This Week in Review | Ethereum Foundation Chairman and Executive Director Changes; SEC Settles Lawsuits with Multiple Crypto Companies
BlockBeats will summarize the key industry news of the week (2.24-3.2) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and grasp industry trends.
Important News Recap
This Week Crypto Market Experienced a Significant Pullback, Cryptocurrency Market Cap Dropped Below $3 Trillion
This week, possibly influenced by a series of hacking incidents and Trump's tariff imposition, the crypto market saw a significant pullback, with the cryptocurrency market cap falling below $3 trillion. On February 28, Bitcoin dropped below $79,000 with a 24-hour decline of 8.64%; Ethereum dropped below $2,100, triggering a surge in liquidation across the network, mostly from long positions. The situation in the US stock market is also concerning. Early on the 28th, the combined market value of the "Big Seven" in the US stock market evaporated by about $550 billion. Among them, Nvidia fell more than 8%, shrinking its market value by over $270 billion, marking its largest single-day market value loss since January 27. Related Read: "Bitcoin Plunges 20% in 30 Days, What Are the Reasons and What Is the Future Trend?"
Bybit Releases Midterm Investigation Report, Revealing $1.5 Billion Theft Due to a Safe Infrastructure Vulnerability
On February 26, Bybit officially released a midterm report on the $1.5 billion theft incident (provided by Sygnia), stating that the theft was due to a Safe infrastructure vulnerability, with no abnormalities found in Bybit's related infrastructure. On the same day, Safe posted on social media stating that the attack on Bybit was achieved by compromising Safe{Wallet} developers' devices, leading to malicious transactions disguised as legitimate trades being submitted. External security researchers found no vulnerabilities in the Safe smart contract or in the frontend and service source code. The Safe{Wallet} frontend is currently operational and has taken additional security measures. However, users need to be extra cautious and vigilant when signing transactions.
The next day, Binance founder CZ posted saying that the event report released by Safe uses vague language to cover up the issue. After reading it, there are more questions than answers, some of the questions that come to mind for now include: · What does "compromising Safe { Wallet } developer machine" mean? How did they compromise this specific machine? Was it social engineering, malware, etc.? · How did the developer machine access the "Bybit-operated account"? Was some code deployed directly from this developer machine to prod? · How did they deceive the Ledger verification step amongst multiple signers? Was it blind signing? Or did the signers fail to validate correctly? · Is the $1.4 billion the largest address managed by Safe? Why did they not target others? · What can other "self-custodial, multi-signature" wallet providers and users learn from this incident? Related Read: "Top-tier Crypto Infrastructure Safe Attacked by North Korean Hackers, How Critical Is It to Crypto?"
Bybit Hacker Successfully Laundered 50% of Stolen ETH, THORChain Lead Developer Resigns
On February 28, according to monitoring, the Bybit hacker has currently successfully laundered 50% of the stolen ETH. In less than a week, the Bybit hacker has laundered a total of 266,309 ETH (approximately $6.14 billion), accounting for 53.3% of the 499,000 ETH stolen, averaging 48,420 ETH laundered per day, most of which was converted to BTC through THORChain. At the current rate, the remaining 233,086 ETH may be fully laundered in just 5 days. Previously, THORChain faced insolvency, with its savings and loan features being suspended, planning to address a $200 million debt crisis through the issuance of equity tokens. The Bybit hacker has brought $29.1 billion in trading volume and $3 million in fee income to THORChain. On the 28th, THORChain's four-year Chief Developer, @Pluto9r, announced his resignation.
Stablecoin Digital Bank Infini Platform Hit by Attack, Suffers Approximately $49.5 Million Loss
On February 24, the stablecoin digital bank Infini platform was attacked, and the attacker 0x3ac9 has converted all funds to 17,696 ETH (approximately $49.5 million). Subsequently, Infini co-founder Christine responded in a post stating full reimbursement, with the involved engineer identified and controlled, and mentioning that the personal private key was not leaked, attributing the incident to negligence during a previous permission transfer. On the 27th, Christian posted, "Today we officially filed a case on behalf of Infini in Hong Kong. The police's efficiency is very high, and the experience is excellent; one can feel the Hong Kong government's open and inclusive attitude towards digital assets."
Mask Network Founder's Wallet Hacked, Over $4 Million Stolen
On February 27, Mask Network founder Suji Yan posted, "6 hours ago, I turned 29. About 3 hours ago, one of my public wallets was hacked, and $4 million in assets was stolen. All the stolen transactions seem to be manual transfers and lasted for over 11 minutes." According to monitoring on that day, the hacker who breached Suji Yan's wallet has transferred the stolen assets to 7 wallet addresses and exchanged them for a total of 1690.17 ETH. Suji Yan later posted again, stating that the stolen funds were personal assets and that professionals have been involved.
The SEC Announces Dismissal of Lawsuits Against Several Cryptocurrency Companies This Week, Including Coinbase, ConsenSys, Gemini Trust, and More
On February 26, it was reported that the SEC dropped its investigation into DeFi company Uniswap Labs. The warning was issued in the form of a Wells Notice, where the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sends this notice to a company before initiating formal litigation, providing the company with a final opportunity to rebut any charges. The specific nature of the SEC's allegations against Uniswap Labs is currently unknown.
On the 27th, SEC documents revealed that the investigation into Gemini Trust Company, LLC has concluded, with no enforcement action being taken. Gemini's co-founder, Cameron Winklevoss, confirmed on social media that the investigation lasted 699 days and they received the Wells Notice 277 days ago. Winklevoss criticized the SEC's regulatory actions for causing significant harm to the crypto industry, accusing the agency of enforcement without clear rules in place, leading to companies incurring high legal expenses and economic losses.
On the same day, it was reported that the SEC and Justin Sun, along with his three companies, filed a joint application in the Manhattan federal court requesting a stay of the case to explore potential settlement options. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Justin Sun and his companies—Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry (formerly BitTorrent)—in March 2023, alleging the sale of unregistered securities through TRX and BTT tokens. Both parties requested a 60-day stay of the case and committed to submitting a joint status report at that time.
On the 28th, according to market reports, the SEC announced the dismissal of civil enforcement action against Coinbase.
Also on the same day, sources revealed that the SEC and ConsenSys have reached a preliminary agreement to settle the SEC's lawsuit against the blockchain software company. This dismissal is subject to committee approval, and it is expected that the regulatory body on Wall Street will soon issue an announcement.
This Week Sees a Sudden Shift in Cryptocurrency Market Sentiment from "Neutral" to "Extreme Fear"
This week, the cryptocurrency fear and greed index dropped to a low of 11, shifting market sentiment from "neutral" to "extreme fear." Note: The fear index threshold ranges from 0-100 and includes indicators such as volatility (25%) + market trading volume (25%) + social media sentiment (15%) + market surveys (15%) + Bitcoin's dominance in the overall market (10%) + Google Trends analysis (10%).
SBF Tweets Again After 2 Years, Discussing Employee Firing Experience
On February 25, FTX founder SBF tweeted again after two years. SBF stated, "I am very sympathetic to US federal government employees, and I haven't checked my email for a few hundred days. And I can confirm, being fired is not as easy as it seems. Firing people is one of the hardest things to do in the world. It's terrible for everyone involved." Related reading: "767 Days Later, What Does SBF's Tweet Mean?"
CZ Reveals Holdings: BTC Accounts for Only 1.32%, BNB Accounts for 98.51%
On February 24, Binance founder CZ publicly disclosed his portfolio at Binance Square, with BNB accounting for 98.51%, BTC for 1.32%, and EURI for 0.17%. CZ stated he doesn't remember where EURI came from, speculating it might be related to the Binance Card. Related reading: "CZ Claims to Be Boring, with Only 1.3% of Holdings in BTC"
Traditional Financial Giant Citadel Securities Plans to Become a Cryptocurrency Market Maker
On February 25, according to Bloomberg, the traditional financial giant and NYSE's largest market maker with a market value of $65 billion, Citadel Securities, plans to enter the cryptocurrency market-making field, betting that former President Trump's support for the crypto industry will bring market prosperity. Citadel Securities plans to join the ranks of market makers on multiple exchanges, including Coinbase Global, Binance, and Crypto.com, and may initially establish a market-making team outside the US. Related reading: "As Regulations Continue to Loosen, Are US Cryptocurrency Market Makers Making a Comeback?"
Strategy's Bitcoin Holding Unrealized Gain Decreases to $6.923 Billion, Average Purchase Price Around $66,357
On February 28, Bitcoin briefly dropped below $80,000. According to mstr-tracker data, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) currently holds a total of 499,096 BTC, with a total purchase cost of around $33.119 billion, an average purchase price of about $66,357, and the current total value of the Bitcoin holdings is $40.041 billion. The unrealized gain on the Bitcoin holding has decreased to $6.923 billion. On the same day, the company's CEO, Michael Saylor, jokingly tweeted, "If necessary, sell a kidney, but keep the Bitcoin."
Chinese Man Killed in Jeju, South Korea While Trading Cryptocurrency, Suspects Are Four Chinese Nationals
On February 26, according to the Modern Express, a Chinese man was found dead in a hotel in Jeju, South Korea, believed to have been killed while trading cryptocurrency. The South Korean police have arrested 4 Chinese suspects, including two women in their 30s, a man in his 30s, and a man in his 60s. It has been confirmed that the 4 suspects fled with 85 million Korean won belonging to the victim. The motive and details of the crime are currently under investigation.
21 Employees of US Department of Government Efficiency Resign, Citing Refusal to "Dismantle Key Public Services" Using Their Tech Expertise
On February 26, it was reported that 21 staff members of Elon Musk-led "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) collectively resigned on February 25 local time. In their joint resignation letter, they stated their refusal to use their technical expertise to "dismantle key public services" and criticized many of Musk's recruits as "political idealists" lacking the skills or experience to perform job tasks. Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated on February 25 that recently laid-off federal employees are welcome to apply for state government positions through an online portal. Currently, DOGE is coordinating federal workforce reductions with the aim of streamlining the federal bureaucracy, but an official tally of job cuts is not yet available.
Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyagotchi Promoted to Chair; Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak Appointed as Co-Executive Directors
On February 26, Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyagotchi was promoted to Chair of the Ethereum Foundation. Aya Miyagotchi stated her commitment to Ethereum's values, advocating for diversity and expanding Ethereum's vision and cultural influence. She is dedicated to ensuring that Ethereum's technology and social innovation serve human values. In 2013, Aya Miyaguchi worked in operations for the Japanese region at the Kraken exchange platform. In February 2018, Aya Miyaguchi joined the Ethereum Foundation as an Executive Director, mainly responsible for coordinating and organizing the foundation's activities, including internal affairs, community collaborations such as education, and event hosting. Related Reads: "New Ethereum Foundation Chair Aya Miyaguchi: From Teacher to Crypto Vanguard", "Elegy of the Ethereum 'Leftist'"
Subsequently, on March 2, the Ethereum Foundation announced a new leadership structure, with Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak set to serve as Co-Executive Directors starting March 17. This marks a new chapter in the Foundation's development, continuing to support the growing Ethereum ecosystem.
Regarding this week's Foundation personnel changes, Ethereum core developer timbeiko.eth posted, "The past few months have been eventful to say the least. Despite the obvious, Ethereum still has a lot of changes to make to succeed. Handled correctly, it could become one of the most impactful turning points in history. Ethereum's culture is unique and is a result of both top-down and bottom-up influences. With Aya Miyaguchi as the EF Board Chair and the establishment of formal and informal advisory circles, Ethereum, I believe, can both stay true to its OG values and remain attractive to new forces."
YZi Labs Invests in Crypto AI Startup Vana, CZ to Join as Advisor
On February 24, it was reported that YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) has invested in the crypto artificial intelligence startup Vana, with Binance founder CZ joining as an advisor. The specific investment amount has not been disclosed. Vana is YZi Labs' first AI investment since its renaming last month. Prior to the renaming, Binance Labs had supported several crypto AI projects, including Sahara AI and MyShell. A YZi Labs spokesperson stated that the focus has now expanded from Web3 to encompass a wide range of areas, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology. The Labs will continue exploring opportunities at the intersection of various fields but are also open to investing in standalone AI and biotech projects to "capture the full spectrum of innovation."
Company in Guangdong Allegedly Issues Virtual Currency for Fraud, Ringleader Sentenced to 11 Years
On February 25, according to Guangzhou Daily, a Guangdong court recently concluded a virtual currency fraud case. The case revealed that in May 2018, a certain individual promoted "AA Coin" through an online platform, claiming it had appreciation potential and promising investors that it would be listed for trading on an exchange with expected returns of no less than 5 million RMB. An investor subsequently invested 990,000 RMB to purchase over 1.6 million AA Coins, but these tokens remained locked and unavailable for trading. The court found the defendant, for the purpose of illegal possession, fabricated facts to defraud others of their property, with a particularly large amount involved. The defendant was ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud and fined 50,000 RMB. The judgment is final.
pump.fun is internally testing the swap feature; Raydium responds that Pump.Fun is a "strategic misjudgment"
On February 24, according to a related page, pump.fun is internally testing the swap feature. The community speculates that it may launch its own Swap platform to replace Raydium, causing a significant drop in the price of the RAY token. InfraRAY, a core contributor to Raydium, posted that completely abandoning Raydium for this highly popular and profitable meme factory would be a "strategic misjudgment." He expressed doubt about whether Pump.Fun building its own trading facility to replace Raydium could succeed. The market believes that Pump.fun is no longer satisfied with being a "liquidity provider" for Raydium but is trying to become the "controller" of liquidity. Over 30% of Raydium's daily trading volume comes from Pump.Fun tokens. If the latter switches to its own AMM, its fee income will be significantly reduced. Related reads: "Pump.fun self-built AMM, can Raydium still dominate meme liquidity pools?", "Data analysis: How much does Raydium rely on pump.fun?"
Kanye announces temporary exit from Twitter, his meme coin issuance plan may be on hold
On February 25, renowned rapper Kanye announced his temporary exit from Twitter, stating, "I'm temporarily out of Twitter. They just deleted my last tweet. Jordan left the NBA." Kanye had stated last week that he planned to launch the YEEZY meme token this week. According to crypto KOL @lokithebird's analysis, Kanye may have transferred (or escrowed) his X account to BarkMeta Doginals for $17 million. Kanye later denied ever transferring (or escrowing) his X account. Related read: "Singer Kanye's coin release mystery: X account suspected sale, another carefully orchestrated 'harvest'?"
Top Articles of the Week
"Bitcoin drops 20% in 30 days, what are the reasons and how will it trend later?"
Bitcoin has recently been impacted by a series of hacking incidents, causing a sharp decline in market sentiment and a continuous rise in the total amount of liquidated positions across the network. The cryptocurrency fear index has hit a new low, with market sentiment shifting to extreme fear. Analysis indicates that reasons for the Bitcoin price drop include the IBIT fund liquidation, unfulfilled Bitcoin strategic reserve plan by Trump, and policy uncertainty from the U.S. government. Additionally, market liquidity is constrained, leading to a drop in U.S. stock-related crypto stocks, further exacerbating market unease. Nevertheless, some analysts believe that the current situation is still in the midst of a bull market, and a new high may be reached after a short-term setback.
This week, former Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation Aya Miyaguchi was promoted to Chair. However, both Vitalik and Aya are facing significant pressure from the community. Aya is seen as an inactive executive, despite her contributions to initiatives like ETH Devcon and global community development. Furthermore, Ethereum's core values always emphasized decentralization and social value, but as the market leans more to the right, more voices are questioning Ethereum's non-profit model, and even calling for a more capitalistic strategy. Community sentiment continues to fluctuate, with increasingly apparent conflicts in values between leadership and members.
"767 Days Later, What Does SBF's Tweet Mean?"
SBF, still in prison, tweeted this week discussing the difficulty of firing employees, stating that this is usually a management issue rather than the fault of the employees themselves. He emphasized that if employees cannot add value to the company, retaining them will only waste resources. At the same time, SBF shifted his political stance, openly supporting Trump, stating that disappointment with the Biden administration prompted him to align with the Republican Party. The Trump administration's "Government Efficiency Department" also carried out massive layoffs to drive cost reductions. SBF's comments align with the Trump administration's policies, particularly regarding layoffs and restructuring.
"Is Wall Street's Largest Market Maker, Citadel Securities, Shorting ETH?"
Recent rumors suggest that Citadel Securities may be one of the institutions holding a $3.1 billion Ethereum short position. As one of the world's largest market makers, Citadel recently entered the crypto market, attracting external attention. As early as 2021, Citadel quietly entered the crypto asset space through partnerships with Sequoia Capital and Paradigm. Its market-making business aligns with the crypto market, making it a significant market player. Citadel's trading strategies and shorting operations have already shown influence in the stock market and have similarly affected ETH's price movements. Therefore, while their shorting behavior is part of risk hedging, they are also considered one of the new "whales" in the crypto market.
"Regulation Continues to Loosen: Are U.S. Crypto Market Makers Coming Back?"
Two major traditional market makers — Citadel Securities and Wintermute — are planning to enter the U.S. crypto market, bringing new vitality to the market. Citadel plans to expand its cryptocurrency market-making business, betting on the policy support of the Trump administration, while Wintermute is preparing to expand its OTC and derivatives business in the U.S. With the gradual relaxation of U.S. regulatory policies, institutional confidence is growing, expected to boost market liquidity and trading activity. However, regulatory and competitive pressures remain challenges, especially the market centralization risk that traditional financial giants may bring, potentially shifting the crypto market from "decentralization" to "centralization."
"How Did This Round's Whales Unload? Check Out the Pits You Fell Into."
The current market correction period has seen a sharp drop in many altcoins, with some project teams manipulating the market through carefully designed unloading methods, such as using one-sided liquidity pools, false buybacks, and spot market control to manipulate coin prices, attract retail investors, and sell at high points. In addition, some project teams attract users to lock up their assets through high-interest staking, providing cover for their own cash-outs. Retail investors should have the ability to think independently in the market, avoid being guided by whale operations, stay calm, and prevent themselves from being harvested.
"SEND Surges Over 500% in 24 Hours, Can Meme New Lottery Site Super.exchange Save the Bear Market?"
Super.exchange is a decentralized asset issuance platform based on the Solana ecosystem, aiming to address issues such as insider trading and excessive price volatility in the traditional meme market. Its innovative Super Curve mechanism optimizes the price discovery process of tokens, avoiding liquidity issues that traditional Bonding Curves may cause, and ensuring the market's continuous growth. The platform also introduces ticker uniqueness and the community-driven $SUPER platform token, enhancing trading transparency and fairness. However, how to build community consensus without short-term stimulation is still a significant challenge that Super.exchange faces.
This week, Binance Launchpool launched the 64th project, RedStone (RED). RedStone is a multi-chain oracle across EVM and non-EVM chains, and has seen rapid growth in the market due to its modular architecture and highly optimized validation mechanism. Compared to traditional oracles, RedStone has enhanced security, scalability, and low latency through the EigenLayer AVS framework, maintaining high stability and accuracy in the market's fluctuations. RedStone's token, RED, will serve as a utility token for staking and participating in DeFi protocols, with an initial circulating supply of 28% and a focus on community growth. The expected price of the RED token is around $2, with the potential for higher valuations in the future.
The recent $1.5 billion Bybit and Safe hack has drawn widespread attention, with the hackers executing an almost perfect scheme and leaving no traces to date. Investigations revealed that there were no issues with Safe's front-end code, but the code in the production environment was tampered with, possibly by a long-trusted developer or team member. This incident has exposed vulnerabilities in multi-signature wallet security, especially the significance of Safe in the Ethereum ecosystem, impacting the security of numerous projects and institutions. The event triggered panic in the crypto space, with many starting to doubt the security of multi-signature wallets, even speculating that this could be a signal of the current bull market's end.
"Waterfall Washing, Which Stablecoin Yield Pools Are Safe Havens Now?"
In the current market environment, stablecoin yield opportunities have gradually become an effective way to address challenges and achieve growth. Various platforms offer different yield products, such as Hyperliquid's HLP Treasury (with an annualized yield of 18.61%), Sky Money's Bonus Treasury (8.52%), and the Ethereal platform's points activity (expected annualized yield of 15%-20%). Additionally, the AO project offers approximately 14.37% annualized yield, while Berachain's USDC.e/HONEY liquidity pool provides a 13.79% yield. Sonic platform's airdrop mining activity has also created unique opportunities. Although these opportunities have their own characteristics, risks and rewards need to be carefully evaluated.
《Average Return Rate Reaches 400%: Do You Know These Three High-Yield Crypto IDO Platforms?》
IDO (Initial Decentralized Exchange Offering), as a new type of fundraising method, has become an important bridge between project teams and the crypto community. The three major platforms, Echo, Legion, and Buidlpad, each represent different IDO models: Echo focuses on elite recommendations and community-driven initiatives, Legion innovatively introduces a reputation scoring system, and Buidlpad emphasizes compliance and openness. Through different mechanisms, they provide funding support for project teams and offer participation opportunities to ordinary users, advancing the decentralization of crypto fundraising. This also helps project teams find a balance between community and compliance.
《Pump.fun Reveals Its Hand? Self-built AMM Pool Breaks Free from Raydium's Restraint》
Pump.fun has launched a self-built AMM pool, attempting to challenge Raydium's dominant position in the Solana ecosystem. Previously, Pump.fun earned trading fees by providing traffic to Raydium, but with a self-built AMM pool, Pump.fun can control liquidity and redirect trading fee revenue to its own platform. If successful, this strategy could weaken Raydium's revenue and market position, while driving Pump.fun to build its own DeFi ecosystem. This move triggered a sell-off of the Raydium token $RAY in the market, while Pump.fun's test token price surged, demonstrating the potential of its strategy.
On February 26, Donald Trump Jr., Co-founder of World Liberty Finance, attended the "DeFi World 2025" conference at ETH Denver and engaged in a roundtable discussion with heavyweight guests from the crypto industry. They discussed crypto regulatory policies, the future of DeFi, and the role the U.S. plays in this landscape. He advocated for the U.S. to lead the financial future by enacting reasonable regulations to promote the development of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Through projects like WLFI, he mentioned that the integration of traditional finance and DeFi can promote financial democratization and provide opportunities for more people. Additionally, he encouraged newcomers to start with small investments, gradually understand how the crypto space operates, and avoid overleveraging. He expressed confidence in the potential and future of crypto technology, believing it can bring revolutionary changes to the global financial system.
"Meme Era Ends, DeFi Resurgence: Which Upcoming TGE Projects Are Worth Keeping an Eye On?"
By 2025, the DeFi space may see a wave of TGEs. While the current TVL has not yet surpassed the 2021 peak, transaction volumes are hitting new highs, reflecting strong interest from both capital and users. Several high-quality pre-TGE projects are worth noting, including Infinex (DeFi trading platform), Babylon (Bitcoin staking protocol), Lombard (DeFi lending platform), among others, showcasing outstanding innovation and team strength. As DeFi gradually returns to its fundamentals, these projects may become key market participants in the future.
"Gambling + AI: Understanding 'GambleFAI' in One Article"
This article outlines the development of GambleFi, which emerged in 2023, saw marginalization in 2024 amid market shifts and the rise of meme coins. As we enter 2025, GambleFAI has emerged, combining the advantages of decentralized gambling and AI technology. With the advancement of AI in Large Language Models (LLMs) and machine learning, GambleFAI allows players to make more accurate predictions, significantly improving their chances of winning. AI agents are driving industry innovation, enhancing prediction accuracy, and offering players greater potential returns, marking a technological leap in the gambling sector.
"Vanishing Liquidity: Analyzing the Multi-Factor Drop in the Crypto Market"
This article analyzes the recent crypto market downturn, citing complex reasons such as the Bybit hack, Ethereum's weakness, stock market volatility resurgence, among other factors. Particularly in the context of decreasing liquidity, the crypto market has lost some momentum. Despite the market correction, this does not signify the arrival of a long-term bear market; technical pullbacks are healthy, and the crypto market still requires liquidity to thrive.
"Ethereum Core Developers Explain: Why a Rollback in Ethereum's Current State is Impractical?"
Ethereum cannot rollback to reverse a hacker attack, as the current Ethereum ecosystem is significantly different from historical incidents like Bitcoin and TheDAO. The fund transfer in the hacker attack did not violate protocol rules, and the funds were quickly utilized, making it impossible to fix through a rollback as done in the past. Furthermore, Ethereum's decentralized applications and cross-chain bridges are highly interconnected, making any rollback attempt potentially trigger uncontrollable chain reactions. Even if technically feasible, a rollback would bring significant social controversy and unforeseeable consequences, rendering it impractical.
"The Ultimate Sonic Handbook: How to Seize the DeFi Flywheel Opportunity?"
This article introduces Sonic's background, Tokenomics design, and the operation of the DeFi flywheel, analyzes potential risks in the ecosystem, and explains in detail how to profit from this mechanism. Through screening multiple projects in the Sonic ecosystem, the author recommends opportunities in areas such as DEX, lending, derivatives, and meme, aiming to help readers seize high-potential projects.
"Dragonfly Talks About Recent Hot Topics: Meme Cycle Ending, Market Transition Ahead"
This issue's discussion mainly focuses on various hot topics in the crypto industry, including Bybit's encounter with a hacker attack, the Libra Meme coin trading scandal supported by the President of Argentina, and Kanye West's Yeezy token, among others. The downturn in market sentiment may deter some, with Yeezy potentially being the final celebrity coin. Nevertheless, some industry players remain focused on infrastructure and application development, paying little attention to short-term market fluctuations. A guest also expressed hope for more favorable policies to protect benign participants like Coinbase from unnecessary attacks, allowing more resources to combat real illegal activities.
"CZ Claims to Be a Boring Person, Holding Only 1.3% BTC in Portfolio"
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) disclosed his cryptocurrency investment portfolio on the Binance platform for the first time in response to community requests, revealing that his largest holding is the platform's token BNB, accounting for 98.51%, followed by Bitcoin at only 1.32%, and a small amount of EURI. CZ mentioned that he is not a frequent trader and holding BNB and Bitcoin is no different for him. It's worth noting that this is only his holdings on Binance, which may not represent all his assets. Additionally, his primary asset is the held BNB, with estimates suggesting his holdings may be as high as 94 million coins.
"Niche Players Rejoice, Hyperliquid NFT Defies the Odds with a Price Surge?"
The NFT market is gradually moving away from traditional valuation standards. Many projects are combining NFTs with upcoming coin launches, using NFTs to hype up the ecosystem or directly sell token allocations. The NFT trading market on Hyperliquid is slowly gaining traction. Although not fully matured yet, there have been some notable transactions and projects. Projects like Wealthy Hypio Babies and K-16 have shown outstanding performance, attracting many players to participate. At the same time, new projects in the market continue to emerge, such as Hypers and PiP. Despite the overall market uncertainty, players still need to carefully assess the value of community and partnership relationships in NFT minting and trading.
TRUMP Coin, launched by Donald Trump, saw its market value surpass $20 billion in just a few hours, attracting a large number of crypto investors. However, this celebrity-effect-driven crypto frenzy quickly turned into a bubble. In just over a month, TRUMP Coin's market value plummeted by over 80%, and other celebrity-backed coins like Melania Coin, Argentine President Coin, etc., also quickly collapsed. The rapid rise and fall of such tokens exposed the fragility of the crypto market and the risk of over-relying on celebrity effects. While they once attracted a lot of attention, the ultimate result was not only massive losses but also raised questions about the decentralization concept.
"Amidst a Sluggish Market, Why is MKR Still Surging Against the Trend?"
In this article, the author points out that $MKR (now $SKY) is expected to perform well in the first and second quarters of 2025, mainly due to a $30 million monthly buyback plan, the near all-time high supply of DAI/USDS, and growth momentum from the upcoming SPK farming launch. Despite the rebrand not being favored by the market, its fundamentals are strong. Coupled with the potential benefits of the U.S. Stablecoin Act, the outlook for the next few months is positive.
"With Regulatory Easing, Is the Crypto Spring Coming to the U.S. Market?"
Recently, there has been a positive shift in the United States' regulatory stance towards the cryptocurrency industry. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the closure of its three-year investigation into Uniswap Labs without taking any enforcement action. At the same time, traditional financial giants such as Citadel Securities and Wintermute are also planning to enter the U.S. crypto market. Additionally, Tornado Cash's founder, Alexey Pertsev, was temporarily released after a Dutch court ruled that his case did not fall under existing laws. These events indicate that U.S. regulatory policy may be gradually loosening to promote the development of the cryptocurrency industry, especially in the field of Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
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今年 2 月,Base 生態中的 AI 協議 Virtuals 宣布跨鏈至 Solana,然而加密市場隨後進入流動性緊縮期,AI Agent 板塊從人聲鼎沸轉為低迷,Virtuals 生態也陷入一段蟄伏期。
三月初,BlockBeats 對 Virtuals 共同創辦人 empty 進行了一次專訪。彼時,團隊尚未推出如今被廣泛討論的 Genesis Launch 機制,但已在內部持續探索如何透過機制設計激活舊資產、提高用戶參與度,並重構代幣發行與融資路徑。那是一個市場尚未復甦、生態尚處冷啟動階段的時間點,Virtuals 團隊卻沒有停下腳步,而是在努力尋找新的產品方向和敘事突破口。
兩個月過去,AI Agent 板塊重新升溫,Virtuals 代幣反彈超 150%,Genesis 機製成為帶動生態回暖的重要觸發器。從積分獲取規則的動態調整,到專案參與熱度的持續上升,再到「新代幣帶老代幣」的機制閉環,Virtuals 逐漸走出寒冬,並再次站上討論焦點。
值得注意的是,Virtuals 的 Genesis 機制與近期 Binance 推出的 Alpha 積分系統有一些相似之處,評估用戶在 Alpha 和幣安錢包生態系統內的參與度,決定用戶 Alpha 代幣空投的資格。用戶可透過持倉、交易等方式獲得積分,積分越高,參與新項目的機會越大。透過積分系統篩選使用者、分配資源,專案方能夠更有效地激勵社群參與,提升專案的公平性和透明度。 Virtuals 和 Binance 的探索,或許預示著加密融資的新趨勢正在形成。
回看這次對話,empty 在專訪中所展現出的思路與判斷,正在一步步顯現其前瞻性,這不僅是一場圍繞打新機制的訪談,更是一次關於“資產驅動型 AI 協議”的路徑構建與底層邏輯的深度討論。
BlockBeats:可以簡單分享一下最近團隊主要在忙些什麼?
empty:目前我們的工作重點主要有兩個部分。第一部分,我們希望將 Virtuals 打造成一個類似「華爾街」的代理人(Agent)服務平台。設想一下,如果你是專注於 Agent 或 Agent 團隊建立的創業者,從融資、發幣到流動性退出,整個流程都需要係統性的支援。我們希望為真正專注於 Agent 和 AI 研發的團隊,提供這一整套服務體系,讓他們可以把精力集中在底層能力的開發上,而不用為其他環節分心。這一塊的工作其實也包括了與散戶買賣相關的內容,後面可以再詳細展開。
第二部分,我們正在深入推進 AI 相關的佈局。我們的願景是建立一個 AI 社會,希望每個 Agent 都能聚焦自身優勢,同時透過彼此之間的協作,實現更大的價值。因此,最近我們發布了一個新的標準——ACP(Agent Communication Protocol),目的是讓不同的 Agent 能夠相互互動、協作,共同推動各自的業務目標。這是目前我們主要在推進的兩大方向。
BlockBeats:可以再展開說說嗎?
empty:在我看來,其實我們面對的客戶群可以分為三類:第一類是專注於開發 Agent 的團隊;第二類是投資者,包括散戶、基金等各種投資機構;第三類則是 C 端用戶,也就是最終使用 Agent 產品的個人用戶。
不過,我們主要的精力其實是放在前兩大類──也就是團隊和投資人。對於 C 端用戶這一塊,我們並不打算直接介入,而是希望各個 Agent 團隊能夠自己解決 C 端市場的拓展問題。
此外,我們也認為,Agent 與 Agent 之間的交互作用應該成為一個核心模式。簡單來說,就是未來的服務更多應該是由一個 Agent 銷售或提供給另一個 Agent,而不是單純賣給人類使用者。因此,在團隊的 BD 工作中,我們也積極幫助現有的 AI 團隊尋找這樣的客戶和合作機會。
BlockBeats:大概有一些什麼具體案例呢?
empty:「華爾街」說白了就是圍繞資本運作體系的建設,假設你是一個技術團隊,想要融資,傳統路徑是去找 VC 募資,拿到資金後開始發展。如果專案做得不錯,接下來可能會考慮進入二級市場,例如在紐約證券交易所上市,或是在 Binance 這樣的交易所上幣,實現流動性退出。
我們希望把這一整套流程打通-從早期融資,到專案開發過程中對資金的靈活使用需求,再到最終二級市場的流動性退出,全部覆蓋和完善,這是我們希望補齊的一條完整鏈條。
而這一部分的工作和 ACP(Agent Communication Protocol)是不同的,ACP 更多是關於 Agent 與 Agent 之間交互標準的製定,不直接涉及資本運作系統。
BlockBeats:它和現在 Virtuals 的這個 Launchpad 有什麼差別呢?資金也是從 C 端來是嗎?
empty:其實現在你在 Virtuals 上發幣,如果沒有真正融到資金,那就只是發了一個幣而已,實際是融不到錢的。我們目前能提供的服務,是透過設定買賣時的交易稅機制,從中提取一部分稅收回饋給創業者,希望這部分能成為他們的現金流來源。
不過,問題其實還分成兩塊。第一是如何真正幫助團隊完成融資,這個問題目前我們還沒有徹底解決。第二是關於目前專案發行模式本身存在的結構性問題。簡單來說,現在的版本有點像過去 Pumpfun 那種模式——也就是當專案剛上線時,部分籌碼就被外賣給了外部投資人。但現實是,目前整個市場上存在著太多機構集團和「狙擊手」。
當一個真正優秀的專案一發幣,還沒真正觸達普通散戶,就已經被機構在極高估值時搶購了。等到散戶能夠接觸到時,往往價格已經偏高,專案品質也可能變差,整個價值發行體係被扭曲。
針對這個問題,我們希望探索一種新的發幣和融資模式,目的是讓專案方的籌碼既不是死死握在自己手裡,也不是優先流向英文圈的大機構,而是能夠真正留給那些相信專案、願意長期支持專案的普通投資者手中。我們正在思考該如何設計這樣一個新的發行機制,來解決這個根本問題。
BlockBeats:新模式的具體想法會是什麼樣子呢?
empty:關於資金這一塊,其實我們目前還沒有完全想透。現階段來看,最直接的方式還是去找 VC 融資,或是採取公開預售等形式進行資金募集。不過說實話,我個人對傳統的公開預售模式並不是特別認同。
在「公平發售」這件事上,我們正在嘗試換一個角度來思考-希望能從「reputation」出發,重新設計機制。
具體來說,就是如果你對整個 Virtuals 生態有貢獻,例如早期參與、提供支持或建設,那麼你就可以在後續購買優質代幣時享有更高的優先權。透過這種方式,我們希望把資源更多留給真正支持生態發展的用戶,而不是由短期套利的人主導。
BlockBeats:您會不會考慮採用類似之前 Fjord Foundry 推出的 LBP 模式,或者像 Daos.fun 那種採用白名單機制的模式。這些模式在某種程度上,和您剛才提到的「對生態有貢獻的人享有優先權」的想法是有些相似的。不過,這類做法後來也引發了一些爭議,例如白名單內部操作、分配不公等問題。 Virtuals 在設計時會考慮借鏡這些模式的優點,或有針對性地規避類似的問題嗎?
empty:我認為白名單機制最大的問題在於,白名單的選擇權掌握在專案方手中。這和「老鼠倉」行為非常相似。專案方可以選擇將白名單名額分配給自己人或身邊的朋友,導致最終的籌碼仍然掌握在少數人手中。
我們希望做的,依然是類似白名單的機制,但不同的是,白名單的獲取權應基於一個公開透明的規則體系,而不是由項目方單方面決定。只有這樣,才能真正做到公平分配,避免內幕操作的問題。
我認為在今天這個 AI 時代,很多時候創業並不需要大量資金。我常跟團隊強調,你們應該優先考慮自力更生,例如透過組成社區,而不是一開始就想著去融資。因為一旦融資,實際上就等於背負了負債。
我們更希望從 Training Fee的角度去看待早期發展路徑。也就是說,專案可以選擇直接發幣,透過交易稅所帶來的現金流,支持日常營運。這樣一來,專案可以在公開建設的過程中獲得初步資金,而不是依賴外部投資。如果專案做大了,自然也會有機會透過二級市場流動性退出。
當然最理想的情況是,專案本身能夠有穩定的現金流來源,這樣甚至連自己的幣都無需拋售,這才是真正健康可持續的狀態。
我自己也常在和團隊交流時分享這種思路,很有意思的是,那些真正抱著「搞快錢」心態的項目,一聽到這種機制就失去了興趣。他們會覺得,在這種模式下,既無法操作老鼠倉,也很難短期套利,於是很快就選擇離開。
但從我們的角度來看,這其實反而是個很好的篩選機制。透過這種方式,理念不同的專案自然會被過濾出去,最後留下的,都是那些願意真正建立、和我們價值觀契合的團隊,一起把事情做起來。
BlockBeats:這個理念可以發展出一些能夠創造收益的 AI agent。
empty:我覺得這是很有必要的。坦白說,放眼今天的市場,真正擁有穩定現金流的產品幾乎鳳毛麟角,但我認為這並不意味著我們應該停止嘗試。事實上,我們每天在對接的團隊中,有至少一半以上的人依然懷抱著長遠的願景。很多時候,他們甚至已經提前向我們提供了 VC 階段的資金支持,或表達了強烈的合作意願。
其實對他們來說想要去收穫一個很好的社區,因為社區可以給他們的產品做更好的回饋,這才是他們真正的目的。這樣聽起來有一點匪夷所思,但其實真的有很多這樣的團隊,而那種團隊的是我們真的想扶持的團隊。
BlockBeats:您剛才提到的這套「AI 華爾街」的產品體系-從融資、發行到退出,建構的是一整套完整的流程。這套機制是否更多是為了激勵那些有意願發幣的團隊?還是說,它在設計上也考慮瞭如何更好地支持那些希望透過產品本身的現金流來發展的團隊?這兩類團隊在您這套體系中會不會被區別對待,或者說有什麼機制設計能讓不同路徑的創業者都能被合理支持?
empty:是的,我們 BD 的核心職責其實就是去鼓勵團隊發幣。說得直接一點,就是引導他們思考發幣的可能性和意義。所以團隊最常問的問題就是:「為什麼要發幣?」這時我們需要採取不同的方式和角度,去幫助他們理解背後的價值邏輯。當然如果最終判斷不適合,我們也不會強迫他們推進。
不過我們觀察到一個非常明顯的趨勢,傳統的融資路徑已經越來越難走通了。過去那種融資做大,發幣上所的模式已經逐漸失效。面對這樣的現實,很多團隊都陷入了尷尬的境地。而我們希望能從鏈上和加密的視角,提供一套不同的解決方案,讓他們找到新的發展路徑。
BlockBeats:明白,我剛才其實想表達的是,您剛剛也提到,傳統的 AI 模式在很大程度上仍然依賴「燒錢」競爭。但在 DeepSeek 出現之後,市場上一些資金體積較小的團隊或投資人開始重新燃起了信心,躍躍欲試地進入這個領域。您怎麼看待這種現象?這會不會對目前正在做 AI 基礎研發,或是 AI 應用層開發的團隊產生一定的影響?
empty:對,我覺得先不談 DeepSeek,從傳統角度來看,其實到目前為止,AI 領域真正賺錢的只有英偉達,其他幾乎所有玩家都還沒有實現盈利。所以其實沒有人真正享受了這個商業模式的成果,大家也仍在探索如何面對 C 端打造真正有產出的應用。
沒有哪個領域像幣圈一樣能如此快速獲得社群回饋。你一發幣,用戶就會主動去讀白皮書的每一個字,試試你產品的每個功能。
當然,這套機制並不適合所有人。例如有些 Agent 產品偏 Web2,對於幣圈用戶而言,可能感知不到其價值。因此,我也會鼓勵做 Agent 的團隊在 Virtuals 生態中認真思考,如何真正將 Crypto 作為自身產品的差異化要素加以運用與設計。
BlockBeats:這點我特別認同,在 Crypto 這個領域 AI 的迭代速度確實非常快,但這群用戶給予的回饋,真的是代表真實的市場需求嗎?或者說這些回饋是否真的符合更大眾化、更具規模性的需求?
empty:我覺得很多時候產品本身不應該是強行推廣給不適合的使用者群體。例如 AIXBT 最成功的一點就在於,它的用戶本身就是那群炒作他人內容的人,所以他們的使用行為是非常自然的,並不覺得是在被迫使用一個無聊的產品。 mass adoption 這個概念已經講了很多年,大家可能早就該放棄這個執念了。我們不如就認了,把東西賣給幣圈的人就好了。
BlockBeats:AI Agent 與 AI Agent 所對應的代幣之間,究竟應該是什麼樣的動態關係?
empty:對,我覺得這裡可以分成兩個核心點。首先其實不是在投資某個具體的 AI Agent,而是在投資背後經營這個 Agent 的團隊。你應該把它理解為一種更接近創投的思路:你投的是這個人,而不是他目前正在做的產品。因為產品本身是可以快速變化的,可能一個月後團隊會發現方向不對,立即調整。所以,這裡的「幣」本質上代表的是對團隊的信任,而不是某個特定 Agent 本身。
第二則是期望一旦某個 Agent 產品做出來後,未來它能真正產生現金流,或者有實際的使用場景(utility),從而讓對應的代幣具備賦能效應。
BlockBeats:您覺得有哪些賦能方式是目前還沒看到的,但未來可能出現、值得期待的?
empty:其實主要有兩塊,第一是比較常見的那種你要使用我的產品,就必須付費,或者使用代幣支付,從而間接實現對代幣的「軟銷毀」或消耗。
但我覺得更有趣的賦能方式,其實是在獲客成本的角度思考。也就是說,你希望你的用戶同時也是你的投資者,這樣他們就有動機去主動幫你推廣、吸引更多用戶。
BlockBeats:那基於這些觀點,您怎麼看 ai16z,在專案設計和代幣機制方面,似乎整體表現並不太樂觀?
empty:從一個很純粹的投資角度來看,撇開我們與他們之間的關係,其實很簡單。他們現在做的事情,對代幣本身沒有任何賦能。從開源的角度來看,一個開源模型本身是無法直接賦能代幣的。
但它仍然有價值的原因在於,它像一個期權(call option),也就是說,如果有一天他們突然決定要做一些事情,比如推出一個 launchpad,那麼那些提前知道、提前參與的人,可能會因此受益。
開發者未來確實有可能會使用他們的 Launchpad,只有在那一刻,代幣才會真正產生賦能。這是目前最大的一個問號——如果這個模式真的跑得通,我認為確實會非常強大,因為他們的確觸達了大量開發者。
但我個人還是有很多疑問。例如即使我是使用 Eliza 的開發者,也不代表我一定會選擇在他們的 Launchpad 上發幣。我會貨比三家,會比較。而且,做一個 Launchpad 和做一個開源框架,所需的產品能力和社群運作能力是完全不同的,這是另一個重要的不確定性。
BlockBeats:這種不同是體現在什麼地方呢?
empty:在 Virtuals 上我們幾乎每天都在處理客服相關的問題,只要有任何一個團隊在我們平台上發生 rug,即使與我們沒有直接關係,用戶也會第一時間來找我們投訴。
這時我們就必須出面安撫用戶,並思考如何降低 rug 的整體風險。一旦有團隊因為自己的代幣設計錯誤或技術失誤而被駭客攻擊、資產被盜,我們往往需要自掏腰包,確保他們的社群至少能拿回一點資金,以便專案能夠重新開始。這些項目方可能在技術上很強,但未必擅長代幣發行,結果因操作失誤被攻擊導致資產損失。只要涉及「被欺騙」相關的問題,對我們來說就已經是非常麻煩的事了,做這些工作跟做交易所的客服沒有太大差別。
另一方面,做 BD 也非常困難。優秀的團隊手上有很多選擇,他們可以選擇在 Pumpfun 或交易所上發幣,為什麼他們要來找我們,那這背後必須要有一整套支援體系,包括融資支援、技術協助、市場推廣等,每個環節都不能出問題。
BlockBeats:那我們就繼續沿著這個話題聊聊 Virtuals 目前的 Launchpad 業務。有一些社群成員在 Twitter 上統計了 Virtuals Launchpad 的整體獲利狀況,確實目前看起來獲利的項目比較少。接下來 Launchpad 還會是 Virtuals 的主要業務區嗎?還是說,未來的重心會逐漸轉向您剛才提到的「AI 華爾街」這條路徑?
empty:其實這兩塊本質上是一件事,是一整套體系的一部分,所以我們必須繼續推進。市場的波動是很正常的,我們始終要堅持的一點是:非常清楚地認識到我們的核心客戶是誰。我一直強調我們的客戶只有兩類——團隊。所以市場行情的好壞對我們來說並不是最重要的,關鍵是在每一個關鍵節點上,對於一個團隊來說,發幣的最佳選擇是否依然是我們 Virtuals。
BlockBeats:您會不會擔心「Crypto + AI」或「Crypto AI Agent」這一類敘事已經過去了?如果未來還有一輪多頭市場,您是否認為市場炒作的焦點可能已經不再是這些方向了?
empty:有可能啊,我覺得 it is what it is,這確實是有可能發生的,但這也屬於我們無法控制的範圍。不過如果你問我,在所有可能的趨勢中,哪個賽道更有機會長期保持領先,我仍然認為是 AI。從一個打德撲的角度來看,它仍然是最優選擇。
而且我們團隊的技術架構和底層能力其實早已搭建完成了,現在只是順勢而為而已。更重要的是,我們本身真的熱愛這件事,帶著好奇心去做這件事。每天早上醒來就有驅動力去研究最新的技術,這種狀態本身就挺讓人滿足的,對吧?
很多時候,大家不應該只看產品本身。實際上很多優秀的團隊,他們的基因決定了他們有在規則中勝出的能力——他們可能過去在做派盤交易時,每筆規模就是上百萬的操作,而這些團隊的 CEO,一年的薪資可能就有 100 萬美金。如果他們願意出來單幹項目,從天使投資或 VC 的視角來看,這本質上是用一個很划算的價格買到一個高品質的團隊。
更何況這些資產是 liquid 的,不是鎖倉狀態。如果你當下不急著用錢,完全可以在早期階段買進一些優秀團隊的代幣,靜靜等待他們去創造一些奇蹟,基本上就是這樣一個邏輯。