Token Chronicle - Week 4 April 2025

Top cryptos

Meme of the week

Market Sentiment:

Market update: New week confirming the upward trend, with BTC reaching $97K and stabilizing around $95–97K over the past few days. ETH is also performing well, returning to $1,800 and potentially picking up momentum soon with the major Pectra upgrade on May 7 and BlackRock’s tokenization ambitions (apparently on Ethereum). There's a lot of activity across regulation (notably in the U.S. and Asia), tech (upgrades and partnerships), and new launches on the traditional finance side.

Main points this week:

International News:

1) "The economy enters a new era" – Broad slowdown in growth, according to the IMF:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised downward its global growth forecasts following the economic war triggered by the U.S. President. The IMF’s newly released projections for the global economy are rather bleak. Although a global recession is expected to be avoided, the institution still forecasts lower growth: 2.8% in 2025 and 3% in 2026. According to the IMF, the United States—whose isolationist policies sparked economic tensions—will suffer the most from this slowdown. The IMF has reduced the U.S. growth forecast by one point: now 1.8% for 2025, down from the previously estimated 2.8%.

2) Russia launches a crypto exchange for "ultra-qualified" investors:
Russia is taking another step toward regulating cryptoassets. While the U.S. and Europe are still debating further regulation of crypto and stablecoins, Russia’s central bank and Ministry of Finance have announced the creation of a platform dedicated to the wealthiest investors. This new entity will not be based on Russian territory per se but will operate under an “experimental legal regime” authorized by the state. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Interfax he was pleased with the new possibilities offered by this crypto exchange.

3) No Bitcoin reserve for the Swiss National Bank — President explains why:
Once again, the president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has rejected the idea of holding Bitcoin (BTC) as part of the country’s reserves. According to him, cryptocurrencies currently do not meet the Bank’s requirements for reserves, due to excessive price volatility. A few months ago, the Bitcoin Initiative group tried to force the SNB’s hand by proposing a constitutional amendment that would allow Bitcoin to be added to the country’s reserves.

4) Euro soars against the U.S. dollar:
The U.S. dollar is struggling against the euro amid economic warfare and tensions with the United States. Between April 1st and 21st, the euro gained 7.40% against the dollar. This surge is largely explained by the trade war waged by the U.S. Dozens of executive orders and tariffs imposed by Donald Trump have shaken confidence in the greenback, which has significantly lost value relative to the euro. Trump appears to be pursuing a strategy based on a weaker dollar: a depreciated greenback makes U.S. exports cheaper and potentially more attractive. This would help reduce the trade deficit—a major focus of Trump’s second-term agenda.

5) Arizona: Strategic Bitcoin reserve approved by state House:
Arizona’s House of Representatives has passed two bills allowing the creation of a Bitcoin reserve. The final decision now lies with Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who must either veto the bills—sending them back for Senate review—or sign them into law, enabling their immediate enactment.

6) UAE: Three financial giants want to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin:
In Abu Dhabi, three financial heavyweights are teaming up to launch a stablecoin pegged to the dirham. The collaboration involves the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC (FAB), and International Holding Co. FAB CEO Hana Al Rostamani expressed enthusiasm for the project, which aims to place "the UAE at the forefront of global innovation" and boost fintech sector development.

7) Donald Trump’s media company could launch a cryptocurrency:
After the TRUMP token, a utility cryptocurrency may be on the way. Trump Media & Technology Group is considering launching a token for use across its ecosystem. “As part of a rewards program, we plan to introduce a utility token in the Truth digital wallet. This token could initially be used to pay subscription fees for Truth+ and later be expanded to other products and services in the Truth ecosystem.”

8) El Salvador continues buying Bitcoin despite IMF deal:
Despite securing a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF, which included conditions to stop Bitcoin purchases, the Salvadoran government continues to accumulate BTC. Authorities say cryptocurrency remains central to their economic strategy.

9) North Korean hackers linked to the Lazarus Group created fake companies — including U.S.-based BlockNovas and SoftGlide — to target crypto developers with malware, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Silent Push. The Lazarus subgroup Contagious Interview used bogus job interview lures and AI-generated employee profiles to distribute the malware. The operation aimed to compromise crypto developers and gain access to sensitive data and wallet credentials, echoing tactics used in the $625 million Ronin and $100 million Horizon bridge hacks. Lazarus Group has stolen over $3 billion in crypto since 2017, according to Chainalysis estimates, with job-based social engineering accounting for a significant portion.

10) World, formerly known as Worldcoin, is launching in the U.S. across six cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. Founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the project uses its signature eyeball-scanning Orbs to verify personhood, issuing users a World ID and distributing WLD tokens. World says it doesn’t store biometric data, aiming to calm privacy concerns that have surfaced in other countries. The U.S. launch is aided by a more favorable regulatory climate under the Trump administration. In addition to personhood verification, World plans to offer a Visa card linked to users’ World App wallets for digital asset spending. The card is expected to be available later this year. World also announced a pilot program with Match Group in Japan to help Tinder users verify that profiles are genuine. The project ultimately aims to help distinguish real people from bots in an increasingly AI-saturated internet.

Compliance / Regulation / Justice

1) The Fed rolls back bank oversight on cryptocurrencies:
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has announced a rollback of certain guidelines regulating banks' crypto-related activities. This change is part of a broader trend of increasing openness toward financial innovation in the U.S., signaling a positive outlook for the future of digital assets in the country. The Fed has officially ended two supervisory letters issued in 2022 and 2023, which required commercial banks to notify the Fed in advance of any crypto-related projects or activities. From now on, such initiatives will be included in the regular supervision process, without any prior declaration requirements.

2) Nike faces a $5 million penalty over abandoned NFT collection:
Did Nike abandon investors in its non-fungible token (NFT) collections? Yes, according to a lawsuit that seeks $5 million in damages following the shutdown of RTFKT. Investors who had bet on Nike’s NFTs saw floor prices collapse after the project was discontinued. This is central to the legal complaint, which accuses Nike of executing a "soft rug pull"—leaving investors high and dry when they believed the company would continue investing in RTFKT. Furthermore, former investors claim that Nike failed to meet its disclosure obligations.

3) Matter Labs, the developer behind layer-2 blockchain ZKSync, is being sued by defunct digital asset platform BANKEX for alleged intellectual property theft. In a lawsuit filed March 19 in New York State Supreme Court, BANKEX claims former employees Alexandr Vlasov and Petr Korolev stole proprietary technology to launch Matter Labs, which has since raised over $450 million and become a major blockchain player. The complaint, brought by BANKEX CEO Igor Khmel and the BANKEX Foundation, says the company was originally approached by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in 2017 to build operational software for Plasma, then seen as a promising solution to scale Ethereum.

4) President Trump just teased a tax plan that could completely reshape crypto investment strategies. In a recent social media post, Trump suggested federal income taxes could be "substantially reduced" or potentially eliminated once his tariff system is fully implemented. The focus would be on individuals making under $200,000 annually – a demographic that includes many retail crypto investors.

5) Circle received in-principal regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority to expand its operations in the Middle East. Stablecoins are growing globally as a payments and remittances alternative to traditional rails. The regulatory development comes after Circle debuted a payments network last week boosting utility for its $62 billion USDC token, while the firm is navigating a quiet period after filing for an IPO in the U.S.

6) Movement Labs, a crypto startup backed by Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, is now embroiled in an insider-dealing scandal after a CoinDesk probe revealed that a shadowy firm, Rentech, was granted control over 66 million MOVE tokens, triggering a $38 million selloff post-launch. Internal documents show Rentech appearing on both sides of the market-making agreement — raising self-dealing concerns — while foundation officials privately called it “possibly the worst agreement” ever seen, and critics say the setup incentivized price manipulation and retail dumping. The Move token was just delisted by Coinbase.

7) The UK government has released a draft statutory instrument outlining its “Future financial services regulatory regime for crypto assets,” aimed at amending the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) to bring “qualifying crypto assets” and “qualifying stablecoins” under regulated investment activity. This includes requirements for FCA authorization to issue or operate with these assets, such as trading platforms and stablecoin issuers. Notably, decentralized finance (DeFi) services that are deemed truly decentralized will not require authorization, with the FCA determining that status. The geographic scope is clarified: if serving UK retail customers, FCA authorization is required regardless of location, though institutional-only services may receive more flexibility. Amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations will also streamline compliance for authorized firms. The Treasury is accepting comments on the draft until May 23, 2025.

8) The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is exploring the possibility of allowing 24/7 trading across all derivatives markets, reflecting rising demand and the influence of always-on crypto markets like Bitcoin futures. While crypto isn't explicitly named, its impact is clear as the CFTC seeks public input on challenges such as staffing, governance, system maintenance, and compliance under a continuous trading model. Acting Chair Caroline Pham emphasized the need for forward-looking policies to maintain market resilience. Though the CFTC doesn’t yet oversee crypto spot markets directly, it’s positioning itself for a more active role under pending legislation.

9) Last Sunday, the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) signed a letter of intent with World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform backed by the Trump family, to boost blockchain innovation, stablecoin use, and DeFi integration across Pakistan. The PCC, formed in March and chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic advisor, aims to guide the country's crypto growth and regulation. Pakistan has recently advanced its crypto sector, ranking seventh on TRM’s 2024 Crypto Country Adoption Index and unveiling its first regulatory framework for VASPs. The PCC also plans to collaborate with Malaysia on FATF-compliant, Shariah-aligned digital asset regulations and Web3 education.

Traditional Finance

1) ING Bank is reportedly working on a new euro stablecoin – A revolution in the making?
A new competitor to Société Générale? ING Bank is entering the stablecoin race, reportedly in partnership with crypto companies. The goal: to launch a euro-backed stablecoin.

2) Revolut breaks records: €3.7 billion in revenue and a 72% increase:
In 2024, Revolut once again surpassed its previous year's performance, increasing its revenue by 72%.

3) Ripple: The world’s largest derivatives market to list XRP soon:
CME Group, the global leader in derivatives markets, plans to launch futures contracts for Ripple’s XRP. This would be a first for the token, placing it alongside Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana (SOL) in CME’s suite of regulated crypto products. CME has announced a tentative launch date of May 19, 2025, pending regulatory approval. Two formats will be offered: a micro contract of 2,500 XRP and a standard contract of 50,000 XRP. This is a significant step that shows institutional players are increasingly eager to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies.

4) Tokenization specialist launches a "crypto S&P 500":
After the success of the BUILD fund in partnership with BlackRock, Securitize is now teaming up with Mantle to launch the S&P 500 of crypto. This new investment vehicle focuses on exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and stablecoins.

5) Bitcoin (BTC) to $200,000 in 2025? Prediction from Standard Chartered Bank:
Will Bitcoin hit $200,000 soon? According to Standard Chartered, the answer is yes. Analyst Geoffrey Kendrick attributes this to recent economic instability in the U.S. Investors are turning away from dollar-based instruments like U.S. Treasury bonds and seeking new safe havens—cryptocurrencies included. The report also highlights that whales continue to accumulate Bitcoin, signaling sustained institutional interest. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs continue to attract demand since their launch last year.

6) Europe’s second-largest neobank dives into crypto with Kraken:
On Monday, neobank bunq announced the launch of its new crypto offering in partnership with exchange Kraken. According to founder and CEO Ali Niknam, this move responds to growing client demand. A recent bunq survey shows that 65% of European citizens want a single app to manage their accounts, savings, and investments.

7) BlackRock adopts blockchain to track money market fund shares:
Asset management giant BlackRock is preparing a new blockchain-based initiative: it has filed to list shares of a $150 billion money market fund via blockchain technology. Unlike its tokenized fund BUIDL, these won’t be tokens per se; rather, the blockchain will serve to mirror share ownership records.

8) Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has raised its bitcoin bull case projection to $2.4 million by 2030, up from $1.5 million, using a new "experimental" model that factors in bitcoin’s illiquid supply, such as lost or long-held coins, to better reflect its scarcity. The firm’s base case is now $1.2 million, while the bear case sits at $500,000. Analyst David Puell explained that traditional models often overlook the impact of lost coins, skewing price expectations, and noted that bitcoin’s role as digital gold drives the lower scenarios, while institutional adoption powers the bullish outlook. Ark’s bull case assumes a compound annual growth rate of about 72% from the end of 2024 through 2030.

9) Bitwise has filed a "Bitwise NEAR ETF" trust company in Delaware, signaling an early step in the process toward applying for a spot NEAR ETF in the U.S. Bitwise CEO and co-founder Hunter Horsley confirmed to The Block on Friday that the firm made that Delaware filing. The move comes amid a broader push by Bitwise and other asset managers to launch spot crypto ETFs as the SEC adopts a friendlier stance toward the industry under the Trump administration.

10) Triple XRP ETFs Coming Next Week: ProShares is launching not one, but three XRP futures ETFs on April 30th. The lineup includes a 2x leveraged fund for the bulls, a short fund for the bears, and an ultra-short -2x leveraged option for the super bears.

11) Presto's research head Peter Chung is betting big on Bitcoin's future - predicting a staggering $210,000 by the end of 2025. In his recent CNBC interview, Chung doubled down on this ambitious target, citing institutional adoption as the primary catalyst. Rather than seeing Bitcoin's recent market corrections as setbacks, he views them as "healthy" adjustments building a stronger foundation.

12) Nasdaq has filed a 19b-4 proposal to list and trade shares of 21Shares' Dogecoin ETF. A 19b-4 filing is part of a two-step process for proposing a crypto ETF to the SEC. Once acknowledged by the agency, the filing will be published in the Federal Register, initiating its approval process. When filing its initial S-1 registration, 21Shares said it partnered with the House of Doge to launch funds endorsed by the Dogecoin Foundation. Grayscale, Bitwise and REX Shares have also previously filed for spot Dogecoin ETFs. However, the SEC delayed its decision on Bitwise's application on Tuesday, alongside a slew of other delay notices, including for Franklin's XRP ETF proposal.

13) Speaking at TOKEN2049 in Dubai, Maelstrom CIO Arthur Hayes reiterated his $1 million bitcoin prediction by 2028, urging investors to "go long everything" as he expects the U.S. to inject more dollar liquidity, similar to past quantitative easing efforts. Hayes likened current tariff-driven stress to crises like Q3 2022, which spurred a massive Fed liquidity response, and argued that while Fed Chair Powell may avoid aiding Trump-era markets directly, liquidity could still rise via hedge fund Treasury buybacks.

14) JPMorgan's Kinexys blockchain platform has expanded its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa, securing partnerships with eight of the region's leading banks, including Qatar National Bank and Saudi National Bank, to power cross-border payments, treasury functions and transaction efficiency. The expansion aims to modernize the region's financial infrastructure with 24/7, near-instant settlement for commercial transactions. Initially launched in 2019, Kinexys now handles over $2 billion in daily transactions, with year-over-year payment volume growing tenfold. However, the platform still only represents a fraction of the approximate $10 trillion in daily transactions handled by the bank's broader payments division.

15) Swiss asset manager 21Shares has filed for a SUI exchange-traded fund with the SEC. SUI's price rose by 10.9% in the past 24 hours following the ETF filing. The Sui Foundation announced a partnership with Fireblocks to improve institutional infrastructure.

Tech News

1) Elon Musk distances himself from Trump’s government to refocus on Tesla:
Amid growing criticism over Elon Musk’s ties to Donald Trump and his political involvement, the Tesla CEO has announced he will reduce his political activities. His goal is to refocus on Tesla, which is struggling with declining sales. Musk stated: “Probably in May, my time spent on DOGE will decrease significantly. The crucial work of the commission is mostly done. Then from the following month, I’ll dedicate all my time to Tesla.”

2) Ethereum: Major gas limit increase planned with the Fusaka upgrade:
Ethereum developers are working on a major upgrade: a massive increase in the gas limit, which could quadruple with the upcoming Fusaka hard fork. This evolution, currently under discussion, would significantly improve Ethereum's layer 1 scalability. The proposal suggests increasing the current block gas limit—set at just under 36 million since February 4—by a factor of four. Validators, who already approved a gas limit increase earlier this year, are supporting the plan. While the Pectra update is scheduled for May 2025, Fusaka is targeted for late 2025 and is shaping up to be a strategic turning point.

3) 8% yield on Bitcoin: Coinbase unveils its Bitcoin Yield Fund (CBYF):
Crypto exchange Coinbase is answering a long-standing demand: making Bitcoin an income-generating asset. It plans to do so through its new Bitcoin Yield Fund, ticker CBYF. This fund uses a common traditional finance strategy: exploiting the spread between Bitcoin’s spot price and perpetual futures contracts. This spread tends to widen in bullish markets, as demand for leverage inflates derivatives premiums.

4) Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist filed EIP-9698, a plan to let the blockchain’s gas limit grow on autopilot over the next four years. The EIP introduces a deterministic “exponential” schedule baked into client defaults, which nudges the gas limit upward by a tiny preset amount every epoch. These predictable gas limit increases allow current validators to keep their machines up to speed, cutting the need for sudden upgrades. If approved and implemented, the gas limit ceiling would climb from 36 million units to roughly 3.6 billion, allowing an estimated 6,000 simple transfers per block and over 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). Ethereum's current TPS is around 15-20 TPS.

5) Base, the popular layer-2 network from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), is now a “stage 1” rollup, said the company, setting up its path towards full decentralization. The transition to a “stage 1” rollup comes as other layer-2s have also reached that milestone, making these networks less reliant on centralized entities.

Adoption

1) PayPal offers 3.7% yield on PYUSD stablecoin to boost adoption:
PayPal is offering 3.7% annual yield to holders of its PYUSD stablecoin in a bid to increase adoption. Despite its ambitions, PYUSD currently has a market cap of around $873 million, compared to $145.3 billion for Tether’s USDT. It briefly crossed the $1 billion threshold in summer 2024 before retreating.

2) Payments giant Stripe develops its own “stablecoin product”:
On Friday, payments leader Stripe officially announced that it is developing a new stablecoin product. It is now seeking companies to participate in early tests—on the condition that they are not based in the U.S., EU, or UK.

3) From cancer research to Dogecoin (DOGE): a pharma company’s surprising pivot:
Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed company specializing in cell therapy for cancer and autoimmune diseases, is pivoting dramatically. It will merge with Z Squared Inc, a Dogecoin mining firm, and shift its primary focus to DOGE mining. Its pharma operations will continue via a separate entity outside Coeptis’s main business.

4) Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has acquired an additional 145 bitcoin, pushing its total holdings to 5,000 BTC—currently valued at around $460 million. CEO Simon Gerovich called it a major milestone, marking 50% progress toward the company’s 10,000 BTC target by the end of 2025, with a longer-term goal of 21,000 BTC by 2026. Metaplanet began its bitcoin accumulation strategy in April 2024 and is positioning itself as a global bitcoin treasury leader. Gerovich recently reaffirmed the company’s strategy amid share price volatility, saying, “We’re just getting started.” The announcement comes amid growing institutional momentum, including the launch of the $3.6 billion bitcoin-native venture Twenty One by Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Bitfinex and Tether.

5) Coinbase will offer free conversions between PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD and U.S. dollars, aiming to push on-chain payments into the mainstream. The initiative, available to retail and institutional users, is part of a broader partnership to position PYUSD as a go-to payment token, leveraging PayPal’s merchant network. Stablecoins, especially dollar-pegged ones, are rapidly growing as faster, cheaper alternatives to traditional payment systems, with Standard Chartered projecting a $2 trillion market by 2028. As regulation advances, competition among issuers is intensifying. PayPal’s PYUSD, which now boasts an $860 million market cap, recently began offering a 3.7% yield to attract more users.

6) Mastercard is expanding its role in the digital asset economy by launching new global capabilities to support stablecoin payments across its merchant network, partnering with OKX to introduce the "OKX Card" that connects crypto trading with everyday spending. Through collaborations with Nuvei, Circle, and Paxos, merchants will soon be able to settle transactions directly in stablecoins like USDC and USDP, aiming to make stablecoin use easier and more mainstream. Mastercard’s broader initiative spans wallet enablement, card issuance, merchant settlement, and on-chain remittances, building on earlier efforts like its Mastercard Crypto Credential service to simplify cross-border digital asset transfers.

7) Japanese investment firm Metaplanet is establishing a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Metaplanet Treasury Corp., in Miami this month to support its global bitcoin strategy. The new unit aims to raise up to $250 million to accelerate bitcoin treasury operations, according to CEO Simon Gerovich. By setting up in the U.S., Metaplanet seeks closer proximity to institutional capital and more efficient access to bitcoin markets. The firm has been steadily increasing its bitcoin holdings since launching its adoption strategy in April 2024. It recently surpassed 5,000 BTC, valued at $487 million, highlighting its aggressive accumulation.

Partnerships / Funding

1) Ripple proposes $5B acquisition of Circle — and gets rejected. Why?
According to Bloomberg, Ripple offered $5 billion to acquire Circle, the issuer of USDC—an amount close to Circle’s valuation. But Circle declined the offer. Why would Ripple want to buy Circle? Since late 2024, Ripple has been issuing its own USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, backed by cash, U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents. However, RLUSD currently lags far behind: it has a market cap of $316 million and $60 million in daily volume. In contrast, USDC commands a $61.57 billion market cap and $10.1 billion in daily volume. Clearly, these stablecoins are in entirely different leagues.

2) Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank are joining forces to launch a bitcoin-native public company called Twenty One through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners at a $3.6 billion pro-forma enterprise value. Backed by over 42,000 BTC at launch, the company aims to rival Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-heavy strategy by prioritizing BTC accumulation over fiat-based earnings metrics. Tether, SoftBank, and Bitfinex are set to contribute $1.5 billion, $900 million, and $600 million worth of bitcoin respectively, which will convert into equity at $10 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald will also help raise an additional $585 million via convertible notes and private equity to buy more bitcoin. Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, will lead the company, which plans to develop BTC-centric financial products and media, branding itself as a public stock “built by Bitcoiners, for Bitcoiners.”

3) Symbiotic has raised $29 million in a Series A round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and over 100 angel investors from major crypto projects like Aave, Polygon, and StarkWare. The funding will support Symbiotic’s expansion from Ethereum-based restaking into a broader “universal staking” platform, enabling any network to secure itself using any asset—not just native tokens. Currently live on 14 networks and aiming to scale to 35+, Symbiotic seeks to offer modular security to Layer 1s, Layer 2s, oracles, bridges, and more, while also exploring use cases in insurance and AI/ZK co-processing.

4) Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms (RIOT) has secured a $100 million credit facility from Coinbase Credit, using a portion of its 19,223 BTC (worth over $1.8 billion) as collateral. The short-term loan will be drawn over the next two months to support Riot’s expansion without issuing new shares. CEO Jason Les called the deal a strategic move to diversify financing while enhancing long-term shareholder value. The 364-day loan carries a variable interest rate of at least 7.75% annually and may be extended for another year with Coinbase’s approval. The funds will support Riot’s strategic initiatives and general operations.

5) Ubisoft has partnered with Immutable to launch "Might & Magic: Fates," bringing a legendary franchise into the blockchain space. This mobile strategy card game lets players truly own their digital cards - collecting, trading, and customizing them for competitive play. What sets it apart is its accessibility - the game is free-to-play with no progression barriers.

6) Crypto venture capital firm RockawayX has closed a $125 million second fund, with up to 75% allocated to early-stage Solana projects, according to Chief Growth Officer Samantha Bohbot. Backed by major limited partners, including Solana Labs co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, the fund has already begun investing in projects such as DoubleZero and Hyperlend. RockawayX cites Solana’s speed, low fees, and builder-focused ecosystem as key drivers of its strategy, while also targeting DeFi, infrastructure, and decentralized networks. As an “engineering-first” investor, the firm operates validators from European data centers and develops hardware tools like optimized GPUs to support the protocols it backs.

7) Real-world asset tokenization firm Securitize has launched the MI4 crypto index fund in collaboration with Mantle, which committed $400 million as the fund's anchor investment. MI4 offers diversified exposure to BTC, ETH, SOL, and U.S. dollar stablecoins, while enhancing returns through DeFi staking and quarterly rebalancing, aiming to become the "S&P 500 of crypto." Mantle's Head of Strategy Timothy Chen described the fund as a “set-it-and-forget-it” option for institutions seeking onchain yield without the complexity of managing custody. MI4 enters a rapidly growing tokenized RWA market, which has more than doubled to over $21 billion in the past year.

8) Crypto venture capital firm Paradigm has led a $50 million Series A round for Nous Research, valuing the decentralized AI startup at $1 billion even before the launch of its token, according to Delphi Digital’s Tommy Shaughnessy. Nous Research plans to challenge centralized AI labs like OpenAI by leveraging blockchain networks such as Solana to coordinate global contributors and tokenize idle computing power. The team also unveiled the testnet for its Psyche Network, an open infrastructure on Solana designed for decentralized, censorship-resistant AI model training using distributed GPU hardware. The new funding will support research and development, computing infrastructure, strategic engineering hires, and the creation of new AI models.

9) Miden, a zero-knowledge rollup project originally developed under Polygon Labs, has raised $25 million in seed funding to launch Edge — a privacy-first blockchain powered by zero-knowledge-proof technology. The round was structured as a simple agreement for future equity with token warrants, co-led by a16z crypto, 1kx and Hack VC, with participation from high-profile angel investors, among others. Co-founder Azeem Khan said Miden will succeed where other privacy chains failed by balancing speed, programmability and user experience. Miden plans to launch its mainnet and native token in Q4, with airdrops targeting POL holders and stakers to directly reward the ecosystem that helped it grow.

10) Libre, a tokenization firm that works closely with the likes of hedge fund Brevan Howard, investment management firm Hamilton Lane and Nomura's digital assets unit Laser Digital, plans to tokenize $500 million worth of Telegram debt as the blockchain-based Telegram Bond Fund (TBF) on the TON network that's linked to the messaging platform. TBF will offer accredited investors exposure to some of the around $2.35 billion of outstanding bonds issued by Telegram, providing institutional-grade yield products that will also be available as collateral for on-chain borrowing and product development on TON, Libre said.

11) Ethena Labs and the Ethena Foundation have teamed up with the TON Foundation to bring synthetic stablecoins USDe and sUSDe to the TON blockchain, which is closely integrated with Telegram. The partnership includes the native integration of sUSDe on TON as "tsUSDe," making it accessible through Telegram's built-in wallet and other TON-compatible wallets. Eligible TON users can earn a 10% yield boost on up to 10,000 tsUSDe, in addition to existing Ethena staking rewards. The collaboration is part of Ethena's broader 2025 growth strategy and aims to leverage Telegram’s massive 1 billion-user base. By embedding tsUSDe into Telegram’s financial ecosystem, the project seeks to promote USDe as a practical digital dollar savings solution. The integration could drive mainstream adoption of synthetic dollars by combining decentralized finance infrastructure with a widely used messaging app.

Disclaimer: The information disclosed here does not constitute an investment advice ; it is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. You should do your own research while investing in crypto and only invest money you are ready to lose.