of Ethereum is being further strengthened by whale activity. One major investor, identified by wallet address 0xd8d0, has re-entered the market after previously racking up over $30 million in profits on ETH. This investor, whose recent purchase came after a dip in ETH’s price, bought 30,000 ETH, worth roughly $73 million at the time of the transaction.
The same wallet has not spent nearly $295 million USDC since June 11 to accumulate a total of 115,465 ETH. The average price of the 115,465 ETH was $2,555, but the wallet now holds a position down by about $15 million.
Another major whale, operating from wallet address 0x7055, borrowed $10 million USDC from the decentralized lending protocol Aave just four hours ago to buy 4,170 ETH at a price of $2,400. On June 12, this same whale spent 86.79 million USDC to acquire 31,458 ETH at a price of $2,759.
These transactions indicate a strategy of leveraging short-term volatility to build a large ETH position at what these whales presumably view as discounted prices. This kind of accumulation from major players during low retail enthusiasm has historically been a strong signal of coming bullish momentum.
Tightening Supply Meets Strategic Buying
High staking levels, aggressive whale buying, and increasing corporate adoption all seem to be painting a very bullish picture for Ethereum. Recent price stagnation notwithstanding, over one-quarter of the total ETH supply now finds itself locked in staking, while available for immediate sale, the amount of ETH seems to be shrinking fast—thanks in no small part to the tens of thousands of coins that have, in recent weeks, been scooped up by large investors.
Accumulation by whales, particularly when juxtaposed with a dwindling supply of liquid assets, is generally a precursor to upward price moves. Much of this is because these large players tend to act ahead of the broad market—in other words, they front-run the retail trader—placing buy orders in the dark so that only they benefit when the price goes up.
At the same time, Ethereum can still give staking rewards, which emphasizes its usefulness as something that can and should yield rewards. This probably has the effect of encouraging even more long-term holders because those holders are now in a position where they might be able to obtain two different types of rewards from their holding.
Ethereum’s fundamentals, across the board, are solidifying—ranging from the participation of the network’s validators to the activity of its users to the investing behavior of its various constituencies. And yet, for all that, the price of ETH has been going down. It seems not so much an uprise of any one or another particular kind of Ethereum fundamental as a plight of Ethereum on the price charts. But does it directly translate into the common Solidity situation of Ethereum right now? Evidently yes.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Staked Ethereum Hits Record High as Whale Accumulation Signals Bullish Long-Term Sentiment appeared first on The Merkle News.
Arbitrum Sees Surge in Protocol Revenue and EIP-7702 Adoption Following ArbOS 40 Upgrade
The ecosystem on Arbitrum keeps flaunting its robust foundations, with a steady incline in the revenues of its protocols and a wave of user activity that has surged after recent upgrades to the network.
Last week, all the protocols that call Arbitrum home collectively pulled in $1.16 million in revenue, marking a week-over-week gain of 1%. While it might appear at first glance to be a somewhat lame gainer, almost like a stablecoin, this is a much healthier and more potent demonstration of the DeFi movement inside Arbitrum.
This momentum hinges on the successful deployment of ArbOS 40, the latest operating system upgrade for Arbitrum. This release has substantially increased the use of EIP-7702 smart accounts, with upward of 1 million authorizations tallied across more than 25 delegated contracts—achieved in less than three days since the upgrade went live.
GMX Continues to Lead the Arbitrum Revenue Charts
Of all the protocols contributing to Arbitrum’s impressive weekly earnings, GMX remains the strongest performer. The perpetuals and spot trading platform brought in $431,000 in revenue, making it the leading revenue generator in the ecosystem. GMX’s dominance is a testament to the continued appetite for on-chain derivatives trading and the platform’s growing base of active traders and liquidity providers.
In second place was Gains Network, another protocol from the DeFi space that deals in derivatives, which racked up a tidy $154,000 in revenue. Its nearly top-tier status in the leaderboard indicates that traders want to use the kinds of trading instruments that Gains Network offers—those trading in synthetic, leveraged assets.
Ostium Labs, a newer but quickly growing actor in the ecosystem, came in third, adding $102,000 to the weekly total. Its presence in the top three indicates that newer protocols are starting to take a major share of the market, especially as they use creative means to pull in users.
Another significant entry is Uniswap, the dominant DEX protocol, raking in $67,000. Penpie, a yield optimization platform, pulled in $60,000. These numbers showcase the variety of successful applications within Arbitrum’s DeFi space, from trading to yield farming to staking strategies.
EIP-7702 Smart Accounts See Explosive Uptake
Technological progress is almost as essential as financial metrics on Arbitrum, especially after the launch of ArbOS 40. One of the critical functions of this upgrade is the integration of EIP-7702-compatible smart accounts—an innovation intended to increase flexibility and boost user control over the smart wallet experience.
Within just a few days of launch, over one million authorizations were recorded across more than 25 contracts that are now leveraging the EIP-7702 standard. This rapid uptake is indicative not of just developer interest but also user interest that suggests Arbitrum’s smart accounts will soon be a part of user experience.
This text suggests, without being explicit, that the community is welcoming updates to the Arbitrum network’s infrastructure, such as ArbOS 40. This is good news, so far as it goes, because you want any updates to a protocol to be welcome by its community. And you want those updates to be accepted by as many people as possible.
A Strengthening Foundation for DeFi Growth
Overall, Arbitrum is demonstrating a solid and steady path toward transformation and maturation. Its revenues—and those of the protocols residing atop its Layer 2—are growing, both in total and in terms of the sustained necessary consistency that all ambitious DeFi protocols must attain if they are to be deemed successful. All of this growth is occurring in a Layer 2 ecosystem built atop Ethereum, the smart contract platform that is currently most widely used and most fertile for innovation.
Arbitrum is a hub for smart contract user experience innovation, supporting both established giants like GMX and new players like Ostium Labs in a balanced competitive environment. As such, it is not just a DeFi hub. It also invites the sort of explosive adoption that gives us smart accounts, a nascent user experience layer. That experience is a crucial part of the effusive EIP-7702 narrative.
If the present trends persist, Arbitrum is set not just to hold its place atop the Ethereum Layer 2 stack, but also to change the very nature of how users interact with decentralized protocols. Consistent protocol revenue, developer innovation, and user engagement paint a very nice picture indeed for Arbitrum’s next act.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Arbitrum Sees Surge in Protocol Revenue and EIP-7702 Adoption Following ArbOS 40 Upgrade appeared first on The Merkle News.
Last week, all the protocols that call Arbitrum home collectively pulled in $1.16 million in revenue, marking a week-over-week gain of 1%. While it might appear at first glance to be a somewhat lame gainer, almost like a stablecoin, this is a much healthier and more potent demonstration of the DeFi movement inside Arbitrum.
This momentum hinges on the successful deployment of ArbOS 40, the latest operating system upgrade for Arbitrum. This release has substantially increased the use of EIP-7702 smart accounts, with upward of 1 million authorizations tallied across more than 25 delegated contracts—achieved in less than three days since the upgrade went live.
GMX Continues to Lead the Arbitrum Revenue Charts
Of all the protocols contributing to Arbitrum’s impressive weekly earnings, GMX remains the strongest performer. The perpetuals and spot trading platform brought in $431,000 in revenue, making it the leading revenue generator in the ecosystem. GMX’s dominance is a testament to the continued appetite for on-chain derivatives trading and the platform’s growing base of active traders and liquidity providers.
In second place was Gains Network, another protocol from the DeFi space that deals in derivatives, which racked up a tidy $154,000 in revenue. Its nearly top-tier status in the leaderboard indicates that traders want to use the kinds of trading instruments that Gains Network offers—those trading in synthetic, leveraged assets.
Ostium Labs, a newer but quickly growing actor in the ecosystem, came in third, adding $102,000 to the weekly total. Its presence in the top three indicates that newer protocols are starting to take a major share of the market, especially as they use creative means to pull in users.
Another significant entry is Uniswap, the dominant DEX protocol, raking in $67,000. Penpie, a yield optimization platform, pulled in $60,000. These numbers showcase the variety of successful applications within Arbitrum’s DeFi space, from trading to yield farming to staking strategies.
EIP-7702 Smart Accounts See Explosive Uptake
Technological progress is almost as essential as financial metrics on Arbitrum, especially after the launch of ArbOS 40. One of the critical functions of this upgrade is the integration of EIP-7702-compatible smart accounts—an innovation intended to increase flexibility and boost user control over the smart wallet experience.
Within just a few days of launch, over one million authorizations were recorded across more than 25 contracts that are now leveraging the EIP-7702 standard. This rapid uptake is indicative not of just developer interest but also user interest that suggests Arbitrum’s smart accounts will soon be a part of user experience.
This text suggests, without being explicit, that the community is welcoming updates to the Arbitrum network’s infrastructure, such as ArbOS 40. This is good news, so far as it goes, because you want any updates to a protocol to be welcome by its community. And you want those updates to be accepted by as many people as possible.
A Strengthening Foundation for DeFi Growth
Overall, Arbitrum is demonstrating a solid and steady path toward transformation and maturation. Its revenues—and those of the protocols residing atop its Layer 2—are growing, both in total and in terms of the sustained necessary consistency that all ambitious DeFi protocols must attain if they are to be deemed successful. All of this growth is occurring in a Layer 2 ecosystem built atop Ethereum, the smart contract platform that is currently most widely used and most fertile for innovation.
Arbitrum is a hub for smart contract user experience innovation, supporting both established giants like GMX and new players like Ostium Labs in a balanced competitive environment. As such, it is not just a DeFi hub. It also invites the sort of explosive adoption that gives us smart accounts, a nascent user experience layer. That experience is a crucial part of the effusive EIP-7702 narrative.
If the present trends persist, Arbitrum is set not just to hold its place atop the Ethereum Layer 2 stack, but also to change the very nature of how users interact with decentralized protocols. Consistent protocol revenue, developer innovation, and user engagement paint a very nice picture indeed for Arbitrum’s next act.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Arbitrum Sees Surge in Protocol Revenue and EIP-7702 Adoption Following ArbOS 40 Upgrade appeared first on The Merkle News.
Ethereum Whale Accumulation Surges As Long-Term Confidence Outweighs Short-Term Volatility
Once again, major market players are focusing on Ethereum. The whale activity surrounding the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has picked up substantially.
Big investors are once again accumulating. But look: this isn’t just happening over the last few weeks. If we focus even more narrowly, and just look at what has happened in the last few days, ooooh boy. Institutional Ethereum accumulation is looking real. All of this is hinting at one thing: institutions are really buying into the Ethereum story and are now much more interested in what the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has to offer.
Whales Are Actively Accumulating #Ethereum
Since the second half of 2024, whales have been accumulating $ETH, and this trend has accelerated sharply in recent days. pic.twitter.com/XSOW9KeikV
— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) June 17, 2025
A specific institutional whale, in particular, has garnered attention with a series of big buys, highlighting that when it comes to Ethereum, the large players of this market see long-term value—regardless of how choppy the price action is in the here and now.
Whale Acquires Over 85,000 ETH in a Week
According to data from blockchain, one of the biggest institutions on the Ethereum blockchain has been hoovering up large quantities of Ether. The OTC deal’s sweet spot is where buying large amounts doesn’t make the market go wild. Since this institution already held USDC, acquiring Ether this way was smooth and quiet. The institution has spent 220 million dollars in seven days (which nearly doubles their Ether holdings since the last re-accumulation news). The average price this entity has been buying at in this Ethereum dip is 2,584.
The latest and most notable transaction came just 10 hours ago when the whale added another 15,000 ETH to their holdings for $37.16 million, reflecting a purchase price of roughly $2,477 per coin. This aggressive accumulation at scale demonstrates a level of confidence not often seen from individual or institutional actors in periods of price consolidation.
Even though the price of ETH has dipped somewhat, leaving these new positions with a floating loss of around $4.97 million—and about 2.25%—the whale seems completely unfazed. Rather than shuffling into different assets or taking write-downs, the entity has sent a very clear message of confidence in Ethereum’s long-term growth by moving all 85,465 ETH to staking.
Staking with Lido Signals Long-Term Conviction
The whale has taken the recently acquired ETH and staked it—not held it in wallets for potential trading or reallocation, as one might expect a good whale to do. The Lido move was the least liquid option for sowing or reaping ETH in the immediate future. Indeed, the decision to stake the amount suggests the great whale prioritizes yield generation over short-term speculation. It may also reflect his or her confidence in Ethereum as an investment.
When a whale stakes with Lido, they do much more than simply show support for the Ethereum network’s security and consensus mechanism. They aren’t doing this as a favor, as what follows shows. When you stake this quantity of ETH, you’re moving to a position where every month, roughly, you start getting paychecks of effectively risk-free, passive income. In the cryptocurrency space, staking is often touted as “the new mining” in terms of how much income earning potential it has.
This strategy also protects the whale from immediate market downturns because the staked ETH cannot be sold right away but is earning rewards that add up to substantial profits in the not-so-distant future. In an ecosystem that is more and more affected by regulatory oversight and an inflow of institutional money, staking ETH truly aligns with the cryptocurrency’s purported ethos—distributed, decentralized, and unstoppable.
$113M in Dry Powder Still Held on Aave
What’s perhaps even more telling than the ETH accumulation itself is that the whale still holds $112.94 million in USDC on Aave, one of the leading decentralized lending protocols. This reserve of stablecoins serves as substantial “dry powder” for potential future buys, signaling that this institution may not be done accumulating.
Keeping this money on Aave allows the entity to earn interest on funds that would otherwise be idle, while also maintaining liquidity for any future strategic, market-making purchases. It also largely maintains the entity’s position on Ethereum, which in turn, helps maintain the price of Ethereum.
Having these substantial reserves also gives the market another reason to be confident: if Ethereum’s price falls further, there’s a decent chance this vehicle will just buy more, guaranteeing that Ethereum’s price floor holds in the short term.
A Strong Signal in an Uncertain Market
Retail sentiment is often swayed by news cycles and short-term volatility, yet the major institutional players provide a clearer picture of retail direction. This week, we’re reminded that the surface of the market can be volatile, yet serious investors with long-term horizons are using these moments to build positions in our retail sector.
Expanding use and an influx of big players have changed Ethereum’s profile. These three things—utility, adoption, and deepening infrastructure—are shifting Ethereum’s status from a potential pathfinder in decentralized finance (DeFi) toward something with a little more heft.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Ethereum Whale Accumulation Surges as Long-Term Confidence Outweighs Short-Term Volatility appeared first on The Merkle News.
Big investors are once again accumulating. But look: this isn’t just happening over the last few weeks. If we focus even more narrowly, and just look at what has happened in the last few days, ooooh boy. Institutional Ethereum accumulation is looking real. All of this is hinting at one thing: institutions are really buying into the Ethereum story and are now much more interested in what the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has to offer.
Whales Are Actively Accumulating #Ethereum
Since the second half of 2024, whales have been accumulating $ETH, and this trend has accelerated sharply in recent days. pic.twitter.com/XSOW9KeikV
— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) June 17, 2025
A specific institutional whale, in particular, has garnered attention with a series of big buys, highlighting that when it comes to Ethereum, the large players of this market see long-term value—regardless of how choppy the price action is in the here and now.
Whale Acquires Over 85,000 ETH in a Week
According to data from blockchain, one of the biggest institutions on the Ethereum blockchain has been hoovering up large quantities of Ether. The OTC deal’s sweet spot is where buying large amounts doesn’t make the market go wild. Since this institution already held USDC, acquiring Ether this way was smooth and quiet. The institution has spent 220 million dollars in seven days (which nearly doubles their Ether holdings since the last re-accumulation news). The average price this entity has been buying at in this Ethereum dip is 2,584.
The latest and most notable transaction came just 10 hours ago when the whale added another 15,000 ETH to their holdings for $37.16 million, reflecting a purchase price of roughly $2,477 per coin. This aggressive accumulation at scale demonstrates a level of confidence not often seen from individual or institutional actors in periods of price consolidation.
Even though the price of ETH has dipped somewhat, leaving these new positions with a floating loss of around $4.97 million—and about 2.25%—the whale seems completely unfazed. Rather than shuffling into different assets or taking write-downs, the entity has sent a very clear message of confidence in Ethereum’s long-term growth by moving all 85,465 ETH to staking.
Staking with Lido Signals Long-Term Conviction
The whale has taken the recently acquired ETH and staked it—not held it in wallets for potential trading or reallocation, as one might expect a good whale to do. The Lido move was the least liquid option for sowing or reaping ETH in the immediate future. Indeed, the decision to stake the amount suggests the great whale prioritizes yield generation over short-term speculation. It may also reflect his or her confidence in Ethereum as an investment.
When a whale stakes with Lido, they do much more than simply show support for the Ethereum network’s security and consensus mechanism. They aren’t doing this as a favor, as what follows shows. When you stake this quantity of ETH, you’re moving to a position where every month, roughly, you start getting paychecks of effectively risk-free, passive income. In the cryptocurrency space, staking is often touted as “the new mining” in terms of how much income earning potential it has.
This strategy also protects the whale from immediate market downturns because the staked ETH cannot be sold right away but is earning rewards that add up to substantial profits in the not-so-distant future. In an ecosystem that is more and more affected by regulatory oversight and an inflow of institutional money, staking ETH truly aligns with the cryptocurrency’s purported ethos—distributed, decentralized, and unstoppable.
$113M in Dry Powder Still Held on Aave
What’s perhaps even more telling than the ETH accumulation itself is that the whale still holds $112.94 million in USDC on Aave, one of the leading decentralized lending protocols. This reserve of stablecoins serves as substantial “dry powder” for potential future buys, signaling that this institution may not be done accumulating.
Keeping this money on Aave allows the entity to earn interest on funds that would otherwise be idle, while also maintaining liquidity for any future strategic, market-making purchases. It also largely maintains the entity’s position on Ethereum, which in turn, helps maintain the price of Ethereum.
Having these substantial reserves also gives the market another reason to be confident: if Ethereum’s price falls further, there’s a decent chance this vehicle will just buy more, guaranteeing that Ethereum’s price floor holds in the short term.
A Strong Signal in an Uncertain Market
Retail sentiment is often swayed by news cycles and short-term volatility, yet the major institutional players provide a clearer picture of retail direction. This week, we’re reminded that the surface of the market can be volatile, yet serious investors with long-term horizons are using these moments to build positions in our retail sector.
Expanding use and an influx of big players have changed Ethereum’s profile. These three things—utility, adoption, and deepening infrastructure—are shifting Ethereum’s status from a potential pathfinder in decentralized finance (DeFi) toward something with a little more heft.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Ethereum Whale Accumulation Surges as Long-Term Confidence Outweighs Short-Term Volatility appeared first on The Merkle News.
Week in AI: Fartcoin Steals the Spotlight Amid Market Turmoil
It has been a tumultuous week for the artificial intelligence sector in crypto. Sharp valuation downturns, regulatory revamps, and some unexpected winners have marked a week of heavy turbulence.
While the broader AI sector took a hit, with certain indexes showing double-digit losses, Fartcoin—a meme-based token—surprised everyone with its health and a price bump. It got listed on Coinbase, which is nifty and ironic. While Fartcoin went up, draiftking (DKING) sort of shot up after a major fund announcement.
One of the most dramatic weeks related to AI and crypto has unfolded recently. Let’s take a closer look.
AI Sector Sheds $1.9 Billion, Altcoins Sputter
The artificial intelligence sector in cryptocurrencies lost significant ground this week. It dropped to 11.6% in total market capitalization. That equates to a $1.9 billion plunge. That’s the third-worst performance across the broader category of cryptocurrency.
This drop corresponds to Bitcoin dipping to a low of approximately $103,000. By the end of the week, Bitcoin had recovered to around $106,500. But in the middle of that week, it’s very clear that alts were just not performing at all. And this same Bitcoin showing the opposite behavior.
So, what’s the reaction? Bitcoin’s market share is at 64%. People are obviously running back to the safer bet, which is blue chip Bitcoin.
Market sentiment mirrored these prudent moves. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped back to neutral, showing that investors are somewhat hesitant, thanks to the growing volatility and the altcoin narrative’s lack of direction.
Among significant projects associated with artificial intelligence, Render (RNDR) dropped 10.2%. Other popular tokens did not fare much better: TAO, Internet Computer (ICP), NEAR, and Fetch.ai (FET) sustained losses ranging from 6% to 8%. And despite the recent excitement and development activity surrounding them, these projects failed to draw much in the way of buying interest during the latest risk-off equity market move.
Winners of the Week: DKING, VADER, and the Unlikely Rise of Fartcoin
Among the slaughter, a few AI tokens managed to break through the gloom—and none more surprisingly than Fartcoin. The humor-laden memecoin, which has capably leveraged a blend of AI themes and viral internet culture, pumped 10.9% after it was announced that it would be listed on Coinbase. The listing—done on a day when many anticipated the overall market would collapse—put Fartcoin (capitalization $65 million) in the spotlight, and with much of the crypto market going in reverse, here nonetheless was a token going up.
At the same time, draiftking (DKING) was the clear standout performer of the week, soaring 160% after the announcement of a partnership deal with a major fund worth $300 million. The partnership is expected to provide DKING with liquidity, developmental support, and new exposure for its AI-driven betting and prediction platform. VaderAI (VADER) also enjoyed a strong week, posting gains of 53.2% as renewed excitement around the project’s upcoming Virtuals Protocol seemed to lift all boats.
These outliers taken together suggest that even though there’s a sector-wide pullback, investors are putting down their chips on projects and tokens they really believe in or that have some cool, funny twist.
🚀 Week in AI: Fartcoin Defies Bleeding AI Sector.
AI sector drops -11.6%! FARTCOIN lists on Coinbase and pumps +10%! DKING rips +160%! U.S. House pushes 10-year AI freeze! TRNR goes all-in on FET!
Let’s break down AI’s wild week 🧵
1/6 pic.twitter.com/EBNrNQjsFQ
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) June 17, 2025
AI Regulation: U.S. House Pushes 10-Year Freeze on State Rules
One of the week’s biggest stories came out of Washington, where the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive 10-year prohibition on state AI laws. If the bill becomes law, it would prevent U.S. states from passing their own AI policies. The federal government, under a single set of rules, would be responsible for regulating AI, effectively making it the decider-in-chief on all AI matters.
Proponents say the action would bring together AI regulation and make it all the more effective for businesses to comply, thereby promoting innovation. But a lot of folks—especially in Silicon Valley—argue that these guys are just pushing for a regime that will be easy for businesses to comply with and will promote a lot of kind of AI innovation that may not align with a lot of people’s values.
The Senate now holds the future of the bill, and it is predicted to face an intense debate there. Should it pass, the legislation might rank as one of the most significant pieces of artificial intelligence policy ever enacted in the United States. Its effects could be felt across an array of sectors, from those developing self-driving cars to businesses using algorithms for trading.
Ecosystem Developments Offer Glimmers of Hope
Notwithstanding the volatile price action and regulatory uncertainty, we nonetheless saw some significant ecosystem wins. Blockticity unveiled the launch of a new Avalanche Layer 1 network tailored for the AI-powered trade verification sector. The platform is already processing $1.2 billion in goods and aims to deliver scalable, AI-integrated solutions for the supply chain logistics space.
In other places, asset management firm TRNR articulated a roadmap for securing $500 million. The firm plans to use the largesse to purchase and maintain Fetch.ai’s FET tokens, which will amount to 10 percent of FET’s circulating supply when the deal is done. The purchase is part of a diversification strategy, as TRNR seeks to maintain assets that are increasingly decoupled from the volatility gripping traditional financial markets. It’s not the only institutional investor that has recently announced plans to acquire AI-focused assets.
While the AI sector seeks to reestablish itself, this week has underscored both the perils and the incredible prospects that still characterize this milieu. Be it memecoins moving rapidly or legislators remaking the rules, one thing is obvious: when it comes to AI crypto, don’t be shocked by surprises.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Week in AI: Fartcoin Steals the Spotlight Amid Market Turmoil appeared first on The Merkle News.
While the broader AI sector took a hit, with certain indexes showing double-digit losses, Fartcoin—a meme-based token—surprised everyone with its health and a price bump. It got listed on Coinbase, which is nifty and ironic. While Fartcoin went up, draiftking (DKING) sort of shot up after a major fund announcement.
One of the most dramatic weeks related to AI and crypto has unfolded recently. Let’s take a closer look.
AI Sector Sheds $1.9 Billion, Altcoins Sputter
The artificial intelligence sector in cryptocurrencies lost significant ground this week. It dropped to 11.6% in total market capitalization. That equates to a $1.9 billion plunge. That’s the third-worst performance across the broader category of cryptocurrency.
This drop corresponds to Bitcoin dipping to a low of approximately $103,000. By the end of the week, Bitcoin had recovered to around $106,500. But in the middle of that week, it’s very clear that alts were just not performing at all. And this same Bitcoin showing the opposite behavior.
So, what’s the reaction? Bitcoin’s market share is at 64%. People are obviously running back to the safer bet, which is blue chip Bitcoin.
Market sentiment mirrored these prudent moves. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped back to neutral, showing that investors are somewhat hesitant, thanks to the growing volatility and the altcoin narrative’s lack of direction.
Among significant projects associated with artificial intelligence, Render (RNDR) dropped 10.2%. Other popular tokens did not fare much better: TAO, Internet Computer (ICP), NEAR, and Fetch.ai (FET) sustained losses ranging from 6% to 8%. And despite the recent excitement and development activity surrounding them, these projects failed to draw much in the way of buying interest during the latest risk-off equity market move.
Winners of the Week: DKING, VADER, and the Unlikely Rise of Fartcoin
Among the slaughter, a few AI tokens managed to break through the gloom—and none more surprisingly than Fartcoin. The humor-laden memecoin, which has capably leveraged a blend of AI themes and viral internet culture, pumped 10.9% after it was announced that it would be listed on Coinbase. The listing—done on a day when many anticipated the overall market would collapse—put Fartcoin (capitalization $65 million) in the spotlight, and with much of the crypto market going in reverse, here nonetheless was a token going up.
At the same time, draiftking (DKING) was the clear standout performer of the week, soaring 160% after the announcement of a partnership deal with a major fund worth $300 million. The partnership is expected to provide DKING with liquidity, developmental support, and new exposure for its AI-driven betting and prediction platform. VaderAI (VADER) also enjoyed a strong week, posting gains of 53.2% as renewed excitement around the project’s upcoming Virtuals Protocol seemed to lift all boats.
These outliers taken together suggest that even though there’s a sector-wide pullback, investors are putting down their chips on projects and tokens they really believe in or that have some cool, funny twist.
🚀 Week in AI: Fartcoin Defies Bleeding AI Sector.
AI sector drops -11.6%! FARTCOIN lists on Coinbase and pumps +10%! DKING rips +160%! U.S. House pushes 10-year AI freeze! TRNR goes all-in on FET!
Let’s break down AI’s wild week 🧵
1/6 pic.twitter.com/EBNrNQjsFQ
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) June 17, 2025
AI Regulation: U.S. House Pushes 10-Year Freeze on State Rules
One of the week’s biggest stories came out of Washington, where the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive 10-year prohibition on state AI laws. If the bill becomes law, it would prevent U.S. states from passing their own AI policies. The federal government, under a single set of rules, would be responsible for regulating AI, effectively making it the decider-in-chief on all AI matters.
Proponents say the action would bring together AI regulation and make it all the more effective for businesses to comply, thereby promoting innovation. But a lot of folks—especially in Silicon Valley—argue that these guys are just pushing for a regime that will be easy for businesses to comply with and will promote a lot of kind of AI innovation that may not align with a lot of people’s values.
The Senate now holds the future of the bill, and it is predicted to face an intense debate there. Should it pass, the legislation might rank as one of the most significant pieces of artificial intelligence policy ever enacted in the United States. Its effects could be felt across an array of sectors, from those developing self-driving cars to businesses using algorithms for trading.
Ecosystem Developments Offer Glimmers of Hope
Notwithstanding the volatile price action and regulatory uncertainty, we nonetheless saw some significant ecosystem wins. Blockticity unveiled the launch of a new Avalanche Layer 1 network tailored for the AI-powered trade verification sector. The platform is already processing $1.2 billion in goods and aims to deliver scalable, AI-integrated solutions for the supply chain logistics space.
In other places, asset management firm TRNR articulated a roadmap for securing $500 million. The firm plans to use the largesse to purchase and maintain Fetch.ai’s FET tokens, which will amount to 10 percent of FET’s circulating supply when the deal is done. The purchase is part of a diversification strategy, as TRNR seeks to maintain assets that are increasingly decoupled from the volatility gripping traditional financial markets. It’s not the only institutional investor that has recently announced plans to acquire AI-focused assets.
While the AI sector seeks to reestablish itself, this week has underscored both the perils and the incredible prospects that still characterize this milieu. Be it memecoins moving rapidly or legislators remaking the rules, one thing is obvious: when it comes to AI crypto, don’t be shocked by surprises.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Week in AI: Fartcoin Steals the Spotlight Amid Market Turmoil appeared first on The Merkle News.
BSC Foundation Resumes Strategic Accumulation: VIXBT, CAKE, LISTA, and MOOLAH Under Spotlight
Following a brief stint of dormancy, the BSC Foundation is back in action, reestablishing its strategic accumulation of pivotal tokens across the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem.
Recent wallet activity reveals that the Foundation is reorienting its attention to multiple projects, hinting at either a shift toward a more aggressive investment posture or a reinforcement of its long-term ecosystem strategy.
Based on on-chain information, the Foundation has made some large procurement of four tokens: VIXBT, CAKE, LISTA, and MOOLAH. These acquisitions total around $250,000 and are already starting to impact the mood and price action of the BSC market.
VIXBT Leads the Charge with Market Cap Surge
One of the most prominent purchases has to do with VIXBT, a new token that’s part of the BSC ecosystem. A wallet tied to the BSC Foundation, identified as 0x511dfe9e248c887e32ca8bf9d1cb76f101965060, recently bought 6.49 million VIXBT tokens. The purchase was worth about $25,000 and happened just before VIXBT saw its total market cap spike up a whopping 62 percent, pushing it to just over $5 million.
When the transaction took place, it is likely that someone was trying to time the trade for maximum effect—to jump on a trend and gain early-mover advantage or, at the very least, position themselves in a way that looks good by the time all the investors who normally come in late to the party have shown up.
A bullish VIXBT was clearly already on the books, and since VIXBT is a big ball of hot air, inflating just makes it bigger crystals—implying that ripple effect is working. And with a 3x ETF, the one straw that breaks the VIXBT camel’s back doesn’t do nice things for the underlying index.
Even though it is still regarded as a small-cap asset, VIXBT could provide very good growth potential. The Foundation’s action in this token is a signal that they are willing to take early positions in smaller-scale, less-publicized projects with the expectation that those projects will produce significant, positive returns.
CAKE and LISTA Receive Major Boosts
In a related but equally important series of deals, a separate wallet tied to the BSC Foundation, 0xECCd4cF0a64F9B3ab487587A1473b6cDA459Acb0, acquired a considerable amount of CAKE and LISTA. Earlier today, each token received a $100,000 infusion from this wallet.
CAKE, the native token of PancakeSwap, remains one of the most well-known assets in the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem. Although it competes with an increasingly diverse array of DeFi projects and has experienced some periods of price stagnation, PancakeSwap is still one of the leading decentralized exchanges (DEX) on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), with a huge and still growing user base, as well as a very active development team.
LISTA, a relatively new token, is increasingly gaining traction, evidenced by an influx of community interests and an apparent utility-driven path to growth. Although it is not yet as well-established as CAKE, LISTA seems to have caught the Foundation’s eye, thanks to its recent performance and ongoing development activities. The allocation of $100,000 suggests that the Foundation aims to balance its portfolio between platforms that are already established and those that are just beginning to shine—like LISTA—in the DeFi space.
MOOLAH Rounds Out the Day’s Activity
The Foundation capped its accumulation spree with a $25,000 purchase of MOOLAH. This token, while lesser-known and more speculative, has been slowly building its presence in the BSC ecosystem. The decision to invest in MOOLAH could be based on early signals of project development, potential partnerships, or community engagement that have yet to be fully recognized by the broader market.
Due to MOOLAH’s comparatively low liquidity and small market cap, even ordinary investments can set off some significant price moves. The Foundation’s interest could lead to other investors taking a closer look at what we believe is a promising micro-cap token showing early signs of price momentum.
A Strategic Reawakening
In total, these transactions signal a significant uptick in market activity for the BSC Foundation. Purchasing a blend of well-known, semi-well-known, and under-the-radar tokens suggests a not-so-hidden strategy to bolster the BSC ecosystem from multiple fronts. Of course, whether these transactions are the start of a renewed, sustained upswing in BSC Foundation market activity or just a bunch of opportunistic grabs remains to be seen.
However, conversations among market participants have already been ignited by the Foundation’s actions. It’s likely that the further wallet movements and token engagements of the BSC Foundation will also, in the near term, continue to shape across the landscape of the Binance Smart Chain.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post BSC Foundation Resumes Strategic Accumulation: VIXBT, CAKE, LISTA, and MOOLAH Under Spotlight appeared first on The Merkle News.
Recent wallet activity reveals that the Foundation is reorienting its attention to multiple projects, hinting at either a shift toward a more aggressive investment posture or a reinforcement of its long-term ecosystem strategy.
Based on on-chain information, the Foundation has made some large procurement of four tokens: VIXBT, CAKE, LISTA, and MOOLAH. These acquisitions total around $250,000 and are already starting to impact the mood and price action of the BSC market.
VIXBT Leads the Charge with Market Cap Surge
One of the most prominent purchases has to do with VIXBT, a new token that’s part of the BSC ecosystem. A wallet tied to the BSC Foundation, identified as 0x511dfe9e248c887e32ca8bf9d1cb76f101965060, recently bought 6.49 million VIXBT tokens. The purchase was worth about $25,000 and happened just before VIXBT saw its total market cap spike up a whopping 62 percent, pushing it to just over $5 million.
When the transaction took place, it is likely that someone was trying to time the trade for maximum effect—to jump on a trend and gain early-mover advantage or, at the very least, position themselves in a way that looks good by the time all the investors who normally come in late to the party have shown up.
A bullish VIXBT was clearly already on the books, and since VIXBT is a big ball of hot air, inflating just makes it bigger crystals—implying that ripple effect is working. And with a 3x ETF, the one straw that breaks the VIXBT camel’s back doesn’t do nice things for the underlying index.
Even though it is still regarded as a small-cap asset, VIXBT could provide very good growth potential. The Foundation’s action in this token is a signal that they are willing to take early positions in smaller-scale, less-publicized projects with the expectation that those projects will produce significant, positive returns.
CAKE and LISTA Receive Major Boosts
In a related but equally important series of deals, a separate wallet tied to the BSC Foundation, 0xECCd4cF0a64F9B3ab487587A1473b6cDA459Acb0, acquired a considerable amount of CAKE and LISTA. Earlier today, each token received a $100,000 infusion from this wallet.
CAKE, the native token of PancakeSwap, remains one of the most well-known assets in the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem. Although it competes with an increasingly diverse array of DeFi projects and has experienced some periods of price stagnation, PancakeSwap is still one of the leading decentralized exchanges (DEX) on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), with a huge and still growing user base, as well as a very active development team.
LISTA, a relatively new token, is increasingly gaining traction, evidenced by an influx of community interests and an apparent utility-driven path to growth. Although it is not yet as well-established as CAKE, LISTA seems to have caught the Foundation’s eye, thanks to its recent performance and ongoing development activities. The allocation of $100,000 suggests that the Foundation aims to balance its portfolio between platforms that are already established and those that are just beginning to shine—like LISTA—in the DeFi space.
MOOLAH Rounds Out the Day’s Activity
The Foundation capped its accumulation spree with a $25,000 purchase of MOOLAH. This token, while lesser-known and more speculative, has been slowly building its presence in the BSC ecosystem. The decision to invest in MOOLAH could be based on early signals of project development, potential partnerships, or community engagement that have yet to be fully recognized by the broader market.
Due to MOOLAH’s comparatively low liquidity and small market cap, even ordinary investments can set off some significant price moves. The Foundation’s interest could lead to other investors taking a closer look at what we believe is a promising micro-cap token showing early signs of price momentum.
A Strategic Reawakening
In total, these transactions signal a significant uptick in market activity for the BSC Foundation. Purchasing a blend of well-known, semi-well-known, and under-the-radar tokens suggests a not-so-hidden strategy to bolster the BSC ecosystem from multiple fronts. Of course, whether these transactions are the start of a renewed, sustained upswing in BSC Foundation market activity or just a bunch of opportunistic grabs remains to be seen.
However, conversations among market participants have already been ignited by the Foundation’s actions. It’s likely that the further wallet movements and token engagements of the BSC Foundation will also, in the near term, continue to shape across the landscape of the Binance Smart Chain.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post BSC Foundation Resumes Strategic Accumulation: VIXBT, CAKE, LISTA, and MOOLAH Under Spotlight appeared first on The Merkle News.
Solana ETF Buzz Grows With New S-1 Filings, but $SOL Price Remains Cautious
The competition to launch a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) gained fresh traction on June 14, when seven issuers—including the financial behemoth Fidelity—filed updated S-1 documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The new documents are fueling excitement that Solana might soon win the right to be packaged and sold as a spot ETF, just as Bitcoin has this year.
Even with all the enthusiasm, Solana’s native token $SOL is exhibiting constraint. In the wake of the ETF developments, price action has stayed subdued. And perhaps divided is a generous way to describe the analysts’ perspective on Solana’s next move. Some seem to be calling it for a near-term rebound, while others say Solana might be more likely to be sitting on the edge of a deeper correction.
ETF Hype vs. Market Reality
There’s a spot Solana ETF in the works. The updated S-1 filings are a procedural but necessary step toward bringing such a thing to market. Fidelity’s involvement adds institutional heft and interest to the initiative. And that has led some in the crypto community to compare this situation to the Bitcoin ETF approval cycle, which many believe helped push BTC to new all-time highs.
Yet the market is not responding with the same enthusiasm. After the announcement, $SOL traded mostly sideways and is currently hovering near the $14.1 mark. While ETF developments are considered long-term bullish, the short-term technical picture is much more cautious.
A number of technical analysts believe that Solana is at a decisive tipping point. They point to the fact that Ethereum has recently been showing signs of weakness and that overall macro market conditions are very uncertain right now as they watch for possible spillover effects this could have on $SOL in the near term.
Mixed Technical Views: Support, Resistance, and Strategies
@YSI_crypto, a crypto analyst, has noticed something about Solana. Its price movements seem to be closely aligned with those of another cryptocurrency, Ethereum. And as @YSI_crypto points out, if Ethereum is about to go into a sharp downturn, then Solana may very well do the same in short order.
Resembling the cautionary tone, @ByCoinvo analyst voices a description of Solana being “at critical support.” In this description, the analyst sends a warning that if bulls do not defend this level, the token may be looking at “deeper losses.” The messaging is clear on this recap: any drop below current support could trigger a sharper correction.
At the same time, trader @BTCpumpkin gives a more organized picture of price levels. For him, $140 is the immediate support floor. If that holds, he sees a possible move up to $152. If momentum takes us higher, a second target is $165. These price levels might be helpful to short-term swing traders looking to capitalize on volatility.
More tactically, @linghangETH puts forth a layered trading strategy. This strategy assumes a high probability of a false breakdown. Thus, the analyst recommends entering with a 50% position at current market prices, adding to the position at $141, with a stop loss just below at $140. The take-profit target is around $150. This proposed strategy captures a potential rebound while tightly managing risk in case support fails.
Waiting for a Catalyst
Even with ETF optimism, Solana’s market moves seem to be mirroring a broader trend in crypto — that of investor hesitance. As with Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana’s price needs a clearer catalyst to move decisively. It dropped to $20.37 in the aftermath of the $49 million hack of the DeFi platform Mango Markets, then recovered to $25.22 and briefly went as high as $26.72 after the mainnet beta launch before recently settling into a tight range.
The ETF narrative could eventually provide that spark, especially if regulatory clarity improves or approval timelines shorten.
But for now, traders are approaching with caution.
While the S-1 filings mark a notable milestone for institutional adoption of Solana, they don’t guarantee near-term upside in price.
Until a more robust market conviction returns, $SOL seems trapped in an indecision zone, with bulls and bears splitting the day’s action between defending support and looking for shorting opportunities. As is all too familiar in the wild world of crypto, the next move could come suddenly and without much warning—in part, because sentiment is hanging on a fine line between unfettered optimism and panic-induced fear.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana ETF Buzz Grows with New S-1 Filings, But $SOL Price Remains Cautious appeared first on The Merkle News.
The new documents are fueling excitement that Solana might soon win the right to be packaged and sold as a spot ETF, just as Bitcoin has this year.
Even with all the enthusiasm, Solana’s native token $SOL is exhibiting constraint. In the wake of the ETF developments, price action has stayed subdued. And perhaps divided is a generous way to describe the analysts’ perspective on Solana’s next move. Some seem to be calling it for a near-term rebound, while others say Solana might be more likely to be sitting on the edge of a deeper correction.
ETF Hype vs. Market Reality
There’s a spot Solana ETF in the works. The updated S-1 filings are a procedural but necessary step toward bringing such a thing to market. Fidelity’s involvement adds institutional heft and interest to the initiative. And that has led some in the crypto community to compare this situation to the Bitcoin ETF approval cycle, which many believe helped push BTC to new all-time highs.
Yet the market is not responding with the same enthusiasm. After the announcement, $SOL traded mostly sideways and is currently hovering near the $14.1 mark. While ETF developments are considered long-term bullish, the short-term technical picture is much more cautious.
A number of technical analysts believe that Solana is at a decisive tipping point. They point to the fact that Ethereum has recently been showing signs of weakness and that overall macro market conditions are very uncertain right now as they watch for possible spillover effects this could have on $SOL in the near term.
Mixed Technical Views: Support, Resistance, and Strategies
@YSI_crypto, a crypto analyst, has noticed something about Solana. Its price movements seem to be closely aligned with those of another cryptocurrency, Ethereum. And as @YSI_crypto points out, if Ethereum is about to go into a sharp downturn, then Solana may very well do the same in short order.
Resembling the cautionary tone, @ByCoinvo analyst voices a description of Solana being “at critical support.” In this description, the analyst sends a warning that if bulls do not defend this level, the token may be looking at “deeper losses.” The messaging is clear on this recap: any drop below current support could trigger a sharper correction.
At the same time, trader @BTCpumpkin gives a more organized picture of price levels. For him, $140 is the immediate support floor. If that holds, he sees a possible move up to $152. If momentum takes us higher, a second target is $165. These price levels might be helpful to short-term swing traders looking to capitalize on volatility.
More tactically, @linghangETH puts forth a layered trading strategy. This strategy assumes a high probability of a false breakdown. Thus, the analyst recommends entering with a 50% position at current market prices, adding to the position at $141, with a stop loss just below at $140. The take-profit target is around $150. This proposed strategy captures a potential rebound while tightly managing risk in case support fails.
Waiting for a Catalyst
Even with ETF optimism, Solana’s market moves seem to be mirroring a broader trend in crypto — that of investor hesitance. As with Bitcoin and Ethereum, Solana’s price needs a clearer catalyst to move decisively. It dropped to $20.37 in the aftermath of the $49 million hack of the DeFi platform Mango Markets, then recovered to $25.22 and briefly went as high as $26.72 after the mainnet beta launch before recently settling into a tight range.
The ETF narrative could eventually provide that spark, especially if regulatory clarity improves or approval timelines shorten.
But for now, traders are approaching with caution.
While the S-1 filings mark a notable milestone for institutional adoption of Solana, they don’t guarantee near-term upside in price.
Until a more robust market conviction returns, $SOL seems trapped in an indecision zone, with bulls and bears splitting the day’s action between defending support and looking for shorting opportunities. As is all too familiar in the wild world of crypto, the next move could come suddenly and without much warning—in part, because sentiment is hanging on a fine line between unfettered optimism and panic-induced fear.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana ETF Buzz Grows with New S-1 Filings, But $SOL Price Remains Cautious appeared first on The Merkle News.
Retail Sentiment Signals a Hidden Swing Trading Edge in Crypto Markets
In the rapidly changing field of cryptocurrency trading, technical analysis has reigned for a long time.
Traders examine support and resistance levels, moving averages, and RSI indicators, trying to divine the next move in Bitcoin. But more and more, one of the most effective strategies just isn’t found on the chart—it’s in the retail crowd. And as one emerging dataset shows, understanding retail psychology and counter-trading it may just be one of the most powerful tools for swing trading in today’s market.
A new chart circulating in trading circles tracks public Bitcoin price predictions across a number of social platforms—X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, BitcoinTalk, and Farcaster. It doesn’t analyze price levels or indicators. It captures the emotional extremes of retail traders. And the results have been surprisingly accurate.
Measuring Retail Emotion, Not Market Structure
Sentiment is divided into two uncomplicated categories: predictions about prices that are in the $30,000–$70,000 region (in blue on the chart) and predictions that put prices in the $120,000–$160,000 range (in red). When we track how often these predictions get made (and by whom) during the different phases of the market, we get a pretty unambiguous picture of whether retail traders are leaning bullish (in this case, making lots of price predictions in the red range) or bearish (making lots of price predictions in the blue range).
The crowd tends to get it wrong, especially at emotionally charged turning points, and that’s what makes the tool so interesting. In the last three months alone, Bitcoin has consistently traded above $70,000. It has not yet touched the $30K–$70K range that so many crowd participants predicted it would reach during the last quarter of 2021. On the flip side, it has also not yet breached the $120K–$160K zone that crowd participants are so sure it will reach, with the current all-time high sitting just under $112,000. Both bearish and bullish extremes predicted by crowd participants have so far failed to materialize.
The clear psychology at work is this: when prices drop, the retail sector starts to get nervous and forecasts that it’s going to have a tough time. But when prices start to rise, we-all get kinda goofy and start forecasting potential outrageous profits. But the crazy part is that in both scenarios, when the profits or losses seem like they’re going to be the biggest, the opposite tends to happen in the market.
The June Panic: A Case Study in Contrarian Opportunity
A very recent and clear example of this happened between June 4 and June 6. During that period, Bitcoin dropped suddenly to $101,000, leaving retail investors in a panic. The platforms were buzzing with not-so-happy predictions about the virtual commodity that was now down around 29 percent from its February high of around $140,000. A revisitation of the $80K, $70K, and even the $60K levels was being predicted as a possibility. The collective mood was one of euphoria’s hangover.
When the experienced traders of the market saw that a huge number of bearish calls were coming in, they considered it a contrarian buy signal and started buying up Bitcoin. Retail panic, we know from experience, usually signifies that selling pressure is reaching its zenith. When retail investors are in a panic, we can be pretty sure that the large holders of assets we call whales are in the buy mode and accumulating what they consider to be now-on-sale assets. This is what happened with Bitcoin after the 6th of May this year. We saw a huge number of calls coming in forecasting further declines for the price of Bitcoin. Yet, we also saw Bitcoin almost immediately turn around, starting to not only stabilize but also to climb again.
This pattern has played out before. According to historical data, when extreme bullish sentiment is present—evidenced by a surge in price target predictions to levels like $120,000 and above—it has often been the case that we were also right up against a short-term price top. What’s more, traders who seem to have an inordinate amount of faith in the price targets they were hearing at that time and who appeared to be following the crowd seem to have done so at their own peril.
Mixed Sentiment Means a Wait-and-See Market
Currently, retail sentiment does not show a clear consensus. Predictions regarding the prices, whether they be lower or higher, are relatively balanced. This indicates indecision and a lull in emotional momentum. This kind of sentiment standoff usually occurs before a major price movement, with the market searching for direction.
Put another way, swing traders are poised but biding their time as they await a more unmistakable emotional pivot from retail investors before making their next decisions. If the chart starts to look obviously in one direction or another—say, with a sudden surge in bearish advisories or ecstatic forecasts of soon-to-be-broken new highs—it could very well be signaling a swing in the opposite direction for us. Once again, a contrarian signal, if you will.
For traders seeking to sharpen their competitive advantage in the market, monitoring the retail calls of various platforms has become a truly indispensable tool. And these days, it’s almost a given that the smart money will have a finger on the pulse of retail sentiment. But even for those who might not yet consider themselves to be part of the smart money, there’s still plenty of reason to keep an eye on the retail crowd.
For traders, the most profitable skill may not be reading charts, but reading the room. And in an industry dominated by volatility, hype, and headlines, chart reading might just be the least profitable skill to have.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Retail Sentiment Signals a Hidden Swing Trading Edge in Crypto Markets appeared first on The Merkle News.
Traders examine support and resistance levels, moving averages, and RSI indicators, trying to divine the next move in Bitcoin. But more and more, one of the most effective strategies just isn’t found on the chart—it’s in the retail crowd. And as one emerging dataset shows, understanding retail psychology and counter-trading it may just be one of the most powerful tools for swing trading in today’s market.
A new chart circulating in trading circles tracks public Bitcoin price predictions across a number of social platforms—X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, BitcoinTalk, and Farcaster. It doesn’t analyze price levels or indicators. It captures the emotional extremes of retail traders. And the results have been surprisingly accurate.
Measuring Retail Emotion, Not Market Structure
Sentiment is divided into two uncomplicated categories: predictions about prices that are in the $30,000–$70,000 region (in blue on the chart) and predictions that put prices in the $120,000–$160,000 range (in red). When we track how often these predictions get made (and by whom) during the different phases of the market, we get a pretty unambiguous picture of whether retail traders are leaning bullish (in this case, making lots of price predictions in the red range) or bearish (making lots of price predictions in the blue range).
The crowd tends to get it wrong, especially at emotionally charged turning points, and that’s what makes the tool so interesting. In the last three months alone, Bitcoin has consistently traded above $70,000. It has not yet touched the $30K–$70K range that so many crowd participants predicted it would reach during the last quarter of 2021. On the flip side, it has also not yet breached the $120K–$160K zone that crowd participants are so sure it will reach, with the current all-time high sitting just under $112,000. Both bearish and bullish extremes predicted by crowd participants have so far failed to materialize.
The clear psychology at work is this: when prices drop, the retail sector starts to get nervous and forecasts that it’s going to have a tough time. But when prices start to rise, we-all get kinda goofy and start forecasting potential outrageous profits. But the crazy part is that in both scenarios, when the profits or losses seem like they’re going to be the biggest, the opposite tends to happen in the market.
The June Panic: A Case Study in Contrarian Opportunity
A very recent and clear example of this happened between June 4 and June 6. During that period, Bitcoin dropped suddenly to $101,000, leaving retail investors in a panic. The platforms were buzzing with not-so-happy predictions about the virtual commodity that was now down around 29 percent from its February high of around $140,000. A revisitation of the $80K, $70K, and even the $60K levels was being predicted as a possibility. The collective mood was one of euphoria’s hangover.
When the experienced traders of the market saw that a huge number of bearish calls were coming in, they considered it a contrarian buy signal and started buying up Bitcoin. Retail panic, we know from experience, usually signifies that selling pressure is reaching its zenith. When retail investors are in a panic, we can be pretty sure that the large holders of assets we call whales are in the buy mode and accumulating what they consider to be now-on-sale assets. This is what happened with Bitcoin after the 6th of May this year. We saw a huge number of calls coming in forecasting further declines for the price of Bitcoin. Yet, we also saw Bitcoin almost immediately turn around, starting to not only stabilize but also to climb again.
This pattern has played out before. According to historical data, when extreme bullish sentiment is present—evidenced by a surge in price target predictions to levels like $120,000 and above—it has often been the case that we were also right up against a short-term price top. What’s more, traders who seem to have an inordinate amount of faith in the price targets they were hearing at that time and who appeared to be following the crowd seem to have done so at their own peril.
Mixed Sentiment Means a Wait-and-See Market
Currently, retail sentiment does not show a clear consensus. Predictions regarding the prices, whether they be lower or higher, are relatively balanced. This indicates indecision and a lull in emotional momentum. This kind of sentiment standoff usually occurs before a major price movement, with the market searching for direction.
Put another way, swing traders are poised but biding their time as they await a more unmistakable emotional pivot from retail investors before making their next decisions. If the chart starts to look obviously in one direction or another—say, with a sudden surge in bearish advisories or ecstatic forecasts of soon-to-be-broken new highs—it could very well be signaling a swing in the opposite direction for us. Once again, a contrarian signal, if you will.
For traders seeking to sharpen their competitive advantage in the market, monitoring the retail calls of various platforms has become a truly indispensable tool. And these days, it’s almost a given that the smart money will have a finger on the pulse of retail sentiment. But even for those who might not yet consider themselves to be part of the smart money, there’s still plenty of reason to keep an eye on the retail crowd.
For traders, the most profitable skill may not be reading charts, but reading the room. And in an industry dominated by volatility, hype, and headlines, chart reading might just be the least profitable skill to have.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Retail Sentiment Signals a Hidden Swing Trading Edge in Crypto Markets appeared first on The Merkle News.
Solana’s Meta-Aggregators Drive Fierce Competition in Swapping Landscape
In the rapidly evolving decentralized finance landscape, meta-aggregation is subtly changing how users engage with trading interfaces on Solana.
As the too-close-to-call competition to deliver the best trade execution heats up, a new class of infrastructure is forming — the meta-aggregators — whose reason for being is now to optimize not just for single swap routes but across multiple liquidity sources and across themselves, too. These platforms are no longer just value-add layers; they are now essential components of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
The swapping experience for end-users is becoming faster, cheaper, and smarter—all thanks to the new competitive environment meta-aggregators are helping to create. By routing swaps through multiple sources and applying their own optimization routines, meta-aggregators are layering an additional level of logic on top of existing aggregators and liquidity providers.
Meta-Aggregators Expand Trade Routing Horizons
Meta-aggregators distinguish themselves from others by navigating trades not only through a sole protocol but by accessing multiple aggregators, market makers, and even off-chain data sources. Leading this pack is Titan Exchange, which has taken the Solana blockchain by storm. Titan routes users’ trades through third-party aggregators such as Jupiter, OKX, and DFlow, while also utilizing off-chain data to access the most competitive prices—obtained, for example, through Pyth Network’s Express Relay.
Titan’s own routing algorithm, called Talos, underpins its operation and has already handled more than 35 million dollars in weekly volume. Talos works by dynamically assessing the optimal execution path for a trade. Slippage, latency, fees, and off-chain pricing are all taken into account. Users can depend on Talos to locate the necessary trade components with far more efficiency than a human can muster.
This method marks a significant improvement in efficiency: it diminishes the chances of price fragmentation and ramps up execution quality in unstable times or in markets that just lack liquidity. Being able to use both on-chain and off-chain data in a smart way also gives us a good peek into how future DeFi infrastructure will look, especially as more big players and demanding users push for even better routing and access to liquidity.
Kamino and Jupiter Evolve to Stay Competitive
Meta-aggregation is swiftly coming to prominence beyond Titan. In April, Kamino Finance unveiled a meta-aggregator of its own, which now stands alongside the limit order and money market products in its portfolio. Since going live, the erstwhile vague narrative has granted OKX a clear pathway to prominence as an increasingly well-specified share of the volume that gets routed through Kamino Swap.
Kamino’s ecosystem allows for swaps to be executed because it is integrated directly with Kamino. This is important for user experiences, especially in situations where users are tied to liquidation, repayments, or leverage functions. The value of swap functions has been extended past simple asset conversion and now reaches simple execution of orders with an assurance of best-price execution even in complex financial operations.
Even with growing competition, Jupiter Exchange—the original heavyweight in Solana aggregation—stays the dominant force in the market. But Jupiter isn’t sitting still. The platform has recently rolled out Juno, a next-generation routing engine that integrates meta-aggregation capabilities, and this positions Jupiter to remain competitive against emerging challengers like Titan and Kamino.
This heightened pressure from meta-aggregators is forcing all the huge players to innovate faster and concentrate more on acquiring users. The end result: an environment that efficiently swaps tokens, is super competitive, and seems well aligned with the wants and needs of today’s DeFi user.
Trade Execution is the Battleground, User Flow is the Prize
Meta-aggregators are on the rise, and this reflects the deeper strategic shift that is taking place in the DeFi landscape. Swaps themselves are becoming commoditized — offered at zero or near-zero fees — not because they are unimportant, but because they serve as the portals to much more interesting, higher-margin products.
Every big name in the Solana swapping game has its eye on the same prize: own the user, and you own the flow. Titan plans to make money through advanced trading features like limit orders, dollar-cost averaging, and automation tools. Kamino sees its swap aggregator as a way to enrich user experience in its broader money market ecosystem, where efficient trade execution is vital for things like collateral management or debt repayment. Jupiter, meanwhile, derives much of its revenue from its perpetual futures product, using its swap interface as an on-ramp.
The new aggregation of aggregators is layered over the existing digital landscape. And yet, even within that new appearance of depth, we should not lose sight of the streamlined interfaces beneath. If acquisition is conversion with anatomy, then offering the best price, the fastest execution, and the cleanest interface is not a way to keep margins fat; it’s a way to stack on top of the existing order of things without disturbing it too much.
The meta-aggregation race on Solana is intensifying with no clear signs of slowing down. And while today, Jupiter seems to be holding the lead, competitors like Titan and Kamino are busy building fast, smart, and adaptive systems that could very well change the power dynamics in the months ahead. For you and me, the end users, this means one thing—better swaps, better tools, and more choice.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana’s Meta-Aggregators Drive Fierce Competition in Swapping Landscape appeared first on The Merkle News.
As the too-close-to-call competition to deliver the best trade execution heats up, a new class of infrastructure is forming — the meta-aggregators — whose reason for being is now to optimize not just for single swap routes but across multiple liquidity sources and across themselves, too. These platforms are no longer just value-add layers; they are now essential components of Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
The swapping experience for end-users is becoming faster, cheaper, and smarter—all thanks to the new competitive environment meta-aggregators are helping to create. By routing swaps through multiple sources and applying their own optimization routines, meta-aggregators are layering an additional level of logic on top of existing aggregators and liquidity providers.
Meta-Aggregators Expand Trade Routing Horizons
Meta-aggregators distinguish themselves from others by navigating trades not only through a sole protocol but by accessing multiple aggregators, market makers, and even off-chain data sources. Leading this pack is Titan Exchange, which has taken the Solana blockchain by storm. Titan routes users’ trades through third-party aggregators such as Jupiter, OKX, and DFlow, while also utilizing off-chain data to access the most competitive prices—obtained, for example, through Pyth Network’s Express Relay.
Titan’s own routing algorithm, called Talos, underpins its operation and has already handled more than 35 million dollars in weekly volume. Talos works by dynamically assessing the optimal execution path for a trade. Slippage, latency, fees, and off-chain pricing are all taken into account. Users can depend on Talos to locate the necessary trade components with far more efficiency than a human can muster.
This method marks a significant improvement in efficiency: it diminishes the chances of price fragmentation and ramps up execution quality in unstable times or in markets that just lack liquidity. Being able to use both on-chain and off-chain data in a smart way also gives us a good peek into how future DeFi infrastructure will look, especially as more big players and demanding users push for even better routing and access to liquidity.
Kamino and Jupiter Evolve to Stay Competitive
Meta-aggregation is swiftly coming to prominence beyond Titan. In April, Kamino Finance unveiled a meta-aggregator of its own, which now stands alongside the limit order and money market products in its portfolio. Since going live, the erstwhile vague narrative has granted OKX a clear pathway to prominence as an increasingly well-specified share of the volume that gets routed through Kamino Swap.
Kamino’s ecosystem allows for swaps to be executed because it is integrated directly with Kamino. This is important for user experiences, especially in situations where users are tied to liquidation, repayments, or leverage functions. The value of swap functions has been extended past simple asset conversion and now reaches simple execution of orders with an assurance of best-price execution even in complex financial operations.
Even with growing competition, Jupiter Exchange—the original heavyweight in Solana aggregation—stays the dominant force in the market. But Jupiter isn’t sitting still. The platform has recently rolled out Juno, a next-generation routing engine that integrates meta-aggregation capabilities, and this positions Jupiter to remain competitive against emerging challengers like Titan and Kamino.
This heightened pressure from meta-aggregators is forcing all the huge players to innovate faster and concentrate more on acquiring users. The end result: an environment that efficiently swaps tokens, is super competitive, and seems well aligned with the wants and needs of today’s DeFi user.
Trade Execution is the Battleground, User Flow is the Prize
Meta-aggregators are on the rise, and this reflects the deeper strategic shift that is taking place in the DeFi landscape. Swaps themselves are becoming commoditized — offered at zero or near-zero fees — not because they are unimportant, but because they serve as the portals to much more interesting, higher-margin products.
Every big name in the Solana swapping game has its eye on the same prize: own the user, and you own the flow. Titan plans to make money through advanced trading features like limit orders, dollar-cost averaging, and automation tools. Kamino sees its swap aggregator as a way to enrich user experience in its broader money market ecosystem, where efficient trade execution is vital for things like collateral management or debt repayment. Jupiter, meanwhile, derives much of its revenue from its perpetual futures product, using its swap interface as an on-ramp.
The new aggregation of aggregators is layered over the existing digital landscape. And yet, even within that new appearance of depth, we should not lose sight of the streamlined interfaces beneath. If acquisition is conversion with anatomy, then offering the best price, the fastest execution, and the cleanest interface is not a way to keep margins fat; it’s a way to stack on top of the existing order of things without disturbing it too much.
The meta-aggregation race on Solana is intensifying with no clear signs of slowing down. And while today, Jupiter seems to be holding the lead, competitors like Titan and Kamino are busy building fast, smart, and adaptive systems that could very well change the power dynamics in the months ahead. For you and me, the end users, this means one thing—better swaps, better tools, and more choice.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana’s Meta-Aggregators Drive Fierce Competition in Swapping Landscape appeared first on The Merkle News.
Arbitrum Approves Five New Proposals Amid Rising Timeboost Revenues and Strategic Upgrades
Arbitrum, one of Ethereum’s top Layer 2 scaling solutions, is in the news again with some governance activity and technical upgrades.
Its Timeboost mechanism, which gives users extra time when submitting on-chain transactions, is moving to the next phases of its economic design—something the Arbitrum DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) will need to govern.
On May 3, 2025, the Arbitrum DAO announced that it had passed a series of key proposals, generating quite a bit of revenue as a result. Let’s look a bit closer at what’s behind all this fuss and what it means for the future of decentralized governance.
By engaging with institutional governance, growing smart contract revenue, and aligning with the Ethereum network’s latest standards, Arbitrum is strengthening its standing as one of the most technically sophisticated and financially viable Layer 2 blockchain ecosystems.
Governance Strengthened with Five Proposals and Watchdog Program
In May, the Arbitrum DAO confirmed five proposals—two of which passed through on-chain voting on Tally and three via Snapshot. A total of 3,422 unique wallet addresses participated in the voting process, attesting to the network’s vibrant governance.
A standout among the proposals was the approval of the “Watchdog Program,” a transparency-focused initiative aimed at improving the DAO’s fund oversight. This measure received overwhelming support with 99.94% of votes in favor, totaling over 211 million ARB–far surpassing the quorum requirement of approximately 131 million ARB. Major participants included respected institutions such as Entropy Advisors, L2BEAT, Gauntlet, and Wintermute, and these entities collectively contributed over half of the required quorum.
The Watchdog Program brings forth bounties that are not centralized, reporting mechanisms that allow for privacy, and outside auditors—all designed to make sure that DAOs are transparent, compliant, and secure when it comes to assets that they control. This move positions Arbitrum very much at the forefront of governance in the Layer 2 space, where the need for operational clarity and accountability is becoming more pronounced.
Timeboost Revenue Surges as Usage Grows
Debuted in mid-April, Arbitrum’s Timeboost mechanism—a new-fangled, auction-based model for ordering rights in transaction blocks—has swiftly emerged as a potentially considerable revenue stream. By early June, it had racked up a total of 593.58 WETH (roughly $1.43 million), with 575.769 WETH (about $1.39 million) landing in the DAO as pure profit. Meanwhile, the contract’s total value locked was 692.05 WETH—again, roughly $1.74 million.
The design of Timeboost allocates 97% of revenues to the DAO and 3% to the Developer Guild. Thus, creating a balanced incentive structure that benefits both governance and development communities. The revenue and fee performance of Timeboost from the DApp side closely mirrors what we see from DEX activity generally. And that is to say, we see revenue and fees spiking during the weekdays—Monday through Thursday, particularly—before dropping 5% to 17% over the weekend.
The system shows a surprisingly strong demand across auction rounds, with plenty of volatility and a number of rounds that aren’t empty, which you can observe on a daily basis. This is taken as a sign that the on-chain transaction prioritization that Timeboost provides is being more and more requested by both traders and developers.
Strategic Upgrades and Adaptive Governance Shape Outlook
At the same time, when it was moving forward and correcting past mistakes in governance and the economy, Arbitrum also advanced technical development. It introduced ArbOS 40 “Callisto.” This is really important because it moves Arbitrum One and Nova into full compatibility with the recent Pectra hard fork on Ethereum. Callisto layered in not just the ubiquitous EIP that enhances Ethereum’s ongoing smooth functioning (these days, smart contract users kind of live or die by the presence of such EIPs), but also some major performance enhancements.
Ensuring that Arbitrum remains tightly coupled with Ethereum mainnet development is an increasingly vital factor for developers onboarding to Arbitrum and for applications migrating from Ethereum to Arbitrum. Beyond that, the implementation overall increases performance, increases compatibility, and decreases friction for builders deploying across chains.
At the same time, the DAO is looking into a proposed amendment to the quorum in its constitution—that is, how many people have to show up in order for the vote to count. Because quorum is such a fundamental part of governance, this was a soft proposal that went hard as soon as it was suggested and was not really agreed to by everyone in the DAO, which seems to indicate that governance in the Constitution DAO is tenuous at best, with some making a better argument than others for the idea of having a quorum.
Arbitrum is a well-placed entity to continue its lead among Layer 2 networks looking forward. The Watchdog Program has been integrated successfully, Timeboost revenues are on the upswing, and a promise remains to keep in step with Ethereum’s core development (even if the latter sometimes marches to a different drummer). All in all, the Arbitrum ecosystem seems set to scale in both secure and efficient ways.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Arbitrum Approves Five New Proposals Amid Rising Timeboost Revenues and Strategic Upgrades appeared first on The Merkle News.
Its Timeboost mechanism, which gives users extra time when submitting on-chain transactions, is moving to the next phases of its economic design—something the Arbitrum DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) will need to govern.
On May 3, 2025, the Arbitrum DAO announced that it had passed a series of key proposals, generating quite a bit of revenue as a result. Let’s look a bit closer at what’s behind all this fuss and what it means for the future of decentralized governance.
By engaging with institutional governance, growing smart contract revenue, and aligning with the Ethereum network’s latest standards, Arbitrum is strengthening its standing as one of the most technically sophisticated and financially viable Layer 2 blockchain ecosystems.
Governance Strengthened with Five Proposals and Watchdog Program
In May, the Arbitrum DAO confirmed five proposals—two of which passed through on-chain voting on Tally and three via Snapshot. A total of 3,422 unique wallet addresses participated in the voting process, attesting to the network’s vibrant governance.
A standout among the proposals was the approval of the “Watchdog Program,” a transparency-focused initiative aimed at improving the DAO’s fund oversight. This measure received overwhelming support with 99.94% of votes in favor, totaling over 211 million ARB–far surpassing the quorum requirement of approximately 131 million ARB. Major participants included respected institutions such as Entropy Advisors, L2BEAT, Gauntlet, and Wintermute, and these entities collectively contributed over half of the required quorum.
The Watchdog Program brings forth bounties that are not centralized, reporting mechanisms that allow for privacy, and outside auditors—all designed to make sure that DAOs are transparent, compliant, and secure when it comes to assets that they control. This move positions Arbitrum very much at the forefront of governance in the Layer 2 space, where the need for operational clarity and accountability is becoming more pronounced.
Timeboost Revenue Surges as Usage Grows
Debuted in mid-April, Arbitrum’s Timeboost mechanism—a new-fangled, auction-based model for ordering rights in transaction blocks—has swiftly emerged as a potentially considerable revenue stream. By early June, it had racked up a total of 593.58 WETH (roughly $1.43 million), with 575.769 WETH (about $1.39 million) landing in the DAO as pure profit. Meanwhile, the contract’s total value locked was 692.05 WETH—again, roughly $1.74 million.
The design of Timeboost allocates 97% of revenues to the DAO and 3% to the Developer Guild. Thus, creating a balanced incentive structure that benefits both governance and development communities. The revenue and fee performance of Timeboost from the DApp side closely mirrors what we see from DEX activity generally. And that is to say, we see revenue and fees spiking during the weekdays—Monday through Thursday, particularly—before dropping 5% to 17% over the weekend.
The system shows a surprisingly strong demand across auction rounds, with plenty of volatility and a number of rounds that aren’t empty, which you can observe on a daily basis. This is taken as a sign that the on-chain transaction prioritization that Timeboost provides is being more and more requested by both traders and developers.
Strategic Upgrades and Adaptive Governance Shape Outlook
At the same time, when it was moving forward and correcting past mistakes in governance and the economy, Arbitrum also advanced technical development. It introduced ArbOS 40 “Callisto.” This is really important because it moves Arbitrum One and Nova into full compatibility with the recent Pectra hard fork on Ethereum. Callisto layered in not just the ubiquitous EIP that enhances Ethereum’s ongoing smooth functioning (these days, smart contract users kind of live or die by the presence of such EIPs), but also some major performance enhancements.
Ensuring that Arbitrum remains tightly coupled with Ethereum mainnet development is an increasingly vital factor for developers onboarding to Arbitrum and for applications migrating from Ethereum to Arbitrum. Beyond that, the implementation overall increases performance, increases compatibility, and decreases friction for builders deploying across chains.
At the same time, the DAO is looking into a proposed amendment to the quorum in its constitution—that is, how many people have to show up in order for the vote to count. Because quorum is such a fundamental part of governance, this was a soft proposal that went hard as soon as it was suggested and was not really agreed to by everyone in the DAO, which seems to indicate that governance in the Constitution DAO is tenuous at best, with some making a better argument than others for the idea of having a quorum.
Arbitrum is a well-placed entity to continue its lead among Layer 2 networks looking forward. The Watchdog Program has been integrated successfully, Timeboost revenues are on the upswing, and a promise remains to keep in step with Ethereum’s core development (even if the latter sometimes marches to a different drummer). All in all, the Arbitrum ecosystem seems set to scale in both secure and efficient ways.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Arbitrum Approves Five New Proposals Amid Rising Timeboost Revenues and Strategic Upgrades appeared first on The Merkle News.
Avalanche Sees Surge in Daily Transactions As Gaming and SocialFi Fuel Growth
Avalanche is a high-performance blockchain platform that’s known for its speed and ability to scale. Now, it finds itself with renewed on-chain activity.
For the first time since February of this year, it has seen daily transactions on its network consistently approach or surpass the one-million mark. This uptick has been seen since June 1 and seems to be indicating a renewed wave of on-chain engagement from users and developers that has them wondering what might be next for Avalanche.
Although Avalanche has seen ups and downs over the last 12 months, the most recent activity seems to indicate that this blockchain is initiating a new and possibly lasting phase of growth. Much of this recent growth seems concentrated around certain applications that are really hitting their stride with specific communities but also pushing way beyond those communities. Meanwhile, both well-established names and more experimental platforms within the Avalanche ecosystem are driving certain sorts of momentum.
Gaming Activity Spurs Network Usage
Avalanche’s current network usage has a few clear contributors, one of which is the gaming sector. Games and game-related experiences, like the ones offered by the MapleStory Universe, are a big part of Web3 right now. Unlike a lot of recent attempts to make games using blockchain technology, MapleStory Universe is an expansion of a preexisting, extremely popular game. Just as importantly, it was developed with a Web3-native framework in mind, something you can really only do right now.
MapleStory Universe isn’t merely reviving the nostalgia of its long-time players—it’s also welcoming a fresh assembly of gamers into the fold, to the very real concept of digital asset ownership. This honored institution of the gaming world is now smoothly integrating its tokenized items into an in-game economy that’s rewarding and embracing active participation. How does it do this? Well, around here, we tend to call it ‘the MapleStory way,’ which is also a kind of model for any legacy game looking to avoid leaving its core audience behind on the way to Web3.
Consistent engagement with players directly translates into on-chain activity. Players mint, trade, and upgrade NFTs and game tokens, adding thousands of transactions to the chain each day for this supposed entertainment reason. Organic usage of this kind—where blockchain technology undergirds a gameplay experience that feels ”natural” to players and isn’t centered on price appreciation of the tokens they’re using—is what some people within the industry hope will create a more sustainable foundation for the technology’s future. On-chain activity partly reflects the performance of underlying blockchain networks.
SocialFi Finds Momentum with The Arena
Another burgeoning trend tied to Avalanche’s transaction growth is the world of SocialFi. This mix between social media and decentralized finance is not yet even a toddler, but it does look like Avalanche might be the wild, experimental ground where one can play with the still-germinal idea of SocialFi.
So what is it? Here’s a go at a Yogi Berra definition: SocialFi is where you, uh, finance while being social.
Clearly, that’s not going to work as a definition for anything resembling a money-making endeavor, either for an individual or for a company. But that’s as clear as mud, so let’s break down what some of the components might be.
In this category, The Arena App is a standout. It is a novel platform where users create, promote, and trade memecoins tied to personalities, events, and viral trends. In contrast to traditional token launches, Arena conducts low-stakes, community-driven trading that blends entertainment with mechanisms of the blockchain. However, the number of transactions likely isn’t low enough for Avalanche to throw up its hands and say, “Memecoins? No thanks!”
The gamified experience within The Arena has become wildly successful, particularly among young users and newcomers to crypto, who are generally uninterested in the messy, behind-the-scenes world of DeFi. Instead, these users are much more attracted to the interactive, creator-friendly models offered up by The Arena. And with The Arena now up and running, don’t be surprised if the Avalanche community experiences some growing pains as its infrastructure becomes a go-to platform for Garden parties.
A Broader Revival or Just a Flash in the Pan?
Although the increase in daily transactions is a good sign, the big question is whether this activity can be maintained and even expanded in the months ahead. I tend to think of blockchain peak activity as often being short-lived, tied to hype cycles or tiny trends that pop up on Twitter. But the current growth of Avalanche seems to be something else altogether.
The surge in transactions is not only due to speculative trading, but now stems mostly from the recurring and engaging applications being built on Avalanche. Both gaming and SocialFi are use cases that depend on daily activity, and not just one-time speculative engagement. Even the applications themselves are diversified—from complex game economies to meme coin creation—and are building a dimensional user base.
If this wave of momentum keeps rolling, it could put Avalanche back among the top Layer 1 networks in the blockchain world. With transaction throughput nearing all-time highs and even more developers deploying on the chain, Avalanche could be looking at a summer to remember. Now, the challenge in front of it is to hold on to this new wave of users and convert the transaction bump into something that lasts.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Avalanche Sees Surge in Daily Transactions as Gaming and SocialFi Fuel Growth appeared first on The Merkle News.
For the first time since February of this year, it has seen daily transactions on its network consistently approach or surpass the one-million mark. This uptick has been seen since June 1 and seems to be indicating a renewed wave of on-chain engagement from users and developers that has them wondering what might be next for Avalanche.
Although Avalanche has seen ups and downs over the last 12 months, the most recent activity seems to indicate that this blockchain is initiating a new and possibly lasting phase of growth. Much of this recent growth seems concentrated around certain applications that are really hitting their stride with specific communities but also pushing way beyond those communities. Meanwhile, both well-established names and more experimental platforms within the Avalanche ecosystem are driving certain sorts of momentum.
Gaming Activity Spurs Network Usage
Avalanche’s current network usage has a few clear contributors, one of which is the gaming sector. Games and game-related experiences, like the ones offered by the MapleStory Universe, are a big part of Web3 right now. Unlike a lot of recent attempts to make games using blockchain technology, MapleStory Universe is an expansion of a preexisting, extremely popular game. Just as importantly, it was developed with a Web3-native framework in mind, something you can really only do right now.
MapleStory Universe isn’t merely reviving the nostalgia of its long-time players—it’s also welcoming a fresh assembly of gamers into the fold, to the very real concept of digital asset ownership. This honored institution of the gaming world is now smoothly integrating its tokenized items into an in-game economy that’s rewarding and embracing active participation. How does it do this? Well, around here, we tend to call it ‘the MapleStory way,’ which is also a kind of model for any legacy game looking to avoid leaving its core audience behind on the way to Web3.
Consistent engagement with players directly translates into on-chain activity. Players mint, trade, and upgrade NFTs and game tokens, adding thousands of transactions to the chain each day for this supposed entertainment reason. Organic usage of this kind—where blockchain technology undergirds a gameplay experience that feels ”natural” to players and isn’t centered on price appreciation of the tokens they’re using—is what some people within the industry hope will create a more sustainable foundation for the technology’s future. On-chain activity partly reflects the performance of underlying blockchain networks.
SocialFi Finds Momentum with The Arena
Another burgeoning trend tied to Avalanche’s transaction growth is the world of SocialFi. This mix between social media and decentralized finance is not yet even a toddler, but it does look like Avalanche might be the wild, experimental ground where one can play with the still-germinal idea of SocialFi.
So what is it? Here’s a go at a Yogi Berra definition: SocialFi is where you, uh, finance while being social.
Clearly, that’s not going to work as a definition for anything resembling a money-making endeavor, either for an individual or for a company. But that’s as clear as mud, so let’s break down what some of the components might be.
In this category, The Arena App is a standout. It is a novel platform where users create, promote, and trade memecoins tied to personalities, events, and viral trends. In contrast to traditional token launches, Arena conducts low-stakes, community-driven trading that blends entertainment with mechanisms of the blockchain. However, the number of transactions likely isn’t low enough for Avalanche to throw up its hands and say, “Memecoins? No thanks!”
The gamified experience within The Arena has become wildly successful, particularly among young users and newcomers to crypto, who are generally uninterested in the messy, behind-the-scenes world of DeFi. Instead, these users are much more attracted to the interactive, creator-friendly models offered up by The Arena. And with The Arena now up and running, don’t be surprised if the Avalanche community experiences some growing pains as its infrastructure becomes a go-to platform for Garden parties.
A Broader Revival or Just a Flash in the Pan?
Although the increase in daily transactions is a good sign, the big question is whether this activity can be maintained and even expanded in the months ahead. I tend to think of blockchain peak activity as often being short-lived, tied to hype cycles or tiny trends that pop up on Twitter. But the current growth of Avalanche seems to be something else altogether.
The surge in transactions is not only due to speculative trading, but now stems mostly from the recurring and engaging applications being built on Avalanche. Both gaming and SocialFi are use cases that depend on daily activity, and not just one-time speculative engagement. Even the applications themselves are diversified—from complex game economies to meme coin creation—and are building a dimensional user base.
If this wave of momentum keeps rolling, it could put Avalanche back among the top Layer 1 networks in the blockchain world. With transaction throughput nearing all-time highs and even more developers deploying on the chain, Avalanche could be looking at a summer to remember. Now, the challenge in front of it is to hold on to this new wave of users and convert the transaction bump into something that lasts.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Avalanche Sees Surge in Daily Transactions as Gaming and SocialFi Fuel Growth appeared first on The Merkle News.
Web3 Gaming Holds Its Lead—But for How Long? the Battle for Top Dapp Category Heats Up
In the world of Web3, which is constantly evolving, the gaming sector has long been seen as the crown jewel.
However, as the ecosystem matures and competition intensifies, even gaming’s long-held dominance is starting to show signs of pressure. May 2025 has turned out to be a crucial month for blockchain-based gaming, highlighting not just ongoing engagement but also new problems, fresh competition, and the slippage of several formerly promising projects.
Although gaming remains in the lead among decentralized applications, it does so by the narrowest margin. The numbers show both stubbornness—and that there’s something to be vulnerable about—setting a stage for an unpredictable summer.
Gaming Still Leads, But Margins Are Slimming
In May, Web3 gaming boasts 4.9 million daily unique active wallets, a modest uptick from April’s total. But this doesn’t mean the medium is becoming a more commanding force in the Web3 space. If anything, Gaming’s slumping market share—19.4 percent versus 21 percent in April—suggests its reigning atop the Web3 pyramid might be more precarious than it seems.
Comparative user numbers are now nearly the same for DeFi, AI, and other next-gen applications, as our May data reveal. Following closely behind these nascent app categories are Social applications, which nabbed 17.1 percent of total user share in May, and NFTs, which captured 15.5 percent of total user share in May—both of which user bases appear to be growing at a nice clip. What’s cool is that users seem to want the interactions that these new app categories provide even more than they did when these same app categories were fresh and new on the scene.
Users seem to be paying less attention to gaming than before, even though gaming still has the most active users. It seems to be a race that is closer than ever and getting tighter all the time, with other forms of digital entertainment innovating and doing a better job of onboarding users. Gaming, then, has to onboard users just like those other forms of entertainment if it wants to stay in the lead.
Chains in Flux: opBNB Leads, But Rivals Catch Up
In May, opBNB continued to lead as the top gaming chain in terms of infrastructure. However, this may be changing soon; it’s impressive growth on alternative chains. Aptos surged by a whopping 22 percent, securing a very close second place to opBNB. In an even more impressive uptick, Sei made serious upward moves, gaining a fantastic 27 percent in May. Sei’s growth is thanks to insane levels of activity across several gaming applications.
Core not only survived but thrived, breaking into the top 10 chains for gaming with 15 percent growth—the only top 10 chain to post such a number. (Some other top 10 chains were flat or even negative during that time.) Thus, Core’s story also exemplifies the dynamic and competitive nature of the sector.
Developers and players are exploring faster, cheaper, and more scalable ecosystems. That’s led them to new venues and new types of interactions, as well as wider adoption of crypto-native behavior. For instance, racetracks and soccer fields are now being built in the metaverse.
In individual projects, World of Dypians topped the charts in May with 3.83 million daily users, firmly staking its claim as the month’s number-one Web3 game. On Sei, both Hotspring and Archer Hunter saw major growth, signaling a budding gaming scene on the chain. Meanwhile, PlayZap Games kept its upward momentum going, solidifying its place in the mid-tier of fast-growing titles.
With the user experience and gaming-specific performance in mind, chains that are gaming-focused could ensure that no one blockchain dominates for long. July and August could be especially volatile, driven in part by the price movement of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also by successful or unsuccessful launches of big-name games on chains that compete with the Ethereum mainnet.
A Harsh Reality for Web3 Gaming Projects
Even with a lot of user numbers and enthusiasm around them, Web3 gaming is finding it hard to demonstrate real viability. Projects that have a lot of money and a lot of hype behind them are beginning to fold and are starting to show just how difficult it is to build something sustainable and long-lasting in that space.
A few well-known titles—including Nyan Heroes, Ember Sword, and The Mystery Society—have either shut down or gone dark. This points to a growing problem: While it’s relatively easy to construct and promote a Web3 game, keeping it economically viable, engaging, and trusted by its community over the long term is quite a different matter.
Nonetheless, lost hope there is not. June is crammed full of high-stakes gaming events that could, just might, rekindle momentum. SERAPH Season 3 comes roaring in with a $5 million SERAPH prize pool that couldn’t fail to attract competitive gamers and a crowd of spectators. Meanwhile, card battler enthusiasts could see rekindled interest as Gods Unchained launches its new expansion pack. And Tokyo Beast is promising a massive, $1 million championship that should deliver both entertainment and visibility.
Looking Ahead: Will Gaming Keep Its Top Spot?
As the data for May demonstrate, Web3 gaming continues to be the most vibrant sector. This is something of a consolation, since it obviously has its own pressures to deal with. Internal challenges to major projects threaten their stability. They also threaten the very real possibility that the top Web3 gaming projects don’t last much longer in the space. Meanwhile, other sectors—social media, DeFi, and AI applications, for instance—are gunning for the same no-man’s-land that Web3 gaming currently occupies.
June now on, the gaming world will continue its surge of unprecedented activity. It will push the gaming industry to the max around a key time for the sector, as the Game Developers Conference and the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, both happen in June. These are not just appearances; they promise blockbuster levels of excitement, how well the gaming industry can execute around them, retain users, and change their fundamental business model to make it less tied to the outmoded big tech infrastructure of the past will determine if the gaming sector holds onto its crown or cedes it to some up-and-coming competitor.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Web3 Gaming Holds Its Lead—But for How Long? The Battle for Top Dapp Category Heats Up appeared first on The Merkle News.
However, as the ecosystem matures and competition intensifies, even gaming’s long-held dominance is starting to show signs of pressure. May 2025 has turned out to be a crucial month for blockchain-based gaming, highlighting not just ongoing engagement but also new problems, fresh competition, and the slippage of several formerly promising projects.
Although gaming remains in the lead among decentralized applications, it does so by the narrowest margin. The numbers show both stubbornness—and that there’s something to be vulnerable about—setting a stage for an unpredictable summer.
Gaming Still Leads, But Margins Are Slimming
In May, Web3 gaming boasts 4.9 million daily unique active wallets, a modest uptick from April’s total. But this doesn’t mean the medium is becoming a more commanding force in the Web3 space. If anything, Gaming’s slumping market share—19.4 percent versus 21 percent in April—suggests its reigning atop the Web3 pyramid might be more precarious than it seems.
Comparative user numbers are now nearly the same for DeFi, AI, and other next-gen applications, as our May data reveal. Following closely behind these nascent app categories are Social applications, which nabbed 17.1 percent of total user share in May, and NFTs, which captured 15.5 percent of total user share in May—both of which user bases appear to be growing at a nice clip. What’s cool is that users seem to want the interactions that these new app categories provide even more than they did when these same app categories were fresh and new on the scene.
Users seem to be paying less attention to gaming than before, even though gaming still has the most active users. It seems to be a race that is closer than ever and getting tighter all the time, with other forms of digital entertainment innovating and doing a better job of onboarding users. Gaming, then, has to onboard users just like those other forms of entertainment if it wants to stay in the lead.
Chains in Flux: opBNB Leads, But Rivals Catch Up
In May, opBNB continued to lead as the top gaming chain in terms of infrastructure. However, this may be changing soon; it’s impressive growth on alternative chains. Aptos surged by a whopping 22 percent, securing a very close second place to opBNB. In an even more impressive uptick, Sei made serious upward moves, gaining a fantastic 27 percent in May. Sei’s growth is thanks to insane levels of activity across several gaming applications.
Core not only survived but thrived, breaking into the top 10 chains for gaming with 15 percent growth—the only top 10 chain to post such a number. (Some other top 10 chains were flat or even negative during that time.) Thus, Core’s story also exemplifies the dynamic and competitive nature of the sector.
Developers and players are exploring faster, cheaper, and more scalable ecosystems. That’s led them to new venues and new types of interactions, as well as wider adoption of crypto-native behavior. For instance, racetracks and soccer fields are now being built in the metaverse.
In individual projects, World of Dypians topped the charts in May with 3.83 million daily users, firmly staking its claim as the month’s number-one Web3 game. On Sei, both Hotspring and Archer Hunter saw major growth, signaling a budding gaming scene on the chain. Meanwhile, PlayZap Games kept its upward momentum going, solidifying its place in the mid-tier of fast-growing titles.
With the user experience and gaming-specific performance in mind, chains that are gaming-focused could ensure that no one blockchain dominates for long. July and August could be especially volatile, driven in part by the price movement of Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also by successful or unsuccessful launches of big-name games on chains that compete with the Ethereum mainnet.
A Harsh Reality for Web3 Gaming Projects
Even with a lot of user numbers and enthusiasm around them, Web3 gaming is finding it hard to demonstrate real viability. Projects that have a lot of money and a lot of hype behind them are beginning to fold and are starting to show just how difficult it is to build something sustainable and long-lasting in that space.
A few well-known titles—including Nyan Heroes, Ember Sword, and The Mystery Society—have either shut down or gone dark. This points to a growing problem: While it’s relatively easy to construct and promote a Web3 game, keeping it economically viable, engaging, and trusted by its community over the long term is quite a different matter.
Nonetheless, lost hope there is not. June is crammed full of high-stakes gaming events that could, just might, rekindle momentum. SERAPH Season 3 comes roaring in with a $5 million SERAPH prize pool that couldn’t fail to attract competitive gamers and a crowd of spectators. Meanwhile, card battler enthusiasts could see rekindled interest as Gods Unchained launches its new expansion pack. And Tokyo Beast is promising a massive, $1 million championship that should deliver both entertainment and visibility.
Looking Ahead: Will Gaming Keep Its Top Spot?
As the data for May demonstrate, Web3 gaming continues to be the most vibrant sector. This is something of a consolation, since it obviously has its own pressures to deal with. Internal challenges to major projects threaten their stability. They also threaten the very real possibility that the top Web3 gaming projects don’t last much longer in the space. Meanwhile, other sectors—social media, DeFi, and AI applications, for instance—are gunning for the same no-man’s-land that Web3 gaming currently occupies.
June now on, the gaming world will continue its surge of unprecedented activity. It will push the gaming industry to the max around a key time for the sector, as the Game Developers Conference and the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, both happen in June. These are not just appearances; they promise blockbuster levels of excitement, how well the gaming industry can execute around them, retain users, and change their fundamental business model to make it less tied to the outmoded big tech infrastructure of the past will determine if the gaming sector holds onto its crown or cedes it to some up-and-coming competitor.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Web3 Gaming Holds Its Lead—But for How Long? The Battle for Top Dapp Category Heats Up appeared first on The Merkle News.
Amazon Eyes XRP Integration As Legal Verdict Nears and Capital Rotation Accelerates
Years of speculation and steady development in the blockchain space have led to new insider reports that indicate Amazon is seriously looking into the integration of XRP into its diverse and widespread global payment infrastructure.
If these reports are accurate, then this would be one of the most significant endorsements of blockchain-based payment solutions by a global tech leader to date and might be a transformative moment for Ripple’s native asset.
Simultaneously, the XRP market is building up momentum, with capital rotation data and short-term performance metrics showing a reestablished sense of conviction from investors. Timing is especially critical here, as the Ripple versus U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case is on the verge of providing as clear a signal as can be expected in the world of crypto regulation. The ruling could arrive any day now, with Monday, June 16, being the most commonly cited date. Judge Analisa Torres is expected to provide a final ruling in the case, which has been unfolding in its current form for over four and a half years.
Amazon’s Blockchain Ambitions Signal Confidence in XRP
As per accounts related to the issue, Amazon is keenly looking into how XRP might fit into its internal payments architecture. The attention seems to be on XRP’s capability to provide low-cost, nearly instantaneous payments that cross national boundaries — a substantial improvement over the traditional payment settlement methods that Amazon and other global corporations currently use. Those methods can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to clear.
Although Amazon has not yet confirmed these reports in public, the concept fits with its recent actions to grow its Web3 and digital finance functions. Integrating a blockchain, like XRP, into such a huge e-commerce ecosystem could cut down on the friction of many global transactions and do it in a way that seemed, at least, to be working around the problem of unreliable banking infrastructures in many emerging markets.
A partnership with Amazon would be a powerful validation of Ripple’s vision for XRP as a bridge currency between fiat systems. Such a marriage would serve to elevate XRP to the same status as Bitcoin and Ethereum, both of which have already begun to see institutional acceptance in payment platforms and investment products like ETFs. For Ripple, the would-be missing link in the blockchain/bank constellation, this could be a game changer. As for relevant Federal regulations, I suspect that Ripple executives and their attorneys are gnashing their teeth as much as I am over this murky mess.
XRP Outpaces Solana in Capital Rotation Metrics
XRP is drawing interest from not just institutions but also traders and on-chain analysts. Recent data show that XRP’s 30-day percentage change in Realized Capitalization (a metric that reflects the movement of capital into or out of a network) is up by 4.2%. This outpaces SOL, which posted a more modest increase of 1% over the same period.
XRP’s realized cap is surging. That means that the way people are using XRP today makes it much more valuable than it was just a few months ago. The surge in realized cap suggests that more and more people are seeing XRP kind of like a smashed penny that you might pay 25 cents for, instead of a 2-cent penny. In market terms, that’s what’s happening with XRP.
This sort of momentum stands out especially when you look at the broader crypto market, which has been following a set path and appears to be going nowhere fast. In this case, traders are doing their best to front-run a seemingly inevitable breakout for XRP. Breakout scenarios are sometimes accompanied by narratives, and in this case, the main ones appear to be legal victories for Ripple (the company behind XRP), possible adoption of XRP by institutions, and a general thawing in the regulatory environment for cryptos.
Legal Showdown with the SEC Approaches Its Climax
The SEC’s case against Ripple, which has been underway since 2020, is nearing what many believe could be its final chapter. Judge Torres is expected to deliver a ruling that could clearly bring clarity to the situation. The ruling could go one of two ways. It could either:
1. Clear XRP of being a security.
2. Uphold the SEC’s long-standing position that XRP is a security.
This has been the core of the whole crypto industry. The way I see it, it’s a legal clarifying event with huge consequences for how digital assets are seen in the U.S. A good ruling for Ripple could mean a lot of immediate upward price momentum for XRP, while also possibly reshaping how altcoins are seen by regulators in the future. On the other hand, if the ruling goes against Ripple, it could severely curtail any of XRP’s possible use cases in the U.S. despite the overall global adoption that seems likely to drive its long-term value.
XRP is entering its most crucial week ever. Legal clarity has come together with rising interest in the market and a growing curiosity from institutions — not to mention the potentially high-stakes involvement of Amazon — to make this week especially pivotal in the cryptocurrency’s short history. For investors and regulators, what happens next may redefine not just XRP but also the whole world of perceived and purportedly used blockchain assets.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Amazon Eyes XRP Integration as Legal Verdict Nears and Capital Rotation Accelerates appeared first on The Merkle News.
If these reports are accurate, then this would be one of the most significant endorsements of blockchain-based payment solutions by a global tech leader to date and might be a transformative moment for Ripple’s native asset.
Simultaneously, the XRP market is building up momentum, with capital rotation data and short-term performance metrics showing a reestablished sense of conviction from investors. Timing is especially critical here, as the Ripple versus U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case is on the verge of providing as clear a signal as can be expected in the world of crypto regulation. The ruling could arrive any day now, with Monday, June 16, being the most commonly cited date. Judge Analisa Torres is expected to provide a final ruling in the case, which has been unfolding in its current form for over four and a half years.
Amazon’s Blockchain Ambitions Signal Confidence in XRP
As per accounts related to the issue, Amazon is keenly looking into how XRP might fit into its internal payments architecture. The attention seems to be on XRP’s capability to provide low-cost, nearly instantaneous payments that cross national boundaries — a substantial improvement over the traditional payment settlement methods that Amazon and other global corporations currently use. Those methods can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to clear.
Although Amazon has not yet confirmed these reports in public, the concept fits with its recent actions to grow its Web3 and digital finance functions. Integrating a blockchain, like XRP, into such a huge e-commerce ecosystem could cut down on the friction of many global transactions and do it in a way that seemed, at least, to be working around the problem of unreliable banking infrastructures in many emerging markets.
A partnership with Amazon would be a powerful validation of Ripple’s vision for XRP as a bridge currency between fiat systems. Such a marriage would serve to elevate XRP to the same status as Bitcoin and Ethereum, both of which have already begun to see institutional acceptance in payment platforms and investment products like ETFs. For Ripple, the would-be missing link in the blockchain/bank constellation, this could be a game changer. As for relevant Federal regulations, I suspect that Ripple executives and their attorneys are gnashing their teeth as much as I am over this murky mess.
XRP Outpaces Solana in Capital Rotation Metrics
XRP is drawing interest from not just institutions but also traders and on-chain analysts. Recent data show that XRP’s 30-day percentage change in Realized Capitalization (a metric that reflects the movement of capital into or out of a network) is up by 4.2%. This outpaces SOL, which posted a more modest increase of 1% over the same period.
XRP’s realized cap is surging. That means that the way people are using XRP today makes it much more valuable than it was just a few months ago. The surge in realized cap suggests that more and more people are seeing XRP kind of like a smashed penny that you might pay 25 cents for, instead of a 2-cent penny. In market terms, that’s what’s happening with XRP.
This sort of momentum stands out especially when you look at the broader crypto market, which has been following a set path and appears to be going nowhere fast. In this case, traders are doing their best to front-run a seemingly inevitable breakout for XRP. Breakout scenarios are sometimes accompanied by narratives, and in this case, the main ones appear to be legal victories for Ripple (the company behind XRP), possible adoption of XRP by institutions, and a general thawing in the regulatory environment for cryptos.
Legal Showdown with the SEC Approaches Its Climax
The SEC’s case against Ripple, which has been underway since 2020, is nearing what many believe could be its final chapter. Judge Torres is expected to deliver a ruling that could clearly bring clarity to the situation. The ruling could go one of two ways. It could either:
1. Clear XRP of being a security.
2. Uphold the SEC’s long-standing position that XRP is a security.
This has been the core of the whole crypto industry. The way I see it, it’s a legal clarifying event with huge consequences for how digital assets are seen in the U.S. A good ruling for Ripple could mean a lot of immediate upward price momentum for XRP, while also possibly reshaping how altcoins are seen by regulators in the future. On the other hand, if the ruling goes against Ripple, it could severely curtail any of XRP’s possible use cases in the U.S. despite the overall global adoption that seems likely to drive its long-term value.
XRP is entering its most crucial week ever. Legal clarity has come together with rising interest in the market and a growing curiosity from institutions — not to mention the potentially high-stakes involvement of Amazon — to make this week especially pivotal in the cryptocurrency’s short history. For investors and regulators, what happens next may redefine not just XRP but also the whole world of perceived and purportedly used blockchain assets.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Amazon Eyes XRP Integration as Legal Verdict Nears and Capital Rotation Accelerates appeared first on The Merkle News.
Solana Foundation Makes Major Moves Into Liquid Staking Tokens
Recently, the Solana Foundation has taken major steps to reallocate its Solana holdings, signaling a strong endorsement of the emerging liquid staking ecosystem.
In a series of large transactions, the Foundation withdrew 400,000 wrapped SOL (wSOL)—worth approximately $58.38 million—and swapped it for 385,143.96 jagSOL, the liquid staking token issued by JagPool, a Latin American-focused staking protocol on the Solana network.
Instead of keeping its SOL assets idle in wrapped form, the Foundation is now moving to hold liquid staking tokens (LSTs), which in our view not only gives it way more yield-generating capacity but signals to the market that LSTs are now an acceptable and viable way to hold and manage Solana staking assets.
What Liquid Staking Means for Solana’s Ecosystem
Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) such as jagSOL represent staked SOL that continuously accrues rewards. Unlike traditional staking, where tokens are locked and illiquid, LSTs are usable in DeFi applications. This means that holders, including institutions like the Solana Foundation, can earn rewards from staking while also lending, borrowing, or yield farming with those same tokens. In essence, they’re winning on both fronts.
When the Solana Foundation transforms its wSOL into jagSOL, it is doing much more than passively earning staking yields. It is retaining and revealing the ability to deploy these assets in DeFi protocols. The neat aspect of all this is that it keeps staked tokens liquid—an underrated but powerful advantage that drives integration of staking deeper into the Solana ecosystem, improves capital efficiency, and enhances user experience.
The Latin American market is where JagPool primarily operates. It is there that we most benefit from this wonderful show of support. When the Foundation makes a swap of that size for jagSOL, it sends a very loud and clear signal of confidence in not just JagPool, but in our project, in our regional approach, and in the potential for growth that we have in one of Solana’s key markets.
And even beyond that, it really does signal confidence in liquid staking as a primitive building block of Solana’s network and the infrastructure therein.
Expanding Allocations to AeroSOL and INF Tokens
The Foundation’s liquid staking strategy extends beyond jagSOL. It recently executed a swap of 500,000 wSOL, valued at around $73.07 million, into 465,013.12 aeroSOL—the liquid staking token provided by Aeropool. Additionally, another 400,000 wSOL (worth roughly $58.24 million) was converted into 300,242.64 INF tokens, the liquid staking aggregator token issued by Sanctum.
The Foundation has allocated to three major areas: jagSOL, aeroSOL, and INF. These pathways provide a diversified array of liquid staking opportunities across an assortment of Solana protocols. They underscore the Foundation’s confidence in not just one, but three major innovations in liquid staking.
Including INF tokens, a liquid staking aggregator, is especially noteworthy. Aggregators pool liquidity and staking rewards from various protocols, offering users more efficient access to staking yields while reducing fragmentation. This shows the Foundation’s future-oriented approach, recognizing that liquid staking aggregation could become an essential element of user experience and returns.
A Strategic Stake in Solana’s Future
The recent actions of the Solana Foundation go beyond simple asset management; they represent a clear strategic investment in the future of Solana’s blockchain ecosystem. By converting hundreds of millions in wSOL into liquid staking tokens, the Foundation is not only earning yield but also signaling strong support for the development of DeFi staking products.
In addition, the multi-protocol stance of the Foundation allows it to foster a vibrant, competitive environment for liquid staking on Solana. By being supportive of various projects, it helps to achieve two goals: diversifying risk and promoting effective collaboration among the projects in the space, which inevitably leads to a healthier ecosystem characterized by evolution and revolution.
To sum up, the Solana Foundation’s big reallocations into jagSOL, aeroSOL, and INF tokens highlight liquid staking’s rising significance within the Solana ecosystem. These actions point to much more than just the Foundation passively earning rewards by staking that SOL; they indicate a Foundation that is very much engaged and shaping the future of how staking interacts with DeFi and the Solana smart contract platform.
In that regard, this is a message that the Foundation is sending loud and clear: inline with Solana’s DeFi vision, liquid staking is no longer an experimental adjunct, but a core part of its participatory infrastructure.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana Foundation Makes Major Moves into Liquid Staking Tokens appeared first on The Merkle News.
In a series of large transactions, the Foundation withdrew 400,000 wrapped SOL (wSOL)—worth approximately $58.38 million—and swapped it for 385,143.96 jagSOL, the liquid staking token issued by JagPool, a Latin American-focused staking protocol on the Solana network.
Instead of keeping its SOL assets idle in wrapped form, the Foundation is now moving to hold liquid staking tokens (LSTs), which in our view not only gives it way more yield-generating capacity but signals to the market that LSTs are now an acceptable and viable way to hold and manage Solana staking assets.
What Liquid Staking Means for Solana’s Ecosystem
Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) such as jagSOL represent staked SOL that continuously accrues rewards. Unlike traditional staking, where tokens are locked and illiquid, LSTs are usable in DeFi applications. This means that holders, including institutions like the Solana Foundation, can earn rewards from staking while also lending, borrowing, or yield farming with those same tokens. In essence, they’re winning on both fronts.
When the Solana Foundation transforms its wSOL into jagSOL, it is doing much more than passively earning staking yields. It is retaining and revealing the ability to deploy these assets in DeFi protocols. The neat aspect of all this is that it keeps staked tokens liquid—an underrated but powerful advantage that drives integration of staking deeper into the Solana ecosystem, improves capital efficiency, and enhances user experience.
The Latin American market is where JagPool primarily operates. It is there that we most benefit from this wonderful show of support. When the Foundation makes a swap of that size for jagSOL, it sends a very loud and clear signal of confidence in not just JagPool, but in our project, in our regional approach, and in the potential for growth that we have in one of Solana’s key markets.
And even beyond that, it really does signal confidence in liquid staking as a primitive building block of Solana’s network and the infrastructure therein.
Expanding Allocations to AeroSOL and INF Tokens
The Foundation’s liquid staking strategy extends beyond jagSOL. It recently executed a swap of 500,000 wSOL, valued at around $73.07 million, into 465,013.12 aeroSOL—the liquid staking token provided by Aeropool. Additionally, another 400,000 wSOL (worth roughly $58.24 million) was converted into 300,242.64 INF tokens, the liquid staking aggregator token issued by Sanctum.
The Foundation has allocated to three major areas: jagSOL, aeroSOL, and INF. These pathways provide a diversified array of liquid staking opportunities across an assortment of Solana protocols. They underscore the Foundation’s confidence in not just one, but three major innovations in liquid staking.
Including INF tokens, a liquid staking aggregator, is especially noteworthy. Aggregators pool liquidity and staking rewards from various protocols, offering users more efficient access to staking yields while reducing fragmentation. This shows the Foundation’s future-oriented approach, recognizing that liquid staking aggregation could become an essential element of user experience and returns.
A Strategic Stake in Solana’s Future
The recent actions of the Solana Foundation go beyond simple asset management; they represent a clear strategic investment in the future of Solana’s blockchain ecosystem. By converting hundreds of millions in wSOL into liquid staking tokens, the Foundation is not only earning yield but also signaling strong support for the development of DeFi staking products.
In addition, the multi-protocol stance of the Foundation allows it to foster a vibrant, competitive environment for liquid staking on Solana. By being supportive of various projects, it helps to achieve two goals: diversifying risk and promoting effective collaboration among the projects in the space, which inevitably leads to a healthier ecosystem characterized by evolution and revolution.
To sum up, the Solana Foundation’s big reallocations into jagSOL, aeroSOL, and INF tokens highlight liquid staking’s rising significance within the Solana ecosystem. These actions point to much more than just the Foundation passively earning rewards by staking that SOL; they indicate a Foundation that is very much engaged and shaping the future of how staking interacts with DeFi and the Solana smart contract platform.
In that regard, this is a message that the Foundation is sending loud and clear: inline with Solana’s DeFi vision, liquid staking is no longer an experimental adjunct, but a core part of its participatory infrastructure.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana Foundation Makes Major Moves into Liquid Staking Tokens appeared first on The Merkle News.
Ethereum Whales and Sharks Accelerate Accumulation Amid Retail Profit-Taking
We are seeing an unmistakable change in the distribution of ETH ownership within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Over the past month, whale and shark wallets—those holding between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH—have been anything but quiet in their pursuit of additional ETH. This is quite the opposite move that we seem to be seeing from retail traders, who look to be taking profits. In total, these big holders have scooped up 1.49 million additional ETH over the past month, which means their total collective holdings have gone up by 3.72%.
At present, these wallets command almost 27% of all Ethereum in circulation, clearly a huge portion. I mean, compared to retail investors, who are much more plentiful, it’s like having a big Uber pool and a Constitution-drafting convention in the same space. This is an Elongated Ethereum 2.0 Trust where it needn’t be.
Whales’ Growing Dominance and Market Impact
Understanding Ethereum’s market structure depends heavily on the behavior of its wallets. Wallets that hold between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH are worth looking at. This group of over-sized wallets contains some 6,300 members. Their recent behavior—accumulating more crypto—could signal up to three things: 1. These top-dog investors are starting to hoard the asset, which might lower liquidity and price stability. 2. They’re taking ETH off exchanges, which is also bearish for liquidity and possibly the asset’s price. 3. They’re investing in Layer 2 projects built on Ethereum, which might increase demand for ETH and price stability.
During retail profit-taking, accumulation may occur, which indicates to some that institutional or large-scale investors find current price levels attractive enough to enter the market. This interpretation gives the appearance that such accumulation serves as a bullish signal, showing that smart money is positioning itself ahead of what could be future upward price movements.
Whale and shark wallets—those holding the largest amounts of Ethereum—are growing ever more powerful. This trend, in turn, speaks to a new market dynamic in which the concentrated Ethereum distribution, held by ever fewer hands, may carry certain risks to the asset’s long-term health—namely, market manipulation and liquidity. These whale and shark wallets point to Ethereum’s greater adoption by professional investors.
Historic Ethereum ICO Wallet Reactivated After a Decade
A captivating footnote to this narrative is that a participant from almost ten years ago in an Ethereum ICO has recently woken up a dormant wallet. After almost ten years of inactivity, the wallet has sent out a tiny amount of 0.002 ETH, approximately 44 minutes ago.
At the Ethereum Genesis event, this wallet originally received 2,000 ETH that had been purchased for the ICO price of about $0.31 per ETH. That initial investment, which set us back approximately $620, would today be worth an astonishing $5.03 million, highlighting Ethereum’s extraordinary growth and value appreciation since its inception.
To see a historic wallet come back to life is a potent reminder of how far Ethereum has traveled from being just a blockchain project to the go-to smart contract platform and a big-time player in the crypto economy. As someone looking at this news from the outside, I can only speculate about the motivations behind it. Is it a push to cash out a substantial sum of money? To move it back into a blockchain economy that promises to be more vibrant and productive than ever? Or is it just a part of a coming narrative that reestablishes Ethereum in a way that makes it more central to the ecosystem?
Ethereum Market Implications and Outlook
Recent developments with Ethereum’s large holders seem to convey a rather positive narrative for the second-largest blockchain network. In a recent report from on-chain analytics platform Glassnode, it was revealed that the continued accumulation of ETH by its largest holders—classified as whales and sharks—remains an extremely bullish sign for Ethereum. Despite the not-so-favorable price charts and technical indicators for Ethereum in recent months, the accumulation of the second-largest coin by market capitalization is seemingly at an all-time high.
In contrast, the overall concentration of ETH in a smaller number of wallets might indicate tighter liquidity conditions, which could mean that the price is more susceptible to wild swings in response to large trades. These wallet dynamics are going to be closely scrutinized by investors and analysts, since large accumulation and distribution events in these wallets have been reliable pre-signals of major price moves.
The Ethereum blockchain may be on its way to seeing its next big wave of activity, with early investors from its Genesis era preparing to reengage with their system holdings. That potential comes not just from the participation of those investors but also from the poignant reminder their move serves in the community about how far the Ethereum project has come since its inception.
To summarize, the present Ethereum marketplace is typified by the large-scale strategic accumulation being undertaken by big-time holders, even while retail investors take their profits. This, in and of itself, is a pretty good reflection of the confidence that these various actors have in Ethereum’s long-term value proposition. Meanwhile, historic wallets have recently been stirring to life, adding a bit more intrigue to the scene.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Ethereum Whales and Sharks Accelerate Accumulation Amid Retail Profit-Taking appeared first on The Merkle News.
Over the past month, whale and shark wallets—those holding between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH—have been anything but quiet in their pursuit of additional ETH. This is quite the opposite move that we seem to be seeing from retail traders, who look to be taking profits. In total, these big holders have scooped up 1.49 million additional ETH over the past month, which means their total collective holdings have gone up by 3.72%.
At present, these wallets command almost 27% of all Ethereum in circulation, clearly a huge portion. I mean, compared to retail investors, who are much more plentiful, it’s like having a big Uber pool and a Constitution-drafting convention in the same space. This is an Elongated Ethereum 2.0 Trust where it needn’t be.
Whales’ Growing Dominance and Market Impact
Understanding Ethereum’s market structure depends heavily on the behavior of its wallets. Wallets that hold between 1,000 and 100,000 ETH are worth looking at. This group of over-sized wallets contains some 6,300 members. Their recent behavior—accumulating more crypto—could signal up to three things: 1. These top-dog investors are starting to hoard the asset, which might lower liquidity and price stability. 2. They’re taking ETH off exchanges, which is also bearish for liquidity and possibly the asset’s price. 3. They’re investing in Layer 2 projects built on Ethereum, which might increase demand for ETH and price stability.
During retail profit-taking, accumulation may occur, which indicates to some that institutional or large-scale investors find current price levels attractive enough to enter the market. This interpretation gives the appearance that such accumulation serves as a bullish signal, showing that smart money is positioning itself ahead of what could be future upward price movements.
Whale and shark wallets—those holding the largest amounts of Ethereum—are growing ever more powerful. This trend, in turn, speaks to a new market dynamic in which the concentrated Ethereum distribution, held by ever fewer hands, may carry certain risks to the asset’s long-term health—namely, market manipulation and liquidity. These whale and shark wallets point to Ethereum’s greater adoption by professional investors.
Historic Ethereum ICO Wallet Reactivated After a Decade
A captivating footnote to this narrative is that a participant from almost ten years ago in an Ethereum ICO has recently woken up a dormant wallet. After almost ten years of inactivity, the wallet has sent out a tiny amount of 0.002 ETH, approximately 44 minutes ago.
At the Ethereum Genesis event, this wallet originally received 2,000 ETH that had been purchased for the ICO price of about $0.31 per ETH. That initial investment, which set us back approximately $620, would today be worth an astonishing $5.03 million, highlighting Ethereum’s extraordinary growth and value appreciation since its inception.
To see a historic wallet come back to life is a potent reminder of how far Ethereum has traveled from being just a blockchain project to the go-to smart contract platform and a big-time player in the crypto economy. As someone looking at this news from the outside, I can only speculate about the motivations behind it. Is it a push to cash out a substantial sum of money? To move it back into a blockchain economy that promises to be more vibrant and productive than ever? Or is it just a part of a coming narrative that reestablishes Ethereum in a way that makes it more central to the ecosystem?
Ethereum Market Implications and Outlook
Recent developments with Ethereum’s large holders seem to convey a rather positive narrative for the second-largest blockchain network. In a recent report from on-chain analytics platform Glassnode, it was revealed that the continued accumulation of ETH by its largest holders—classified as whales and sharks—remains an extremely bullish sign for Ethereum. Despite the not-so-favorable price charts and technical indicators for Ethereum in recent months, the accumulation of the second-largest coin by market capitalization is seemingly at an all-time high.
In contrast, the overall concentration of ETH in a smaller number of wallets might indicate tighter liquidity conditions, which could mean that the price is more susceptible to wild swings in response to large trades. These wallet dynamics are going to be closely scrutinized by investors and analysts, since large accumulation and distribution events in these wallets have been reliable pre-signals of major price moves.
The Ethereum blockchain may be on its way to seeing its next big wave of activity, with early investors from its Genesis era preparing to reengage with their system holdings. That potential comes not just from the participation of those investors but also from the poignant reminder their move serves in the community about how far the Ethereum project has come since its inception.
To summarize, the present Ethereum marketplace is typified by the large-scale strategic accumulation being undertaken by big-time holders, even while retail investors take their profits. This, in and of itself, is a pretty good reflection of the confidence that these various actors have in Ethereum’s long-term value proposition. Meanwhile, historic wallets have recently been stirring to life, adding a bit more intrigue to the scene.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Ethereum Whales and Sharks Accelerate Accumulation Amid Retail Profit-Taking appeared first on The Merkle News.
Bitcoin Traders Embrace Long Positions Amid Market Dip, While Ethereum Sees Shift to Shorts
After yesterday’s downturn, Bitcoin traders have predominantly entered long positions, and they are now mostly reaping the benefits as the price has rebounded since the dip.
This is in stark contrast to Ethereum traders. They have been much more dynamic, shifting from long to short positions, from short to long positions, and back again, depending on how the price and the price action have been moving.
Funding Rates Indicate Volatility and Trading Risks
Funding rates, which measure the cost of holding a leveraged position, often signal “danger!” Exchange-funding rates measure the cost of holding a leveraged position, and they often signal “danger!” If the rates are too high, they’re a sign that the market is very imbalanced and likely to reverse. If traders are paying high funding rates, it means they are using a lot of leverage in a very one-sided way.
One of the great opportunities in crypto trading is to bet against the kind of consensus that leads to those state-of-the-art funding rates. Oscillation happens when traders from one extreme to another switch in a predominately top-down manner and vice versa.
Recent trends for Bitcoin show that traders continue to favor taking long positions after the most recent dip, which demonstrates a high level of confidence in the coin’s resilience. In contrast, Ethereum’s trader positions are much more dynamic and bifurcated, with every segment of the price spectrum seeing traders quickly moving in and out of positions. This is evident in the fluctuating trader positions and the much more cautionary or opportunistic manner in which traders are currently engaging with the coin.
Bitcoin’s Current Cycle Performance Reflects Consistent Demand Growth
Even though it has a far larger market capitalization now than in any previous year, Bitcoin acts pretty much as it always has during market cycles. If we confine our look to just the last three years, from 2020 through 2022, the actions of the Bitcoin price have indeed been in line with previous years’ market cycle pricing of Bitcoin. Historical pricing performance during past bull cycles reveals impressive gains taken by holders of Bitcoin:
Between 2015 and 2018, Bitcoin’s price rocketed upward by some approximate 1076%. To put that number into clearer perspective, consider this: If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin at the beginning of 2015, by the time the clock struck midnight on 2019, you would have seen your investment grow to a whopping $10,760. That’s a clear and unmistakable straight-line gain from point A to point B.
From 2018 to 2022, a cycle occurred with a comparable gain of about 1007%.
The unbroken loop, which started in 2022, has managed to provide a return of close to 656% up to this point.
Even though the present upswing in Bitcoin’s value isn’t quite as powerful as some of the previous ones, it’s still impressive—in part because we don’t know how much higher it can go, and it seems like it always goes higher. This present upswing might sensibly be viewed as an extension of growth that places cumulative appreciation in the Bitcoin market front and center in our facing. No matter what lingo is employed, Bitcoin price growth is a positively appreciable phenomenon.
Market analysts often interpret this pattern as evidence that Bitcoin’s ecosystem is developing, broader adoption and deeper liquidity contributing to more stable growth trajectories. Although the pace of gains might moderate as the market matures, the ecosystem’s underlying demand seems robust and persistent.
Trading Strategies and Market Outlook
The contrasting trading behaviors of Bitcoin and Ethereum highlight how essential it is to gauge market mood and the proper time to act in the world of crypto trading. The placement of long positions in Bitcoin is, in comparison with Ethereum, a much steadier affair and suggests a much greater degree of confidence taken toward the fundamental value of Bitcoin and its potential to continue climbing. This is in spite of some short-term price moves that are more or less flat or sometimes even slightly down.
Traders of Ethereum, on the other hand, show adaptability, changing their positions promptly and in direct response to the signal sent by the price. This may be a direct consequence of Ethereum’s unusual market dynamics—the rapidly changing ecosystem, the not-quite-here-but-almost network upgrades, the deafening silence to our ears that is the price of Ether (ETH), and which is also the loud noise that is Ethereum’s volatility.
For investors and traders, observing the rates of exchange funding and the general market sentiment can provide much-needed direction. Keeping tabs on when most traders are leaning hard toward long or short positions can help clarify when to make a move—especially when a bet on the contrarian side seems like a better risk-reward proposition. At times, it might feel as if all traders are sequentially programmed to the same long march or are just as clubby in their shorting—to the point where the herd nature seems an obscene risk indicator. But if it’s good for Culp and Cowan to think that way, it can be equally good for you as a trader to sometimes think topishly or bottomishly.
Bitcoin is difficult to value, but its historical performance and current growth in demand suggest a long-term, positive outlook. Even when the price is not stable, the number of people using it seems to be growing. As for Ethereum, the price may continue to reflect its more complicated, and still developing, market drivers.
To sum up, even though Bitcoin is resilient with a steady demand and it will be a very good investment, Ethereum is a good trading vehicle that will operate in a more tactical manner. It is not very hard to see why this is the case when you look under the hood at what is going on with Ethereum and why traders are choosing it over Bitcoin in recent months.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Bitcoin Traders Embrace Long Positions Amid Market Dip, While Ethereum Sees Shift to Shorts appeared first on The Merkle News.
This is in stark contrast to Ethereum traders. They have been much more dynamic, shifting from long to short positions, from short to long positions, and back again, depending on how the price and the price action have been moving.
Funding Rates Indicate Volatility and Trading Risks
Funding rates, which measure the cost of holding a leveraged position, often signal “danger!” Exchange-funding rates measure the cost of holding a leveraged position, and they often signal “danger!” If the rates are too high, they’re a sign that the market is very imbalanced and likely to reverse. If traders are paying high funding rates, it means they are using a lot of leverage in a very one-sided way.
One of the great opportunities in crypto trading is to bet against the kind of consensus that leads to those state-of-the-art funding rates. Oscillation happens when traders from one extreme to another switch in a predominately top-down manner and vice versa.
Recent trends for Bitcoin show that traders continue to favor taking long positions after the most recent dip, which demonstrates a high level of confidence in the coin’s resilience. In contrast, Ethereum’s trader positions are much more dynamic and bifurcated, with every segment of the price spectrum seeing traders quickly moving in and out of positions. This is evident in the fluctuating trader positions and the much more cautionary or opportunistic manner in which traders are currently engaging with the coin.
Bitcoin’s Current Cycle Performance Reflects Consistent Demand Growth
Even though it has a far larger market capitalization now than in any previous year, Bitcoin acts pretty much as it always has during market cycles. If we confine our look to just the last three years, from 2020 through 2022, the actions of the Bitcoin price have indeed been in line with previous years’ market cycle pricing of Bitcoin. Historical pricing performance during past bull cycles reveals impressive gains taken by holders of Bitcoin:
Between 2015 and 2018, Bitcoin’s price rocketed upward by some approximate 1076%. To put that number into clearer perspective, consider this: If you invested $1,000 in Bitcoin at the beginning of 2015, by the time the clock struck midnight on 2019, you would have seen your investment grow to a whopping $10,760. That’s a clear and unmistakable straight-line gain from point A to point B.
From 2018 to 2022, a cycle occurred with a comparable gain of about 1007%.
The unbroken loop, which started in 2022, has managed to provide a return of close to 656% up to this point.
Even though the present upswing in Bitcoin’s value isn’t quite as powerful as some of the previous ones, it’s still impressive—in part because we don’t know how much higher it can go, and it seems like it always goes higher. This present upswing might sensibly be viewed as an extension of growth that places cumulative appreciation in the Bitcoin market front and center in our facing. No matter what lingo is employed, Bitcoin price growth is a positively appreciable phenomenon.
Market analysts often interpret this pattern as evidence that Bitcoin’s ecosystem is developing, broader adoption and deeper liquidity contributing to more stable growth trajectories. Although the pace of gains might moderate as the market matures, the ecosystem’s underlying demand seems robust and persistent.
Trading Strategies and Market Outlook
The contrasting trading behaviors of Bitcoin and Ethereum highlight how essential it is to gauge market mood and the proper time to act in the world of crypto trading. The placement of long positions in Bitcoin is, in comparison with Ethereum, a much steadier affair and suggests a much greater degree of confidence taken toward the fundamental value of Bitcoin and its potential to continue climbing. This is in spite of some short-term price moves that are more or less flat or sometimes even slightly down.
Traders of Ethereum, on the other hand, show adaptability, changing their positions promptly and in direct response to the signal sent by the price. This may be a direct consequence of Ethereum’s unusual market dynamics—the rapidly changing ecosystem, the not-quite-here-but-almost network upgrades, the deafening silence to our ears that is the price of Ether (ETH), and which is also the loud noise that is Ethereum’s volatility.
For investors and traders, observing the rates of exchange funding and the general market sentiment can provide much-needed direction. Keeping tabs on when most traders are leaning hard toward long or short positions can help clarify when to make a move—especially when a bet on the contrarian side seems like a better risk-reward proposition. At times, it might feel as if all traders are sequentially programmed to the same long march or are just as clubby in their shorting—to the point where the herd nature seems an obscene risk indicator. But if it’s good for Culp and Cowan to think that way, it can be equally good for you as a trader to sometimes think topishly or bottomishly.
Bitcoin is difficult to value, but its historical performance and current growth in demand suggest a long-term, positive outlook. Even when the price is not stable, the number of people using it seems to be growing. As for Ethereum, the price may continue to reflect its more complicated, and still developing, market drivers.
To sum up, even though Bitcoin is resilient with a steady demand and it will be a very good investment, Ethereum is a good trading vehicle that will operate in a more tactical manner. It is not very hard to see why this is the case when you look under the hood at what is going on with Ethereum and why traders are choosing it over Bitcoin in recent months.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Bitcoin Traders Embrace Long Positions Amid Market Dip, While Ethereum Sees Shift to Shorts appeared first on The Merkle News.
Solana Memecoin Market Forecast: Momentum Cools After Bullish Spike
Solana’s memecoin market is now once again at a crossroads. In the past 24 hours, sentiment has shifted dramatically.
On June 13, Solana’s memecoin sector received a strong burst of bullish energy. Following that, buy volume surged in a very remarkable way. Traders and analysts became quite optimistic that Solana’s memecoin sector might be gearing up for a new leg higher.
Now, as of today, the mood has once again shifted and key indicators are suggesting a more cautious, neutral stance among participants.
As of June 14, trading volume has reverted to more normal levels, and the gap between buying and selling pressure has narrowed considerably. The market’s yesterday was a display of massive enthusiasm, and it clearly isn’t in the cards for right now. What we’ve got is another potential re-acceleration or consolidation waiting to happen and hinging on the sorts of incoming market cues that people like to speculate on.
Bullish Sentiment Surges Then Fades
Yesterday was a momentous day for Solana’s memecoin market. Trading volume surged over $10 million—marking the highest single-day inflow over the last week. This bullish shift was not subtle; it was a sudden burst of energy and activity that reawakened dreams among traders that the memecoin sector could actually make another run. The spike in volume was largely attributed to the atmosphere in the Solana ecosystem, which is generating fresh and interesting narratives. Those narratives have added new life to interest in memecoins among both retail and native crypto traders.
Such explosive purchasing activities are often signs of speculative interests and momentum-driven trading. They have defined many past memecoin price rallies. When we couple them with strongly engaged social media activity and the birth of new tokens, these spikes tend to serve as early indicators of larger trend moves.
Today’s figures indicate that these chances can be all too brief. The high buying levels certainly didn’t extend into June 14, and now the market looks like it’s holding up for assessment. Was the spike in our leading market yesterday just a momentary thing, or is it the first sign of a protracted upswing?
Current Outlook: Stalemate and Indecision
At the moment, the outlook is not as hot. The volumes of buying and selling are now closely matched, and this points to a market in stasis. Bulls and bears are not clearly in control right now, and this balance also suggests uncertainty.
This behavior shift usually results in sideways action for a time, what is commonly known as consolidation. During such phases, traders typically stay on the sidelines and await clearer signals, especially in the aftermath of a session marked by volatility and high volume. The latest decrease in volume might imply that some traders are moving to the profit-taking side of the equation, while others are adopting a cautious, let’s-see-how-it-plays-out stance.
It is also worth pointing out that these sorts of cooling-off periods are not always bearish. Following a rally in trade and a spurt in value, markets frequently take a breather to catch their breath. A well-balanced order book and a moderate volume of trade might just mean that traders are waiting for a confirmation signal before they dive back in.
Looking Ahead: Critical Support and Renewed Buying Interest
What happens next is mostly up to one factor: whether buying momentum returns in the near term. If traders regain confidence and we see another wave of buy pressure, that could trigger a continuation of the recovery that started yesterday. And in that case, the renewed interest in some of the newer narratives or even some of the emerging meme tokens on Solana could help drive us to another leg up.
If, however, buying interest stays flat or weakens more, the market could drift sideways or modestly correct as buying fades. This means the next 24 to 48 hours are critical for short-term traders who want to see some direction confirmed before they act.
To conclude, the Solana memecoin market looks to be in a transition phase. After experiencing an energetic spike yesterday, the market has now entered a more contemplative state. It’s hard to say whether this is a pause before a bigger rally or before retracing again; in either scenario, it depends on whether or not there’s going to be some decisive buying activity that returns or doesn’t return to the market. For now, traders are all eyes and ears, knowing that the world of memecoins can return big momentum just as fast.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana Memecoin Market Forecast: Momentum Cools After Bullish Spike appeared first on The Merkle News.
On June 13, Solana’s memecoin sector received a strong burst of bullish energy. Following that, buy volume surged in a very remarkable way. Traders and analysts became quite optimistic that Solana’s memecoin sector might be gearing up for a new leg higher.
Now, as of today, the mood has once again shifted and key indicators are suggesting a more cautious, neutral stance among participants.
As of June 14, trading volume has reverted to more normal levels, and the gap between buying and selling pressure has narrowed considerably. The market’s yesterday was a display of massive enthusiasm, and it clearly isn’t in the cards for right now. What we’ve got is another potential re-acceleration or consolidation waiting to happen and hinging on the sorts of incoming market cues that people like to speculate on.
Bullish Sentiment Surges Then Fades
Yesterday was a momentous day for Solana’s memecoin market. Trading volume surged over $10 million—marking the highest single-day inflow over the last week. This bullish shift was not subtle; it was a sudden burst of energy and activity that reawakened dreams among traders that the memecoin sector could actually make another run. The spike in volume was largely attributed to the atmosphere in the Solana ecosystem, which is generating fresh and interesting narratives. Those narratives have added new life to interest in memecoins among both retail and native crypto traders.
Such explosive purchasing activities are often signs of speculative interests and momentum-driven trading. They have defined many past memecoin price rallies. When we couple them with strongly engaged social media activity and the birth of new tokens, these spikes tend to serve as early indicators of larger trend moves.
Today’s figures indicate that these chances can be all too brief. The high buying levels certainly didn’t extend into June 14, and now the market looks like it’s holding up for assessment. Was the spike in our leading market yesterday just a momentary thing, or is it the first sign of a protracted upswing?
Current Outlook: Stalemate and Indecision
At the moment, the outlook is not as hot. The volumes of buying and selling are now closely matched, and this points to a market in stasis. Bulls and bears are not clearly in control right now, and this balance also suggests uncertainty.
This behavior shift usually results in sideways action for a time, what is commonly known as consolidation. During such phases, traders typically stay on the sidelines and await clearer signals, especially in the aftermath of a session marked by volatility and high volume. The latest decrease in volume might imply that some traders are moving to the profit-taking side of the equation, while others are adopting a cautious, let’s-see-how-it-plays-out stance.
It is also worth pointing out that these sorts of cooling-off periods are not always bearish. Following a rally in trade and a spurt in value, markets frequently take a breather to catch their breath. A well-balanced order book and a moderate volume of trade might just mean that traders are waiting for a confirmation signal before they dive back in.
Looking Ahead: Critical Support and Renewed Buying Interest
What happens next is mostly up to one factor: whether buying momentum returns in the near term. If traders regain confidence and we see another wave of buy pressure, that could trigger a continuation of the recovery that started yesterday. And in that case, the renewed interest in some of the newer narratives or even some of the emerging meme tokens on Solana could help drive us to another leg up.
If, however, buying interest stays flat or weakens more, the market could drift sideways or modestly correct as buying fades. This means the next 24 to 48 hours are critical for short-term traders who want to see some direction confirmed before they act.
To conclude, the Solana memecoin market looks to be in a transition phase. After experiencing an energetic spike yesterday, the market has now entered a more contemplative state. It’s hard to say whether this is a pause before a bigger rally or before retracing again; in either scenario, it depends on whether or not there’s going to be some decisive buying activity that returns or doesn’t return to the market. For now, traders are all eyes and ears, knowing that the world of memecoins can return big momentum just as fast.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Solana Memecoin Market Forecast: Momentum Cools After Bullish Spike appeared first on The Merkle News.
Wave of New Fiat-Backed Stablecoins Go Live on XRP Ledger, Signaling New Era for Institutional Fi...
The XRPL is gaining serious momentum in 2025 with the rollout of several major fiat-backed stablecoins, most notably USDC, now live on the network.
In addition to USDC, the ledger now supports $XSGD (Singapore Dollar), $EURØP (Euro-pegged stablecoin), $RLUSD, and $USDB, marking a significant expansion of its ecosystem aimed at attracting institutional users, developers, and fintech platforms across the globe.
This XRPL community sees a big step away from the financial world and into the space of digital assets with the launch of these financial tools on the XRPL network. It is our firm belief that the Ripple network is capable of supporting the innovation of the next level of finance.
USDC Launches Natively on XRPL: A Game-Changer for Developers and Institutions
The largest regulated stablecoin in the world, Circle’s USDC, is now live on the XRP Ledger. This is a big deal because USDC is well known for being transparent, for complying with regulations, and for having a nearly ubiquitous adoption in the fintech and DeFi world. With its latest step, USDC is now supported on 22 different blockchains, opening up the potential for a bunch of new financial use cases and payment pathways on XRPL.
When you bring USDC over, you’re not just adding a token. You’re adding utility for a lot of different kinds of users—developers, businesses, and institutions—right now, today.
Some of the core benefits we’re seeing already across the spectrum from businesses to institutions are the use of USDC on XRPL for enterprise B2B payments. That’s where we see institutions using USDC on XRPL for cross-border settlements and inter-company transfers. The kind of stuff that on-demand liquidity, for example, was designed to enable.”
– Monica Long, General Manager, Ripple
In decentralized finance, USDC can be deployed by market makers and liquidity providers to bootstrap trading pairs and real-time FX flows. This establishes deeper and more reliable liquidity across XRPL’s decentralized exchanges.
Financial infrastructure applications, including custodians, digital wallets, and fintech platforms, can integrate USDC on XRPL to enable faster settlements, enhanced transparency, and heightened capital efficiencies for the end user.
USDC’s inclusion on the XRP Ledger is taken to be a major incentive for institutions to adopt the XRP Ledger. Increasingly, developers and financial service companies are looking for the kind of dependable networks that can handle usable coins, especially stablecoins. As they do, the XRP Ledger seems to be acquiring a reputation as just that kind of network.
Expanding Stablecoin Portfolio Boosts XRPL’s Global Reach
In addition to welcoming USDC, the XRP Ledger has seen the arrival of a number of other prominent fiat-backed stablecoins, like $XSGD, $EURØP, $RLUSD, and $USDB. Each of these assets brings with it some distinct geographic and functional flavor, allowing for a variety of transactions in the very efficient blockchain that is the XRP Ledger, all in the “favored” fiat currencies of the various user bases of these stablecoins.
The presence of $XSGD provides support for the expansion of the XRPL in Southeast Asia.
This region is distinguished by rapid fintech innovation and a banking sector that is mobile-first.
The addition of $EURØP, which is pegged to the Euro, is quite significant.
European institutions and user of the XRPL are now vibing with the digital euro initiatives and updated regulatory frameworks that are being explored across various European countries.
These stablecoins empower decentralized apps, tokenized assets, and payment solutions to offer currency-specific services that meet local financial needs. They ensure maintaining interoperability even as we build out these new financial solutions atop a global blockchain network.
XRPL Solidifies Its Role in Next-Gen Financial Infrastructure
Incorporating fiat-backed stablecoins into the XRPL marks a radical transformation from a payment-oriented ledger to a full-fledged financial infrastructure layer. The use of stablecoins on the XRPL could inject sufficient liquidity to allow for predictable, blockchain-scale settlements, which in turn could push Ripple to prioritize even more the assets that are capable of unlocking this kind of value—the XRP token for bridging and liquidity among fiat and blockchain currencies.
Now, developers have the flexibility to build financial applications using stablecoins that are regulated and natively supported. This invites the possibility of creating new products across payment, lending, FX, and other domains—all while being satisfyingly compliant with regulatory standards.
The XRPL now provides a robust platform for institutions to engage in scalable, transparent finance that encompasses both crypto-native and fiat-based value. With an ever-deepening integration with traditional financial infrastructure, and with powerful applications starting to use stablecoins, the XRP Ledger is establishing its viability as a competitive, future-facing option in the landscape of digital assets.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Wave of New Fiat-Backed Stablecoins Go Live on XRP Ledger, Signaling New Era for Institutional Finance appeared first on The Merkle News.
In addition to USDC, the ledger now supports $XSGD (Singapore Dollar), $EURØP (Euro-pegged stablecoin), $RLUSD, and $USDB, marking a significant expansion of its ecosystem aimed at attracting institutional users, developers, and fintech platforms across the globe.
This XRPL community sees a big step away from the financial world and into the space of digital assets with the launch of these financial tools on the XRPL network. It is our firm belief that the Ripple network is capable of supporting the innovation of the next level of finance.
USDC Launches Natively on XRPL: A Game-Changer for Developers and Institutions
The largest regulated stablecoin in the world, Circle’s USDC, is now live on the XRP Ledger. This is a big deal because USDC is well known for being transparent, for complying with regulations, and for having a nearly ubiquitous adoption in the fintech and DeFi world. With its latest step, USDC is now supported on 22 different blockchains, opening up the potential for a bunch of new financial use cases and payment pathways on XRPL.
When you bring USDC over, you’re not just adding a token. You’re adding utility for a lot of different kinds of users—developers, businesses, and institutions—right now, today.
Some of the core benefits we’re seeing already across the spectrum from businesses to institutions are the use of USDC on XRPL for enterprise B2B payments. That’s where we see institutions using USDC on XRPL for cross-border settlements and inter-company transfers. The kind of stuff that on-demand liquidity, for example, was designed to enable.”
– Monica Long, General Manager, Ripple
In decentralized finance, USDC can be deployed by market makers and liquidity providers to bootstrap trading pairs and real-time FX flows. This establishes deeper and more reliable liquidity across XRPL’s decentralized exchanges.
Financial infrastructure applications, including custodians, digital wallets, and fintech platforms, can integrate USDC on XRPL to enable faster settlements, enhanced transparency, and heightened capital efficiencies for the end user.
USDC’s inclusion on the XRP Ledger is taken to be a major incentive for institutions to adopt the XRP Ledger. Increasingly, developers and financial service companies are looking for the kind of dependable networks that can handle usable coins, especially stablecoins. As they do, the XRP Ledger seems to be acquiring a reputation as just that kind of network.
Expanding Stablecoin Portfolio Boosts XRPL’s Global Reach
In addition to welcoming USDC, the XRP Ledger has seen the arrival of a number of other prominent fiat-backed stablecoins, like $XSGD, $EURØP, $RLUSD, and $USDB. Each of these assets brings with it some distinct geographic and functional flavor, allowing for a variety of transactions in the very efficient blockchain that is the XRP Ledger, all in the “favored” fiat currencies of the various user bases of these stablecoins.
The presence of $XSGD provides support for the expansion of the XRPL in Southeast Asia.
This region is distinguished by rapid fintech innovation and a banking sector that is mobile-first.
The addition of $EURØP, which is pegged to the Euro, is quite significant.
European institutions and user of the XRPL are now vibing with the digital euro initiatives and updated regulatory frameworks that are being explored across various European countries.
These stablecoins empower decentralized apps, tokenized assets, and payment solutions to offer currency-specific services that meet local financial needs. They ensure maintaining interoperability even as we build out these new financial solutions atop a global blockchain network.
XRPL Solidifies Its Role in Next-Gen Financial Infrastructure
Incorporating fiat-backed stablecoins into the XRPL marks a radical transformation from a payment-oriented ledger to a full-fledged financial infrastructure layer. The use of stablecoins on the XRPL could inject sufficient liquidity to allow for predictable, blockchain-scale settlements, which in turn could push Ripple to prioritize even more the assets that are capable of unlocking this kind of value—the XRP token for bridging and liquidity among fiat and blockchain currencies.
Now, developers have the flexibility to build financial applications using stablecoins that are regulated and natively supported. This invites the possibility of creating new products across payment, lending, FX, and other domains—all while being satisfyingly compliant with regulatory standards.
The XRPL now provides a robust platform for institutions to engage in scalable, transparent finance that encompasses both crypto-native and fiat-based value. With an ever-deepening integration with traditional financial infrastructure, and with powerful applications starting to use stablecoins, the XRP Ledger is establishing its viability as a competitive, future-facing option in the landscape of digital assets.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Wave of New Fiat-Backed Stablecoins Go Live on XRP Ledger, Signaling New Era for Institutional Finance appeared first on The Merkle News.
Bitcoin Rush Intensifies Among Public Companies: ANAP, Remixpoint, and DDC Make Bold Treasury Moves
The corporate Bitcoin adoption wave keeps speeding up in 2025. This week, three public companies—ANAP, Remixpoint, and DDC Enterprise Limited—cut loose and added significantly to their crypto treasuries.
These moves are underscoring a rising trend among more traditional firms and public companies to hold Bitcoin as a reserve treasury asset. And with today’s macroeconomic uncertainties, it sure seems like there are a growing number of firms choosing to hold that reserve in Bitcoin.
ANAP Fast-Tracks Toward 1,000 BTC Target
Once more, the fashion and e-commerce business ANAP Inc. has stretched the limits of corporate responsibility to grab headlines. The Tokyo-listed company (TSE: 3189.T) added a whopping 50.56 Bitcoin to corporate coffers over just two days.
The latest buy boosted the company’s total Bitcoin reserves to a not-too-shabby 153.46 BTC. ANAP’s stated goal, by the way, is to hit 1,000 BTC by August 2025.
Traditionally recognized for its fashionable lines and for appealing to the youth market, the company surprised everyone when, earlier this year, it declared a pivot toward digital assets, specifically Bitcoin. What began as a slow accumulation of the popular cryptocurrency has morphed into an all-out rush to stock up on the altcoin. Indeed, the construction of the company’s Bitcoin treasury appears to be moving at breakneck speed and, maybe even, at price points that suggest relative stability.
“Clearly signaling to the market that it sees Bitcoin not just as an alternative store of value but as a core part of its long-term financial strategy is ANAP, a mid-cap fashion brand. Said financial analyst Hiroshi Matsuda of Nomura Securities: ‘It’s a bold move.'”
Remixpoint Crosses 900 BTC Threshold
At the same time, another firm from Japan is making even more ambitious moves in the world of cryptocurrencies. Remixpoint, a publicly traded energy and technology firm, said this week that it has acquired an additional 50.06 BTC. The average purchase price for the coins: 15.8575 million yen (about $107,000) apiece. The total for the transaction: 793.9 million yen (about $5.3 million). Remixpoint’s Bitcoin haul now stands at an impressive 925.71 BTC.
Remixpoint’s Bitcoin treasury is currently worth around 14.572 billion yen, based on present market rates. The firm now ranks among the top Bitcoin-holding corporations in Asia. This step, Remixpoint, underscores how serious it is about becoming a player in “blockchain 2.0″—”digital finance” powered by Bitcoin, and more. For Remixpoint, this is a pivot.
“Remixpoint is not merely placing its toes into the world of crypto; it is plunging into the sphere of crypto with complete abandon,” commented industry observer Miki Tanaka. “Their purchases happen at a scale and speed that suggest they harbor a strong belief in Bitcoin’s potential to serve as a long-term treasury asset.”
The company pursues a series of financial reforms and digital transformation initiatives that are part of its modern business model. Aggressive acquisition activity has laded the company with a sea of unappealing assets that can’t be divested. Despite its Friends and Anime acquisitions, the company’s appeal to younger, tech-savvy investors remains anemic.
DDC Enterprise Buys 38 BTC Amid Yield Surge
In the U.S., DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: DDC) is busy adding to its own Bitcoin stash. The company behind Bitcoin Cash announced it had acquired 38 BTC in recent weeks, bringing its total to 138 BTC. DDC said in a release that it has seen a 22% uptick in yield on its Bitcoin hoard—suggesting that the price of Bitcoin is continuing to rise.
The BTC average cost per DDC holding is now approx. USD 78,582. While the accumulation has been quiet compared to other players in the Bitcoin space, DDC’s yield focus and accumulation show a long-term, calculated, and almost conservatively ‘in the shadows’ approach.
Elena Park, a crypto strategist at Argo Advisory, commented on the matter. “DDC seems to be taking a more measured route, very carefully balancing exposure with risk, and the quite substantial size of its holdings now shows an increasing confidence in Bitcoin’s role in near-future corporate finance.”
Corporate Bitcoin Adoption Hits New Momentum
The trend of corporate adoption of Bitcoin appears to be gaining momentum in both Japan and the United States. This can be seen in the following ways:
1. ANAP is buying Bitcoin on a near-daily basis.
2. Remixpoint has amassed a kind of treasury that might make a central banker envious.
3. DDC is making strategic acquisitions meant to bump up its treasury yield and, presumably, its Bitcoin holdings.
While the price of Bitcoin recovers from its 2022-2023 lows and the institutional infrastructure around it continues to mature, it looks likely that more publicly listed companies will start following the lead of MicroStrategy and Tesla. Bitcoin is a treasury reserve asset. Companies are starting to realize that holding a percentage of their corporate treasury in Bitcoin might not be such a bad idea after all. These moves, on the whole, don’t yet amount to a tsunami, but they are reshaping the financial landscape.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Bitcoin Rush Intensifies Among Public Companies: ANAP, Remixpoint, and DDC Make Bold Treasury Moves appeared first on The Merkle News.
These moves are underscoring a rising trend among more traditional firms and public companies to hold Bitcoin as a reserve treasury asset. And with today’s macroeconomic uncertainties, it sure seems like there are a growing number of firms choosing to hold that reserve in Bitcoin.
ANAP Fast-Tracks Toward 1,000 BTC Target
Once more, the fashion and e-commerce business ANAP Inc. has stretched the limits of corporate responsibility to grab headlines. The Tokyo-listed company (TSE: 3189.T) added a whopping 50.56 Bitcoin to corporate coffers over just two days.
The latest buy boosted the company’s total Bitcoin reserves to a not-too-shabby 153.46 BTC. ANAP’s stated goal, by the way, is to hit 1,000 BTC by August 2025.
Traditionally recognized for its fashionable lines and for appealing to the youth market, the company surprised everyone when, earlier this year, it declared a pivot toward digital assets, specifically Bitcoin. What began as a slow accumulation of the popular cryptocurrency has morphed into an all-out rush to stock up on the altcoin. Indeed, the construction of the company’s Bitcoin treasury appears to be moving at breakneck speed and, maybe even, at price points that suggest relative stability.
“Clearly signaling to the market that it sees Bitcoin not just as an alternative store of value but as a core part of its long-term financial strategy is ANAP, a mid-cap fashion brand. Said financial analyst Hiroshi Matsuda of Nomura Securities: ‘It’s a bold move.'”
Remixpoint Crosses 900 BTC Threshold
At the same time, another firm from Japan is making even more ambitious moves in the world of cryptocurrencies. Remixpoint, a publicly traded energy and technology firm, said this week that it has acquired an additional 50.06 BTC. The average purchase price for the coins: 15.8575 million yen (about $107,000) apiece. The total for the transaction: 793.9 million yen (about $5.3 million). Remixpoint’s Bitcoin haul now stands at an impressive 925.71 BTC.
Remixpoint’s Bitcoin treasury is currently worth around 14.572 billion yen, based on present market rates. The firm now ranks among the top Bitcoin-holding corporations in Asia. This step, Remixpoint, underscores how serious it is about becoming a player in “blockchain 2.0″—”digital finance” powered by Bitcoin, and more. For Remixpoint, this is a pivot.
“Remixpoint is not merely placing its toes into the world of crypto; it is plunging into the sphere of crypto with complete abandon,” commented industry observer Miki Tanaka. “Their purchases happen at a scale and speed that suggest they harbor a strong belief in Bitcoin’s potential to serve as a long-term treasury asset.”
The company pursues a series of financial reforms and digital transformation initiatives that are part of its modern business model. Aggressive acquisition activity has laded the company with a sea of unappealing assets that can’t be divested. Despite its Friends and Anime acquisitions, the company’s appeal to younger, tech-savvy investors remains anemic.
DDC Enterprise Buys 38 BTC Amid Yield Surge
In the U.S., DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: DDC) is busy adding to its own Bitcoin stash. The company behind Bitcoin Cash announced it had acquired 38 BTC in recent weeks, bringing its total to 138 BTC. DDC said in a release that it has seen a 22% uptick in yield on its Bitcoin hoard—suggesting that the price of Bitcoin is continuing to rise.
The BTC average cost per DDC holding is now approx. USD 78,582. While the accumulation has been quiet compared to other players in the Bitcoin space, DDC’s yield focus and accumulation show a long-term, calculated, and almost conservatively ‘in the shadows’ approach.
Elena Park, a crypto strategist at Argo Advisory, commented on the matter. “DDC seems to be taking a more measured route, very carefully balancing exposure with risk, and the quite substantial size of its holdings now shows an increasing confidence in Bitcoin’s role in near-future corporate finance.”
Corporate Bitcoin Adoption Hits New Momentum
The trend of corporate adoption of Bitcoin appears to be gaining momentum in both Japan and the United States. This can be seen in the following ways:
1. ANAP is buying Bitcoin on a near-daily basis.
2. Remixpoint has amassed a kind of treasury that might make a central banker envious.
3. DDC is making strategic acquisitions meant to bump up its treasury yield and, presumably, its Bitcoin holdings.
While the price of Bitcoin recovers from its 2022-2023 lows and the institutional infrastructure around it continues to mature, it looks likely that more publicly listed companies will start following the lead of MicroStrategy and Tesla. Bitcoin is a treasury reserve asset. Companies are starting to realize that holding a percentage of their corporate treasury in Bitcoin might not be such a bad idea after all. These moves, on the whole, don’t yet amount to a tsunami, but they are reshaping the financial landscape.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Bitcoin Rush Intensifies Among Public Companies: ANAP, Remixpoint, and DDC Make Bold Treasury Moves appeared first on The Merkle News.
Virtuals Ecosystem Holds Strong As AI Agent Market Climbs to $10.88B
The economy of AI agents is gathering speed again, with total market capitalization climbing and reestablishing the momentum first seen in 2023.
As of June 12, 2025, the AI agents market had an estimated total market cap of $10.88 billion, marking a 3.87% increase over the prior 24 hours. The ecosystem governs dominantly over the market shares and user engagement in the chatbots genre, even as its price slightly retracts.
Here is a closer look at the most recent advancements within the Virtuals and AI agent world.
Virtuals Maintains Dominance Despite Price Dip
Though the price of $VIRTUAL fell 3.05% to $2.0425 in the last 24 hours, Virtuals remains the largest project in the AI agent space with a commanding market cap of $1.34 billion. The ecosystem’s influence is growing all the time and now accounts for 23.02% of the total AI agent market cap. More interestingly, Virtuals’ overall mindshare—an indication of share of attention and market sentiment—rose to 43.16%, up 1.21% over the same period.
Overall, the Virtuals ecosystem held very steady at a market cap of $2.51 billion, representing a slight 0.36% decline. The AI agent space was more volatile. It saw a total market capitalization decline of 5.39% down to $10.30 billion before rebounding to a current level of $10.88 billion.
This data shows a situation where Virtuals, even though they are not sheltered from the effects of a troubled market, still manage to attract a lot of investor interest and represent a major component of the AI agent sector.
Small-Cap AI Agents Lead 24-Hour Gains
Among the more notable trends over the past day has been the strong performance of smaller AI agent projects. Although large-cap stocks achieved mixed results, several low-profile agents have gained significantly in market cap, drawing attention to them as perhaps some momentum plays going into the weekend.
At the forefront was FUZZ (@fuzzai_agent), whose market capitalization grew by 11.7%. Difficult, though, was not to be lost behind AITRAVEL (@KaiTravelAI), that surged by 8.61%. Taking third place was the number 3 entrant, TIBBIR (@ribbita2012), whose gain was 8.27%.
The profits were particularly striking given the overall market malaise and point to a possible rotation of institutional investors into smaller, narrative-driven or infrastructure plays that might be seen as undervalued opportunities within a quickly maturing and diversifying sector.
Market analysts posit that regional diversification in AI agents signifies a return of risk-on sentiment among investors. This seems to correlate with the pivot towards utility-driven narratives—like real-world applications of AI infrastructure, decentralized versus centralized AI, and data sovereignty—that seems to be driving the otherwise sluggish recent performance of AI stocks.
Growing Mindshare Signals Investor Confidence in Virtuals
Another key highlight from the past 24 hours is the growth of mindshare in the Virtuals ecosystem. The metric growth has climbed to 43.16%, and this shows us that, despite any short-term price action, the Virtuals project is the most influential and widely followed project in the AI agent landscape. This is very clearly an indicator of sustained community engagement and institutional interest.
A substantial portion of this mental space belongs to Virtuals because it continues to drive innovation at a rather brisk pace, amass its new onboarded users, and maintain a rather straightforward user experience as it grooves on with them toward the platform’s still-early-stage, mostly feature-based, evolvement. You could say that as much as anything, this is the Virtuals ecosystem’s “long game.”
The emphasis on infrastructure and application-layer development is growing, and this is something that the ecosystem is consistently updating us about. It is also very much a recent trend. Where it used to be all about the speculative price action, now we are told to pay more attention to what is actually being built and to what sort of real-world utility it has. With those two moving in a much more positive direction, the virtuals are now much more well-positioned because of two actual trends.
Conclusion
Even with a few minor hiccups in the immediate market, the AI agent space—Virtuals most definitely included—still looks like it’s not only holding its own but also expanding quite well. After a brief slide, the total market cap looks to be back up to $10.88 billion. And good as it gets, that’s not the top line, which is projected to rise significantly anyways. What’s happening here now seems to emerge in a confidence context within this ecosystem, as I see it.
With renewed strength from smaller agents and developers taking a serious look at deeper integrations, this weekend could be a moment of truth for the current AI-in-Web3 storyline. Keep a close watch, investors and participants, because the next steps in infrastructure development are shaping a future that’s all narrative-driven.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!
The post Virtuals Ecosystem Holds Strong as AI Agent Market Climbs to $10.88B appeared first on The Merkle News.
As of June 12, 2025, the AI agents market had an estimated total market cap of $10.88 billion, marking a 3.87% increase over the prior 24 hours. The ecosystem governs dominantly over the market shares and user engagement in the chatbots genre, even as its price slightly retracts.
Here is a closer look at the most recent advancements within the Virtuals and AI agent world.
Virtuals Maintains Dominance Despite Price Dip
Though the price of $VIRTUAL fell 3.05% to $2.0425 in the last 24 hours, Virtuals remains the largest project in the AI agent space with a commanding market cap of $1.34 billion. The ecosystem’s influence is growing all the time and now accounts for 23.02% of the total AI agent market cap. More interestingly, Virtuals’ overall mindshare—an indication of share of attention and market sentiment—rose to 43.16%, up 1.21% over the same period.
Overall, the Virtuals ecosystem held very steady at a market cap of $2.51 billion, representing a slight 0.36% decline. The AI agent space was more volatile. It saw a total market capitalization decline of 5.39% down to $10.30 billion before rebounding to a current level of $10.88 billion.
This data shows a situation where Virtuals, even though they are not sheltered from the effects of a troubled market, still manage to attract a lot of investor interest and represent a major component of the AI agent sector.
Small-Cap AI Agents Lead 24-Hour Gains
Among the more notable trends over the past day has been the strong performance of smaller AI agent projects. Although large-cap stocks achieved mixed results, several low-profile agents have gained significantly in market cap, drawing attention to them as perhaps some momentum plays going into the weekend.
At the forefront was FUZZ (@fuzzai_agent), whose market capitalization grew by 11.7%. Difficult, though, was not to be lost behind AITRAVEL (@KaiTravelAI), that surged by 8.61%. Taking third place was the number 3 entrant, TIBBIR (@ribbita2012), whose gain was 8.27%.
The profits were particularly striking given the overall market malaise and point to a possible rotation of institutional investors into smaller, narrative-driven or infrastructure plays that might be seen as undervalued opportunities within a quickly maturing and diversifying sector.
Market analysts posit that regional diversification in AI agents signifies a return of risk-on sentiment among investors. This seems to correlate with the pivot towards utility-driven narratives—like real-world applications of AI infrastructure, decentralized versus centralized AI, and data sovereignty—that seems to be driving the otherwise sluggish recent performance of AI stocks.
Growing Mindshare Signals Investor Confidence in Virtuals
Another key highlight from the past 24 hours is the growth of mindshare in the Virtuals ecosystem. The metric growth has climbed to 43.16%, and this shows us that, despite any short-term price action, the Virtuals project is the most influential and widely followed project in the AI agent landscape. This is very clearly an indicator of sustained community engagement and institutional interest.
A substantial portion of this mental space belongs to Virtuals because it continues to drive innovation at a rather brisk pace, amass its new onboarded users, and maintain a rather straightforward user experience as it grooves on with them toward the platform’s still-early-stage, mostly feature-based, evolvement. You could say that as much as anything, this is the Virtuals ecosystem’s “long game.”
The emphasis on infrastructure and application-layer development is growing, and this is something that the ecosystem is consistently updating us about. It is also very much a recent trend. Where it used to be all about the speculative price action, now we are told to pay more attention to what is actually being built and to what sort of real-world utility it has. With those two moving in a much more positive direction, the virtuals are now much more well-positioned because of two actual trends.
Conclusion
Even with a few minor hiccups in the immediate market, the AI agent space—Virtuals most definitely included—still looks like it’s not only holding its own but also expanding quite well. After a brief slide, the total market cap looks to be back up to $10.88 billion. And good as it gets, that’s not the top line, which is projected to rise significantly anyways. What’s happening here now seems to emerge in a confidence context within this ecosystem, as I see it.
With renewed strength from smaller agents and developers taking a serious look at deeper integrations, this weekend could be a moment of truth for the current AI-in-Web3 storyline. Keep a close watch, investors and participants, because the next steps in infrastructure development are shaping a future that’s all narrative-driven.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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