BlockBeats will curate key industry news of the week (6/9-6/15) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and grasp industry trends.

Important News Recap

Israel Strikes Iran, US Stocks Along With Crypto Market See Sharp Plunge, Over $1 Billion Liquidated in a Single Day

On June 13, Israel launched an attack on Iran, resulting in the assassination of Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Israeli Defense Minister Gantz stated that there would be missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and its civilians in the near future. One hour after the attack, the entire crypto market liquidated $382 million, with the cryptocurrency's total market value evaporating by about $184 billion in 24 hours. Possibly due to a flight-to-quality sentiment, the "gold-pegged token" saw its 24-hour trading volume surpass $410 million. Among them, PAXG had a 24-hour trading volume of $190 million, and XAUT had a 24-hour trading volume of $67.05 million. Israeli sources indicated that the action against Iran could take at least a few days, but it could last more than two weeks, depending on various factors such as Iran's reaction, US involvement, and more. Related Readings: "Over $1 Billion Liquidated, How Does Previous International Conflict Affect Bitcoin?", "Middle East Crisis Becomes Crypto Killer Again, BTC Four-Hour Chart Sees Seven Consecutive Declines"

Musk Takes Initiative to "Backtrack," Regrets Posting Trump-Related Tweets; Trump Responds "May" Mend Relationship with Musk

After a virtual "spat" with Trump, Tesla's stock plummeted, and Musk's net worth shrank by hundreds of billions of dollars. This week, Musk took the initiative to "apologize," stating that he regrets some of the posts he made last week about US President Trump, saying they were too harsh. Trump then said he "may" mend his relationship with Musk, but potential reconciliation is not his current top priority. In an interview, Trump said: "I'm not 'blaming' Musk for breaking our alliance, but I'm 'a little disappointed.' I didn't mean any harm, and I was really surprised by what happened. He criticized a fantastic bill... In fact, I think he's very remorseful for what he said."

ConsenSys Founder: LINEA Token Will Be Launched Soon

On June 14, ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin, in response to a question about whether MetaMask will issue a token, stated, "We have formulated short-term and medium-term plans and strategies, with the core focus on tokenizing existing products and other planned protocols. Web3 protocols cannot do without tokens. The first one to go live will be LINEA, which will be launched soon. More details are coming soon."

X Platform Sudden Large-Scale Account Bans Targeting Crypto Users, Eliza, GMGN Official Twitter Accounts, and Numerous KOL Accounts Suspended

On June 12, the X platform suddenly carried out a large-scale ban targeting Crypto users, resulting in the suspension of accounts belonging to Eliza, GMGN, and numerous MEME KOLs, including Wolfy_XBT @Wolfy_XBT, Wang Xiao Er @brc20niubi, Crypto Wizard @0xCryptoWizard, gake @Ga__ke, GMGN official account @gmgnai, GMGN founder account @haze0x, among others, for reasons that are currently unknown. Crypto KOL AB Kuai.Dong stated on the same day that the wave of bans on the X platform may be due to data retrieval through web scraping of X data and being flagged in a matrix. Related reading: "Twitter's First Collective Ban of the Crypto Community, Did Musk Get Anxious About Memes?"

SEC Officially Scraps Stringent Proposals Targeting DeFi and Custodianship from the Gary Gensler Era

On June 10, according to DeFi Education Fund, the US SEC's crypto working group held a roundtable discussion on "DeFi and the American Spirit" on that day. At the start of the roundtable, SEC Chairman Atkins discussed how decentralized finance (DeFi) aligns with American values: "The American values of economic freedom, private property rights, and innovation are at the core of the decentralized finance (DeFi) movement." Furthermore, Chairman Atkins emphasized that developers of neutral tools should not be held liable for the actions of third parties: "Engineers should not be subject to federal securities laws solely for releasing such software code. Just as a court found it irrational to hold the developer of a self-driving car responsible for the misuse of the car by a third party or a bank robbery—as stated by a court ruling, 'In such a case, people would not sue the car company for facilitating the illegal activity, but rather the individual committing the illegal act.'"

Subsequently, on June 13, the US Securities and Exchange Commission formally withdrew several proposed rules that would have imposed stricter regulations on DeFi and cryptocurrency custody. These proposals were put forth under the leadership of former Chairman Gary Gensler, who spearheaded the agency's "enforcement-focused" approach. The revoked proposals include the proposed amendments to Rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act published in April 2023. This proposal sought to broaden the definition of exchanges, especially bringing decentralized finance platforms under national securities exchange oversight. The proposal faced criticism from various industry stakeholders. Related reading: "SEC Chairman Gives Green Light, Is DeFi Summer About to Return?"

Bloomberg Reports Tencent's Plan to Acquire Nexon, Developer of "Dungeon & Fighter" and "MapleStory"; Rumor Denied the Next Day

On June 12, according to sources cited by Bloomberg, Tencent Holdings Ltd. is exploring a potential acquisition of the South Korean gaming company Nexon. Tencent has reportedly made contact with the family of Nexon's late founder, Kim Jung-ju, to discuss the acquisition possibility. It is reported that the Kim family is currently consulting with advisors and evaluating various options. Sources state that it is currently unclear how willing NXC is to sell its stake in Nexon, and there is no guarantee that Tencent's negotiations will result in a deal. The specific deal structure has also not been finalized. Tencent representatives did not respond to requests for comments, and both Nexon and NXC declined to comment. Following this news, the in-game token NXPC of "MapleStory" surged over 11% briefly. The next day, a source close to Tencent revealed that "Tencent has not contacted the founder's family for transaction discussions and has not considered acquiring Nexon."

Former AEX Exchange Platform Member: AEX Founder Huang Tianwei Arrested in Thailand

On June 12, according to former AEX (An Yins) exchange platform member Deng Chaohua, AEX founder Huang Tianwei has been arrested at the Mae Sai District Police Station in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Earlier reports indicated that on July 14, 2022, the cryptocurrency exchange platform AEX exit-scammed, disabled withdrawals, citing an inability to meet user withdrawal demands due to short-term liquidity issues. On the same day, the AEX official announcement stated, "At the request of the Guangxi police, platform-related services will be suspended on July 17, 2022, at 15:32 (UTC+8) to fully cooperate with the police investigation. Please wait for further announcements from the police."

Cryptocurrency Investor Loses 50 Million Yuan Worth of Assets Overnight Using Cold Wallet Purchased on Douyin

On June 14, according to SlowMist CISO 23pds, SlowMist received an urgent plea last night as a certain investor's cold wallet containing 50 million yuan worth of cryptocurrency was emptied in a single night. It is reported that the investor's "cold wallet" was purchased through Douyin, and the private key was stolen at the moment of generation, with the massive assets washed away through Huibang within a few hours. 23pds warned that investors purchasing cold wallets must do so through official channels, as so-called "brand new unopened," "special price clearance" cold wallets found online are 99% likely to be fake and may have been tampered with.

"ETH MicroStrategy" SharpLink Gaming Submits Filings to SEC Regarding "PIPE Investors Selling Shares," Stock Price Plummets Around 70% After Hours

On June 13, SharpLink Gaming (SBET), a Nasdaq-listed company seeking an Ethereum reserve strategy, saw a drop of approximately 70% in after-hours trading following the submission of new filings to the U.S. SEC. The company submitted an S-3ASR registration statement, allowing for the resale of up to 58,699,760 shares of stock related to its Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) financing by over 100 shareholders. The market initially thought this filing indicated that PIPE investors had sold off shares. However, Chairman of the Board Joseph Lubin posted on X platform stating that the market "misinterpreted" the S-3 document, which was merely a registration of potential resale of pre-registered shares. This is a standard procedure in the traditional finance realm after a PIPE transaction and does not represent actual selling. Earlier this month, the company raised $450 million through PIPE financing, with investors including ConsenSys, Galaxy, and Pantera Capital, among many others, and the funds raised will be used to acquire ETH as part of its reserve assets. Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin also joined the company as Chairman of the Board. On the same day, SharpLink Gaming officially spent $463 million to buy 176,271 ETH, becoming the company with the largest Ethereum holding among publicly traded companies. Related Read: "The Capital Game Behind a 100% Premium: Is SharpLink's ETH Gamble Just Beginning?"

SEC Releases Key Signal: Solana ETF Back on Agenda

On June 11, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued notices to multiple institutions planning to issue a Solana spot ETF, requesting them to resubmit revised S-1 filings within 7 days, with a focus on wording amendments related to the "in-kind redemption mechanism" and "staking terms." This move was seen by the market as a clear sign of a regulatory shift in stance, quickly igniting bullish sentiment. Subsequently, the SOL price surged, breaking through $165 in the short term, with a daily gain reaching 5% at one point.

Cardano Founder Proposes Swapping $100 Million Worth of ADA for BTC and Stablecoin

On June 13, according to CoinDesk, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson proposed in a livestream to leverage $100 million worth of ADA from the treasury and exchange it for Bitcoin and stablecoins (USDM, USDA) to increase the on-chain stablecoin percentage and support the DeFi ecosystem. Charles Hoskinson stated that this move would not impact the ADA market and countered liquidity concerns. Currently, Cardano's on-chain stablecoins account for only about 10% of the TVL, far below the scale of Solana's stablecoin ecosystem. There is a divergence between this proposal and the viewpoint of Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard, who previously emphasized that "TVL is not a key metric."

Walmart and Amazon Exploring Issuance of Their Own Stablecoins

On June 13, as reported by the WSJ, some of the world's largest retailers are exploring how to issue or use stablecoins, which could move a significant amount of their cash and card transactions outside the traditional financial system, saving them billions of dollars in fees annually. According to sources familiar with the matter, retail giants like Walmart and Amazon have recently been researching whether to issue their own stablecoins. The issuance of corporate-backed cryptocurrency may divert payment activities away from banks and the traditional financial system.

Trump Immigration "Gold Card" Priced at $5 Million, with Over 15,000 People on Waitlist

On June 12, Trump stated on TruthSocial that registration for the Immigration "Gold Card" has opened, priced at $5 million. Previously, on February 26, Trump announced that he was launching a plan to provide a residency and citizenship pathway for investors paying $5 million, offering a new route for legal immigration while cracking down on undocumented immigrants. Trump stated, "This program, known as the 'Gold Card,' does not require approval from Congress. It will be priced at about $5 million and will give you green card privileges." Currently, over 15,000 people have joined the waitlist for this gold card.

U.S. Senate Passes "GENIUS Stablecoin Act" Procedural Vote

On June 12, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday local time passed a procedural vote on the "GENIUS Stablecoin Act" (the "Guidance and Enhanced National Security through Innovations in U.S. Stablecoin Act") by a vote of 68 to 30, initiating full Senate debate and final Senate vote on the bill, which if passed in the final Senate vote will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration. If the bill is ultimately passed, it will become the first comprehensive federal legislation on cryptocurrency in the United States, with the core goal of providing a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoin regulation.

Ant Group to Apply for Stablecoin Licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore; Vice President Responds: Have Had Multiple Rounds of Communication with Regulators

On June 12, according to Bloomberg, Ant Group's international arm is planning to apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore. Sources familiar with the matter said that Ant International, headquartered in Singapore, will immediately apply for a stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong once Hong Kong's "Stablecoin Issuer Regime" takes effect in August. The company also plans to seek a license in Luxembourg. The move is aimed at strengthening the company's blockchain business to support its cross-border payment and fund management services. They stated that Ant Group processed over $1 trillion in global transactions last year, with one-third of that being processed by its blockchain-based Whale platform. On the same day, Ant Group's Vice President and President of Ant Financial's Blockchain business, Bian Zhuoqun, revealed in an interview with reporters that Ant Financial has initiated the application for a Hong Kong stablecoin license and has had multiple rounds of communication with regulators. Ant Group concept stocks in the Hong Kong stock market surged significantly that day, with AMTD (00376.HK) soaring 98%, Lion Rock Group (02562.HK) rising nearly 15%, and Bright Smart Securities (01428.HK) rising over 12.5%.

Trump's Birthday Grand Parade to be Held this Saturday, "No Kings" Protests Erupt Simultaneously in 2000 Cities Across the U.S.

On June 14, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army's establishment, Trump's 79th birthday, and Flag Day in the United States. Trump previously stated that he would "celebrate big" on this day with a large-scale parade, surpassing the World Cup and the Olympics in scale. The Pentagon stated that the cost of this parade could be as high as $45 million. Meanwhile, Trump's opponents also staged large-scale protest activities on the same day. Progressive groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Federation of Teachers, Planned Parenthood, and Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign office, held peaceful protest events in over 2,000 locations across the U.S. These demonstrations were dubbed "No Kings Day" and aimed to oppose what the organizers called Trump's autocratic actions.

xAI Announces Partnership with Polymarket to Bring GROK Analysis into Market Prediction

On June 11, xAI, a company under Musk's umbrella, announced a partnership with the prediction market Polymarket to combine market prediction with X data and GROK analysis. Related reading: "X Collaborates with Polymarket, Bringing Musk Closer to 'Everything App'"

Coinbase to Integrate Base Network DEX into Main Application and Launch Perpetual Contracts

On June 13, according to market reports, Coinbase will integrate the decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Base Network into its main application, enabling access to hundreds of on-chain assets. On the same day, Coinbase announced the launch of perpetual contracts in the United States. Related reading: "Coinbase Aiming to Become the 'American Binance'", "Coinbase Makes a Big Move: 4% Bitcoin Cashback Credit Card + U.S. Regulatory Perpetual Contracts"

Founder of Web3 Security Company Claims Hangzhou Public Security Bureau Conducted Special Action on Blockchain Practitioners; Founder of Nano Labs Kong Jianping Denies Rumors

On June 10, Mirror Tang, the founder of the Web3 security company Salus, tweeted that Hangzhou had already had cryptocurrency industry practitioners who were verbally notified by the police to go to the police station. The interviewees were asked to bring laptops and were required to cooperate on-site to complete data collection, information recovery, and note-taking. The interviewees claimed that the collection devices used by the police recovered chat records from Telegram and Slack software that had been uninstalled. This news briefly caused panic among crypto users, but many also questioned the veracity of the news.

Jack Kong, founder of Nano Labs, posted on social media stating, "To the best of my knowledge, neither Zhejiang nor Hangzhou have taken any special actions against blockchain industry practitioners, and the public security departments have not taken any action, the cases involved may be related to anti-fraud." Earlier, there were community rumors that the Hangzhou police were systematically surveying cryptocurrency practitioners.

Ethereum Developer and Foundation Board Member Clash, EF Accused of Offering $5 Million to Geth Team for Detachment

On June 11, Ethereum developer Péter Szilágyi and Ethereum Foundation joint executive director Tomasz Stańczak clashed. Szilágyi stated that as a key member of the Geth (Go Ethereum Ethereum's main client software) development team, the Foundation had proposed several times in the past to offer $5 million to the Geth team for them to become independent from the Foundation, but Szilágyi and his team members rejected this proposal, choosing to continue within the Foundation. Previously, the Ethereum Foundation had provided $5 million in unconditional funding support to Parity (another Ethereum client development company) to ensure the Ethereum network has multiple clients, reducing reliance on Geth, indicating the Foundation's long-standing intention to decentralize client development responsibility. Ethereum Foundation joint executive director Tomasz Stańczak clarified this by stating, "There's no plan to remove Geth. It's a great client software and a talented team contributing to protocol security. We will maintain and support Geth." Related Read: "Horse Racing, Infighting, Layoffs: Peeking into the Power Struggle of the Ethereum Core Circle"

Trident Announces Up to $5 Billion XRP Treasury Funding Plan and Appoints Chaince Securities LLC as Strategic Advisor

On June 12, according to market sources, Trident announced an up to $5 billion XRP treasury funding plan and appointed Chaince Securities LLC as a strategic advisor. Related Read: "After Winning a $100 Million Lawsuit, XRP Doesn't Want to Be a 'Cult Coin' Anymore"

CLARITY Act Amendment "Banning Trump from Profiting from Cryptocurrency Assets" Rejected

On June 11, the U.S. digital asset market clarity bill, the "CLARITY Act," was under review by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and Agriculture Committee, with Amendment #2 "Banning President Trump and his family from profiting from trading or promoting cryptocurrency assets" being rejected. Chairman Thompson stated that this is not the place to discuss presidential ethics. Other reviewed amendments included: Amendment #1 "Completely Reauthorize CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission)" was rejected; Amendment #6 "To enable CFTC to collect more fees from market participants" was passed.

LD Capital Founder JackYi Reiterates Bullish Outlook on ETH, Trend Research Holdings 142,000 Coins

On June 10, LD Capital founder JackYi once again emphasized his strong bullish view on Ethereum and its ecosystem tokens. He stated that he currently holds 100,000 ETH in long call options. The reasons he believes the Ethereum ecosystem is undervalued include: undervaluation of the ETH token itself, optimism for the ETH/BTC exchange rate rebound during the bull market; projects with real income, users, and products are the first to benefit from the influx of traditional capital once crypto policies are relaxed; Wall Street funds have recently been flowing into Ethereum for positions. LD Capital's Trend Research openly supports ETH, currently holding 142,000 ETH coins with an unrealized profit of $42.35 million. Read more: "Trend Research: Why We Are Bullish on ETH on the Eve of the Surge"

Binance Alpha to Launch Multiple Airdrops and TGE Projects This Week, Increasing Points Threshold and Claim Rules

Details for this week are as follows:

June 9

· Points ≥236 can claim 800 SKATE airdrop with a deduction of 15 points;

· Points ≥198 can claim 61 SERAPH airdrop without consuming points.

June 10

· Points ≥236 can claim 2,500 HOME (Defi App) airdrop with a deduction of 15 points;

· Points ≥239 can claim 400 RESOLV airdrop with a deduction of 15 points;

June 11

· Points ≥229 can participate in the MEET48 TGE with a deduction of 15 points.

June 12

Points ≥237 can claim 8 PUNDIAI (PUNDI AI) airdrop with a deduction of 15 points.

June 13

· Points ≥247 can claim 372 ROAM airdrop, available at 21:00 (UTC+8), with a deduction of 15 points;

June 14

· Points ≥245 can claim 13,862 DEGEN airdrop tokens, minus 15 points.

Binance Alpha Finance Center Launches; and Updates Some Airdrop Rules

On June 11, according to an official announcement, Binance Wallet officially launched the Binance Alpha Finance Center. Users can provide liquidity to eligible Binance Alpha token pools through this feature, earn annualized yield rewards, and receive more Binance Alpha points. These points will enhance user participation in wallet-exclusive activities, such as Token Generation Events (TGEs) and airdrop eligibility. On the same day, Binance released qualification details for the Alpha Trading Competition: only purchases using Alpha tokens or spot tokens are considered valid. On the 14th, Binance posted on social media that starting on June 19, 2025, the Binance Alpha airdrop will be distributed in two phases: Phase 1: Users who meet the criteria (X) can claim priority rewards, and everyone is eligible; Phase 2: The threshold is lowered to Y (Y < X), first come, first served, until the prize pool is depleted or the event ends.

Mint LABUBU Fetches a Sky-High Price of 1.08 Million RMB, Same-named Meme Surges Over 50% on the Same Day; Yicai Issues a Warning about Speculative Risks

On June 10, according to official data from Yongle Auction, the globally unique mint LABUBU appeared at the Yongle 2025 Spring Auction with a hammer price of 1.08 million RMB, and has now closed. The LABUBU measures 131cm in height, is made of PVC, and has a mint color. On the same day, the Solana ecosystem meme coin LABUBU, based on the Bubble Mart trendy toy IP, saw its market cap surpass 39 million USD, with a 24-hour surge of 58.87%.

On the evening of the 12th, Yicai published an article titled "The Crypto Circle Sets Its Sights on LABUBU, Illegal Speculation Reveals Enormous Risks behind the 'Game'." The article pointed out that a recent virtual currency named "LABUBU," leveraging the popularity of trendy toys IP, quietly went online and was listed on multiple exchanges. At the beginning of the launch, the price of this virtual currency sharply rose, but then experienced a significant decline. The article also indicated that the LABUBU coin was not officially issued by Bubble Mart but was launched by a group of community-driven developers. Industry experts warn that the introduction of LABUBU coin is a typical speculative behavior in the crypto world, and its significant price volatility fully exposes the high investment risk behind it. Most of these projects are worthless, essentially scams and pyramid schemes.

Michelle Bowman Sworn In as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board

On June 10, according to the official announcement of the Federal Reserve, Michelle Bowman was sworn in as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board on Monday. The swearing-in ceremony was hosted by Federal Reserve Chair Powell in the Board's press room. Bowman was nominated by Trump on March 24, 2025, for this position and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 4. Her term as Vice Chair for Supervision will end on June 9, 2029, while her term as a board member will continue until January 31, 2034. Related article: "New Regulatory Chief Takes Office at the Fed, Is the Last Hawkish Fortress About to Weaken?"

The Federal Reserve Appoints Michael Horowitz as New Inspector General, Responsible for Internal Oversight

On June 9, the Federal Reserve recently announced that Michael Horowitz will serve as the new Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Mark Bialek, who has held the position since 2011 and retired in April this year. As the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve, he is also responsible for independently overseeing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). His previous role was Inspector General (IG) at the Department of Justice. The Federal Reserve's Inspector General is selected by the chair, which is unusual among government oversight agencies. Some senators believe that this arrangement prevents the Inspector General from truly overseeing the Federal Reserve and have proposed legislation requiring the Inspector General to be selected by the President and then confirmed by the Senate. Following the Federal Reserve's insider trading scandal, the Federal Reserve Inspector General has become a focus of public attention, as the office is responsible for assessing whether the trading activities of some Fed officials meet ethical standards.

Pakistan Plans to Channel Surplus Electricity Into Bitcoin Mining and AI

On June 13, according to reports, Pakistan is utilizing 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence to reduce waste and drive technological development. As of March 2025, Pakistan's installed generation capacity is 46,600 megawatts, a slight increase from the previous year. Nearly 14% of the installed capacity is idle, especially during off-peak periods in winter when demand may drop to 12,000 megawatts. Pakistan aims to convert the unused electricity from underutilized thermal power plants into a source of income through Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. Pakistan's Bitcoin mining plan will kick off in 2025, allocating 2,000 megawatts of power to mining and AI data centers.

This Week's Major Fundings: Turnkey, Noah, Hypernative, Try Your Best, OneBalance, Yupp

On June 9, cryptocurrency wallet infrastructure company Turnkey completed a $30 million Series B funding round, led by Bain Capital Crypto. Founded by former Coinbase employees Bryce Ferguson and Jack Kearney, Turnkey aims to help developers build user-friendly wallets using APIs.

On the 10th, according to Fortune, stablecoin startup Noah raised $22 million in funding, with this round led by the European venture capital firm LocalGlobe. Thijn Lamers, former executive of fintech giant Adyen, joined as co-founder and president.

On the 10th, according to Axios, Web3 security company Hypernative completed a $40 million Series B financing round, led by Ten Eleven Ventures and Ballistic Ventures. Hypernative had previously completed a $16 million Series A financing round in September 2024.

On the 11th, blockchain-based loyalty platform Try Your Best (TYB) completed an $11 million Series A financing round, with Offline Ventures and Strobe Ventures co-leading. Consumers on TYB can participate in gamified challenges, win digital collectibles, and have blockchain-based loyalty profiles.

On the 12th, the Trusted Account Framework project OneBalance completed a $20 million financing round, led by Cyber Fund and Blockchain Capital. The project has raised a total of $25 million in funding.

On the 13th, Yupp completed a $33 million seed financing round, led by a16z. The Yupp platform allows users to compare various AI models for free, input prompts to view multiple AI-generated responses side by side, choose the best result to form a "preference data packet," which is used for post-training and evaluation of AI models.

This Week's Popular Articles

"Uncovering Bullish: Parent Company Acquires 160,000 BTC, Earns Billions in 6 Years"

Block.one, which once created EOS and raised $4.2 billion, is now betting on the new trading platform Bullish to re-enter the cryptocurrency arena and has already secretly submitted an IPO application, aiming for a compliant listing. Backed by a huge asset base and a Wall Street background, Bullish deviates from the EOS technical roadmap, shifts towards a US-friendly stance, embraces USDC regulation, and becomes the centralized exchange (CEX) that the crypto community "most wants to become legitimate." Despite facing challenges on the path to listing and a rift with the EOS community, Bullish, with over 160,000 BTC in reserve and a clear compliance strategy, could become the next "darling" to traverse bull and bear markets, while Block.one completes its transformation from a technology idealist to a crypto financial capitalist through holdings and capital deployment.

"Twitter's First Collective Ban on the Crypto Community, Did Musk Lose His Patience with Memes?"

The X Platform recently banned multiple cryptocurrency-related accounts, including the official accounts of GMGN, Eliza, and their founders, sparking widespread community attention. While some suggest that the bans are related to specific meme or bot behavior, there is a lack of concrete evidence. The X platform's new algorithm, Grok, may result in collective bans due to user reports, content patterns, or misjudgments, reflecting the platform's content governance moving towards automation and centralization. This phenomenon evokes memories of Weibo's early crackdown on the crypto community and has also brought decentralized social platforms like Farcaster back into the spotlight. Faced with increasingly stringent platform policies, crypto content creators urgently need to enhance their risk awareness and account security.

"Horse Racing, Internal Strife, Layoffs: Peering into the Power Struggle of the Ethereum Core Circle"

The conflict between Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi and the Foundation has escalated significantly. The root cause is the long-term marginalization of the Geth team's resources, with the Foundation funding the establishment of a "second Geth team" within Nethermind without prior notification, ultimately leading to Szilágyi's dismissal. The event exposes a deep rift in Ethereum's internal governance: while striving for multi-client security, there has been a disregard for Geth's long-standing core role and contributions, prompting a profound reflection within the community on power distribution, fairness, and decentralization ideals. As Foundation reforms and treasury restructuring progress, this technical and governance conflict may continue to escalate.

"Coinbase Aims to Become the 'U.S. Binance'"

In a single day, Coinbase made multiple significant updates: not only integrating a DEX on the Base chain into its main application but also partnering with Shopify to open USDC payment channels in 34 countries globally. Additionally, Coinbase announced the launch of CFTC-regulated 24/7 perpetual contracts in the U.S. and the issuance of a crypto credit card in collaboration with American Express. These actions indicate that Coinbase is bridging CeFi and DeFi, online and offline, retail and institutional, in a full compliance ecosystem loop. Coinbase aims to compete with Binance and OKX positively in multiple fields such as stablecoin payments, derivatives trading, and on-chain infrastructure.

"TON, Unnoticed by All, Is Making a Comeback Through NFTs"

After Telegram upgraded its "Gift" to an NFT with wearable and transactional functions on the TON chain, it ignited a market frenzy, with daily trading volume surpassing that of Ethereum at one point. This was driven by factors such as official issuance, deep integration into social scenarios, and the convenience of off-chain transactions, forming a completely different "QQ Show-style" gameplay compared to traditional NFTs. The TON NFT market quickly broke through based on Telegram's native users, and the on-chain and off-chain ecosystems gradually merged, becoming one of the most representative examples of NFT practicality trends.

"KTA Conspiracy Group Exposed, Leading to Google's Former CEO Schmidt's Extramarital History"

The Keeta project recently faced a trust crisis due to allegations of testnet falsification, a patched-together whitepaper, and ineffective SDK, causing its token $KTA to plummet by 20%. On-chain detective ZachXBT further pointed out doubts about its technical capabilities and the absurd token issuance model, triggering public opinion. Keeta had previously claimed to receive investment from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, but it was actually invested by the emotionally and commercially intertwined company Steel Perlot, which has now fully shut down due to financial collapse. The community's doubts about Keeta's endorsement falsification, manipulation, and valuation bubble continue to escalate, and if the so-called "million TPS" actual test falls short of expectations, Keeta may end up completely as a vaporware project.

"After Settling $100 Million Lawsuit, XRP Doesn't Want to Be a 'Cult Coin' Anymore"

Despite being long seen as an "old-school project," XRP is quietly completing a structural transformation from a payment chain to a multi-tier on-chain financial platform. More and more institutions view it as a compliant, stable reserve asset integrated into their financial systems. Trident's latest announcement of a $500 million XRP treasury plan is a testament to this shift. Ecologically, XRPL is gradually expanding its usage scenarios to adapt to institutions and developers through stablecoins, EVM sidechains, and the "XRPFi" financial protocol, quietly establishing a new value foundation in the current lack of emotional hype.

"Sahara AI's Coin Launch Imminent, How Have the 'InfoFi Sensations' Performed After TGE?"

With its strong financial background and decentralized AI infrastructure positioning, Sahara AI has become a focal point in the recent infoFi craze and will conduct a community public sale on Buildpad. In the era of "Mindshare" driven by Kaito, on-chain social activity has become a key metric influencing airdrop distribution and market performance. Several projects (such as Huma, LOUD, Story, Berachain, Wayfinder, Initia) are guiding user participation through Yap-to-Earn models to achieve both community growth and market hype. This new model not only increases community engagement but also seeks to break the consensus issues faced by traditional VC projects.

"Acquiring Privy, Stripe Aims to Enter the Stablecoin Arena as Jupiter"

As regulatory attitudes warm and infrastructure gradually matures, stablecoins are quietly becoming a core component of the next-generation payment network. This article focuses on the latest strategic move by payment giant Stripe—from reinitiating crypto payments, acquiring Bridge and Privy, to building a stablecoin "full stack" that covers both front-end wallets and back-end settlement. This is not just a technical iteration but Stripe's collective bet on the future of programmable money. It sends a significant signal: the mainstream adoption of stablecoins may not originate from the crypto-native sector but rather be driven by traditional tech giants like Stripe.

"Instant $500 Million Allocation Used Up, Whale Spends 34 ETH on Gas Fees, Did You Register on Plasma's 'ICO Platform' Echo?"

The Echo platform has launched a new product called Sonar, attempting to revive a compliant version of the "ICO model," providing project teams with a customizable, decentralized, compliant token sale tool. The inaugural project, Plasma, supported by Tether, saw its $500 million allocation sell out quickly, attracting significant market attention. Sonar supports multi-chain deployment and flexible sales rules, combined with the Echo community identity system, aiming to establish direct contact between project teams and investors, challenging the current state of information silos and low participation under the existing LaunchPad model. Against the backdrop of current regulatory warmth and the resurgence of stablecoin hype, Sonar is poised to trigger a wave of decentralized fundraising innovation.

"24-Hour Reversal: Musk Extends Olive Branch Just as Trump Declares 'Relationship Ended'"

Musk and Trump recently had a public falling-out due to the "Build Back Better Act," causing a sudden downturn in their relationship. The act may weaken Tesla's carbon credit profit, leading to Musk's dissatisfaction and a temporary $150 billion market cap loss for Tesla. Although both sides initially signaled a reconciliation during this period, Trump later warned Musk that supporting the Democratic Party would "come at a cost," declaring the relationship over. The dispute between the two has drawn responses from the political, business, and even former Russian president spheres. The latest developments show that the two have once again joined forces to speak out over the California unrest, with Musk also hinting at goodwill through a retweet, suggesting he still stands with the Republican camp, with future directions depending on the final outcome of the act.

"In 2018, Betting on Circle, How Did Web2 Investor Lei Ming Pick the Stablecoin Unicorn?"

Circle successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange as the "world's first stablecoin stock," with a market value soaring to $24 billion at one point. Early investor Lei Ming benefited greatly from his judgment on "licensing capabilities" and the potential of blockchain. Lei believes that investment should return to its essence, closely following the beta of the times. Today, AI, robots, and globalization are emerging as new trends. As the founding partner of Chasing Capital, he is leveraging the Chasing ecosystem to build globally competitive deep tech projects, promoting the "China to Global" strategy. Emphasizing both financial returns and ecosystem synergy, he is committed to building a high-deterministic, high-growth fund system in the new era.

"Upbit's Golden Age, Perhaps Just Beginning"

Currently, South Korea is promoting the legalization of the Korean won stablecoin and leveraged trading, with digital asset taxation about to be implemented. Despite strict regulations, there is a strong demand for leveraged trading, and trading volume is expected to grow significantly. Top government support for encryption is driving the development of the spot leverage system, but derivatives remain restricted. Play-to-Earn and Web3 game regulations remain stringent, trust in the industry is damaged, and major companies are turning to overseas markets. Upbit and Bithumb have become key targets for overseas projects, and the opening of leverage will trigger a new round of market competition.

"Plasma, Tether's Trillion-Dollar Stablecoin Ambition"

Plasma is a blockchain network designed for stablecoins, focusing on "zero-fee transfers," aiming to become the standard global digital dollar payment infrastructure. By not supporting general smart contracts and focusing on stablecoin transactions, the network achieves higher throughput, lower latency, security close to Bitcoin, and does not charge Gas fees. Compared to Ethereum and Tron, Plasma has optimized the user experience to the extreme, especially suitable for high-frequency, low-value scenarios such as cross-border payments, micropayments, and B2B trade, poised to handle future large-scale stablecoin transactions. Its economic model draws on Web2 platforms' free expansion strategy, capturing value through liquidity aggregation, DeFi applications, MEV extraction, and other methods. As U.S. stablecoin legislation (such as the GENIUS Act) gradually clarifies, Plasma, as a compliance-friendly foundational infrastructure, is poised to become a key enabler of global expansion for the digital dollar.

"Virtuals Land on Ethereum, EF Exec Joins AI Ventures"

I.R.I.S, developed by Nethermind and driven by Ethereum Foundation's current Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak, is an AI-driven contract security intelligence agent. Through a partnership with Virtuals Protocol, it has engaged in deep collaboration with Ethereum in the direction of tokenized intelligent agents for the first time. The project focuses on smart contract scanning, security education, and vulnerability analysis, marking Ethereum's formal embrace of AI agents and attempting to integrate them into the narrative. As the Ethereum ecosystem introduces a mature AI tokenomic system through Virtuals, the agent's participation, profitability, and composability are significantly enhanced, providing a path for Ethereum to build a new generation of AI-native applications or become a key entry point for Ethereum's next strong narrative.

"Reassessing Ethereum: What are the Bullish Reasons for ETH Now?"

Ethereum has recently been lagging behind BTC and Solana in price performance. The core reasons include the unmet expectations in the Layer 2 strategy, slow progress on the roadmap, lagging development efficiency, and the community's long-standing adherence to the idealistic principle of decentralization. With increasing competitive pressure, the foundation is shifting towards a more pragmatic Layer 1 scaling direction, undergoing organizational restructuring and layoffs, signaling reform. The guest speakers believe that Ethereum's technical foundation and developer ecosystem still have strong competitiveness, but if it fails to push for engineering optimizations and user-centric reforms more aggressively, it may lose its long-term leadership advantage. Whether to increase positions in the future will depend on the foundation's improvement in decision-making efficiency, engineering progress, and community feedback mechanisms.

"After KTA's 10x Surge in January, These Three Concepts Are Particularly Hot in the Base Ecosystem"

The hot listing of Circle ignited the stablecoin concept, with Base Chain as its partner becoming the focus of institutional attention. Several projects within the ecosystem have rapidly emerged: Keeta focusing on payments and compliance, Mamo and Giza providing automated stablecoin yield strategies, Noice and QRCOIN leading social and attention-based economic innovations, BasisOS and JesseXBT showcasing the new possibilities of AI-driven DeFi and digital personalities. These projects collectively reflect that Base is rapidly developing towards compliant finance, AI infrastructure, and large-scale application directions, becoming a key landing point for the migration from Web2 to Web3.

"New Regulatory Chief Joins Fed, Is the Last Hawkish Bastion Crumbling?"

Michelle Bowman has assumed the role of Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, signaling a potential significant shift in the Fed's stance on crypto and stablecoin regulation. She advocates for fostering innovation while ensuring the safety and soundness of banks, opposing using regulation to stifle legitimate businesses. Bowman has raised questions about CBDCs and unclear stablecoin rules. Her pragmatic approach contrasts with her predecessor's more hardline style and may usher in a clearer and more open policy environment for stablecoin issuance and crypto company access.

"Joe Lubin: Ethereum's 'Silent Hand'"

Joe Lubin transitioned from a Goldman Sachs executive to a co-founder of Ethereum, using systematic engineering thinking to build ConsenSys. He developed key Ethereum infrastructure components, including MetaMask and Infura, and promoted the idea of "progressive decentralization." After winning an SEC lawsuit, he led SharpLink Gaming to invest $425 million to build an ETH treasury and plans to collaborate with sovereign wealth funds to construct national financial infrastructure, aiming to establish Ethereum as the underlying global financial system and advance the decentralized Web3 vision.

"Roles in the Cryptocurrency Dark Forest"

In the ongoing narrative of the cryptocurrency market's expansion, tokens have evolved beyond just vessels of technological or financial innovation. They have become chips in a structural game. From exchanges, VCs, and KOLs to communities, airdrop players, and retail investors, everyone has been dragged into a "who will be the ultimate bag holder" game. This article does not seek to deny the potential of the underlying technology but rather reveals the hidden truths in the current token issuance and circulation mechanisms: how they operate like a multi-level marketing scheme and systematically concentrate benefits upward.

"With $500 Million Lightning Exhausted, Tether-Backed Plasma to Become Bitcoin's Version of 'SWIFT'?"

Plasma is a financial infrastructure chain backed by Tether, specially designed for the Bitcoin ecosystem, integrating the three major technological features of stablecoin, sidechain, and privacy. It supports native USDT, permissionless BTC collateralized borrowing and lending, and privacy protection. Gas can be paid with USDT/BTC and is positioned as a stablecoin-driven settlement layer. Its design aims to serve the needs of the new generation of BTCFi while benchmarking the Circle payment network, bridging the fiat withdrawal channels between traditional banks and the crypto system, becoming the core asset-bearing platform in the Tether ecosystem.

"USDC vs USDT: The Truth Behind the Misunderstood 'Species Competition' of Stablecoins"

Since Circle's listing announcement, an invisible boundary in the stablecoin market has been officially drawn: USDC and USDT have started to follow two different development paths. USDC has penetrated the Western financial system with compliance and programmability, becoming a "licensed dollar" in the fintech scene, while USDT relies on strong liquidity and accessibility to become a "survival tool" in emerging markets to evade inflation and capital control. The differentiation between the two reflects the value demand hierarchy of stablecoin users in different markets: Western users value innovation and efficiency, while emerging market users focus more on permissionlessness, low cost, and fund security, thus redefining the true core value of stablecoins in different regions.

"AI Shitcoin Becomes the New Darling of Publicly Listed Companies? Some Go All-In, Some Dip Their Toes"

More and more small-cap publicly listed companies are copying MicroStrategy's hodl strategy, but they are no longer limited to Bitcoin. Instead, they are starting to lever up on FET, TAO, and other AI shitcoins, hoping to achieve a stock price leap through narrative transformation and capital boost. Behind this game are project interest alignment, liquidity provider promotion, as well as regulatory and financial double risks. While it may spark short-term market enthusiasm, the long-term viability requires vigilance against the narrative collapse and the backlash of sharp price fluctuations.

"Coinbase Research Report: Three Key Themes in the Crypto Market in the Second Half of 2025"

Against the backdrop of economic growth, rising expectations of a Fed rate cut, and gradually clarified regulatory legislation, the crypto market in the second half of 2025 is expected to continue its rebound trend. The trend of enterprises adopting crypto assets will continue to strengthen, although high-leverage coin purchases may pose systemic risks in the medium to long term. Bitcoin still has upside potential due to its store of value attribute, while shitcoins' performance will be more dependent on ETF advancements, individual narratives, and implementation capabilities.

"Marc Andreessen: The 'Operator' of White House Tech Power"

As Musk and Trump parted ways, another Silicon Valley mogul, Marc Andreessen, is seizing the opportunity to deepen his presence in the heart of Washington. Leveraging a16z's capital structure and network, he is embedding defense technology, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence into the government's power structure. Feeling shocked by the Biden administration's neglect and regulatory stance, Andreessen switched to the Trump camp. Not only were several former a16z executives appointed to key positions, but related companies also quickly gained policy benefits and huge contracts. His influence is expanding in an almost alliance-like manner, marking a new stage of tech capital's penetration into U.S. policy-making. However, it has also raised concerns about excessive concentration of power and the risks of a "betting on Trump" style gamble.

"a16z on the Second Half of AI+Crypto: Identity Verification, Infrastructure, and New Economic Models"

With Generative AI and blockchain technology accelerating their integration, the Internet is undergoing a profound restructuring at both the economic and architectural levels. This article systematically outlines 11 major directions where AI intersects with crypto, including on-chain identity and context shifting, decentralized Proof-of-Influence Network (DePIN), inter-agent payments and collaborative protocols, PoP (Proof of Personhood), vibe-programmed cross-app synchronization, micro-payment-driven revenue sharing mechanisms, blockchain-based IP registration systems, AI crawler paywalls, more privacy-focused advertising models, and user-controlled AI companions. These directions collectively reveal a trend: decentralization is not only a technical counterbalance to centralized AI platforms but also a necessary economic and trust infrastructure for building a more equitable and open digital world.

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