BlockBeats will summarize the key industry news of the week (3.31-4.6) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and stay informed about industry trends.

Important News Recap

Trump's "Tariff" Hammer Falls: Imposing a 10% Comprehensive Tariff on All Imported Goods, Implementing 20% Retaliatory Tariffs on EU on a per-country basis, and imposing a 24% tariff on Japanese goods

On April 3, Trump announced in the White House Rose Garden that the U.S. will impose a 10% comprehensive tariff on all imported goods. Detailed tariff measures for various countries are as follows: Imposing a 46% tariff on Vietnam; imposing a 10% tariff on the UK; imposing a 31% tariff on Switzerland; imposing a 49% tariff on Cambodia; imposing a 36% tariff on Thailand; imposing a 30% tariff on South Africa; imposing a 32% tariff on Indonesia; imposing a 10% tariff on Brazil; imposing a 10% tariff on Singapore. Retaliatory tariffs of 20% will be implemented on a per-country basis within the EU; a 24% tariff will be imposed on goods imported from Japan. Due to the 10% comprehensive tariff, which was at the lower end of expectations (10%-20%), Bitcoin briefly surged by 2.7% that evening, breaking through $88,000. However, after detailed tariff announcements, Bitcoin quickly fell by 3.35%, Nasdaq futures violently plummeted, expanding the decline to 1.2%, and the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) also experienced a 0.5% fluctuation in a short period. It is also worth noting that energy commodities are excluded from Trump's comprehensive tariff, including crude oil, natural gas, and refined oil products.

On the same day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson wrote, "I suggest that all countries refrain from taking retaliatory actions. We can see if there might be a lower ceiling for tariffs (than the announced figures). Trump's attitude may be to temporarily stabilize the situation. I was not involved in the negotiations, and we will see if there are any talks before April 9 (the effective date of retaliatory tariffs)." Previously, senior White House officials stated that the baseline tariff rate (10%) would come into effect in the early hours of April 5, with retaliatory tariffs taking effect in the early hours of April 9. Related Readings: "U.S. Stocks Evaporate $2 Trillion in 15 Minutes, Is "Retaliatory Tariffs" the Straw That Broke the Bull Market's Back?", "How Do Tariffs Stir Crypto Asset Prices?"

Justin Sun Accuses FDUSD Issuer First Digital Trust of Bankruptcy, FDUSD Temporarily Depreciates Below $0.80; Latter Denies Allegations

On April 2, Justin Sun took to social media to claim that the issuer of FDUSD, First Digital Trust (FDT), had actually gone bankrupt and was unable to fulfill its customer fund redemption obligations. He strongly advised users to take immediate action to protect their assets. Subsequently, FDUSD briefly fell below $0.80. As a result, several FDUSD-related trading pairs on Binance experienced price spikes: BTC peaked at 98,950 FDUSD, and ETH peaked at 2165 FDUSD. Since FDUSD is the new stablecoin supported by Binance after delisting BUSD, Binance responded to this news by stating that it is capable of 1:1 redemptions.

In the early hours of April 3, Justin Sun once again posted, stating that this FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) was only aimed at FDT and not Binance. By noon on the 3rd, First Digital released a statement refuting Sun's claims, mentioning that the initial redemptions post-FUD had already been processed. FDUSD continues to be fully backed at a 1:1 ratio, its redemption channels are operational, and all redemption requests will continue to be promptly handled.

Furthermore, according to reports from Hong Kong media, Eddie Yue, Chairman of the Hong Kong Legislative Council's Web3 and Virtual Asset Development Subcommittee, responded to the dispute between Justin Sun and FDT by suggesting a prompt review of the regulatory framework. Yue stated that due to the lack of a custodial regulatory framework, Web3 companies rely on trust companies to assist in third-party asset custody. While this practice is fine when done legitimately, there is concern about malicious actors taking advantage of this gap. He expressed worries about the impact on confidence in Hong Kong as a financial center and recommended that authorities focus on education and reviewing potential areas for optimization.

On April 3, during a live press conference, Justin Sun stated, "We have over $500 million stuck in FDT that we cannot withdraw." He called on FDT to engage a third-party auditing firm to conduct an audit, expressing his belief that the audit would reveal FDT's insolvency. He also revealed that due to FDT's failure to pay investment interest in 2023, Techteryx had conducted an investigation and discovered extensive misappropriation of client funds under custody. Justin Sun personally provided assistance to Techteryx to ensure that TUSD had ample liquidity, safeguarding the interests of all TUSD holders. He alleged that TrueCoin colluded with FDT to illegally transfer $456 million of TUSD reserve funds to a company in Dubai. Sun stated, "I will offer a $50 million reward to law enforcement and tip providers to recover the $456 million." First Digital later responded to the accusations, clarifying that the dispute only involved TUSD and was completely unrelated to FDUSD. First Digital stated that they have more than enough capacity to meet their obligations and labeled Sun's actions as a typical smear campaign intended to undermine their business competitor. Related articles: "FDUSD Depreciation Crisis: Justin Sun Accuses FDT of Embezzling $456 Million, Latter Denies Insolvency"

Multiple Meme Tokens Continue to Plummet This Week, with ACT Dropping Over 70% in 7 Days; Community Suspects Market Makers and Binance's Leverage Adjustment Involved

On April 1st, several meme tokens experienced a sharp decline, with ACT dropping over 50% briefly; DEXE dropping over 28% briefly; DF dropping over 17.7% briefly, and more. This plunge was triggered by a large number of sell orders in a short period, leading to a significant surge in spot trading volume. Subsequently, crypto KOL Benson Sun analyzed in a post, stating, "ACT suddenly crashed by 50% due to Binance adjusting ACT's leverage position limit. A 1x leverage can only hold a position of up to $4.5 million, with market makers' positions exceeding the limit being liquidated at market price, causing a contract price collapse and a significant price difference with spot, leading to a cascade crash in spot as well." Wintermute's founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy responded to community doubts that "Wintermute caused the crash," saying, "It has nothing to do with us, but we are also eager to know what happened in the post-analysis." "If you ask me, we reacted only after the price swung violently and arbitrated the AMM pool."

In the early hours of April 2nd, Binance responded to the plummet of certain Meme coins like ACT, stating, "After a preliminary investigation, we found that some small-cap tokens experienced a cascading drop, with 3 VIP users cross-selling tokens worth about 514,000 USDT in a short time in the spot market, and a non-VIP user transferring a large amount of ACT from another platform and selling tokens worth 540,000 USDT in a short time in the spot market. As the price dropped, some users' futures contracts were liquidated, causing other tokens to plummet." It is worth noting that in the following days, tokens such as MASK, LEVER, TROY, CATI, among others, experienced another massive drop with trading volume spiking 5 to 10 times higher than usual. Related Read: "ACT Flash Crash Nightmare: When Exchange 'Circuit Breaker' Turns into Bearish Bullet"

zk­Lend Hacker Accidentally Phished, Resulting in the Theft of 2930 ETH; Hacker Requests Collaboration with zk­Lend to Attempt Fund Recovery

On April 1st, according to Slow Mist monitoring, the zk­Lend hacker (originally from February) mistakenly clicked on a phishing website while attempting to use Tor­nado­ Cash, leading to the theft of 2930 ETH. The hacker then sent an on-chain message to zk­Lend, stating, "Hello, I intended to transfer the funds to Tornado Cash, but accidentally used a phishing website, causing the loss of all funds. I'm devastated. I deeply apologize for the chaos and loss caused. All 2930 ETH has been taken by the operators of that website. I no longer have any coins in my possession. Please focus your efforts on those website operators to see if some funds can be recovered."

On the same day, the zkLend team issued a statement saying that the phishing site appears to have been operational for over 5 years. During this time, the security team has not found conclusive evidence linking the phishing site to the attackers. As a preventive measure, zkLend has included these new wallet addresses from the phishing site in its fund tracking efforts for real-time monitoring and has also been in contact with CEX and authorities. The team will continue its efforts to trace these funds. Related reading: "Has the zkLend Hacker Also Been Hacked, Is the On-Chain Apology Genuine Regret or Staged Performance?"

Bitcoin and Ethereum See Worst Q1 Returns in 7 Years; Bitcoin Q2 Average Return 24.86%, Poor Performance with More Decreases Than Increases in the Past Five Years

On April 1st, according to HTX market data, Bitcoin recorded a first-quarter return of -11.82%, and Ethereum recorded a first-quarter return of -45.41%, marking their poorest performance for the same period since 2019. In 2018, Bitcoin had a first-quarter return of -49.7%, and Ethereum had a first-quarter return of -46.61%. Data also shows that historically, Bitcoin tends to perform well in the second quarter, with an average quarterly return rate of 24.86% over the past 12 years and a median quarterly return rate of 7.19%. However, its performance has been poor in the last five years, with the following results: Q2 2020 up 42.33%; Q2 2021 down 40.36%; Q2 2022 down 56.2%; Q2 2023 up 7.19%; Q2 2024 down 11.92%. Over nearly 12 years, Bitcoin has risen 7 times and fallen 5 times in April, with a monthly average return rate of 12.03% and a monthly median return rate of 2.81%. However, its performance has been flat in the last five years, with the following results in April: April 2020 up 34.26%; April 2021 down 1.98%; April 2022 down 17.3%; April 2023 up 2.81%; April 2024 down 14.76%.

Coinbase Stock Price Drops 33% in Q1, Its Worst Quarter Since the FTX Crash

On April 1st, the U.S.-based publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase experienced its worst quarterly performance since the 2022 FTX exchange crash, with its stock price falling by 33% in the first quarter of 2025, even though its revenue expectations were strong. Coinbase is expected to release its 2025 financial data in early May. The company's recent shareholder letter revealed that as of February 11th, the company had generated approximately $750 million in transaction revenue and expects subscription revenue to be between $685 million and $765 million. While Coinbase has not disclosed its profit data for the first quarter, MarketBeat analysis estimates its profit to be around $1.87 billion. Coinbase is not alone, as most publicly-listed crypto companies reported similar results in the first quarter of 2025. Major crypto mining company Marathon Digital Holdings saw its stock price near $17.5 in the early first quarter, but closing at $11, a loss of over 37%.

Ethereum Market Cap Falls Below McDonald's, Drops to $218.73 Billion This Week

On March 30, according to 8marketcap data, Ethereum's market cap dropped to $218.73 billion, with a 7-day decrease of 9.98%, ranking it 68th on the global asset market cap list. McDonald's surpassed Ethereum with a market cap of $219.4 billion, currently ranked 67th on the global asset market cap list.

OpenAI Secures $40 Billion in Funding with SoftBank as Lead Investor

On April 1, CNBC reported that OpenAI has secured $40 billion in funding, bringing its post-investment valuation to $3 trillion (including new capital). According to CB Insights data, this valuation makes OpenAI one of the highest-valued private companies globally, second only to SpaceX at $3.5 trillion, tying with TikTok's parent company ByteDance. This round of funding was led by Japan's SoftBank with an investment of $30 billion and received support from a group of other investors, including key investor Microsoft, as well as institutions like Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive. Sources revealed that the initial investment was $10 billion, with the remaining $30 billion expected by the end of 2025. However, this funding round comes with a condition: if OpenAI fails to restructure into a profitable entity by December 31, 2025, the funding amount could be reduced by up to $10 billion.

F2Pool Co-Founder Wang Chun Boards SpaceX Crew Dragon on April 1 for Sixth Crewed Space Mission as Commander

On March 31, SpaceX's Crew Dragon embarked on its sixth crewed space mission (Fram-2) on April 1, marking the first-ever human polar orbital spaceflight lasting 3 to 5 days. The launch took place on April 1 at 39A Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. The mission includes 4 astronauts: F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun, Janick Mickelson, Rabea Rogen, and Anelric Philips. Wang Chun's team privately funded nearly $200 million for this flight, making it the first privately contracted polar orbital mission in commercial spaceflight history, with Wang Chun serving as the mission's commander. The spacecraft will enter a 90° inclination orbit at an altitude of 425 to 450 kilometers. It will navigate along the polar orbit, flying from above the South Pole to the North Pole, and back, in a repeated pattern. Further reading: "From Bitcoin Miner to Polar Astronaut: Wang Chun's Magical Realism Success Story"

Musk Clarifies US Government Has No Plans to Use Dogecoin

On March 31, Musk stated during the "America PAC" town hall meeting held in Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 30 that the US government has no plans to use the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. He pointed out that the federal "Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)" is not associated with Dogecoin, stating that "they are just namesake, the government is not going to use Dogecoin, at least not that I know of." Despite this, the D.O.G.E. official website briefly displayed Dogecoin's Shiba Inu mascot in February, sparking market speculation about the government's relationship with cryptocurrency and driving DOGE up 14% at one point, with a market value exceeding $58 billion. Related reading: "Musk Denies Relationship Between DOGE and US Government, Is Dogecoin Really Over?"

Bitcoin Development Group BitcoinDev Email List Faces Google's "Permanent Removal"

On April 3, Bitcoin developer Ruben Somsen wrote that the Bitcoin Development Group's BitcoinDev email list was "permanently removed" by Google. Ruben had previously stated, "To my knowledge, there has been no inappropriate content posted." An update later stated, "Turns out we did receive some more information, however, it landed in the spam folder (how ironic). Clearly, we have been 'permanently removed.' What was our offense? We were deemed 'unwanted content.' Really, Google? Is open-source development 'unwelcome'? Looks like we have to migrate again." Block CEO Jack Dorsey has retweeted in support of Ruben Somsen's tweet and questioned Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Treasure Faces Restructuring Due to Financial Crisis, Will Cease Game Operations and Treasure Chain

On April 3, John, the Chief Contributor of the blockchain gaming ecosystem Treasure DAO, announced that due to deteriorating financial conditions, they are facing restructuring and will be terminating game operations and the Treasure Chain. Documents show that their annual operational expenses amount to a staggering $8.3 million, while the current treasury holds only $2.4 million, originally projected to sustain operations only until July 2025. Chief Contributor John has resumed a leadership role, disclosing that the team once reached a size of 40 people, with an annual labor cost of $6.1 million, infrastructure cost of $3 million, and the fixed annual cost for Treasure Chain at $450,000. Facing survival pressures, the DAO has laid off 15 people, decided to cease game release support and Treasure Chain, and assist partners in migrating to other blockchains.

To extend the runway of funds, John proposed to withdraw the idle $785,000 from the liquidity provider Flowdesk. If approved, the stablecoin balance will increase to $3.2 million, and operations could be optimistically extended until February 2026. Additionally, the ecosystem fund holds 22.3 million MAGIC tokens (worth $2.3 million), but if the MAGIC price experiences a sharp decline, the DAO may struggle between December of this year and February of next year. The future strategy will focus on four main products: Market, Bridgeworld, Smolworld, and AI Agent Expansion Tech, aiming to showcase the application potential of MAGIC through Smols and Bridgeworld and develop the Neurochimp agent to enhance market competitiveness.

Blockchain Game Developer Neon Machine, Behind Chain Game Shrapnel, Faces Financial Crisis

According to Blockworks, the blockchain-based shooter game developer Neon Machine is facing a severe financial crisis. The company has so far consumed nearly $86.9 million in operating funds. Although it had $21.7 million in revenue in 2024, a net loss of $11.4 million occurred due to $33 million in operating costs.

The company is currently burning $2-3.5 million per month, its cash reserves are depleted, it owes external vendors millions of dollars in debt, and a new round of financing planned for early 2025 did not materialize. The company has undergone at least three rounds of layoffs, reducing staff from nearly a hundred people to around a dozen, and the Seattle headquarters was closed by the end of March. Despite the dire financial situation, Neon Machine publicly claims to be in the "strongest state ever" and plans to globally launch "Shrapnel" by the end of 2025. However, insiders express doubts about this plan.

Social App Phaver Shuts Down Operations Due to Fund Depletion, Token Price Plummets by 99%

The social media app Phaver has ceased operations, and its token price has dropped by 99% since its Token Generation Event (TGE) in September 2024. Phaver team members stated that this was due to technical issues during the TGE and airdrop, causing users to be unable to claim in time, leading to FUD. Additionally, Phaver spent over $1 million to list on five centralized exchanges (CEX). Lastly, due to low market sentiment, the team did not sell tokens during the TGE, resulting in insufficient operating funds.

As a Finnish company, Phaver also needs to pay 1 to 2 months' severance to its employees. Some former team members are now developing SocialDAO to explore new use cases for the SOCIAL token.

Binance Launches Second Round of Coin Listing Vote

On April 2, Binance announced the start of the second round of its coin listing vote. The coins participating in this event include: VIRTUAL, BIGTIME, UXLINK, MORPHO, GRASS, ATH, WAL, SAFE, ZETA, IP, ONDO, PLUME. The voting period is from April 2, 2025, 21:30 UTC to April 10, 2025, 07:59 UTC. During the voting period, users must be logged in with a verified account, hold at least 0.01 BNB in their main account for their votes to count. Each user can vote for up to 5 projects, with a maximum of one vote per project.

Binance Wallet Lists Two New TGEs: PumpBTC Oversubscribed by 327.56x; StakeStone Oversubscribed by 218.2x

On April 1, Binance Wallet announced a partnership with PancakeSwap to host an exclusive Token Generation Event (TGE) for the AI-driven Bitcoin asset management solution, PumpBTC, with a subscription of 3 BNB. On the same day, PumpBTC revealed the PUMP tokenomics with a total supply of 1 billion tokens, where 9% will be used for airdrops. The allocation is as follows: Community Ecosystem 38%; Initial PUMP Claim 9%; Marketing 5%; Liquidity 3.5%; Contributors 19.5%; Investors 20%; IDO 5%. In the early hours of April 2, PumpBTC concluded the funding round and distributed tokens, raising a total of 406,023 BNB, oversubscribed by 327.56 times.

On April 3, Binance Wallet launched the StakeStone TGE, with a total fundraising amount of $1,000,000 in BNB. The open subscription amount for STO tokens was 50,000,000 tokens (5% of the total supply). The final intake was 369,445 BNB, oversubscribed by 218.2 times.

CyberSheild: Over 60 Cryptocurrency Hacking Incidents in Q1 2025, Totaling $1.63 Billion in Losses

On April 1, according to CyberShield monitoring, there were over 60 cryptocurrency hacking incidents in the first quarter of 2025, resulting in total losses of $1.63 billion. This represents a 131% increase from the first quarter of 2024, which saw losses of $706 million. In March 2025, there were 20 cryptocurrency hacking incidents, resulting in losses of $33.46 million, including a $5 million hack affecting 1inch, of which 90% has been recovered.

Trump's Sons Launch Mining Company American Bitcoin in Partnership with Hut 8 Mining

On March 31, according to WSJ, the Trump family is actively advancing its cryptocurrency strategy, this time focusing on Bitcoin mining. The President's two sons are investing in a Bitcoin mining company, further expanding the Trump family's presence in the cryptocurrency business sector. Under the leadership of Trump's sons, American Data Centers will merge with American Bitcoin and hold a 20% stake. American Bitcoin is a mining operation majority-owned by publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company Hut 8. They plan to jointly build the world's largest digital currency mining enterprise and are interested in establishing their own "Bitcoin reserve."

U.S. House of Representatives to Hold Hearing on Cryptocurrency Market Structure Legislation

On March 31, crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted that the House of Representatives will hold a hearing on cryptocurrency market structure legislation. The House Financial Services Committee's Digital Assets Subcommittee will hold a hearing next Wednesday, April 9, to discuss issues related to establishing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The hearing, titled "American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: Adjusting U.S. Securities Law for the Digital Age," marks the first public effort of the 119th Congress to develop rules that regulate the operation of the $2.7 trillion cryptocurrency industry in the United States.

Top Articles This Week

"U.S. Stocks Evaporate $2 Trillion in 15 Minutes, Is 'Tit-for-Tat Tariffs' the Last Straw to Kill the Bull Market?"

Trump signed an executive order for "tit-for-tat tariffs," with the U.S. imposing a 10% baseline tariff on trading partners and higher rates of up to 49% on certain countries, causing severe market volatility. Bitcoin and the stock market saw initial gains followed by declines, while gold reached a historic high. The tariff calculation method has been criticized as based on "pseudoscience," with the economic community generally concerned that it will increase inflation, hit manufacturing and consumer confidence, and backlash against U.S. assets, leading the market to adopt a wait-and-see attitude on whether negotiations will open in the future.

"FDUSD Unpegging Crisis: Justin Sun Accuses FDT of $456 Million Fraud, the Latter Denies Insolvency"

In the late night of April 2nd, Justin Sun accused the stablecoin FDUSD's issuer, First Digital Trust (FDT), of insolvency, causing FDUSD to temporarily severely deviate from its peg, triggering market panic and user sell-offs, with the price dropping to $0.76 at one point. Although Binance later debunked this and stated that FDUSD's reserve was sufficient, gradually bringing the price back to $0.98, the incident exposed a trust crisis between Sun and FDT stemming from a TUSD management dispute, and also raised community concerns about Binance's delayed disclosure of information and suspicion of potential rug pull.

"What Was Vitalik Thinking When ETH Dropped Below $1800?"

Vitalik recently posted two articles expressing his deep thoughts on the relationship between real-world politics, culture, and technological development, calling for a shift in focus from "public goods funding" to a clearer and more actionable "open-source funding." He introduced the "annual ring model," stating that culture's attitude towards new and old things is heavily influenced by historical stages and is difficult to change quickly. The crypto space provides a relatively free environment suitable for nurturing new behavior patterns. At the same time, he believes that the term "public goods" has been overused in practice and that "open source" has a clearer definition and more explicit practices, making it more suitable as a core concept for funding and innovation in the digital age.

"ACT's Flash Crash Night: When Exchange Circuit Breaker Turns Against Short Sellers"

On April 1st, Binance adjusted the contract rules for some low-cap tokens, causing a rapid price collapse for several tokens, including ACT. This led to a sharp drop in contract positions and triggered market panic and stampede. Although Binance attributed the cause to whale selling, on-chain anomalies of market maker Wintermute, simultaneous price drops in some tokens, and user liquidation data all indicate that this flash crash was not a random event. Instead, it was the result of a combination of exchange risk control adjustments, MEME coin liquidity fragility, and market maker high-leverage strategies, exposing the crypto market's limits in systemic risk control and the structural disadvantage retail investors face.

"Circle IPO Aims for a $5 Billion Valuation, Do Stablecoins Now Have Blue-Chip Stocks?"

Circle is accelerating its IPO plan, aiming for a valuation of 40 to 50 billion USD, and plans to submit its prospectus by the end of April. This is its second attempt to go public after the failed 2021 SPAC merger, against the backdrop of gradually clarified global stablecoin regulation and improved policy environment. With USDC's compliance and transparency, the gap with USDT is narrowing, gaining support from institutions such as Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock. The success of Circle's IPO is expected not only to provide funding for its expansion but also to potentially reshape the stablecoin market, further challenging Tether's market dominance.

"New Article by Arthur Hayes: Signal of Fed Policy Shift Emerging, Can Bitcoin Break $250,000 by Year End?"

Powell, under pressure from Treasury Secretary Beasley, has found himself in a psychological dilemma and has sought psychotherapy, reflecting the Federal Reserve's reduced independence in the "fiscal dominance" landscape. Against the backdrop of high debt and persistent deficits, the Fed faces the realistic pressure to relax its policy to sustain government financing, potentially restarting quantitative easing and exempting banks from leverage limits. Despite strong economic indicators and high inflation, the Fed has shown signs of a policy shift, indicating a gradual softening of its anti-inflation stance. The changing global liquidity landscape has provided an upward opportunity for assets like Bitcoin, while the entanglement of politics, mathematics, and history has revealed the increasingly complex role of central banks.

"Exclusive Interview with Independent Developer Haole: Working at Big Tech During the Day, Dream-Building on the Blockchain at Night | Base Builder Talk"

In the third episode of Base Builder Talk, Haole is an independent developer who staunchly upholds technological ideals, having witnessed the rise and fall of Steemit and DeFi. He is currently continuously building the Recaster client on the Farcaster protocol, exploring the possibility of decentralized social networking. With minimal cost, he invests his spare time in product development, not for commercialization, but to respond to his belief in data sovereignty and open networks. In the midst of the AI frenzy and mainstream focus on centralization, he has chosen a more difficult but more authentic path, embodying rare persistence and clarity by practicing the belief that "data belongs to the users."

"Stagnation of Liquidity in 40 Million Tokens: How Do Projects 'Feed Themselves' in a Bear Market?"

The liquidity of stablecoins in the cryptocurrency space has significantly decreased, reflecting the current zero-sum game nature of the industry — a surge in the number of projects without a proportional increase in funding, leading to resource dispersion and weakened communities. Short-term attention cannot sustainably drive development; only projects with cash flow and real demand can survive. Depending on their stage of development, crypto protocols should adopt corresponding revenue strategies: early stages focus on survival and experimentation, mid-term balances growth and distribution, while mature projects concentrate on robust operations and value feedback. Additionally, strong investor relations and transparency become key moats for building trust and fostering long-term growth.

"Unveiling Funding Rate Arbitrage: How Institutions 'Earn While Sleeping,' While Retail Investors 'See but Can't Taste'?"

Perpetual contracts are a type of derivative with no expiration date, using the funding rate mechanism to anchor their price to the spot market long-term. When there is an imbalance between long and short forces, the funding rate acts as a market-regulating tool, incentivizing one party to pay the other to restore price equilibrium. Arbitrageurs can earn funding rate returns by hedging their positions, with mainstream strategies including single-platform arbitrage, cross-platform arbitrage, and multi-currency arbitrage, focusing on risk hedging and compounding effects. While the theoretical threshold is not high, institutions have an advantage in systematic risk management, data monitoring, and execution efficiency, making it challenging for retail investors to practically implement such strategies. Retail investors are better suited to participate through compliant institutional products to earn stable returns.

"ETH Hangzhou On-Site Survey: ETH Has Become a Middle-aged 'Greasy Uncle,' With No Hope for a New High in 3 Years?"

In the first quarter of 2025, Ethereum faced a trough, with the ETH/BTC exchange rate hitting a near five-year low, and the price dropping below $1800, sparking community anxiety. However, at the ETH Hangzhou event, many developers were still actively involved in ecosystem development. A small-scale survey showed that most participants held a limited amount of ETH and believed that Ethereum had entered its "middle-aged" phase, with a well-established ecosystem lacking new narrative support. Price expectations for the future were generally pessimistic, with a consensus that it would be challenging to reach a new high within three years, depending mainly on new asset forms, application development, or significant breakthroughs. Despite being seen as replaceable, ETH remains the core battleground in the current crypto space.

"Exclusive Interview with Cat Zong: I'm in Japan, Selling Houses with Cryptocurrency"

Cat Zong is an individual who combines traditional finance with cryptocurrency, leveraging years of banking and wealth management experience, along with a keen sense of cryptocurrency, to successfully establish a path in Japan for buying houses with digital assets like USDT. He understands the language of the crypto community and is familiar with Japan's real estate processes. In an asymmetric information market, he provides trustworthy services to crypto investors. He doesn't chase trends but diligently navigates through every transaction process, building reputation through genuine delivery and personalized content, turning "crypto house buying" into a tangible and trusted choice.

"After Translating Circle's IPO Prospectus, Executive Compensation Is Increasing While Company Gross Margin Is Decreasing"

Stablecoin issuer Circle has officially launched its U.S. listing plan, intending to list on the NYSE with a valuation expected to reach $5 billion, under the stock code CRCL. Its core product USDC is the world's second-largest stablecoin, with a projected market cap of $60.1 billion in 2024, holding a 24% market share of the stablecoin market. Circle mainly generates revenue through reserve asset interest, with a total revenue of $1.68 billion in 2024, 99% of which comes from reserve income, but it is highly dependent on interest rates. Despite enhancing USDC's ecosystem penetration through partnerships with Coinbase, Binance, and others, high distribution costs have also eroded profits. This IPO is Circle's renewed push after the failed SPAC merger. If successful, it will become the first publicly listed stablecoin issuer, facing strong competitors such as Tether and PayPal, while also aiming to seize a compliance advantage amid increasingly clear regulation.

"a16z Accelerator CSX Resumes 'Money Distribution Mode,' Will the Next Wave of Hits Come from Here?"

a16z's crypto startup accelerator CSX is becoming a key driver in the Web3 startup community, supporting early-stage companies in quickly bringing their ideas to life and attracting significant follow-on investments through funding, intensive coaching, and industry resources. Even in a downturn market, CSX continues to incubate innovative projects such as AminoChain, Cork Protocol, and Cambrian Network, covering various fields like biotech, fintech, and AI blockchain. Its "star-making factory" model and strong mentor team are accelerating the development and breakthroughs of the entire crypto ecosystem.

"Laughter Continues, But the Crypto Industry Has 'Alienated': When All Narratives Collapse into Only One Posture – Selling Coins"

The crypto industry is no longer in a traditional bull/bear market pattern but in an alienated state centered around "selling coins." Project teams and VCs no longer focus on product and innovation, with the industry only active on the retail end. Intermediaries extract resources through marketing and listing, leading to value creation depletion and the gradual disappearance of entrepreneurs. The entire market has degenerated into a high-spread distribution chain, losing its positive feedback loop capability and is likely to face long-term ecological decay. Nevertheless, the market will eventually return to cyclical patterns, as breakthroughs in technological innovation and use cases may usher in a new round of rebuilding. However, before that, a challenging period of chaos must be navigated.

"In-Depth Analysis: Timeline and Full Map of Traditional Institutions Embracing the Crypto Industry"

Since 2020, traditional financial institutions have gradually deepened their integration with the crypto sector. By early 2025, around 15% of Bitcoin is held by institutions, with major banks and asset management companies launching crypto-related products. Key factors driving this process include the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the rise of tokenization of real-world assets, and the widespread use of stablecoins in settlement. Despite regulatory uncertainty, technical integration, and market volatility remaining as obstacles, the global compliance framework is gradually becoming clearer, enabling institutions to explore blockchain efficiency and innovation potential through permissioned DeFi and other means. The tokenization trend has become a bridge connecting TradFi and DeFi, indicating that the next few years will be a key period for deep integration of the financial system.

"Breaking Down Saylor's Bitcoin Financial Magic: Stock Price Triples Since Last October"

Under the leadership of founder Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy (MSTR) has efficiently utilized financial instruments to raise a significant amount of funds to purchase Bitcoin, holding over 506,000 BTC. The core strategy involves issuing options, convertible bonds, and preferred stock to generate cash flow, while opportunistically issuing additional shares to achieve a low-cost, high-leverage, yet low-risk Bitcoin reserve model. This model operates similarly to a bank in terms of its logic but does not rely on government backing, primarily relying on Bitcoin's capital appreciation for returns. As market recognition of this model grows, its potential impact and sustainability continue to strengthen.

"The New Tale of Two Cities in Web3: Stablecoins and Money Market Funds"

The regulatory debate over stablecoins mirrors what money market funds (MMFs) went through half a century ago. MMFs originally provided corporations with cash management but faced criticism due to issues like lack of deposit insurance and susceptibility to runs, impacting bank stability and monetary policy. Despite this, MMF assets now exceed $7.2 trillion. The 2008 financial crisis led to the collapse of the Reserve Fund, while in 2023, the SEC is still advancing MMF regulatory reform. The history of MMFs suggests that stablecoins may face similar regulatory challenges but could eventually become a crucial part of the financial system.

"Analyzing Current Market 'HODL Anxiety' from Binance Launchpool Data"

Binance's LaunchPool data reveals market sentiment and fund flows: despite cautious market behavior, idle funds within the ecosystem have increased rather than decreased. The growing number of participants indicates that investors are choosing to cash out without exiting the market. The rising average lockup amount demonstrates funds are concentrated in the hands of large holders, who, after completing wealth redistribution, remain optimistic about the future, patiently awaiting the next opportunity.

"From Bitcoin Miner to Polar Astronaut: Wangchun's Magical Realism Success Story"

Wangchun, who dreamed of "landing on the moon" at the age of 7, transitioned from an early Bitcoin adopter to building the world's largest mining pool, F2Pool. He then spent $200 million to board a SpaceX spacecraft, merging "geek spirit + business acumen" to turn science fiction into reality. Not only did he send the mining pool's logo into space, but he also entered the space economy by collecting climate data in polar orbit, completing a magnificent transformation from a coder to an astronaut. With a Casio watch, a Bitcoin cold wallet, and the phrase "giving light-years to time," he made idealism shine brightly in the vacuum of space.

"VC Perspective: Hyperliquid Incident Unveils the Power Struggle Between CEX and DEX"

The short-squeeze event triggered by the memecoin JELLYJELLY exposed serious flaws in Hyperliquid's decentralized exchange mechanism, including opaque market-making mechanisms, a seemingly nonexistent governance process, and internal conflicts of interest. To rescue its own liquidity pool, HLP, the platform intervened in the market by manipulating oracle prices, leading to widespread questioning of its "decentralization" credibility. Meanwhile, the swift interventions of Binance and OKX are seen as competitive strikes against Hyperliquid. This event not only highlights the vulnerability of DeFi platforms under extreme circumstances but also ignites a new round of contemplation on topics such as decentralized science (DeSci) and stablecoin regulation, revealing the deep-seated tensions between centralization of power, lack of transparency, and regulatory gamesmanship within the crypto industry.

"From Riches to Losses: A Profound Reflection on the 'Four-Year Cycle'"

The author reviewed his own experience in the crypto market, from the excitement of 2017 to the crash of 2018, and then to the resurgence of new hot topics such as NFTs and agents. He pointed out that the market cycle constantly creates frenzy and delusion, leading investors to mistakenly believe they have grasped the pattern, only to still suffer losses in the end. Emotions drive people to repeat the same mistakes, and the market always operates counter to expectations. The only way to survive is to take profit as much as possible during an uptrend and reduce losses during a downtrend, but this is harder than imagined. The market will not change, and the real challenge lies in how to control one's emotions and decisions.

"Paradigm: Unraveling the Mystery of the Lazarus Group Threat by North Korean Hacker Organization"

In February 2025, the crypto exchange Bybit experienced the largest hack in history, with over $1 billion in assets stolen. The mastermind behind the attack was believed to be North Korea's Lazarus Group hacker organization. Investigations revealed that the attackers disrupted Bybit's Safe Wallet infrastructure and injected malicious code to trick engineers into signing malicious transactions, indirectly seizing control of the cold wallets. North Korea's cyber warfare operation is extensive, involving multiple organizations such as RGB and MID, with branches like TraderTraitor, APT38, AppleJeus, among others. These hackers excel in social engineering, supply chain attacks, and disguised penetration, posing a continuous threat to the crypto industry. To prevent such attacks, it is recommended that users and organizations strengthen permission management, utilize two-factor authentication, raise security awareness, and establish an effective industry collaboration network to swiftly respond to potential threats.

"Berachain Founder's Entrepreneurial Reflection: Don't Let Tokens Drag Down Your Project"

This article discussed the recent trend of multiple projects in the Berachain ecosystem issuing tokens, cautioning founders not to blindly create tokens. Tokens should drive growth when the product achieves market fit, or else it may impact user adoption. In a bearish market environment with limited community funds, a token price drop can harm the product's image. Token issuance should avoid simultaneous competition, ensure a reasonable valuation, and focus on long-term value rather than short-term exit. The author supports Berachain's development but emphasizes that success requires patience and strategy, suggesting that the team prioritize ensuring profitability and user growth.

"Ethereum OG Lambasts 'ETH Dilemma': Foundation Must Confront Four Major Strategic Mistakes, Once Holding the World's Strongest Computing Power but Missing the Opportunity"

Ethereum has recently been in a downturn, with ETH/BTC hitting a new five-year low, sparking community dissatisfaction and pessimism. The core issue is attributed to the EIP-1559 and deflation narrative driven in 2021, which not only failed to bring the expected development but also led to community division, developer exodus, and an intensification of a politicized atmosphere. Furthermore, Ethereum missed the opportunity to transition from PoW to AI hash power, and although upgrades are ongoing, user experience remains mediocre, causing the brand to gradually detach from its intrinsic value. The future outlook may continue to be bearish.

"Coinbase Insider Breach? $300 Million Scam Unveiled, User Data Precisely Leaked"

A large number of Coinbase users recently fell victim to social engineering scams, with over $46 million stolen in March and the total annual losses potentially reaching $300 million. Scammers used methods such as impersonating official calls, phishing emails, and cloned websites to persuade users to transfer funds to a "secure wallet." They also seemingly had detailed user information, raising concerns about Coinbase's internal data access management. The incident of Coinbase employees inappropriately viewing account records, along with rumors of data breaches at platforms like Gemini and Kraken, highlights a serious crisis in information security and internal risk control within the crypto industry.

"Ethereum at the Crossroads: To Forge Ahead or Persevere in Struggle?"

Ethereum is currently at the center of a valuation controversy: bulls believe in its solid position as the core infrastructure of Web3, with technical upgrades and macro bullish factors injecting long-term value, and its ecosystem and developer advantages still evident. Bears, on the other hand, point out its weakened value capture ability, negative price impact from the technical roadmap, narrative control shifting to new chains, and ETH/BTC ratio hitting a five-year low. Overall, Ethereum faces a misalignment between technical progress and price lag, still showing long-term potential, but requiring vigilance in the short term against increased competition and market confidence erosion.

"In-Depth Comparison of GMX, Jupiter, and Drift: Who Will Be Solana's DeFi King?"

This article analyzes the main on-chain derivatives protocols of Solana, including GMX-Solana, Jupiter Perps, and Drift, comparing their liquidity, trading volume, capital efficiency, and risk management. Jupiter and Drift show sustained growth but lower capital efficiency, while GMX-Solana exhibits higher capital efficiency but less liquidity. As Solana introduces better functionality and incentives to the protocols, market competition will intensify, with the DEX to CEX derivatives trading volume ratio hitting an all-time high. Solana is poised to benefit from this trend.

Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:

Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia