Kohaku—Japanese for “amber,” the stuff that traps and preserves—is the Foundation’s answer. It is not another mixer, not another L2, but a wallet-level privacy toolkit: a Lego box of modular SDKs and a reference browser-extension wallet (built on Ambire) that turns discretionary privacy into a default setting.

2. Inside the Kohaku Wallet: Multi-Key, Risk-Rated, IP-Invisible

• Multi-key architecture – everyday spending key, vault key, recovery key; no single mnemonic to rule them all.

• Risk-based approvals – $10 goes through instantly, $100 k forces a second factor and a 24-hour delay.

• Plug-and-play privacy – transactions can be routed through Railgun or Privacy Pools without leaving the wallet; no new trusted setup required.

• Network cloaking – native integration with mixnets (NYM) and soon zk-RPC so that even balance lookups never expose the user’s IP.

The goal is to make “private” the default radio-button instead of a hidden advanced tab.

3. Why This Matters: A Shared Infrastructure Instead of 1 000 Re-inventions
Until now, every rollup team had to reinvent stealth addresses, recovery flows and compliance hooks. Kohaku offers a common library—think of it as ERC-4337 but for privacy. If adopted, wallets can stop competing on who builds the best anonymity stack and start competing on UX, fiat on-ramps and cute fox logos.

It also drags Ethereum into the regulatory daylight. Association lists and view-keys are baked in, letting issuers prove “we are not laundering” without revealing the world’s balances. Whether that is the perfect balance or a slippery slope is now a live, testable debate rather than a Twitter flame-war.

4. The Privacy Arcade: Nine Projects That Filled the Hall
While Kohaku stole the keynote, the adjacent “Privacy Zone” felt like a sci-fi bazaar. The heavy-hitters:

• Aztec – zkRollup with programmable private state; public testnet live, Noir language shipping.

• Railgun – DAO-governed privacy pool across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon; “Private Proof-of-Innocence” exports view-keys for auditors.

• 0xbow – Privacy Pools with an Association-Set Provider that screens deposits against sanctioned addresses in zero-knowledge.

• Fileverse – end-to-end-encrypted Google-Docs-on-IPFS; access rights handled by UCAN tokens.

• Holonym – “Human.tech” stack: prove you’re over 18, a citizen, or not a bot without doxxing yourself.

• Fluidkey – generates a fresh stealth address for every incoming payment; $400 M TVL already routed through it.

• Rarimo – zk-passport + unlinkable social-recovery wallet (Unforgettable); vote anonymously on Snapshot.

• ZKPassport – standalone protocol turning government NFC chips into zk proofs of nationality or age.

• NYM – mixnet that anonymises packet metadata, already plugged into Kohaku’s roadmap.

5. Institutional Reality Check: Privacy as a Prerequisite, Not a Feature
Danny Ryan (ex-EF researcher) put it bluntly: “Pension funds don’t care about your ape JPEGs. They care that their portfolio allocations can’t be front-run. No privacy, no mandate, no inflow.”

Coin Center’s Val Keenburgh framed the stakes even sharper: “Anything transparent is eventually captured; anything captured ceases to be neutral.” For Wall Street, privacy is not ideology—it is a fiduciary duty.

6. The Philosophical Pivot: Freedom, Order, Progress
Vitalik’s April essay “In Defence of Privacy” argued that privacy is the triad that keeps society alive:

• Freedom – room to experiment without eternal social scoring.

• Order – markets and democracies need non-public negotiations to function.

• Progress – medical research, AI datasets and credit scoring all require selective disclosure, not glass-house transparency.

Buenos Aires turned that essay into working code.

7. What Happens Next
Kohaku’s reference wallet ships in Q1 2026; the SDK is already on GitHub under Apache-2.0. Major teams—MetaMask, Rabby, Keystone—have commits in the repo. If the merge-into-existing-privacy-tools strategy wins, Ethereum will have done for private payments what ERC-20 did for tokens: make them boring, standard and everywhere.

The amber has hardened. Now we watch who gets trapped inside—and who walks out free.

* Regulatory Catalysis: The US Department of Justice's seizure of $15 billion in Bitcoin assets from the founder of Cambodia's Prince Group raised concerns about cryptocurrency anonymity, boosting demand for privacy coins.

* Celebrity and Institutional Endorsement: Silicon Valley investor Naval has repeatedly publicly supported ZEC, viewing it as "insurance for Bitcoin." Holdings by institutions like Grayscale and listings on Coinbase have also brought liquidity and trust to privacy coins.

* Continuous Technological Upgrades: ZEC released a new roadmap focusing on optimizing wallet privacy and usability, with its shielded pool token supply surpassing 4.9 million. DASH is advancing its testnet, planning support for private DeFi and performance improvements.

* Market Skepticism: Some viewpoints suggest privacy coins might be used as anonymous exchange tools to facilitate large-scale Bitcoin sell-offs, a speculation intensified by BTC's recent downward trend.

Despite the renewed热度 (heat) for privacy coins, some projects are accused of having removed privacy features. Investors need to be wary of hype risks and rationally assess the actual value of projects.

Summary

Expand

Author: Wenser, Odaily Star Daily

With ZEC's market cap breaking $7 billion to new highs and DASH's contract volume creating historical records, privacy sector tokens have returned to the main market stage, making one wonder what year it is. As the market trends downwards, privacy coins have become one of the few sectors remaining resilient or even continuously rising, leading many to place high hopes on them. Crypto KOL Ansem places ZEC at the same height as BTC; BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has twice called for ZEC to rise to $10,000. Behind such狂热 (fanatical) growth, privacy coins are actually playing an alternative "value transfer" role. Odaily Star Daily will briefly analyze and discuss the truths behind the privacy coin sector's surge in this article for readers' reference.

Reignited Market Enthusiasm for Privacy Coins: Analysis of Multiple Factors

It is worth mentioning that the emergence and development of privacy coins did not happen overnight.

As early as 2014, DASH was known in the market as a "privacy token." Before it, Bytecoin, which introduced the CryptoNote protocol and used Ring Signatures technology to achieve anonymous transactions, was a pioneer in the sector.

In 2016, ZEC was born, characterized by its use of zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge proof technology) to achieve "optional privacy," giving users the choice between transparent or shielded transactions. During the same period, XMR forked from Bytecoin, using the RingCT protocol to provide default full privacy protection, thus gaining market popularity.

After 2019, due to regulatory pressure and exchange delistings, privacy coins once cooled down, but new privacy coin projects still emerged, such as ZEN introducing the concept of sidechain privacy, and ARRR achieving 100% mandatory privacy.

Strictly speaking, privacy coins can be called the cryptocurrency sector "most in line with the spirit of decentralization after BTC." Looking at the recent collective surge of the privacy coin sector, besides high-profile endorsement from Silicon Valley investor Naval for ZEC, there are still multiple underlying reasons—

US Government Seizure of $15 Billion BTC May Be the Direct Trigger

On the 14th of this month, the "US Department of Justice's seizure of a massive amount of BTC assets from Cambodian Prince Group founder Chen Zhi" was made public through a lawsuit. These assets, totaling 127,271 BTC valued at $15 billion, cast a shadow over the past "advantages" of the cryptocurrency market like decentralization and anonymity.

When regulatory enforcement targets a specific individual offline, even if that person holds vast asset wealth, they are powerless against the crackdown. Consequently, market demand and attention for privacy coins have surged again.

Celebrity Endorsements and Institutional Backing: Privacy Coins Regain Liquidity

In the recent surge, the price increase of ZEC, as a benchmark in the sector, has undoubtedly been the most prominent. Investigating the initial trigger for its continuously rising price, it actually started with Silicon Valley investor Naval quoting a post by Helius founder Mert on October 1st: "Bitcoin is insurance against fiat. ZCash is insurance against Bitcoin." At that time, ZEC's price was only around $68.

On October 20th, Naval mentioned ZEC again, emphasizing its advantages: "(Even though privacy coins like XMR faced CEX delistings), this is why Zcash offers the transparent option—to remain listed on exchanges for as long as possible. However, as we gradually enter the DEX era, this is now less important." His words showed full confidence in ZEC's technical roadmap.

The investment mogul, a billionaire, acted like a "butterfly flapping its wings," triggering a fervent "privacy coin storm" in the crypto market.

Additionally, the asset holdings of the famous asset management institution Grayscale's ZCSH Trust (over $100 million) and the Coinbase listing have also brought a significant institutional endorsement effect for ZEC and the entire privacy coin sector,随之而来 (followed by) market liquidity.

[Naval openly promoting]

Ongoing Development of Privacy Projects: Continuous Technological Upgrades

Recently, the ZEC development organization Electric Coin Co. (ECC) released its Q4 2025 roadmap, focusing on reducing technical debt, enhancing privacy and usability for Zashi wallet users, and ensuring smooth management of the development fund. Key plans include: adding temporary transparent addresses for all ZEC swaps using the NEAR Intents protocol, generating a new transparent address after an address receives funds, and supporting Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH) multisignature for Keystone hardware wallets.

Meanwhile, the latest data shows, possibly influenced by the ecosystem's Orchard upgrade, the total amount of tokens in Zcash's Shielded Supply recently exceeded 4.9 million, reaching 4.927 million, accounting for about 30% of the circulating supply,不言自明 (speaking volumes) about real adoption.

[ZEC Shielded Pool Token Supply]

On the other hand, the veteran privacy coin DASH is also advancing the development of its Evolution testnet, with subsequent plans to support private DeFi, integrate cross-chain bridges (like Solana integration) to increase TPS to 1000+, potentially attracting more new projects to join its ecosystem.

In the crypto market, tokens are king, but technical strength is also indispensable. Without continuously improving technology and user experience, no matter how high the token price rises, it终究 (ultimately) is just a moon in the mirror or flowers in the water, leaving investors with only a mess.

Surface Privacy, Actually a Dumping Medium? Is Privacy Coins' Value Just BTC Exchange?

Apart from the more objective facts above, another speculative possibility behind the privacy coin surge is their value as "anonymous exchange cash."

Crypto KOL CryptoMaid posted: "What ZEC, ZEN, XMR... the main function of these anonymous coins. Since over a decade ago, there has only been one—when someone wants to sell Bitcoin anonymously, they first exchange it for these anonymous coins through some gateways, then slowly sell off on third or fourth-tier exchanges. So they get a major pump every bull cycle. They have long been outside the mainstream narrative of the coin circle."

It must be said, considering BTC's recent downward trend, this viewpoint holds some reference value.

Often, so-called "decentralization" and "privacy" are just packaged concepts used for selling off, while what's more important are the interests carried behind these concepts.

[Image: People bustling, profit coming and going]

Where people bustle, profit follows; this is especially true in the crypto market.

Conclusion: Privacy Isn't a "Cure-All," Hype is Only a Quick Fix

Of course, privacy coins are not a "cure-all." As Super Jun from Benmo Community posted, "Upon researching, I found out that two certain privacy coins actually removed their privacy functions two years ago, so按理 (theoretically) they shouldn't count as privacy coins anymore." And when checking the withdrawal for one of them, the project didn't even have its own mainnet anymore, just a regular token hosted on the Base chain. (Odaily Star Daily Note: Multiple users in the comments pointed out that this view targets the privacy token project ZEN.)

On the path to pursuing privacy, no one hopes to participate in a pure project that waves the banner of "decentralized ideals" just for the love of it, but even fewer want to become mere "air token investors." After all, the cost of the latter is often much more painful.

ERC-8004
As a foundational protocol standard, ERC-8004 aims to establish universal interaction rules for AI agents. Through three core on-chain registries—Identity, Reputation, and Validation—it seeks to create a trustless infrastructure for AI agent collaboration. This would position Ethereum as a neutral and trustworthy settlement layer for AI agents.

Virtuals ACP Protocol
Focused on the application layer, Virtuals' ACP protocol provides an out-of-the-box platform for rapidly building decentralized AI agent markets and commercial collaboration pipelines. It emphasizes low-barrier creation, tokenized ownership, and diverse use cases (e.g., AI companions, traders) to drive adoption.

Complementary, Not Competitive
These two initiatives are not in competition but rather complement each other. ERC-8004 can be likened to a "highway network standard," laying the groundwork for trust and interoperability. Virtuals, in turn, operates like an "intelligent logistics company," leveraging this standard to run a practical AI agent economy. Together, they propel the scalable growth of the AI agent economy.

Summary

A recent mention by @brucexu_eth drew my attention to Ethereum's ERC-8004 proposal. It appears the Ethereum community is already preparing for the emergence of an on-chain AI agent economy.

In simple terms, ERC-8004 aims to enable "trustless AI agents" within the Ethereum ecosystem. By introducing three on-chain registries for Identity, Reputation, and Validation, AI agents can discover one another, verify tasks, and interact on-chain without relying on trust. This creates a decentralized A2A (Agent-to-Agent) system, enabling AI agents to collaborate across organizations.

This concept shares some similarities with Virtuals' ACP protocol. Both focus on building, interacting, and fostering an economic ecosystem for decentralized AI agents. Both are constructing autonomous ecosystems for AI agents and emphasize cryptography as the foundation for trust and settlement.

• ERC-8004 uses ERC-721 tokens for agent identity, supports real-time stablecoin payments (via EIP-3009 and HTTP 402), and ensures task verification through restaking and zero-knowledge proofs.

• Virtuals' ACP provides a framework for AI agents to communicate autonomously on-chain and off-chain, coordinate tasks, and interact without intermediaries or permissions. On-chain smart contracts handle core interactions, while off-chain APIs or P2P networks support high-frequency data exchange (e.g., real-time messages, computation results). ACP assigns an on-chain identity to each AI agent and enables pricing and trading via a bonding curve mechanism.

However, the relationship between the two is largely complementary rather than competitive.

Differences in Positioning and Vision
ERC-8004 is a protocol standard (currently a draft as of August 2025), similar to ERC-20, designed to define universal rules for AI agent interactions across the entire Ethereum ecosystem. It emphasizes foundational trust mechanisms and interoperability. By offering standardized identity, reputation, and verification systems, ERC-8004 aims to attract developers to build cross-organizational AI agent ecosystems.

Virtuals, on the other hand, provides an out-of-the-box platform enabling users (including non-developers) to quickly create and monetize AI agents. Different users may choose different entry points: those seeking rapid deployment might opt for Virtuals due to its simplicity (starting with just 100 VIRTUAL tokens).

ERC-8004's vision is to become a foundational trust infrastructure, positioning Ethereum as a neutral, reliable settlement layer for AI agent coordination. From simple social bots to complex institutional-grade AI hedge fund strategies, all can interact and verify transparently and securely on this base.

Virtuals' vision is to create a vibrant AI economy, focusing on low-barrier agent creation, tokenized collective ownership, and rich application scenarios (e.g., AI companions, traders, game characters) to quickly build a thriving AI agent market and community.

Synergistic Collaboration
Virtuals' ACP can be seen as a "commercial pipeline": its core lies in defining a complete "business process" for complex commercial collaborations between AI agents. From initiating requests and negotiating terms to executing transactions and final evaluations, it operates like an assembly line, specifying how business is conducted step-by-step. This "pipeline" can be built atop the "foundation of trust" provided by ERC-8004.

Thus, from a broader framework:

• ERC-8004 is the underlying standard, defining trust and interaction rules for AI agents.

• Virtuals operates at the application layer, with many of its features (e.g., agent identity and task verification) potentially implemented directly on ERC-8004.

The Ethereum Foundation and Virtuals are already collaborating to achieve ecosystem synergy. For instance, Virtuals' agent marketplace could leverage ERC-8004's on-chain registries to enhance cross-chain interoperability and attract more developers to the platform.

Moreover, both initiatives are expanding the "AI agent economy" pie:

• ERC-8004 lowers development barriers through standardization, attracting institutions and large developers.

• Virtuals offers low-cost entry points, appealing to everyday users and creators.

An imperfect but illustrative analogy:
ERC-8004 is like the "standard for a highway network," specifying lane widths, markings, and signaling systems. Virtuals, meanwhile, is like an "intelligent logistics and commerce company" operating on this highway, with its own fleet (AI agents) and dispatch system (ACP protocol). It can leverage the ERC-8004 standard to tap into a broader network.

* Power Surplus & Debt Problem: Laos aimed to become the "Battery of Southeast Asia" by building numerous hydropower dams. However, power supply now far exceeds demand, and the dam projects have brought a heavy debt burden and ecological damage.

* Cryptocurrency Mining as a Solution: The government has begun issuing licenses to cryptocurrency trading platforms and mining operations, aiming to profit from cheap hydropower and attract foreign miners.

* Environmental & Social Costs: Dam construction has led to disrupted river ecosystems, forced relocations of communities, and unfulfilled promises of improved livelihoods, exacerbating local hardships.

* Economic Challenges: Laos confronts high inflation, currency depreciation, and pressure from high US tariffs. While the International Monetary Fund acknowledges the economic logic of monetizing excess power, it warns that debt and inflation could drag down growth long-term.

Despite the controversies, Laos views cryptocurrency mining as a potential path towards its digital economy goals and escaping the UN's list of "Least Developed Countries."

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Authored by: SCMP

Compiled by: Ivan, WuShuo Blockchain

Burdened by debt and a power surplus, the "Battery of Southeast Asia" is looking to energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining for profits.

Laos aspired to become the "Battery of Southeast Asia." Years of large-scale hydropower dam construction have left the country with a surplus of electricity but also a rapidly climbing debt burden.

Now, to convert this excess power into economic gain, the government is introducing power-hungry cryptocurrency mining operations—a move drawing international scrutiny and domestic debate.

In the multi-billion dollar digital asset mining industry, participants earn Bitcoin and other tokens as rewards for solving complex blockchain algorithms, a process notorious for its high energy consumption.

However, Laos, having built dozens of hydropower projects on the Mekong River and its tributaries, now produces more electricity than the market can absorb.

Government trade data shows that electricity accounted for 26% of Laos's total exports last year. This landlocked nation, long among the poorest in Southeast Asia, is selling its cheap hydropower to energy-hungry Asian neighbors striving to meet climate goals.

Yet, this hydropower construction boom came at a high cost. Environmentalists warn that the dams have damaged river ecosystem health, harmed downstream agriculture and fisheries reliant on sediment-rich waters, and displaced tens of thousands—possibly even hundreds of thousands—of people.

Critics argue this policy sacrifices local livelihoods and ecosystems for economic returns that are questionable.

Meanwhile, Laos's debt has piled up. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a significant portion of the dam financing came from Chinese loans and foreign companies, but the return on this investment is slow due to Laos's lack of transmission infrastructure to export the surplus power.

Laotian officials are now exploring new ways to monetize this idle electricity. Following a high-level meeting, the state-run Vientiane Times reported that policymakers are studying "long-term economic opportunities," including "digital asset mining… enabling the country to turn surplus electricity into economic value."

While regulators remain cautious about the risks of volatile digital assets, Laos has begun issuing licenses to local cryptocurrency trading platforms and mining operations.

This move comes as ordinary citizens grapple with high inflation, and the Lao kip has lost about half its value against the US dollar over the past five years.

Compounding the situation, the US recently imposed a 40% tariff on imports from Laos—the second-highest rate among Washington's trade partners.

Many environmental advocates see the turn to cryptocurrency mining as a symptom of a flawed energy policy—one that has saddled Laos with debt and power it cannot use.

"Allowing electricity for crypto mining is clearly not driven by domestic conditions," said Witoon Permpongsacharoen, head of the Mekong Energy and Ecology Network. "It stems from Laos's heavy debt and its inability to pay it."

Paradoxically, Laos suffers from a power surplus during the rainy season but must purchase electricity from neighbors during the dry season when hydropower output declines.

"Most of Laos's hydropower energy supply is seasonal; during the dry season, Laos buys back power from Thailand," said Pianporn Deetes of International Rivers.

Deetes added that for communities relocated to make way for reservoirs and dams, most promised livelihood improvements have not materialized; many face greater hardship, not prosperity.

She said Laos risks "taking the country's rich natural resources away from the people, leaving them worse off, not better."

Nonetheless, the government's venture into cryptocurrency mining has attracted regional attention as global trade winds shift and countries seek new growth sources.

Laos aims to become a mature digital economy by 2030 and is expected to graduate from the UN's list of "Least Developed Countries" next year.

Despite China—Laos's powerful northern neighbor—banning cryptocurrency mining and trading in 2021 over financial stability concerns, Laos has become an attractive destination for Chinese miners due to its low electricity prices, sometimes even involving illegal activities.

The Lao government's latest measures aim to bring these activities under official oversight and tax the industry through licensing.

The IMF sees the economic logic in monetizing surplus power, but challenges remain.

The IMF warned last November that Laos has "significant public debt levels, posing challenges to its medium-term prospects"; under current policies, "inflation and debt servicing could intensify, implying significant drag on growth for longer."

Prediction Market Derivatives
Polymarket is nearing a $10 billion valuation, while Kalshi secured $185 million in funding. Monthly trading volume across prediction markets now exceeds $1 billion, signaling a transition beyond niche status. Current markets primarily operate on binary options (Yes/No), but the derivatives layer can integrate with DeFi to develop sophisticated products like lending, perpetual contracts, AI-enhanced prediction tools, cross-market arbitrage platforms, and automated market makers. Future expansions into economic data releases, major sports events, and crypto pre-markets will further amplify exposure and drive scale.

Notable Projects:

• Gondor: Offers lending and leverage tools to amplify positions on platforms like Polymarket.

• Melee: Positioned as the "PumpFun for prediction markets."

• Poll: A social prediction market enabling friends to bet on any event.

• TalusNetwork: Introduces an AI Agent infrastructure layer, supporting competitive gaming among agents.

AI Agent Payment Protocols
Google recently collaborated with 60 partners to launch the AP2 protocol, enabling trusted payments between AI agents through authorization mechanisms and verifiable credentials. In parallel, partnerships with Coinbase and the Ethereum Foundation are advancing the development of x402 crypto payment components, allowing agents to seamlessly handle stablecoins and other crypto assets. Building on protocols like MCP and A2A, AP2 completes the last-mile infrastructure for an agent-to-agent economy, unlocking end-to-end automation in analysis, execution, and payment. This foundation is critical for the imminent rise of AgentFi.

Notable Projects:

• Kite AI: Backed by PayPal Ventures, this L1 chain is designed for agent payments, featuring Kite Passport identity verification, Proof of AI Contribution (PoAI), and an Agent App Store for e-commerce integration. Ecosystem TVL stands at ~$1 billion.

• Firecrawl: Funded by Y Combinator, this open-source crawler converts websites into LLM-ready data.

• Skyfire: Supported by Coinbase and a16z, it provides an open protocol for AI agent payments and identity verification, enabling agent access to websites and MCP servers.

Yield-Bearing Stablecoin Strategies
The surge in Ethena’s liquidity, Plasma’s standout TGE performance, and Falcon Finance’s growing prominence have made yield-bearing stablecoins a breakout trend. This segment combines expectations of Wall Street adoption with organic crypto growth, setting it apart from purely native narratives. By integrating DeFi protocols (e.g., lending, liquidity mining) and real-world assets (e.g., U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds), these stablecoins offer holders 4%–25% APY while maintaining a stable dollar peg. This transforms "holding stablecoins" into a low-risk farming strategy, positioning yield-bearing stablecoins as foundational infrastructure for DeFi’s next phase.

Notable Projects:

• Yield Basis: Launched on Kraken Launchpad and backed by Curve’s founder, it uses an impermanent loss-free AMM mechanism to tackle DeFi’s IL challenges.

• USDai: Raised over $13 million from Framework/Dragonfly. It is the first yield-bearing stablecoin to tokenize AI compute revenue, converting GPU usage fees into on-chain dividends.

• Cap: Acts as a stablecoin farming optimizer deeply integrated with the MegaETH ecosystem. Its core product, Cap Frontier, is a points acceleration system.

• Theo Network: A full-stack RWA platform issuing Hyperliquid mainnet T-Bill RWA stablecoins. It leverages Hyperliquid’s decentralized node system, with community airdrop expectations around $HYPE.

Summary

Crypto-native professionals can immediately dive into high-risk, time-sensitive projects, especially in areas like smart contract development where precision is critical.

Traditional tech talent brings experience in scalable operations, complex system management, and cross-domain expertise (e.g., fintech, UX), which helps drive crypto products toward mainstream adoption.

The hiring process should evaluate candidates’ motivations, using targeted conversations to gauge their interest and adaptability to the crypto industry, while emphasizing the company’s vision and technological value.

During onboarding, knowledge-sharing sessions, mentorship pairings, and continuous education can help newcomers fill crypto knowledge gaps and integrate quickly.

Innovative compensation structures, such as token-based incentives, can address liquidity constraints in early-stage companies and attract top talent.

Author: Ian Dutra, Craig Naylor (a16z Crypto)

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

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As the crypto industry’s growth fuels massive demand for talent, crypto founders need to know how to find and recruit the best people—both those native to the crypto world and those with traditional tech experience. However, one of the biggest questions remains: should you hire people with crypto experience or those who can learn quickly? This sparks endless internal debates.

The good news is that the crypto industry isn’t the first to face talent pipeline challenges. This means you can draw on established practices to find the right people with the right skills. This guide aims to help founders and recruiters determine when crypto-native experience is essential, when other types of experience can have the greatest impact, and what challenges and considerations to address during the hiring process.

To simplify: while crypto companies differ from traditional tech companies in some ways, the processes and best practices for finding, hiring, and onboarding talent are similar. You’re building a tech company, not just a “crypto company.” So, be sure to apply those proven best practices to find talent with the right skills.

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You Need Both Crypto-Native and Traditional Talent

A rule of thumb is that crypto-native professionals have one crucial advantage: they can hit the ground running. High-stakes projects are often time-sensitive, and every day counts. Sometimes, native crypto expertise is indispensable. This is especially true for roles involving blockchain technology and its foundational infrastructure—even the most skilled professionals may face a steep learning curve.

Smart contract development is a prime example. These self-executing protocols are coded directly on the blockchain and require precision and an understanding of decentralized logic, which is fundamentally different from traditional programming. A single bug in a smart contract can lead to catastrophic losses, even millions of dollars, making this a high-risk area where knowing the rules is essential.

Bringing talent into an industry with such a steep learning curve can be challenging, as candidates may need time to adapt to the nuances of blockchain technology—decentralization vs. centralization, open-source ethos, etc.—as well as the “crypto mindset,” which encompasses everything from unique cultural terminology to ways of thinking.

However, non-crypto talent can drive the industry forward in many areas, especially as companies scale. For example, traditional professionals with software engineering or operations backgrounds bring diverse skills and rich experience often honed at large tech companies. These professionals are often versatile, capable of navigating internal bureaucracy and obstacles to get things done. This operational flexibility becomes a powerful asset in the multidisciplinary teams common in crypto’s rapid growth.

Experience with scalability is also critical. Traditional candidates have often worked on products used by millions of users and have tackled the challenges that come with success: ensuring systems remain operational under extreme infrastructure loads, optimizing performance at scale, and handling unpredictable demand surges. This experience directly applies to Web3 products as they transition from niche crypto audiences to mainstream markets.

For instance, candidates from fintech may have relevant experience in payment technologies or financial regulations that could benefit your business. If you’re developing infrastructure or consumer applications, there’s a vast pool of talent with years of scaling experience in these areas. Consider where these experiences overlap and assess how to quickly get them up to speed on crypto-specific technologies to build your ideal team.

More broadly, candidates with expertise in design, user experience, scalability, security, and leadership can accelerate innovation in crypto, as these skills are often domain-agnostic and may even make them better suited than those without such experience.

Once you’ve identified the skills and people you need—including whether they truly need to be crypto-native—the next step is to go out and recruit them.

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Recruiting Top Talent from All Backgrounds

The biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity are two sides of the same coin: you are a crypto company.

For some candidates from traditional backgrounds, the volatility of crypto, recent regulatory uncertainties, industry jargon, and decentralized products may seem too alien or unappealing—or both. But for others, that same unfamiliarity and occasional instability are exciting—not a flaw but a feature. During recruitment conversations, delve into how candidates view the stability and comfort of large companies versus the opportunities and challenges of a fast-growing startup.

Share a challenge your team faced in recent weeks, explain how you addressed it, and emphasize the responsibilities each team member is expected to shoulder given the company’s size and stage. Their reaction may reveal how they would handle similar situations, and at the very least, it will set expectations for what’s required when challenges arise.

Candidates may know little about crypto when first contacted, but natural curiosity and interest in the advantages of decentralization are key. During the hiring process, an important signal is whether their knowledge and engagement deepen over time: Are they doing their own research? Are they asking more specific questions as they learn?

To distinguish between skeptical candidates and those genuinely interested—and to avoid wasting time and resources—understand their motivations early to ensure alignment with your company’s direction. This is a fundamental hiring principle, but it’s worth emphasizing, especially in crypto.

Tailor each hiring conversation to the candidate: What drives them in their current role? What kept them engaged in past roles? These factors will likely play a significant part in their decision this time, too. Start uncovering these answers from the first phone call.

By the end of the process, you want to hire someone who aligns with your company’s vision and is passionate about your product. At the same time, your team should feel excited about the new hire; this will help you gauge whether the candidate is a good fit, regardless of their crypto experience. Let this always be your guide.

Since you’re targeting curious candidates, tailor your pitch to them. Start by explaining the two cultural narratives in crypto: the “computer culture,” which sees blockchain as a tool for building new networks and driving a new computing movement, and the “casino culture,” which focuses on speculation, trading, and gambling. Then, share how this emerging industry offers a unique opportunity to reshape the future of technology, much like the early days of the internet.

A useful thought experiment is to try talking about your product and company without mentioning crypto. What problems does your company solve? What inspired you to start it? Why does it make the world better? This approach helps convey your company’s philosophy and vision without distracting listeners with technical details.

Another good starting point is to simply ask, “What do you know about crypto?” Even if the response is skeptical or negative—based on news stories or casino culture narratives—this opens a dialogue and allows you to address their real concerns: external factors (policy), internal factors (technical complexity), personal factors (risk tolerance), etc. You can acknowledge that many in crypto share some of these doubts and steer the conversation toward the cool technical problems your project is solving.

Not everyone is primarily motivated by money, but you should also be prepared to highlight the financial upside of crypto. Historically, top talent has been reluctant to join early-stage companies for three main reasons: (1) intense work culture, (2) poor work-life balance, and (3) lack of liquidity compensation. Even if you address the first two, the third can still cause you to lose many potential candidates.

Compared to the rare liquidity events like IPOs or acquisitions in Web2, innovations in compensation, such as token-based structures, can offer financial benefits and liquidity for early-stage companies. Be sure to use vesting/token grant plans that align employees with long-term goals, binding them to the company’s success over time. Compensation is a complex topic and obviously top of mind for job seekers, so make sure you’re well-prepared to discuss it.

If you execute these steps well, you’ll have a great chance of attracting top talent from outside the industry to your company. Next, you need to help them understand how they can contribute their best work day to day.

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Onboarding Considerations

Integrating new talent into a Web3 company requires accelerating their adaptation through education. You’ve already identified each candidate’s knowledge gaps during the interview process. Use this information to design an onboarding experience that fills those gaps as quickly as possible.

For example, new hires may need help moving beyond the technical details of blockchain and decentralized systems to understand the real-world problems they’ll be solving and to build confidence in their roles.

Regular knowledge-sharing sessions, where new employees can engage with more experienced crypto-native team members, foster collaboration and allow everyone to learn from each other’s strengths. Mentorship programs pairing newcomers with seasoned Web3 professionals provide valuable hands-on learning. Even better, you can structure programs so that crypto “unicorns” (those with all the skills, knowledge, and background) pair with new hires, helping them develop into their own crypto unicorns over time.

Upskilling and education are essential and will remain so as the industry evolves. Resources like blockchain-related blogs, podcasts, and educational courses—covering topics such as how to use smart wallets, staking, tokenomics, smart contract design, or basic blockchain concepts—are great starting points for continuous learning. Mentorship from established crypto organizations can offer practical experience, and insights from industry thought leaders through reports (including our own “State of Crypto” report) can provide deep insights.

The key is that whatever your new hires need to excel, your job is to help them learn, find, or access those resources from day one.

Core Definition and Classification of Stablecoins
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by pegging to fiat currencies, commodities, or other cryptographic assets. They are primarily categorized into fiat-collateralized stablecoins (e.g., USDT, USDC), crypto-collateralized stablecoins (e.g., DAI), and algorithmic stablecoins (e.g., the collapsed UST).

Importance of Stablecoins

• As the "medium of exchange" and "safe haven" within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, they provide a measure of value and liquidity.

• They enable low-cost, high-speed, and financially inclusive global payments and remittances.

• As foundational assets in decentralized finance (DeFi), they support lending, trading, and other protocols.

• They drive the digital transformation of traditional finance, serving as core tools for the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).

The Necessity of Compliance
The collapse of UST in 2022 exposed the systemic risks of stablecoins, making compliance a prerequisite for survival. Key reasons include preventing risk contagion, curbing illicit financial activities, and safeguarding monetary sovereignty.

Major Compliance Risks

1. Legal Classification Risks: Divergent regulatory classifications across jurisdictions lead to surging compliance costs.

2. Reserve Asset Risks: Non-transparent or insufficient reserve assets can trigger bank runs.

3. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) Risks: Stablecoins are susceptible to illicit activities, necessitating strict KYC/KYT measures.

4. Market Integrity Risks: Market manipulation and misrepresentation harm investor interests.

5. Systemic Risks: The collapse of a stablecoin could cascade into DeFi and traditional finance.

6. Sanctions Compliance Risks: Varying global sanctions lists and on-chain address screening complicate compliance.

7. Cross-Border and Jurisdictional Risks: Diminishing regulatory arbitrage opportunities require adherence to multiple regulatory regimes.

Global Regulatory Trends

• The United States employs a multi-agency regulatory approach, emphasizing redemption mechanisms.

• The EU’s MiCA regulation categorizes stablecoins as "electronic money tokens" or "asset-referenced tokens," imposing stringent oversight.

• China adopts a dual regulatory model, with a strict ban on the mainland and a refined regulatory system in Hong Kong.

• International organizations like the FSB and BIS are advancing global regulatory standards.

Paths to Compliance

• Issuers must build comprehensive compliance systems, including proactive regulatory engagement, standardized reserve asset management, enhanced technical compliance, and robust risk controls.

• Investors should establish risk screening frameworks, prioritizing transparent and compliant stablecoins while recognizing that "stability" does not equate to "risk-free."

Future Outlook and Challenges

• Trends include increased industry polarization, alignment with global regulatory standards, expansion into real-world applications, and more conservative asset reserves.

• Challenges involve gaps in redemption mechanisms, lack of unified technical standards, and concerns over financial sovereignty.

Summary
Original Author: Lawyer Jie Hui

2025 has become a watershed year for stablecoin development, as global regulatory frameworks accelerate and mature, bringing former "gray areas" into clearly defined regulatory scopes. This market, valued at over $250 billion, is undergoing the pains and transformations of transitioning from unchecked growth to compliance.

Core Definition, Classification, and Importance of Stablecoins
(1) Core Definition of Stablecoins
Stablecoins are a special type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain value stability (unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which seek price appreciation). They achieve this by pegging to fiat currencies, commodities, or other cryptographic assets, or through algorithmic mechanisms, providing a benchmark of value for the highly volatile digital asset market.

Stablecoins essentially serve as "bridge assets" connecting the traditional financial world with the crypto-digital world. They inherit the technical advantages of cryptocurrencies (e.g., global reach, 24/7 operation, programmability, peer-to-peer transfers) while possessing the value stability of traditional fiat currencies. Currently, they facilitate the circulation of trillions of dollars monthly within the crypto ecosystem.

(2) Types of Stablecoins
Based on their anchoring mechanisms, stablecoins are primarily divided into three categories:

1. Fiat-Collateralized Stablecoins: Pegged 1:1 to fiat currencies (e.g., the US dollar), with reserve assets typically comprising low-risk assets like cash and short-term government bonds. Examples include USDT (issued by Tether) and USDC (issued by Circle). The core risk lies in the authenticity and transparency of reserve assets.

2. Crypto-Collateralized Stablecoins: Backed by other crypto assets with over-collateralization (typically exceeding 150%), with smart contracts automatically adjusting collateral ratios to maintain stability. An example is DAI (issued by MakerDAO). The core risk involves liquidation risks due to sharp declines in collateral asset prices.

3. Algorithmic Stablecoins: Not backed by physical collateral, relying instead on algorithms to balance supply and demand (e.g., minting new coins or burning existing ones). A notable case is the collapsed UST in 2022. The core risk is the "death spiral" (a vicious cycle where price declines trigger panic, leading to sell-offs and further price drops until the system collapses).

(3) Importance of Stablecoins
The importance of stablecoins is reflected in four core functions:

1. Medium of Exchange, Measure of Value, and Safe Haven: In cryptocurrency trading, most trading pairs (e.g., BTC/USDT, ETH/USDC) use stablecoins as pricing units, providing a clear benchmark and avoiding the chaos of measuring volatile assets with other volatile assets. During market turbulence, traders can quickly convert high-risk assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum into stablecoins (e.g., USDT, USDC) to hedge risks, lock in profits, or temporarily exit without fully withdrawing from the crypto ecosystem (converting back to fiat is often time-consuming and expensive). This significantly enhances capital efficiency and market liquidity.

2. Global Payments and Remittances: Stablecoins leverage blockchain technology to revolutionize cross-border payments and remittances. Compared to traditional bank transfers (which can take days and incur high fees), stablecoin transfers are completed within minutes at minimal costs, unaffected by business hours or time zones. They also offer financial inclusion to the billions of unbanked individuals worldwide, enabling access to the global financial system with just a digital wallet.

3. Lifeblood of DeFi: The prosperity and development of DeFi would be unimaginable without stablecoins. Nearly all lending, trading, and derivative protocols use stablecoins as foundational assets. For example, in lending protocols like Aave and Compound, users deposit stablecoins like USDC and DAI to earn yields or borrow stablecoins for other investments. The interest rate market is largely built around stablecoins. In MakerDAO, DAI is the core output, allowing users to convert volatile assets into stable assets through over-collateralization. On decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap and Curve, stablecoin trading pairs (e.g., USDT/USDC) often see daily volumes exceeding $1 billion, forming the basis of all trading activities.

4. Catalyst for Traditional Finance (TradFi) Digital Transformation: Stablecoins are the preferred tool for traditional financial institutions and large corporations exploring blockchain applications. They offer a low-risk, familiar entry point into the crypto market. In the promising field of RWA (real-world asset tokenization), stablecoins serve as core settlement tools, facilitating the tokenization and blockchain trading of traditional assets like stocks, government bonds, and corporate bonds, thereby creating new investment opportunities.

Compliance: A Non-Negotiable Priority for Stablecoins
In May 2022, the algorithmic stablecoin UST and its sister token Luna spiraled into collapse within days, wiping out over $40 billion in market value. This disaster was not an isolated incident but a stark revelation of the cracks beneath the surface of the stablecoin boom. It exposed the fatal flaws of algorithmic mechanisms, raised doubts about the adequacy of stablecoin reserves, and sounded the highest alarm for global regulators.

Stablecoins are far more than "non-volatile cryptocurrencies." They are infrastructure for the crypto economy, a new paradigm for global payments, and a strategic bridge connecting two parallel financial worlds. Their significance means that compliance, transparency, and stability are no longer just industry concerns but issues affecting the entire financial system. This is the fundamental reason global regulators are now prioritizing their oversight.

The scale of leading stablecoins (e.g., USDT and USDC, which collectively account for over 85% of the global market) and their intertwinement with traditional finance have granted them "systemic importance." Their risks could spill over into traditional finance, approaching a "too big to fail" threshold. This makes compliance not an option but a prerequisite for survival, for three core reasons:

1. Preventing Systemic Risk Contagion: The collapse of a major stablecoin like USDT would no longer be confined to the crypto market. Held by numerous traditional hedge funds, publicly traded companies, and payment firms, its failure could trigger a domino effect, causing large-scale liquidations in DeFi protocols and rapidly spreading to traditional financial markets like stocks and bonds through institutional investors, potentially sparking a global liquidity crisis. Compliant reserve audits and redemption safeguards are the first line of defense against such a collapse.

2. Curbing Illicit Financial Activities: The global reach, quasi-anonymity (on-chain addresses are traceable but not directly linked to user identities), and peer-to-peer transfer features of stablecoins make them attractive for money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion. In 2023, global illicit transactions involving stablecoins reached $12 billion, with over 60% flowing to cross-border sanctioned regions. Without strict KYC (Know Your Customer), KYT (Know Your Transaction), and sanctions screening requirements, this efficient financial highway could become a perfect tool for criminals, inviting harsh regulatory crackdowns by sovereign states.

3. Safeguarding Monetary Sovereignty and Financial Stability: The widespread use of dollar-denominated stablecoins in emerging markets (e.g., over 20% of cross-border trade in Argentina and Turkey is settled in USDT) effectively creates a "shadow dollarization" (where citizens spontaneously use USD instead of their unstable local currency for savings and transactions). This erodes the monetary sovereignty and policy effectiveness of other countries. For the US itself, if unregulated stablecoins are widely used for payments, their potential bank run risks could threaten domestic financial stability. Thus, compliance is no longer an industry choice but a necessity for maintaining national financial security.

Discussing stablecoins inevitably leads to compliance because their "infrastructure" nature means they can no longer enjoy the "gray area" benefits of early cryptocurrencies. Compliance is no longer a shackle on their development but a license for acceptance into the mainstream financial system and a anchor of trust. The global regulatory wave aims not to stifle innovation but to rein in this runaway horse before it is too late, guiding it toward a transparent, robust, and responsible future.

Major Compliance Risks Facing Stablecoins
(1) Legal Classification Risks: Regulatory Divergence Drives Up Compliance Costs
Different jurisdictions have varying classifications for stablecoins:

• US regulators are still debating whether stablecoins should be treated as securities, commodities, or money transmission tools. For example, the SEC tends to classify asset-backed stablecoins as securities, the CFTC views them as commodities, and the OCC allows banks to issue "payment stablecoins." This multi-agency oversight requires issuers to comply with multiple sets of rules.

• The EU’s MiCA regulation categorizes stablecoins as "electronic money tokens" (pegged to a single fiat currency, e.g., USDC) or "asset-referenced tokens" (pegged to multiple assets), each with distinct requirements.

• Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance treats stablecoins as strictly regulated payment tools, focusing on their role as stores of value and payment mediums rather than securities.

This uncertainty, coupled with the potential for regulators to suddenly impose strict new rules, creates significant compliance complexity and costs for issuers.

(2) Reserve Asset Risks: Lack of Transparency Triggers Bank Run Crises
The authenticity, adequacy, and transparency of reserve assets are core challenges. The industry still faces three major issues:

1. Insufficient Reserves: In 2019, Tether (USDT) was revealed to be only 74% backed by real assets, despite long claiming full collateralization. As of Q3 2024, Tether disclosed that over 60% of its reserves are in short-term government bonds, but it faces scrutiny due to its quarterly audit frequency (compared to USDC’s monthly audits). Tether has since shifted to at least monthly reserve reports and often provides daily updates.

2. Non-Compliant Assets: Some smaller stablecoins invest reserves in high-risk areas (e.g., stocks, crypto assets). In 2023, one stablecoin depegged after its reserves plummeted by 30%.

3. Inadequate Disclosure: Only 30% of stablecoin issuers publicly disclose detailed reserve custodians and compositions (2024 crypto industry report), making it difficult for investors to verify asset authenticity.

New regulations like the US GENIUS Act and Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance require 100% reserves in high-liquidity assets (e.g., cash, short-term government bonds), daily audits, and strict capital, liquidity, and disclosure requirements. Non-transparent or insufficient reserves can directly trigger bank runs and depegging, leading to hefty fines, operational suspensions, or even criminal charges for issuers.

(3) AML/CFT Risks: A Hotspot for Regulatory Penalties
AML and CFT are top priorities for regulators. The price stability and global accessibility of stablecoins make them attractive for money laundering and sanctions evasion. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies, stablecoins allow bad actors to transfer funds while preserving value. Regulations now mandate strict KYC, KYT, and suspicious activity reporting (e.g., frequent small transfers aggregated into large sums, cross-border large transfers). Violations can result in severe penalties and reputational damage.

(4) Market Integrity Risks: Weaknesses in Investor Protection
Stablecoin markets face two core integrity risks: market manipulation and misrepresentation. Large stablecoin holdings could be used to manipulate prices of Bitcoin or other crypto assets. False claims about reserves or algorithmic mechanisms, or inadequate disclosures, can mislead investors. Regulations are now stricter to ensure investors are not harmed by insufficient information.

(5) Systemic Risks: Potential Threats to Financial Stability
Systemic risk is a primary concern for financial authorities. DeFi protocols hold billions in stablecoins, and even a single major issuer’s failure could trigger a cascade of liquidations across the ecosystem. Imagine a domino effect: a major stablecoin collapse causes lending protocols using it as collateral to fail, inflicting heavy losses on users who staked their tokens. Soon, the shockwaves spread to traditional financial institutions that have begun integrating crypto technology. The chain reaction could be devastating.

(6) Sanctions Compliance Risks: Challenges in Global Operations
Stablecoin issuers face multi-jurisdictional sanctions compliance challenges:

1. Divergent Sanctions Lists: Lists from OFAC, the EU Council, and the UN Security Council overlap but are not identical. For example, an entity sanctioned by OFAC but not the EU requires tailored screening rules.

2. On-Chain Address Screening: Smart contract addresses can also be sanctioned. Some issuers use on-chain address blacklisting systems (e.g., Circle freezes USDC in OFAC-sanctioned addresses) or build sanctions screening modules into smart contracts to prevent stablecoins from flowing to sanctioned addresses in real time.

3. Decentralization Dilemma: Some decentralized stablecoins struggle to enforce freezes on sanctioned addresses, balancing compliance with decentralization.

Global compliance complexity requires simultaneously meeting different sanctions lists and requirements across countries, forcing issuers to balance innovation with compliance obligations—and increasing operational costs and difficulties.

(7) Cross-Border and Jurisdictional Risks: The End of Regulatory Arbitrage
Regulatory arbitrage (exploiting differences in rules across jurisdictions to operate in the most lenient, low-cost environments) is a real issue for stablecoins. Projects may register in loosely regulated regions but serve users globally.

This creates a "hellish" compliance puzzle: adhering to hundreds of different laws across jurisdictions is extremely challenging. Inconsistent or conflicting regulations leave issuers in a bind.

Global Regulatory Trends
Major jurisdictions are actively bringing stablecoins into regulatory frameworks:
(1) US Regulatory Framework
The US employs a multi-agency approach (SEC, CFTC, OCC, Treasury). The GENIUS Act allows non-bank entities (NBEs) and insured depository institution (IDI) subsidiaries to issue stablecoins. It emphasizes redemption processes, requiring issuers to establish clear policies and procedures for timely redemptions. However, it does not mandate stablecoins maintain par value in secondary markets, where most trading occurs.

(2) EU’s MiCA Framework
The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation establishes a comprehensive, strict framework for stablecoins, including licensing, reserve asset requirements, and holder rights. MiCA categorizes stablecoins as "electronic money tokens" or "asset-referenced tokens," applying tailored rules to match risk levels.

(3) China’s Dual Regulatory Approach
China adopts a unique dual model: a strict ban on stablecoin issuance and trading on the mainland, but a refined regulatory system in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, effective August 2025, requires 100% segregated reserves in high-liquidity assets (e.g., cash, USD or HKD government bonds). The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) mandates custody by licensed Hong Kong banks, daily audits, and next-day redemption capabilities. This prudent approach aims to position Hong Kong as a global digital asset innovation hub.

(4) International Organization Trends: Pushing for Global Standards
Bodies like the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are developing unified global stablecoin regulations to prevent arbitrage and ensure financial stability. The FSB’s July 2023 "Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-Asset Activities" requires issuers to meet four core criteria: reserve adequacy, transparent redemption mechanisms, AML compliance, and systemic risk prevention. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) updated its "Prudential Treatment of Crypto-Asset Exposures" standards in 2024, effective January 1, 2025, imposing stricter, unified global frameworks for banks holding crypto assets (including stablecoins) to manage risks and maintain financial stability.

Paths to Compliance: Action Guides for Issuers and Investors
(1) Issuers: Building Comprehensive Compliance Systems
Stablecoin issuers face multi-dimensional challenges and must construct full-spectrum compliance systems across four areas:

1. Proactive Regulatory Engagement: Prioritize licensing in clear regulatory jurisdictions (e.g., US, EU, Hong Kong), maintain regular communication with regulators, and avoid compliance surprises.

2. Standardized Reserve Management: Strictly adhere to regulatory requirements for reserve assets (e.g., 100% cash and short-term government bonds), select top-tier custodians (e.g., HSBC in Hong Kong), and regularly publish audited reserve reports from qualified accounting firms, including detailed compositions and custodian information.

3. Enhanced Technical Compliance: Invest in top-tier AML/KYC and sanctions screening systems. Leading issuers often combine on-chain transaction tracking with off-chain identity verification (e.g., USDC requires large-volume users to complete facial recognition and address tracing). Integrate third-party tools like Chainalysis for KYT screening of cross-chain transactions. Guard against cybersecurity risks: asset theft, private key loss, blockchain network failures, smart contract vulnerabilities, and network forks.

4. Robust Risk Controls: Conduct regular stress tests (e.g., simulating 10% of users redeeming simultaneously), ensure reserve liquidity covers 100% of redemptions within 30 days, establish risk reserves (at least 2% of issuance size) for sudden depegging events, and develop contingency plans (e.g., limited redemptions if reserves are insufficient).

(2) Investors: Establishing Risk Screening Frameworks
Investors should conduct thorough due diligence, researching issuer qualifications, reserve compositions, audit histories, and compliance statuses before engaging with any stablecoin project. Preferring compliant instruments is key to risk reduction—prioritize transparent stablecoins like USDC, backed by high-liquidity assets, over opaque projects. Most importantly, investors must recognize that "stability" is relative, not risk-free. Even fully collateralized stablecoins face counterparty, regulatory, and technical risks.

Future Outlook: Trends and Challenges for Stablecoins
(1) Trends in Stablecoin Development
Global regulation is reshaping the stablecoin landscape, but true stability hinges not only on legal compliance but also on technical transparency and market confidence. Compliance-driven stablecoins will exhibit the following trends:

1. Increased Industry Polarization, Compliance as a Core Competitiveness: For stablecoin projects, compliance is no longer optional but a core competitive edge. Projects that proactively embrace regulation, achieve extreme transparency, and build robust compliance systems (e.g., Circle, issuer of USDC) will gain institutional trust and market share. Conversely, projects lingering in gray areas, with opaque reserves and ambiguous compliance, will face ongoing regulatory scrutiny and sudden risks, seeing their生存空间 squeezed. The global regulatory wave is pushing stablecoins from the "Wild West" era into an institutionalized, transparent, and highly compliant new phase.

2. Convergence Toward Global Unified Regulatory Standards: Key gaps remain in global stablecoin regulation, but core standards are unifying. Regardless of regional differences, three requirements have become universal: reserve adequacy (100% high-liquidity asset backing), transparent redemption mechanisms (clear T+1 or T+0 processes), and full AML/CFT compliance (KYC/KYT covering all users). For example, the US GENIUS Act, EU MiCA, and Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, while differing in licensing processes and penalties, all strictly enforce these points, minimizing regulatory arbitrage opportunities.

3. Expansion into Real-Economy Applications: As tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) like stocks, bonds, and real estate accelerates, stablecoins will become the preferred settlement tool due to their value stability and compliance. They already enhance cross-border payment efficiency, with emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America as core use cases. Future applications will extend to corporate cross-border trade, supply chain finance, and payroll.

4. Conservative Asset Reserves: Regulatory requirements for reserves to be high-quality, liquid assets (e.g., cash, short-term government bonds) will force issuers to abandon high-risk investment strategies and adopt more transparent, secure models.

(2) Challenges for Stablecoins
Despite positive trends, compliance-driven stablecoins still face significant challenges:

1. Gaps in Redemption Mechanisms: Most regulations focus on primary market redemptions (directly with issuers), but secondary market (exchange) stability mechanisms are lacking. Rules are needed for addressing depegging in secondary markets.

2. Lack of Unified Technical Standards: Standards for smart contract security, cross-chain transaction compliance, and data privacy protection are not globally unified, potentially creating technical compliance barriers.

3. Financial Sovereignty Challenges: Large-scale stablecoins could impair national monetary policy transmission and financial sovereignty. If deeply integrated with major financial systems, their failure could trigger broader financial turmoil.

Conclusion
The future is here, and compliance is no longer an option but a foundation for survival. Whether issuers or investors, only those who proactively embrace regulation, strengthen risk controls, and enhance transparency will thrive in this transformation. The ultimate goal of stablecoins is never to replace fiat currencies but to become a stable and efficient light in the financial infrastructure of the digital age.

This path is inevitably long and challenging, but it is these very challenges that will drive stablecoins toward a more mature, inclusive, and sustainable future. What we are witnessing is not only a technological evolution but also an advancement of financial civilization.

Market Restructuring: Early generic agent projects are gradually exiting the market due to unmet technical expectations. The current trend is shifting toward developing specialized agents focused on specific functions, enabled by infrastructure that facilitates collaboration among agents.

Technological Shifts: Projects like Virtuals Protocol’s ACP provide standardized frameworks to promote communication and task allocation among different agents, enhancing interoperability across the ecosystem.

Future Outlook: AI agents are increasingly becoming a foundational feature of crypto projects rather than a standalone domain—for example, integrated into data platforms and DeFi services to improve user experience. Business interactions and security protocols between agents will also become key development priorities.

Overall, AI agents are evolving into core interfaces connecting users with blockchain technology, poised to significantly simplify crypto operations and create new economic opportunities.

Abstract

The AI agent market experienced a rapid decline in hype after token prices plummeted, but technological development continues to progress. The DeFAI sector is regaining traction through the release of practical products and specialized on-chain capabilities.

Specialized agents optimized for specific functions have replaced earlier generic agents. Projects like Virtuals are actively building infrastructure to connect and enable collaboration among these agents.

AI agents will be integrated as core functionalities into crypto projects. Infrastructure enabling seamless communication and coordination between agents will become critically important.

Hype Fades, Technology Advances

The cryptocurrency industry has integrated AI technology in various ways, with AI agents attracting the most attention. The total market capitalization of agent-related tokens once reached approximately $16 billion, reflecting intense market interest. However, this focus was short-lived. Most projects failed to meet development expectations, and token prices plummeted by over 90% from their peaks.

The price decline does not signify technological regression. AI agents remain a vital technological frontier in the crypto space. Discussions around practical use cases have become more concrete, and teams continue to experiment with new approaches. This report explores how AI agents are evolving within the crypto ecosystem and examines potential future developments.

Reshaping the AI Agent Ecosystem After the Hype

Early AI Agent Projects Fade from the Market

The AI agent sector in crypto began gaining attention in late 2024. The ElizaOS by ai16z and the G.A.M.E development stack by Virtuals Protocol significantly lowered the barrier to agent development. Launch platforms like DAOS.fun and Virtuals Fun provided avenues for tokenizing developed agents. The process from development to release became streamlined, triggering an explosion of market interest and a rapid emergence of agent projects.

Most projects proposed ambitious roadmaps leveraging AI technology. Investors drove token prices higher based on expectations of innovative services. In reality, many projects were merely fine-tuned or prompt-engineered wrappers around foundational models from OpenAI or Anthropic. Most built advanced chatbots for X or Telegram rather than developing independent services. While projects emphasized innovative visions and technical differentiation, their actual operations were hardly distinguishable from meme coins.

There were exceptions. Projects like aixbt and Soleng partially delivered on their roadmaps and launched actual services. They employed token-gating to provide exclusive access to token holders. Aixbt offered project analysis reports, while Soleng analyzed GitHub repositories to support investor decision-making.

Even these relatively successful cases could not overcome structural limitations. Unstable revenue models overly reliant on token price appreciation hindered progress. Technical competitiveness lagged behind Web2 companies. Token prices eventually declined, operational funding dried up, and most projects have now suspended services.

DeFAI Projects Reignite Hope in the Sector

AI agent technology, once burdened by excessive expectations, has entered a correction phase. The DeFAI sector is regaining attention by demonstrating practical value. DeFAI agents execute automated investment strategies 24/7. They enable users to access complex DeFi services easily through simple natural language commands. This domain was central to the early AI agent narrative. While most projects remained at the roadmap stage struggling with implementation, the sector temporarily lost focus. Recent product launches are rebuilding market expectations.

Representative projects include Wayfinder and HeyAnon. Wayfinder executes on-chain tasks through dedicated AI agents called "Shells." Shells directly perform on-chain transactions via built-in dedicated wallets. The system employs a sophisticated multi-agent architecture including trading agents, perpetual agents, and contract agents. Each agent type focuses on specific roles to automate various investment strategies. Users can effortlessly execute simple cross-chain transactions or advanced strategies like basis trading and leveraged dollar-cost averaging.

From Individual Agents to Agent Networks

Early AI agent projects promoted "general-purpose agents" capable of performing all functions. This approach prioritized fundraising over technical robustness. Projects proposed overly expansive roadmaps to capture broader markets, but most exposed limitations during implementation.

The current agent ecosystem is moving in a entirely different direction. Builders recognize the constraints of general-purpose agents and are now developing domain-specific agents. These agents can collaborate with each other, akin to skilled artisans—carpenters, electricians, plumbers—working together to build a house.

Virtuals Protocol’s ACP exemplifies this trend. It provides a standardized framework for communication and task allocation among different agents. Theoriq and General Impression are also building infrastructure to enhance interoperability between agents. The market is restructuring to maximize the value of the entire agent ecosystem rather than individual agents.

Future Scenarios for the AI Agent Market

After the initial hype cooled, AI agents continue to evolve. Speculation has ended, but projects persist in leveraging AI agents to build new functionalities and services. Two changes stand out.

First, AI agents are becoming essential infrastructure. AI agents are no longer a standalone domain but are integrated as basic functionalities within crypto projects. Blockchain data platform Nansen is developing research agents to make complex on-chain data more accessible. DeFi projects are adding agents to improve user access. AI agents will become the final-step interface connecting users to blockchain, not an optional feature.

Second, agent commerce will expand. As AI agents become standard, interactions between agents and between agents and humans will increase. Secure transaction protocols and trust mechanisms will grow in importance. Projects like Virtuals Protocol’s ACP are laying the groundwork for this.

These changes will simplify complexities in the crypto space, enhance user experience, and create new economic opportunities.

This featured content, translated by Running Finance’s Web3.0 Research Lab, is adapted from Antonio Manrique de Lara Martín’s Tracking Early Token Holder Behavior.

By analyzing four key metrics—Early Holder Balance, Herfindahl Index, Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL), and Cost Basis Distribution Heatmap (CBD)—this article equips traders with tools to anticipate price peaks and manage risk effectively.

The Four Key Metrics

1. Early Holder Balance

2. Herfindahl Index

3. Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL)

4. Cost Basis Distribution Heatmap (CBD)

Examining these metrics from multiple angles helps traders more accurately predict market shifts and optimize exit timing.

1. Early Holder Balance

The most direct way to assess early holders' influence is by tracking changes in their token balances. These holders typically accumulate tokens at low prices. As prices rise, some begin selling, increasing market pressure and often triggering corrections. Monitoring their balance trends can reveal large-scale profit-taking and signal potential tops.

How It Works

• Balance Dips: Early holders selling en masse will reduce their total holdings. If this coincides with price peaks, it suggests heavy selling pressure and possible market tops.

• Price Impact: Since they control substantial supply, their selling can cause sharp price declines.

• Chart Insights: Tracking balance changes helps identify profit-taking trends and anticipate pullbacks.

Figure 1↓ illustrates how SHIB early holders accumulated tokens at low prices (once holding over 20% of supply) and later sold aggressively during price surges, leading to steep declines.

Blue line = SHIB holdings.
Yellow line = Early holders' percentage of total supply.

(Chart not displayed in text, but described as showing clear sell-off impacts.)

For consistency, subsequent metrics will focus on SHIB, but comparing early holder behavior across tokens is insightful.

Figure 2↓ (APW) shows strategic sell-offs at key peaks:

• First sell-off (left): Sharp drop in early holder supply (yellow line) near the first price peak.

• Accumulation phase (middle): Reduced activity post-sell-off.

• Second sell-off (right): Another steep drop as prices rallied again.

Figure 3↓ (TSUKA) demonstrates gradual selling, avoiding extreme volatility:

• Steady balance reduction maintains price stability.

• Controlled sell-offs minimize market disruption.

Figure 4↓ (PEPE) highlights early holders exiting quickly after initial price rises:

• Most tokens sold early, preventing prolonged sell pressure.

• Prices later stabilized as new demand drove valuation.

2. Herfindahl Index

This index measures market concentration. A high value indicates dominance by a few large holders; a low value reflects broader distribution.

How It Works

• Early stages: High concentration (early holders dominate).

• As selling occurs, index drops (supply disperses).

• A falling Herfindahl Index alongside declining early holder balances signals profit-taking and potential tops.

Figure 5↓ (SHIB) shows the index (red line) plummeting during sell-offs, aligning with price peaks (black line).

3. Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL)

NUPL quantifies unrealized gains/losses across all holders, serving as a sentiment indicator to spot potential tops/bottoms.

For early holders, profit-taking often coincides with early NUPL spikes—since they bought low, they sell during rallies.

How It Works

• Early NUPL surge → Market euphoria → Sell-offs likely.

• Declining NUPL at new highs → Large holders exiting → Weak market structure.

Figure 6↓ (SHIB) shows early NUPL peaks aligning with price tops, followed by sell-offs.

4. Cost Basis Distribution (CBD) Heatmap

This visualizes token acquisition costs over time, revealing early holders' accumulation zones and sell patterns.

How to Read It

• Y-axis: Cost basis levels (blue = low concentration, red = high).

• Black line: Current price.

• Below black line = profitable; above = unprofitable.

How It Works

• Low-cost accumulation (red zones) appears early.

• As prices rise, red zones fade (supply sold).

• Heavy sell-offs near peaks suggest market tops.

Figure 7↓ (SHIB) shows early 2021 accumulation (red/yellow) followed by late 2021 sell-offs (fading colors) during price spikes.

5. Conclusion: Framework Applications

Combining these methods provides a comprehensive view of early holder behavior, improving top prediction:

1. Early Holder Balance: Tracks sell timing (often precedes drops).

2. Herfindahl Index: Measures concentration shifts (whale exits).

3. NUPL: Gauges sentiment (high values = profit-taking risk).

4. CBD Heatmap: Pinpoints profit-taking levels (potential reversal zones).

When multiple indicators align, confidence in predictions increases, enabling better risk management and strategic exits.

By integrating these insights, traders can navigate early-stage token markets with greater precision.

Solana Stablecoin Adoption Trends

This section presents key data on stablecoin adoption and usage, emphasizing transaction volume, user engagement, and network growth.

Total Stablecoin Supply on Solana

Solana’s stablecoin supply surged in Q1 2025, more than doubling from $5.2B in January to $11.7B in February—a 2.25x increase. This spike coincided with the launch of the TRUMP token, which drew global attention to Solana. The token’s primary liquidity pool was a USDC pair on the decentralized exchange Meteora.

The growth accelerated a broader liquidity rebound from a December 2023 low of $1.5B. Notably, Solana historically lagged behind other major blockchains in stablecoin liquidity but now ranks third after Ethereum and Tron.

Monthly Stablecoin Transaction Volume

In Q1 2025, Solana averaged 200M+ monthly on-chain stablecoin transactions, peaking at 263.9M in January before settling at 237.7M in April (the latest full-month data). This marks a 10x increase from September 2023’s 25.2M transactions.

P2P Stablecoin Transfers

P2P stablecoin volume remained robust in 2025, with $59.2B transferred in January alone—far above the September 2024 low of $10.6B. Note: P2P data excludes liquidity pool swaps, MEV arbitrage, and CEX-internal transactions.

Active Stablecoin Addresses

Q1 2025 saw 3M+ daily unique addresses interacting with stablecoins, peaking at 4.4M in January. This represents an 8x growth from October 2023’s 347K daily addresses.

Stablecoins Issued on Solana

Solana hosts a diverse stablecoin ecosystem, with USDC (70% dominance) and USDt (18%) leading the market. Below are key details on major and emerging stablecoins:

1. USDC (USD Coin)

• Issuer: Circle

• Backing: 1:1 USD or USD-denominated assets (e.g., U.S. Treasuries).

• Audits: Monthly reserve reports; reserves held at BNY Mellon and managed by BlackRock.

• Regulation: Compliant with MiCAR; guarantees redemptions for all holders.

• Cross-Chain: Uses Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol for seamless bridging.

• Stats: $9.35B supply on Solana; 4.3M token accounts.

2. USDt (Tether)

• Issuer: Tether Limited

• Backing: Cash, cash equivalents, and liquid assets (e.g., U.S. Treasuries).

• Audits: Quarterly attestations by BDO.

• Redemption: Minimum $100K via Tether.to.

• Stats: $2.39B supply on Solana; 1.98M token accounts.

3. PYUSD (PayPal USD)

• Issuer: PayPal + Paxos

• Backing: USD deposits and short-term Treasuries.

• Regulation: NYDFS-regulated; KPMG-audited monthly.

• Innovation: Leverages Solana’s token extensions (e.g., transfer hooks, fees).

• Stats: $215.9M supply; 20.4K token accounts.

4. USDS (Sky, formerly MakerDAO’s DAI)

• Type: Overcollateralized DeFi stablecoin.

• Backing: Crypto + real-world assets (e.g., ETH, USDC, Treasuries).

• Cross-Chain: Uses Wormhole’s NTT for Ethereum-Solana transfers.

• Stats: $102.4M supply; 7.5K token accounts.

The Long Tail: Emerging Stablecoins on Solana

Solana’s ecosystem includes niche stablecoins catering to specialized use cases:

• USDe (Ethena): Synthetic, crypto-collateralized via delta-neutral strategies.

• FDUSD (First Digital USD): Hong Kong-regulated, fiat-backed.

• USDG (Global Dollar): Backed by an alliance including Robinhood and Galaxy.

• AUSD (Agora USD): Collateralized by cash and Treasuries (VanEck-affiliated).

• sUSD (Solayer USD): Solana’s first permissionless interest-bearing stablecoin (IBE).

• MoveUSD: Cross-border payments focus (by CFX Labs).

• cfUSD (Brale): Payment infrastructure-focused (Brale + Coinflow).

• USDY (Ondo USD Yield): Yield-generating, backed by Treasuries.

• PST (Huma): Native to Huma PayFi (supported by Circle/Galaxy).

• *USD (Perena): Basket-weighted (PYUSD/USDC/USDt).

• yUSD (Synatra): Receipt token for staked USDC yield strategies.

Challenges: Transparency and Risk Spectrum

The proliferation of stablecoin designs—from bank-like (fiat-backed) to speculative (crypto-collateralized)—creates confusion for retail users. Risks vary widely:

• Low-risk: Fully reserved (e.g., USDC, PYUSD).

• Medium-risk: Overcollateralized (e.g., USDS).

• High-risk: Algorithmic or delta-neutral (e.g., USDe).

Solution: Clearer classification standards are needed to help users assess risks as the market expands.

Key Features:

• Bold headers for scannability.

• Data visualization cues (e.g., "10x increase") for impact.

• Comparative metrics (e.g., Solana vs. Ethereum/Tron).

• Structured profiles for each stablecoin (issuer, backing, audits).

• Risk framework to contextualize emerging stablecoins.

• Concise technical terms (e.g., "token extensions," "delta-neutral").

On one hand, the floor price of its "Wasp Brother NFT" surged from 200 yuan to nearly 15,000 yuan in just three days, dominating discussions in the digital collectibles space. On the other, the company announced the completion of its first 10-million-yuan non-financial RWA (Real World Asset) product issuance, partnering with the well-known licensed Web3 firm Weiyi Digital. To many uninformed observers, this appears to signal a "listed company venturing into Web3," positioning itself as a model for "on-chain assets + equity dividends."

While outsiders may see spectacle, insiders recognize the nuances. Hainan Huatie’s seemingly groundbreaking moves—from NFTs to RWA—are in fact treading the fine line of legal and regulatory boundaries.

From a legal perspective, this is not a compliance pilot worth encouraging but rather a potential case study for future risks.

From NFT to RWA: What Exactly Is Hainan Huatie Doing?
First, let’s examine the NFT—the "Wasp Brother."

This NFT is not just a simple digital collectible but is tied to a three-year "brand promotion revenue" entitlement. According to the company’s official rules released in July, users who activate and lock the NFT via the "Huatie Big Wasp" WeChat mini-program between July 26 and August 1 automatically become "brand ambassadors." They are then entitled to annual cash rewards from 2025 to 2027, equivalent to the dividends from 50,000 Hainan Huatie shares.

The key aspects of this model are:

• The reward amount is linked to the company’s stock dividends.

• Locking the NFT is a prerequisite, requiring annual reactivation.

• The company reserves the unilateral right to interpret or revoke eligibility.

• Users risk losing eligibility if they post "brand-damaging" content online.

In short, this isn’t a collectible purchase but an unequal contract where users trade behavioral compliance for potential rewards.

Next, let’s look at the RWA project. Here, Hainan Huatie attempts to leverage the industry narrative of "asset tokenization" to push boundaries.

The company claims to have partnered with licensed Web3 firm Weiyi Digital to issue its first batch of non-financial RWA products worth 10 million yuan.

Unlike typical RWAs tied to real estate or receivables, this product doesn’t involve ownership transfer. Instead, it digitally maps the "usage rights + operational rights" of the company’s equipment, creating a structure akin to a "digital membership card." These cards can be traded or consigned on-chain, granting holders certain usage benefits or profits.

The highlights of this RWA model are:

• Digitization of usage rights, not asset fragmentation or securitization.

• No ownership transfer, thus avoiding securities regulation.

• On-chain asset registration, but offline processes govern benefit redemption.

• A hybrid model blending "equipment leasing + Web3 entitlement cards" for market experimentation.

In plain terms, these "digital cards" resemble virtual leasing vouchers for industrial equipment, repackaged as "RWA" with on-chain verification and tradability. Combined with the NFT’s brand promotion mechanism, Hainan Huatie has built a complex structure: "asset-heavy operations + on-chain digital rights + user-driven profit-sharing."

At first glance, this setup seems quintessentially Web3—digitizing assets, incentivizing users, and sparking short-term buzz. The problem? Every "innovation" here skirts regulatory red lines, deliberately blurring legal boundaries.

This Isn’t Innovation—It’s Regulatory Arbitrage
While Hainan Huatie’s approach to digital asset operations shows creativity, its non-native Web3 roots make it prone to "old wine in new bottles" pitfalls.

In my view, this model has at least three major flaws.

1. Ambiguous Rights Structure: Payouts Depend on Corporate Whim, Leaving Users Powerless
Whether it’s NFT-based "dividend-equivalent rewards" or RWA-linked "equipment usage rights," redemption relies not on legal contracts or smart contracts but on company policies, a mini-program, and a payment account registration. This is essentially unilateral corporate control: rewards are discretionary, with no recourse for users if payouts stop or rules change.

Such a structure constitutes neither an enforceable civil contract nor a securities or consumer protection mechanism. Users have no avenue for appeal in cases of违约,资格取消, or rule changes.

2. Merging "Speech Policing + Profit Incentives" Violates Community Governance
Hainan Huatie’s rules explicitly state that users spreading "negative remarks" online risk losing entitlements. Framing "speech control" as NFT reward terms masquerades as "brand protection" but systematically suppresses free expression.

Web3 champions freedom and autonomy—not "praise-for-pay" schemes. If emulated, digital collectibles could devolve into corporate PR tools rather than organic cultural or communal expressions.

3. RWA’s Blurred Financial Boundaries Risk "Disguised Fundraising"
By tokenizing usage rights (not ownership) and bundling them with dividends, Hainan Huatie sidesteps regulatory classification—for now. It avoids some hallmarks of securities (public fundraising, promised returns, lack of licensing) but remains functionally close to "quasi-financial products."

Scaling up, introducing multi-tiered benefits, or enabling secondary trading could easily trigger "disguised financial product" allegations, even crossing into illegal deposit-taking territory. Amid tightening financial oversight, such "cross-sector innovation" could invite severe repercussions if controversies or user disputes arise.

Mankun Law’s Warning
The core issue with Hainan Huatie’s campaign isn’t its bold marketing but its fragile legal and compliance foundations.

For Users:

• Your NFT isn’t a property right or equity certificate—just a revocable "company-promised benefit."

• Rule changes, corporate losses, or PR crises could render your "dividend-equivalent" worthless.

• No legal safeguards or enforceability exist; risks hinge entirely on trusting the company.

For Web3 Entrepreneurs:

• Don’t treat this as an industry benchmark. It solves visibility, not legal clarity or user trust.

• RWAs should start with non-financial structures but must address compliance, contracts, and governance.

• NFTs can enhance branding but mustn’t replace contracts, shares, or rights—or risk backlash.

Conclusion: Boundary-Pushing Isn’t Progress
Hainan Huatie’s campaign is undeniably novel and viral. But novelty ≠ correctness, and virality ≠ stability.

As a Web3 compliance lawyer, I welcome listed companies’ innovative experiments—provided they’re legal, transparent, and sustainable. Wrapping old systems, logic, and unequal user relationships in "Web3 packaging" isn’t progress.

Testing regulatory limits isn’t breakthrough—it’s playing with fire.

Market Overview: Recovery in Full Swing
By mid-July, the macro landscape is improving significantly. Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, while Ethereum has surged past $3,000 for the first time in years.

Ethereum’s rebound has strongly reinforced the "Ethereum beta" narrative, driving gains across tokens on Ethereum mainnet and major Layer 2 ecosystems.

Robust institutional inflows are fueling long-term bullish sentiment for mainstream assets, though some investors remain cautious ahead of CPI/PPI data and the Fed’s guidance on 2025 rate cuts.

While altcoins historically tracked Bitcoin’s price action in past cycles, this rally shows stronger correlation between Ethereum and altcoins—particularly AI-focused tokens.

All in all, here are this week’s noteworthy trends in Web3 AI:

1. Virtuals: From Concept to Reality—Building Core Products
Virtuals has made remarkable progress in building a vibrant ecosystem, with over 50,000 investors actively trading and investing in AI agent tokens.

Previously centered on speculation, Virtuals is now leveraging its massive community to transition users toward product adoption.

The ACP (Agent Collaboration Protocol) holds immense potential:

• For projects: Instant access to 50,000+ users for day-one monetization.

• For users: The "Butler" agent tool (via a ChatGPT-like interface) matches you with the optimal AI agent to complete tasks.

Note: ACP acts as a "business contract" and universal language for AI agents, standardizing collaboration initiation, term negotiation, transaction execution, and outcome validation.

Virtuals is optimizing ACP for speed and accuracy (reducing AI hallucinations/errors), but its biggest challenge remains: developing a flagship daily-use product that solves real pain points with high value and user retention.

How?
By onboarding teams outside the Virtuals ecosystem (possibly requiring a $VIRTUAL stake + community commitment) and creating flexible launch mechanisms beyond the current $200k fixed-price "Genesis" model.

As noted, mid-to-large teams typically spend 6–12 months building an MVP and raise $15M–50M in private rounds. Led by serial founders with AI/ML talent, these high-caliber teams can’t launch under Virtuals’ restrictive $200k model.

Once Virtuals attracts such teams and nurtures its native builders (especially core ones), we could see a third wave of genuine Virtuals momentum.
For now, watch $VIRTUAL—it’s showing clear Ethereum beta traits.

2. TAO’s Standout Performance
TAO surged 30% in the past 7 days.

This rally is driven by market recovery, growing institutional adoption, and its status as "AI’s Bitcoin." Several core subnets have bottomed or rebounded strongly from key support levels.

While a second dTAO (delegated TAO) bull run isn’t guaranteed, current price levels, macro sentiment, institutional trends, and TAO’s crypto treasury strategy suggest it’s time to re-evaluate dTAO alpha token allocations.

3. Almanak Points Program Goes Live
Almanak—a scalable infrastructure for trading agents—has launched its points incentive program.

Running from July 14 to September 21, the program rewards users for:

• Funding vaults

• Deploying custom strategies

• Locking more TVL

• Simply holding assets in Almanak wallets

Token generation is planned for late September.

Built by quants for mainstream users, Almanak enables quant strategy creation in hours (not weeks). Its hybrid AI agent + ERC-7540 smart contract design offers verifiable, auditable infrastructure for institutions (>$100M TVL).

In coming months, expect a wave of AI-powered tokenized vaults optimizing yields and trading strategies on Aave, Morpho, Fluid, and Pendle.

Almanak could pioneer the DeFAI (Decentralized Finance + AI) era—autonomous agents delivering DeFi value directly to end-users.

4. StableAI Accelerates Adoption
USD.AI, a leading GPU-backed stablecoin project, is gaining traction despite being in closed beta.

With over $35M TVL, it recently deployed its first ROCKCHIP RK3588 server staking service offering 15% APY.

• 98%+ reserves are in U.S. Treasuries (4.15% APY)

• 2% in GPU-collateralized loans (15% APY via ROCKCHIP servers)

Public launch is imminent, likely alongside a points program.

5. Attention Capital Markets
Kaito and Cookie are advancing plans for attention capital markets. Users may leverage platform points (e.g., Yap or Snap) + staked tokens to allocate tokens in project presales/public rounds.

Expect strong token performance when KAITO/COOKIE announce key partners or launchpad projects.

6. Other Updates

• CreatorBid: v2 launch vote passed Friday. Demand vastly outstrips supply—await official date (delays have stalled $BID’s price amid broader market strength).

• AI Tokens: CODEC rallies; AVA, COM, CDX, BILLY rebound strongly. Total AI agent market cap surpassed $10B again (hopefully without another sharp pullback).

Conclusion
Ethereum above $3k and Bitcoin’s ATH inject strong momentum—especially for Ethereum beta plays, now fully reflected in AI token performance.

Virtuals retains the strongest community but has entered a new phase: shifting from speculation to product focus. ACP’s potential is vast, but success hinges on a daily-use flagship product. Breaking the $200k Genesis barrier to onboard external builders + nurturing native teams could trigger the next growth wave.

TAO continues to shine as "AI’s Bitcoin," with price recovery and institutional narrative building. Some dTAO tokens warrant fresh attention at this cycle stage.

Almanak’s points program may set trends. If its strategy vaults gain traction, it could define the next DeFAI narrative—institution-grade yet accessible to retail.

StableAI’s story is underrated but accelerating. USDai’s >$35M TVL in beta suggests strong public launch potential (likely with points).

InfoFi seeks revival via attention capital markets. If Kaito/Cookie launchpads deliver high-growth projects, this sector could regain focus.

Overall: Healthier markets, less noise. Focus is shifting to real products and infrastructure—a builder’s window before the next hype cycle. Now is the time to watch closely and position early.

Translated with emphasis on natural fluency, contextual adaptation of idioms ("脱虚向实" → "From Concept to Reality"), and consistent formatting of key terms (e.g., ACP, TVL, APY). Paragraphs restructured for logical flow in English while preserving original meaning.

1. Hayes' "Pump-and-Dump" Tactics

• May 23: Hayes posted on X (formerly Twitter), suggesting HYPE's market cap could surpass Solana (SOL).

• June 9: Capitalizing on Binance.US promoting Hyperliquid, he asked CZ if Binance planned to list HYPE, fueling market speculation.

• June 11: He further stoked hype by questioning whether Hyperliquid’s trading volume could overtake Binance’s.

• June 12: Blockchain sleuths tracked a suspected Hayes-linked wallet (0xc322...c1dd) transferring 221,000 HYPE (~$9.14 million) to market makers.

2. A Recurring Pattern

• December 21, 2023: Hayes loudly endorsed Ethena (ENA), declaring that DeFi protocols not integrating USDe "should be out of business." That same day, he unstaked 9.018 million ENA and dumped $8.47 million worth on Binance. ENA subsequently crashed 70%.

• June 2024: After HYPE surged past $40, Hayes repeated the playbook—hyping the token while quietly selling, raising market manipulation concerns.

3. Market Impact and Backlash

• Short-Term Pump Effect: Hayes’ endorsements often trigger FOMO-driven rallies—HYPE spiked 10% after his posts.

• Long-Term Trust Erosion: Repeated "pump-and-dumps" risk alienating investors and undermining confidence in Hyperliquid.

• Hypocrisy Exposed: Hayes later criticized Hyperliquid as "not truly decentralized" and predicted HYPE would "go to zero," contradicting his earlier bullish stance.

4. Verdict: Is This Hayes' Go-To Strategy?

From ENA to HYPE, Hayes has repeatedly talked up tokens while dumping them, suggesting "pump-and-dump" may be a deliberate tactic. While the wallet links aren’t 100% confirmed, the timing and historical patterns strongly imply market manipulation.

Investor Warning: If Hayes continues this pattern, traders must scrutinize his motives—or risk becoming exit liquidity.

Key Points:

• Bitcoin reached a historic high of $111,800 but quickly dropped to $103,200. The initial rally was driven by spot markets, with key accumulation zones at $81,000 to $85,000, $93,000 to $96,000, and $102,000 to $104,000, which now serve as potential support levels.

• From a broader perspective, the CBD heatmap shows that many historical accumulation zones have turned into selling zones. Sellers from the $25,000 to $31,000, $38,000 to $44,000, and $60,000 to $73,000 ranges are exerting pressure on the price trend.

• Cost basis quantiles and short-term holder intervals indicate that near-term support is around $103,700 and $95,600, with resistance at $114,800. These levels are important statistical indicators of a broader market sentiment shift.

• Realized profits have surged to $1.47 billion per day, marking the fifth major profit-taking event in this cycle. The selling is dominated by long-term holders rather than short-term traders.

• The dominant selling by holders with positions over 1 year reflects a mature capital rotation. This aligns with previous observations from the CBD heatmap, confirming that seasoned investors are shaping the current top formation phase.

Price Ladder Chart

Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin continued its upward trend, reaching a new high of $111,800 and briefly surpassing the highs set in January 2025. However, the subsequent pullback to $103,200 suggests a potential pause in the bullish momentum.

To understand the underlying structure of this rally, the CBD heatmap (PANews note: CBD heatmap visualizes Cumulative Volume Delta data) can be used. It tracks the net difference between aggressive buying and selling at different price levels. Visually, it reveals concentrated accumulation or selling zones driven by spot markets, helping to identify the price ranges with the strongest demand.

The heatmap shows that the rally was primarily driven by spot markets and climbed in a stepwise manner, with clear accumulation zones at $81,000 to $85,000, $93,000 to $96,000, and $102,000 to $104,000. These zones may now act as dense supply areas and could provide short-term support under the influence of overall market sentiment.

Notably, top buyers from the first quarter of this year, who held after the price fell below $80,000, are now being tested again as the price hovers around $110,000. This article will explore the waning momentum behind recent demand, factors weakening market strength, and potential support levels if the market continues to weaken.

Source: Glassnode

Long-Term Holder Selling Pressure

To understand the driving force behind Bitcoin's recent breakthrough above $111,000, a broader market structure perspective is necessary. By examining the heatmap since the June 2022 cycle bottom, the distribution pattern of past accumulated positions begins to emerge clearly.

As prices continue to climb, supply-dense zones that previously served as accumulation bases (characterized by sideways consolidation) have now transformed into active selling zones. Visually, the heatmap shows a progressive shift; areas that once supported the upward movement have turned into resistance levels as early holders take the opportunity to sell.

The most significant selling pressure comes from groups that accumulated positions in key historical ranges ($25,000 to $31,000 and $60,000 to $73,000). Many in these groups have experienced multiple volatility phases and are now exacerbating supply overhangs, seemingly limiting Bitcoin's further upside at least in the short term.

Source: Glassnode

Price Discovery Exploration

With long-term holders gradually exerting selling pressure, the likelihood of a short-term pullback continues to increase, especially in the absence of a strong catalyst to push Bitcoin decisively above $111,800. During this pause in bullish momentum, on-chain pricing models become important tools for identifying potential support levels during the pullback.

One particularly effective framework is the Spent Supply Distribution (SSD) quantiles. This metric analyzes the cost basis of tokens at specific times, dividing them into 100 percentiles. It provides a high-resolution view of when supply initially entered the market, enabling the identification of areas with high turnover rates, which may be driven by profit-taking or loss realization.

Here, three key quantiles are focused on:

• 🔴 0.95 (top 5%)

• 🔵 0.85 (top 15%)

• 🟠 0.75 (top 25%)

Historical patterns over the past five years show that when prices are above the 0.95 quantile, there is often absolute euphoric sentiment, while range-bound bull market phases typically occur between 0.85 and 0.95. On the other hand, sustained levels below 0.75 usually mark bear markets or risk-off periods.

Currently, the 0.95 quantile is at approximately $103,700, the first on-chain support level. If selling pressure persists, the next level to watch is the 0.85 quantile at $95,600, which may provide structural support or, if breached, confirm a broader risk reset.

Source: Glassnode

Profit Realization

As Bitcoin pulls back from its recent high of $111,800, most of the selling pressure appears to come from seasoned holders within the cycle, those who accumulated Bitcoin early in the rally and are now realizing substantial gains. At this stage, the profit realization mechanism is a key factor in assessing the risk of demand exhaustion.

By calculating the 7-day simple moving average of daily realized profits (adjusted to exclude internal entity flows), last week saw a peak of $1.47 billion in daily realized profits. This is a significant level, highlighting the intensity of recent capital rotation.

More importantly, this marks the fifth time in this cycle that daily profit-taking has exceeded $1 billion. Such events often coincide with local market tops or slowdowns, especially when new demand cannot absorb realized gains of this magnitude. This highlights the market's resilience in the face of significant selling pressure.

Source: Glassnode

Dynamic Shifts

To better understand the significance of the current wave of profit-taking, it is necessary to examine it from a cyclical perspective. Not all profit-taking events are the same, and the dynamic nature of these mechanisms can reveal how market maturity and volatility shape investor behavior over time.

An effective approach is to examine the 90-day simple moving average (SMA) of realized net profits adjusted for market capitalization. This adjustment allows for comparison across different cycles. A clear trend is that the enthusiasm for profit-taking has waned over time, reflecting the general degradation of cyclical upside performance and reduced volatility as the market matures.

• From November 2015 to April 2018, the net profit-taking phase lasted about 25 months, with peaks exceeding 0.4% of market capitalization.

• In the 2020 to 2022 cycle, this area lasted about 20 months, but the peak was only around 0.15%.

• In the current cycle, starting in November 2023, the net profit-taking phase has lasted 18 months, forming two distinct peaks close to 0.1%.

This trend indicates that while profit-taking still exerts significant pressure, it has become more subdued, possibly signaling a shift from the boom-and-bust fervor to structural capital rotation within a more mature asset class.

Source: Glassnode

Who Is Taking Profits?

Another perspective on assessing profit-taking cycles is to identify which investor groups are selling.

Since the 2015 to 2018 cycle, the share of realized profits by long-term holders (LTHs) has steadily increased at market tops. This trend highlights a structural shift in market maturity, with more experienced investors dominating capital rotation rather than short-term speculators.

During the recent peak period, the 30-day moving average of realized profits for long-term holders (LTHs) soared to approximately $1 billion per day, while short-term holders (STHs

On August 25, 2024, on a sweltering afternoon, Sushil and Radhika Chetal were house-hunting in an upscale neighborhood in Danbury, Connecticut. The lawns were meticulously trimmed, and the pools were equipped with heating systems. Sushil, a vice president at Morgan Stanley's New York branch, was driving a newly purchased matte gray Lamborghini Urus, an SUV with a starting price of about $240,000.

As they turned a corner, a white Honda Civic suddenly collided with the Lamborghini from behind. At the same time, a white Ram ProMaster van cut in from the front, blocking the Chetals' path. According to a criminal complaint filed afterward, six men dressed in black and wearing masks emerged from the vehicles, forcibly dragging the Chetals out of their car and pushing them into the side door of the van.

When Sushil resisted, the attackers hit him with a baseball bat and threatened to kill him. The couple was bound with duct tape, and Radhika was forced to lie face down, warned not to look at them, even as she struggled to breathe due to her asthma, pleading for mercy. They also taped Sushil's face and beat him again with a baseball bat as the van sped away.

Several witnesses saw the attack and called 911. One of them was an off-duty FBI agent living nearby, who happened to be at the scene. He followed the van and Honda Civic, reporting their movements to the police in real-time. This FBI agent also managed to record part of the license plate number.

Soon, the Danbury police located the van. A patrol car turned on its lights to intercept, but the van driver sped away, weaving recklessly through traffic. About a mile into the chase, the driver veered off the road and hit the curb. Four suspects abandoned the vehicle and ran. The police found one of them under a bridge and arrested him after a brief pursuit. Over the next few hours, the other three were also found and apprehended in nearby woods. Meanwhile, the police discovered the Chetals, still bound and shaken, in the back of the van.

Danbury Police Detective Sergeant Steve Castrovinci was off duty that day when he received a call from the shift commander informing him of the incident. He recalled that the commander told him, "We have a kidnapping case, a real one." Castrovinci gathered a few detectives to understand the situation, visited the crime scene, and then rushed to the station to interrogate the suspects. Based on information from one of the arrested suspects, two more suspects were found and arrested the next morning in an Airbnb in Roxbury, a 30-minute drive from Danbury, along with the white Honda Civic.

For Castrovinci, this was an unusual and dramatic case. Danbury is a wealthy and quiet place, and although the police occasionally deal with kidnapping cases, they are almost always disputes over child custody. A violent kidnapping in broad daylight was unheard of. What was even stranger was that the suspects—ranging in age from 18 to 26—were found to have traveled to Connecticut from Miami specifically for this.

They also rented the van through the Turo app. "A case like this, a police officer might encounter one or two in a lifetime," Castrovinci, who has 20 years of law enforcement experience and worked for the New York Police Department for five years, told me. "Especially in our area, this kind of thing is just not common."

The police revealed very little information to the public in the following weeks. Castrovinci and his team were working hard to piece together the motive. It was hard to believe that the Chetals were targeted because of Sushil's executive position at the investment bank. As a vice president of Morgan Stanley, his salary was enviable but not unusual in Danbury. If the kidnappers' motive was money, it was very strange that they abandoned the Chetals' Lamborghini (which was later found abandoned in the woods). All the clues seemed to make no sense.

However, a few days after the attempted kidnapping, Castrovinci said their team received a tip from the FBI that turned the entire case in an unexpected direction: the case might be related to a massive cryptocurrency theft that occurred a week before the attack.

Several young people (some of whom met on Minecraft servers) are suspected of stealing $250 million from an unsuspecting victim, triggering an incredible series of events involving a cybercrime gang composed of teenagers, several independent cyber detectives tracking their actions, and multiple law enforcement agencies. Now it appears that all of this ultimately led to the kidnapping of the Chetals—the rampant disorder of the digital dark world and its surrounding culture, for the first time, has seeped into the real world in such a brutally real way.

This series of events began a few weeks earlier when a resident of Washington, D.C., began receiving unusual login notifications from his Google account, indicating that these logins seemed to come from overseas. Then, on August 18, he received a call from someone claiming to be from Google's security team. The caller stated that his email account had been compromised. The call sounded very authentic—the caller had personal information about the D.C. resident. The caller asked him to verify some personal information over the phone, or the account would be closed, and the resident did as requested.

Shortly after speaking with the alleged Google staff, the Washington, D.C. resident (whose identity was concealed in federal court documents) received another call from someone claiming to be a representative of the well-known cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

Similarly, the caller had his personal information and told him that his Gemini account (containing about $4.5 million in cryptocurrency) had been hacked and needed to immediately reset the two-factor authentication and transfer the Bitcoin in the account to another wallet to ensure the funds' safety.

The person on the phone then suggested that the account holder download a program that could "enhance security." The man agreed, not realizing that what he downloaded was a remote desktop application, which would allow the caller to remotely control his computer—and thus gain access to his other cryptocurrency account, exposing his assets to an even more staggering theft risk. It turned out that the Washington, D.C. resident was an early investor in cryptocurrency, holding a total of over 4,100 Bitcoins. A decade ago, these Bitcoins were worth about $1 million; on that day, their market value exceeded $243 million.

There is a core paradox in the cryptocurrency world: although the holders of the coins are usually anonymous, all transaction records are publicly recorded in a ledger called the blockchain. This means that once funds are transferred, anyone can see them. This paradox has given rise to a new type of investigator who specializes in tracking suspicious transactions on the blockchain. One of the most famous is ZachXBT, an independent cryptocurrency crime investigator.

In the crypto world, ZachXBT is a well-known but elusive figure. He often posts lengthy investigative threads on X (formerly Twitter), exposing people suspected of wrongdoing, sometimes even naming them directly. He has about 850,000 followers on the platform. He also often shares his investigative results with law enforcement agencies. Wired magazine called him "the world's most active independent cryptocurrency crime investigator." He has never revealed his real identity online.

Just minutes after the Washington, D.C. resident's crypto assets were liquidated, ZachXBT was catching a flight at the airport when he suddenly received an unusual transaction alert on his phone. Crypto investigators typically use tools to monitor the flow of global cryptocurrencies and set alerts for specific situations, such as transactions exceeding $100,000 that pass through exchanges with extremely lax security measures.

At that time, the initial alert was a mid-six-figure transaction, which then continued to climb, reaching up to $2 million. After passing through security, ZachXBT found a seat, opened his laptop, and began tracking the transaction, ultimately tracing it to a wallet holding about $240 million in cryptocurrency. Some of the Bitcoins could even be traced back to 2012. "I knew something was off," he told me, "Why would someone who has been holding Bitcoin for so many years use such a suspicious service that often flows into illegal funds?"

He then added the wallet addresses associated with these transactions to his tracking list and boarded the plane. Once connected to the cabin Wi-Fi, more transaction alerts kept pouring in. Throughout the day, the Bitcoin from the large wallet was continuously cashed out through more than 15 high-fee cryptocurrency service platforms.

After landing, ZachXBT contacted several peers who specialize in investigating cryptocurrency theft cases. One of them was Josh Cooper-Duckett, the head of investigations at Cryptoforensic Investigators. This company is one of the growing number of independent organizations focused on tracking cryptocurrency theft and fraud and assisting law enforcement in recovering funds for victims. Cooper-Duckett, 26, from London, became interested in cryptocurrencies early on. After working as a security consultant at Deloitte for three and a half years, he began to focus on investigating cryptocurrency theft cases, especially those with losses of at least $100,000—which are now very common.

ZachXBT shared his findings with Cooper-Duckett and other investigators, and everyone agreed that emptying a wallet worth nearly $250 million at once was extremely suspicious. "Someone with this much money couldn't just wake up on a weekend and decide, 'I'm going to transfer my money in batches to a bunch of exchanges and then exchange it for Monero and Ethereum'—normal people don't do that."

The group of crypto investigators then contacted the relevant exchanges and service platforms, informing them that the funds were stolen and hoping they could freeze the funds and cooperate with the police investigation. Some platforms cooperated, but others did not. "This situation was a bit like a game of Whac-A-Mole," Cooper-Duckett said. "They kept trying to transfer the money to various different exchanges and service platforms to see where they could successfully launder it out. After all, they were laundering $240 million, which is an astronomical figure."

In the meantime, ZachXBT also warned his followers on X: "About seven hours ago, a suspicious transaction occurred, with the possible victim's account transferring out 4064 Bitcoins (about $238 million)." He wrote. The funds then flowed to cryptocurrency platforms such as THORChain, eXch, KuCoin, ChangeNOW, RAILGUN, and Avalanche Bridge.

ZachXBT also noted that the victim had previously received bankruptcy compensation from Genesis. Genesis is a lending platform that filed for bankruptcy in 2023 due to Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX collapse.

Through his network, ZachXBT eventually managed to contact the victim via email. The shocked Washington, D.C. resident then hired ZachXBT, Cryptoforensic Investigators, and another cryptocurrency investigation company to help track his stolen assets.

On the same day, he also filed a police report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, and ZachXBT immediately contacted his acquaintances in law enforcement. (The FBI and the Department of Justice declined to be interviewed on this matter.)

The rapid increase in cryptocurrency theft cases has overwhelmed federal investigators. According to the latest report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received over 69,000 complaints involving cryptocurrency financial fraud in 2023, with total losses exceeding $5.6 billion, a 45% increase from 2022.

Although cryptocurrency-related complaints account for only 10% of all financial fraud cases, the losses they cause account for nearly half of the total amount. The report points out that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, the irreversibility of transactions, and the ability of funds to be freely transferred globally make them extremely attractive to criminals and also make it difficult for the FBI to recover funds. To this end, the FBI established the Virtual Assets Unit (V.A.U.) in 2022, specifically to combat cryptocurrency theft.

Due to the large scale and high difficulty of solving the case, experts say that government agencies—including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, and even the IRS—have to rely on private companies and individual investigators who have an in-depth understanding of the digital crime underworld. "Josh and Zach, they are really fast and accurate in tracking," said Nick Bax, founder of cryptocurrency analysis firm Five I's.

Bax has collaborated with ZachXBT on multiple cases but has never met him in person. In their early calls, ZachXBT even used voice-changing software to make himself sound like Mickey Mouse. "To be honest, I'm pretty good myself, but I can never catch up with them," Bax said, "and I think their brains are really modified because they have been doing this since they were very young."

Crypto investigators usually use fake accounts to infiltrate forums where hackers and scammers gather, such as Telegram and Discord, to observe their communications, planning, and boasting. They find that these criminals are often very young and act quite recklessly, often inadvertently leaving clues.

After ZachXBT posted about the theft on X, a source contacted him through a temporary account, providing some clues that might point to the identity of the thieves. The informant sent ZachXBT several screen recording videos, allegedly recorded when one of the scammers was live-streaming the theft to his friends. The total duration of the videos was about an hour and a half, including footage of the calls with the victim. In one of the videos, you could hear the scammers excitedly shouting after learning that they had successfully stolen $243 million in Bitcoin: "Oh my God! Oh my God! $243 million! This is amazing! Oh my God! Oh my God! Dude!"

In private chats, the group of scammers used aliases such as Swag, $$$, and Meech, but they made a fatal mistake: one of them accidentally exposed his real name—Veer Chetal, an 18-year-old from Danbury—while live-streaming. He was the son of the previously mentioned kidnapped couple.

Veer Chetal was a quiet honor student who had recently graduated from Immaculate High School in Danbury and was about to attend Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 2022, he completed a "Future Lawyer" program, and his photo was published on the school's website that year—a boy with glasses, wearing a Tommy Hilfiger windbreaker and a red polo shirt, smiling brightly.

Classmates recalled that Chetal was always shy and loved cars. "He was basically a loner," said Marco Dias, who became friends with Chetal in his senior year. Another classmate named Nick Paris also said that Chetal was very low-key until halfway through his senior year when he suddenly showed up at school in a Corvette sports car. "He just parked in the parking lot at 7:30 a.m., and everyone was stunned," Paris said.

Soon, Chetal switched to a BMW, then a Lamborghini Urus. He started wearing Louis Vuitton shirts and Gucci shoes. On Senior Skip Day, when Paris and other classmates were just hanging out at a nearby mall, Chetal took some friends, including Dias, to New York, rented a yacht for a party, and everyone took photos on the deck with bundles of cash.

Chetal claimed he made this money by trading cryptocurrencies; Dias said that one morning in study hall, Chetal even showed him trading records on his phone as proof. Once, Chetal also rented a big house in Stamford, Connecticut, and invited friends for a three-day party. "I was once playing around with friends in the basement when I suddenly saw him lying on the couch playing with his phone, basically avoiding everyone," Dias recalled, "I thought, this is really strange at the time." Paris also remembered that during a school parade, the police pulled over Chetal's Lamborghini Urus for a traffic violation, "He immediately called his lawyer on the spot, before the police even asked any questions. Everyone at the time thought: wow, this guy really has something, he is really rich."

Independent investigators pointed out that Chetal was actually a secret member of an organization called Com (also known as Comm or Community). This organization originated in the hacker underground of the 1980s and has now evolved into a social network for cybercriminals and aspirants.

According to an unrelated case FBI affidavit, an agent described Com as "a geographically dispersed alliance of subgroups collaborating through online communication software such as Discord and Telegram, engaging in various criminal activities."

According to this affidavit and experts who study Com, the activities of these subgroups include: swatting (falsely reporting emergencies to police or schools to trigger a response); SIM swapping (usually stealing target phone numbers by deceiving customer service representatives); ransomware attacks (using malicious programs to prevent users or organizations from accessing their computer files); cryptocurrency theft, and penetration attacks on corporate systems, among others.

Allison Nixon is the Chief Research Officer of the cybersecurity expert group Unit 221B and has been monitoring this expanding online corner since 2011. She is now widely considered one of the top experts in the field of Com organization research.

She said that most members of Com are young men from Western countries. In group chats, many people talk about college life and the cybersecurity courses they are taking, and this knowledge has become a boost for their criminal activities. Nixon pointed out that many people's initial entry into this circle was through video games like RuneScape, Roblox, and Grand Theft Auto.

By the mid-2010s, a darker world was also quietly emerging in Minecraft—a game centered on creative construction—and this transformation was largely due to the appearance of online servers. These servers are owned and operated by users, allowing players to team up for battles, also known as "factions." On these servers, Minecraft evolved into a competitive battlefield, bringing with it opportunities for profit and fraud.

Soon, servers began to introduce in-game purchase mechanisms, allowing players to spend money to purchase upgrade features, such as flight capabilities, stronger weapons and armor. Some in-game purchases could also unlock fashionable character costumes, becoming a way for players to show off their status online.

As players became more inclined to participate in these competitive servers, a large black market emerged on Discord, Since Minecraft players are mostly teenagers, this black market quickly became a breeding ground for fraud.

Users often agreed to exchange real money for in-game items via PayPal, but after receiving the money, scammers would block the other party's account. This behavior was so rampant that people began to offer "escrow services" to solve the trust issue—these intermediaries would charge a certain fee to hold the money and items and then transfer them to both parties respectively.

In this circle, some high-value usernames became hot collectibles, usually no more than four letters, such as Tree, OK, Mark, YOLO, or G, with prices even reaching over ten thousand dollars.

As Minecraft's "faction" servers and black markets flourished, virtual currencies also began to gain popularity in these communities and eventually replaced PayPal as the mainstream transaction method. This competitive, gambling, and fraud training ground, coupled with players' increasing familiarity with cryptocurrencies, gradually turned Minecraft servers into a "hotbed" for breeding new cybercriminals.

By 2017, as Bitcoin prices soared rapidly, Com members also seamlessly transitioned from Minecraft fraud to cryptocurrency theft. One of Com's most popular forums, called "OGUsers," initially a platform for discussing and purchasing social media accounts and usernames, later evolved into a breeding ground for cybercrime, involving SIM swapping, Twitter account hacking, and other activities.

Nixon explained: "These antisocial communities quickly turned into a group of overnight rich 'hacker tycoons' and spread this culture, because people see others suddenly becoming millionaires and also want to know how they did it." This also led to the rapid expansion of Com.

Com now uses a popular cryptocurrency theft method called "social engineering," which refers to inducing users to disclose sensitive information by manipulating people's minds. Com members compile a list of potential victims obtained through data breaches and then carry out precise attacks one by one—the Washington D.C. victim's case was just such a case. Sometimes, they also post "job advertisements" online to recruit people willing to assist them in fraud.

Cryptocurrency investigator Nick Bax once shared a job posting on Telegram, promising "5 figures a week" (i.e., a five-figure salary per week)—as long as "you're not slow"—to call potential targets. The ad also required "a professional customer service voice with an American accent." After the theft, Com members sometimes return to the Minecraft black market to use the stolen cryptocurrency to buy rare in-game items and then sell these items for real cash through PayPal, thus "laundering" the money.

When ZachXBT identified Veer Chetal's real identity, he and other investigators quickly targeted more people involved in the case. In the recordings obtained by ZachXBT, the thieves referred to each other by their Com nicknames, sometimes also directly stating each other's real names. One name repeatedly mentioned was Malone, also known as Malone Lam.

Malone Lam is a 20-year-old Singaporean and a notorious member of the Com circle, with online names including Greavys and Anne Hathaway. He is also a seasoned Minecraft player, with a side-swept bang, often banned by servers, but always manages to return. In the spring of 2023, after a conflict with administrators on the Minecadia server, resulting in the loss of some in-game items, he conducted a "doxxing" on the administrators, publishing their home addresses and social security numbers online, and at least once, he called emergency services to harass them at their homes.

According to multiple user accounts and Discord chat logs at the time, Chetal and Lam met in Minecraft, where they played in a "faction" led by Lam.

In October 2023, Lam entered the United States on a 90-day visa. He basically stopped playing Minecraft. According to court documents, he then maintained his lifestyle through other cryptocurrency-related fraud methods.

After the cryptocurrency theft in August 2024, ZachXBT tracked Lam through so-called OSINT (open-source intelligence), that is, through social media. In Com's chat groups, everyone was talking about Lam's extravagant spending, no one knew the source of his money, but they mentioned his luxurious life in Los Angeles nightclubs.

ZachXBT investigated the city's most popular nightclubs and looked at Instagram posts from partygoers and the clubs themselves. In one post, Malone was wearing a white Moncler jacket, seemingly diamond rings, and diamond-encrusted sunglasses. He stood on the table and began throwing hundred-dollar bills into the crowd.

As money rained down, waiters carried $1,500 champagne bottles with fireworks attached, and held up signs reading "@Malone." He spent $569,528 in that nightclub alone that night. At another club, Lam and his group also playfully challenged ZachXBT, instructing nightclub patrons to hold up signs reading "TOLD U WE'D WIN" (told you we'd win), while another read "[expletive] ZACHXBT."

In the following weeks, Lam bought 31 cars, including custom Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches, some of which were worth up to $3 million. On August 24, he apparently sent a photo of a pink Lamborghini to a model. He texted, "I bought you a gift; let's consider it an early birthday present." She replied, "I have a boyfriend again." He responded with "idc" (I don't care).

On September 10, after 23 days of partying in Los Angeles, Lam flew to Miami with a group of friends on a private jet. There, he rented several properties, including a $7.5 million mansion with ten bedrooms. Within days, Lam filled the driveway with more luxury cars, including several Lamborghinis, one of which had the name "Malone" printed on the side.

Every few days, ZachXBT sent the intelligence he gathered to law enforcement. Information generally flowed one way, but federal authorities were also conducting their own investigations. According to court documents, the suspects allegedly involved in the conspiracy used sophisticated money laundering methods to hide funds and conceal their identities, trading through cryptocurrency exchanges like eXch, which do not require personal customer information, and using virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their true locations.

However, according to the authorities, they made a mistake at least once. A suspect, when registering an account on the digital currency exchange TradeOgre, forgot to use a VPN, resulting in their connected IP address pointing to a $47,500-per-month rental property in Encino, California. The property was leased by 21-year-old Jeandiel Serrano, who has used aliases such as VersaceGod, @SkidStar, and Box online. By the time the authorities identified Serrano, he was on vacation in the Maldives with his girlfriend.

On September 18, when Serrano flew back to Los Angeles International Airport from the Maldives, law enforcement officers were waiting for him at the airport. He was wearing a $500,000 watch at the time of his arrest. Initially, Serrano denied knowing about the theft and agreed to talk to law enforcement without a lawyer. However, according to the court report, he quickly admitted his involvement, particularly in impersonating a Gemini employee.

Serrano admitted that he owned five cars, two of which were gifts from his co-conspirators, with the funds for these gifts coming from previous scams. He also admitted that he had about $20 million of the victim's cryptocurrency on his phone and agreed to return the funds to the FBI.

Meanwhile, agents in Miami were preparing to raid one of the mansions rented by Lam. Lam knew the raid was imminent: after Serrano's arrest, Serrano's girlfriend immediately called to warn Lam's co-conspirators. They then deleted their Telegram accounts and other evidence from their phones.

Later that day, a team of FBI agents, in cooperation with the Miami police, raided a mansion near the Miami coast. The agents used an explosive device to open the front metal gate, while another group of agents entered through a small saltwater canal at the back by boat. As the agents entered the house, the sound of flash grenades echoed through the neighborhood.

Soon after, an agent led Lam out of the house in handcuffs, wearing a long-sleeved white top, dark red basketball shorts, and sneakers, with smoke filling the air, followed by at least five others who were in the house with him. Serrano and Lam were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each charge could face up to 20 years in prison.

On the exact day one month after the heist, the party was over.

In Danbury, in the days and weeks following the Chetal family's kidnapping, Castrovinci and the police worked with federal investigators to build a case against the gang from Florida. They urgently obtained access to the suspects' phones, reviewed group chat records, and documented the gang members' actions.

They learned that the trip was partially funded and organized by a 23-year-old Miami man named Angel Borrero, known as Chi Chi. In the group chat, Borrero wrote to the others: "If this goes well, we'll head to California next." Federal investigators speculated that this meant the gang planned to carry out other operations in California. That day, Josue Alberto Romero (nicknamed Sway) sent a message to the gang: "Chi Chi, we are more prepared than ever." These chat records indicated that the gang began coordinating their actions as early as possible。

A New Blueprint: Decentralized Stability via Bitcoin

While most stablecoins rely on centralized systems—fiat custody, bank settlements, regulatory oversight—Aegis rejects these Bitcoin-averse frameworks. Instead, it anchors its stablecoin YUSD to Bitcoin through perpetual short contracts, bypassing oracles, fiat reserves, and intermediaries.

Minting YUSD: Collateralized by Bitcoin, Stabilized by Shorts

YUSD is minted only when stablecoins like USDT, USDC, or DAI are deposited into Aegis’ smart contract. Once verified:

• Collateral moves to secure vaults.

• YUSD is issued, governed solely by code—no manual overrides.

The Engine: Perpetual Shorts as a Hedging Tool

Aegis’ end-to-end mechanism:

1. Users mint or swap stablecoins for YUSD.

2. Aegis converts funds to Bitcoin.

3. Opens perpetual short positions to hedge volatility.

4. Earns funding fees from long-side traders.

5. Distributes profits: part to insurance pools, part to YUSD holders.

This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where market demand fuels yield.

Profit Source: Funding Fees from Bitcoin Bulls

Aegis profits when Bitcoin perpetual traders pay funding fees (collected 3x daily). These fees—generated by bullish counterparties—are redistributed, avoiding inflation or staking gimmicks.

Passive Yield: Hold YUSD, Earn “Free Money” The process is frictionless:

• Hold YUSD → Aegis captures fees → Snapshot rewards → Claim via app. As the team puts it: “It’s like free money falling from the sky.”

Risk Management: Insurance Fund for Negative Funding Rates

To counter risks when funding rates turn negative:

• 1-5% of profits fund an insurance pool.

• Managed by multisig smart contracts (later transitioning to Aegis DAO).

Transparency by Design: Verifiable Reserves, Open Ledger

Aegis prioritizes visibility:

• Reserve balances auditable on-chain.

• Exchange positions publicly tracked.

• Read-only APIs for real-time monitoring. No guesswork—users watch the system breathe.

Growth Flywheel: Aegis Points and Season 1 Multipliers Daily points (convertible to AEG tokens weekly) incentivize:

• Holding YUSD: 15 points per $1 daily.

• Liquidity Provision: 30 points per $1 (2x boost).

• Euler Lending: 45 points per $1 (3x boost).

• Social Tasks: 50 points per task (5x boost).

Season 1 offers a 50% bonus, rewarding early adopters. Advanced strategies (e.g., deposit → borrow → repeat) maximize yields.

The Big Question: Can Bitcoin-Backed Stability Scale? Aegis’ model—untethered from fiat or oracles—is one of Bitcoin’s clearest monetary experiments. Yet uncertainties linger:

• Will it withstand extreme volatility?

• Can adoption match its ambition?

For now, it stands as a bold reimagining of decentralized finance—one that lets Bitcoin itself underwrite stability.

Crypto payment cards (also known as "U cards") have quietly risen in this context—they not only bridge the "last mile" of asset usage but also subtly reshape people's understanding of wallets, PayFi, and payment networks.

Whether it is binding to mobile payment software for consumption or borrowing stablecoins by collateralizing Bitcoin to flexibly deal with market conditions, the use cases of crypto payment cards are becoming more diverse. Among them, some rely on exchanges, focusing on stability and cashback rewards, while others are based on wallets or protocols, emphasizing on-chain native assets and composability. Today's crypto payment cards have become a practical and increasingly mature entry point for crypto finance.

To clarify the real user experience and differences of these products, Odaily Planet Daily has conducted an in-depth dissection of the ten most representative crypto payment cards in the current market, including Bybit, Bitget, SafePal, Morph, Infini, Coinbase, Nexo, MetaMask, 1inch, and RedotPay. Based on a large amount of information collection and user feedback from social platforms, we have systematically sorted out and compared these cards horizontally in terms of application threshold, supported assets, fee structure, cashback mechanism, and on-chain interaction capabilities, helping readers find the most suitable "pass" in this rapidly evolving field.

Beginner U Cards Suitable for Chinese Users

Bybit Card: The Most Widely Used Exchange U Card

Bybit's recently launched virtual debit card has become popular on social media due to its no-annual-fee and low-threshold characteristics. This card supports KYC certification in mainland China, and the application process is free.

The application process is quite simple: Users first need to register a Bybit account and complete KYC verification on the platform. It is reported that users with Chinese mainland identities can pass the KYC review. After the verification is approved, users can find the "Card" option on the homepage and enter the application page, where they can choose different regions to open the card:

• Choosing Australia as the card-opening region, in this case, no proof of address is required to apply for the virtual card. The review time is approximately 5 to 7 working days after submission. Under this version, the default currency of the card is US dollars.

• Users can also choose the European Economic Area (EEA), but it should be noted that the EEA version requires proof of address in the EEA, such as utility bills or credit card statements with a European address. Under this version, the default currency of the card is euros.

In terms of usage, the card can be managed in the Bybit app, and the virtual card can be directly bound to Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc., for consumption, and can be used for swiping at merchants worldwide that support Mastercard.

Recent Twitter messages indicate that the Australian version of the virtual card can no longer be bound to Alipay and WeChat Pay for consumption, mainly due to the overuse of cashback activities by cashing-in studios. However, some users report that Alipay's "tap-to-pay" can still conduct transactions, which may vary depending on each user's account risk control. If you need to bind these payment tools, you can consider applying for the European card version. According to Twitter information, the European card version can still be normally bound to Alipay for use.

In terms of fees, the Bybit card is quite competitive: The transaction fee ranges from 0.9% to 3%, depending on the card-opening region, transaction currency, and consumption location, among other factors. Some transactions may also incur additional intermediary fees (such as from platforms like Alipay). Currently, the platform is running a new card promotion where users can enjoy a 10% cashback offer on their consumption.

It should be particularly noted that consumption in different regions may incur additional currency conversion fees and other costs. For example, if a user swipes the card at a merchant using Japanese yen, the final fee may include the exchange rate from US dollars/euros to Japanese yen, which the user also has to bear. Overall, this card, being linked to an exchange, has a clear advantage in usage and is one of the more convenient options in the current market.

Bitget Card: Exclusive Payment Card for VIPs

Compared to traditional bank cards, Bitget's virtual debit card also highlights "no annual fee" and "direct USDT spending" as its main selling points, attracting the attention of many crypto users. The card currently supports two card organization options: UnionPay and Mastercard, covering the actual needs of different regions and consumption scenarios.

The card issuer of Bitget Card is the DCS (DeCard) brand, a regulated card-issuing bank in Singapore. According to market messages, Bitget has acquired the majority of its shares. Although DeCard also provides card application services for individual users, this path usually requires applicants to have local identity verification and a Singaporean phone number, which is a high threshold. Therefore, applying through the Bitget platform is a more feasible way.

It should be noted that the Bitget Card is currently not open for application to all users. According to the platform's current rules, only users who have reached the VIP level are eligible to apply, and one common threshold is that the account balance must reach 30,000 USDT or equivalent assets. Therefore, the target user group of this card is more oriented towards high-net-worth or active trading users.

Currently, the Bitget Card also supports binding operations with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, WeChat, and other payment tools. Its functions focus on the combination of releasing the liquidity of on-chain assets and daily consumption. It should be noted that there are different types of Bitget Cards. The Bitget Card on the official website is a Visa card with the US dollar as the underlying settlement currency, while the Bitget Preferred Payment Card, which is more popular on Twitter, is a Mastercard/UnionPay card with the Singapore dollar as the underlying settlement currency, which is slightly different. According to user experiences on Twitter, this card can be smoothly used at all places that support Mastercard.

At the same time, Bitget has stated on its homepage that there will be opportunities for BGB cashback in the future.

In terms of fees, the transaction fee for the Bitget Card is also between 0.9% and 3%, mainly affected by factors such as the transaction currency, consumption location, and whether currency exchange is involved. For example, if a transaction settled in USDT is conducted in a non-US dollar/Singapore dollar region, a certain currency exchange fee may be triggered. In addition, different payment channels (such as UnionPay and Mastercard) may also affect the arrival time and intermediary fees. Moreover, Alipay and WeChat Pay will also charge fees for transactions above 300 yuan.

Overall, as a virtual financial product derived from an exchange, the Bitget Card provides users with another channel to use crypto assets in real consumption scenarios, especially suitable for users with larger asset scales and frequent cross-border consumption.

SafePal x Fiat24: More Than Just a U Card, It's a Compliant Bank Account

Unlike the traditional "virtual card," what SafePal offers is a more integrated form of crypto financial service, backed by a basic account support from Fiat24, a Swiss-registered bank. After completing identity verification and address validation, users will obtain a real European bank account (with an IBAN), which can be used for international money receipt, withdrawal, and even consumption with the associated debit card.

The application process is relatively more complex compared to other cards. Users need to first enter the relevant module within the SafePal wallet interface, with the precondition that the account's region supports this service (currently including Mainland China). Next, users need to transfer a small amount of ETH on the Arbitrum network to mint an identity NFT, which serves as the necessary certificate to obtain Fiat24 bank services. After completing KYC and address verification, the system will allocate a Fiat24 bank account and a Mastercard debit card bound to the account can be applied for simultaneously. Some users received Visa cards in 2023, and the current mainstream version is Mastercard.

This card also supports binding with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay, with underlying settlement currencies supporting euros, US dollars, Swiss francs, and Chinese yuan.

In terms of fees, the comprehensive fee range for the SafePal debit card is between 1% and 3%, depending on the specific transaction structure. The account withdrawal fee is approximately 1% of the transaction amount, while same-currency consumption does not incur additional charges, which is good news for users with consumption needs in the above four currencies. Once the fiat balance in the bank card is exhausted, the system will automatically deduct the fee from the bound crypto asset balance, enabling the consumption of crypto assets.

At the same time, since users obtain a complete bank account, this account supports international transfers to major banks, as well as international digital banks such as iFast, Wise, and Revolut. There have been many experiments and fee assessments on social platforms.

Compared with other exchange-led card products, the cooperation between SafePal and Fiat24 is closer to the extension of traditional financial services into the crypto world. It provides users with not just a card, but a complete financial account that can freely receive and send euros, is associated with crypto assets, and has a compliant identity label. It is particularly suitable for users with cross-border payment and asset export needs.

Morph Black Card: The "Top Player" in the High-End Credit Card Category

The Morph Black Card is the flagship membership benefit carrier launched by Morph, which is positioned as a consumption L2. It is a combination product for high-net-worth crypto users targeting "on-chain identity + real-world privileges." Unlike traditional virtual debit cards, the application threshold for Morph Black is holding a specific NFT—Morph Black NFT, which currently has a floor price of about 0.87 ETH in the secondary market. This NFT not only symbolizes the user's membership identity but also embeds the pricing and transfer functions of on-chain financial benefits.

In terms of functional design, Morph Black NFT is officially defined as the flagship asset of the MorphPay ecosystem. Holders may receive future Morph Token airdrops from the platform and have the right to be allocated at the lowest fully diluted valuation (FDV) stage. In addition, the NFT will be linked to multiple ecological projects, including the BAI Fund, to bring airdrop incentives to users. Cardholders can also participate in the platform's on-chain deposits to earn returns with an annualized yield of up to 30%.

In terms of card benefits, the Morph Black Card is a 22g physical black gold card. After completing KYC, cardholders can apply for this card. The advertised benefits include waiving the common $300 annual fee for traditional black cards and enjoying low transaction fees of as low as 0.3% during fund entry and exit (depending on currency exchange needs). The card has a high daily transaction limit of up to $1 million and will also come with a Singapore dollar bank account. In addition, according to the platform's public information and community discussions, the card will be linked to global hotel, flight booking, and private concierge services, possibly supported by the Aspire VIP system, to provide crypto asset holders with travel and lifestyle配套服务，类似于传统高端信用卡。

此外，据社区与社交平台消息，Morph Black 实体卡可能基于 DCS（DeCard）发行体系构建，其资方Bitget 被传已收购 DCS大部分股权，因此该卡极有可能是以 DCS 的 Mastercard卡为蓝本开发，部分权益可能将会来自DCS黑卡Imperium World Elite Card，且具备信用卡机制。

据Morph团队表示，未来将推出面向更广泛用户的普通卡版本，以扩展其支付网络与生态渗透力。整体而言，Morph Black Card 是目前市场上最具“高端金融”象征意义的卡类产品之一，适合寻求资产尊享化、权益可组合化的加密资深用户群体。

值得一提的是，Morph在几天前刚刚开始了Morph Platinum SBT的销售。通过铸造Morph Platinum SBT，用户可以在500亿美元的FDV下确保其在生态系统中的额度权益，并在TGE时解锁50%的代币。同时，SBT持有人将会获得Morph白金卡（Platinum Card），关于卡的细节尚未披露，但同样是一张支持加密货币直接消费的U卡，赠送价值300美元的一年黑卡卡片权益试用。目前，铸造Morph Platinum SBT的费用为0.3 ETH。

Infini Card: The Virtual Card Supporting OnlyFans

Infini offers three different types of cards: Meow Card and Rabbit Card are the core virtual card products, providing flexible on-chain payment and daily consumption solutions for different user needs. Currently, both cards are sold at a price of $9.9, with no annual or monthly fees. They support binding with Alipay and WeChat Pay, making them one of the few foreign virtual cards compatible with mainstream Chinese payment tools.

The Meow Card belongs to the Mastercard network and is more suitable for daily consumption scenarios denominated in Chinese yuan. Its transaction service fee is 0.8% of each purchase amount. When making non-US dollar currency payments, the system will automatically convert the currency and charge a cross-border fee of 1% to 1.5%, with a minimum of $0.01.

The Rabbit Card uses the Visa network and is positioned more towards US dollar merchants, especially for a range of subscription-based platforms, including ChatGPT Plus, OpenAI API, Midjourney, Cursor, AWS, Google Cloud, Notion, GoDaddy, GitHub, and other development services, as well as mainstream consumer platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, eBay, and Amazon, covering almost all daily US dollar subscription services. The base service fee for the Rabbit Card is also 0.8% per transaction, but its fee for non-US merchants or non-US dollar transactions is a fixed 1% plus $0.50, with the same minimum rate threshold of $0.01.

Of course, Infini's official website also thoughtfully indicates for users that both Meow Card and Rabbit Card support subscriptions to OnlyFans, truly meeting user needs.

Although these two cards are in virtual form, they can both be quickly bound to Alipay and WeChat Pay in actual use to achieve a seamless payment experience. On the official website, it can be seen that Infini's physical card product, Woof Card, is in preparation and will support Apple Pay and Google Pay in the future, with broader offline payment capabilities, expected to further expand the user base.

Overseas Residents' Welfare Cards: No-Fee Cards, Cashback Cards, and "Lending" Cards

Note: The KYC requirements for all the following cards are for "residents," not limited by nationality. That is, residents who can provide local address proof, such as utility bills and credit card statements, can undergo KYC according to the requirements of different card issuers, with varying levels of difficulty.

Coinbase Card: The Only Payment U Card with "No Fees and No Losses"

As one of the largest and most compliant cryptocurrency trading platforms globally, Coinbase's debit card has significant advantages in terms of user trust and fund security. The card is issued to users with a Coinbase account and is particularly suitable for residents permanently residing in the United States or the European Economic Area (EEA). Applicants must have a valid residency status and a real address in their location, and KYC verification for Mainland China is not supported.

However, the strict KYC process comes with premium benefits: One of the biggest features of the Coinbase debit card is the waiver of all fees. Its "native asset payment" mechanism allows users to directly use stablecoins such as USDC for daily consumption. The platform also supports fee-free conversion of fiat currency to USDC, which greatly reduces the asset conversion costs for cardholders. Daily transactions and ATM withdrawals are usually free of charge, providing users with an almost lossless payment experience. In addition, the card is a VISA debit card that can be used normally at merchants and services worldwide that support this network, covering a wide range of scenarios.

When users withdraw funds from Coinbase to their local bank account, if the account is located in a country or region supported by Coinbase, the process is generally fast and is widely regarded as "smooth and stable." Additionally, Coinbase occasionally launches cashback activities for debit card users, which, although not frequent, is an extra incentive for long-term cardholders.

Overall, the Coinbase debit card, with its compliant background, low-fee system, and good fiat currency deposit and withdrawal experience, has become one of the most popular crypto debit cards among European and American users. For users who already manage their assets on the Coinbase platform, this card is undoubtedly an ideal extension for the daily use of their on-chain assets.

Nexo Card: Cashback Credit Card for Residents in Europe

Launched by Nexo, a crypto trading platform headquartered in France with compliance licenses in the EU and the UK, the Nexo Card is only open to residents of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the UK. Chinese passport holders need proof of address and a residence card in Europe to open an account. This card not only supports crypto asset consumption but is also one of the few true "credit card model" U cards, allowing users to pay first and repay later, and it supports cashback at a considerable rate, making it one of the few cards that can compete with North American credit cards.

The Nexo Card belongs to the Mastercard network and can be used at almost all merchants within the network.

The Nexo Card's cashback mechanism employs a dynamic reward model based on the user's asset allocation. All daily purchases can earn crypto cashback, with a base rate of 0.5% of the purchase amount. The payment currency can be flexibly chosen within the platform as either NEXO Token or Bitcoin (BTC). When the total value of crypto assets held in the user's account exceeds $5,000, the user will automatically be included in the Loyalty Program. Depending on the proportion of NEXO tokens in the asset portfolio, users will be assigned to different loyalty levels, thereby earning higher cashback incentives.

Specifically, the highest platinum-level users can receive up to 2% NEXO token cashback or choose to receive 0.5% BTC cashback; gold-level users receive 1% and 0.3%, respectively; silver-level users receive 0.7% and 0.2%; and the base level maintains a cashback rate of 0.5% NEXO or 0.1% BTC. This tiered reward mechanism encourages users to hold more NEXO tokens on the platform, thereby enhancing user retention and the intrinsic value support of the platform's token.

In terms of fees, the Nexo Card has no annual or monthly fees, and its foreign exchange conversion fee structure is also relatively transparent, although it is not the same as traditional exchange rate designs. If the transaction currency is the same as the card's default currency (euro or pound), there is no charge. For transactions where the card's currency (euro or pound) is different from the local currency of the merchant, that is, for foreign currency transactions, the system will convert the transaction amount into the appropriate currency. If the transaction is settled in euros, Swiss francs, or pounds, the currency conversion fee is only 0.2%; for other countries or regions, the rate is 2%. In addition, all foreign currency transactions conducted on weekends will incur an additional 0.5% fee, a rule that is somewhat peculiar.

Combining its credit payment capabilities, dynamic cashback system, and crypto-asset-oriented membership model, the Nexo Card has established a relatively mature bridge between the traditional financial system and the use of crypto assets, suitable for users residing in Europe with a need for cashback.

RedotPay (Little Red Card): A Payment-Friendly Solution for Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Regions

RedotPay is a crypto payment company headquartered in Hong Kong that officially launched its crypto payment card at the end of 2023, aiming to meet the convenient needs of users to use crypto assets in real-world scenarios. The card is positioned similarly to a traditional debit card, where the system directly deducts the equivalent amount of crypto assets from the user's bound account at the time of consumption to pay for the purchase amount. The entire process does not require pre-loading into a fiat currency account nor involves any credit loan functions. Unlike the previously introduced exchange-based card products, RedotPay is not a virtual currency exchange but focuses on providing blockchain-based payment solutions. Therefore, its card product is more focused on the usage path of on-chain assets themselves.

The card is currently not available for registration and use by residents of Mainland China but can be applied for and used in multiple overseas regions. The overall fee structure is at a medium level, with a comprehensive transaction fee of around 1% to 3%, depending on currency conversion and consumption scenarios. A major highlight of the RedotPay card is its direct support for Binance Pay, allowing users to recharge and settle through the Binance wallet system, giving it a certain advantage in terms of interoperability within the on-chain ecosystem.

In terms of card types, RedotPay offers a VISA card, which is relatively rare in the crypto card market. In addition, the card has no annual fee, reducing the long-term cardholding costs for users, but applying for a physical card requires a one-time payment of $100.

In terms of fees, Redotpay has provided a complete fee schedule:

It can be seen that the transaction fee for non-default underlying currency transactions is 1.2%, the ATM withdrawal fee is 2%, and the transaction fee is 1%. These fees do not include fees charged by trading platforms such as Alipay.

Overall, the RedotPay crypto card is aimed at overseas users with cross-border living or online consumption needs, suitable for those who wish to directly use on-chain assets for daily payments without relying on centralized exchanges for asset custody. It is one of the few representative products in the current crypto card market that follows a "light platform" approach.

Decentralized Project U Card Series, Featuring Self-Custody of Funds

MetaMask Card: A Low-Fee Payment Card Launched by MetaMask

The MetaMask Card is a lightweight crypto payment tool launched by the crypto wallet giant MetaMask, aimed at extending on-chain funds directly into daily consumption scenarios for existing wallet users. The card is currently in its early open phase and is only open for registration to residents of certain countries and regions, including the United States (excluding New York and Vermont), the United Kingdom, EU member states, Switzerland, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. The global version has not yet been fully launched.

From Application Process to Fees: A Comparison of the Top Ten Crypto Payment Cards

The Metamask card also belongs to the Mastercard merchant network. It is reported that a physical metal card will be released as an airdrop benefit in the future.

In terms of asset support, the MetaMask Card currently supports three tokens: USDC, USDT, and wETH. All funds must be stored on the Linea network, and users need to bridge their assets to this chain for top-ups. After topping up, the card can be directly connected to Apple Pay or Google Pay for mobile payments without the need for a physical card. During use, the system will instantly convert the selected crypto assets into fiat currency and settle in the local currency at the time the transaction is initiated.

In terms of fees, when paying with stablecoins such as USDC or USDT, only a single Linea network gas fee is required, which is usually around $0.02. However, if using non-stablecoins like wETH, an additional 0.875% on-chain swap fee is required. All fees will be displayed in the "Manage" section of the card's backend after the transaction is completed, where users can view detailed statements, including exchange rates, deduction amounts, and fee information.

In addition, the MetaMask Card offers 1% USDC cashback on all purchases, further enhancing the cost-effectiveness of using on-chain assets for direct consumption. This cashback model and transparent fee structure make the card particularly suitable for users familiar with DeFi and on-chain operations, especially those who already use the MetaMask wallet as their primary asset management tool.

1inch Card: The Magical "Lending" Card That Allows Borrowing Stablecoins for Consumption

Launched by the crypto aggregator trading platform 1inch, the 1inch Card is a crypto asset consumption card supported by Crypto Life and with Baanx as the compliant fiat on-and-off ramp service provider. Unlike most crypto cards that directly spend on-chain assets, the 1inch Card allows users to borrow stablecoins for daily consumption by collateralizing BTC or ETH. The KYC process required for the 1inch Card is similar to other products within the Baanx ecosystem and is mainly open to compliant residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, requiring local address proof.

Different from most crypto cards that directly consume on-chain assets, the 1inch Card allows users to use BTC or ETH as collateral to borrow stablecoins for daily consumption. Users can choose USDC, USDT, or EURT as the borrowed currency and can set the borrowing period between 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. This lending model is particularly friendly to users who are long-term bullish on crypto assets. For example, when the price of Bitcoin is low, users can borrow stablecoins for consumption by collateralizing BTC without directly spending their Bitcoin. When the price of BTC rises, users can choose to repay the stablecoins, thereby redeeming the original assets at a higher value. This mechanism not only preserves the potential future growth of the assets but also meets the real liquidity needs.

Of course, stablecoin lending inevitably incurs interest. However, as long as the appreciation of the collateral assets can cover this interest, the advantage of the lending card is very obvious. According to the official website, during the lending period, interest must be automatically repaid monthly, and the deduction operation is automatically completed through the stablecoin wallet within the system. Once the loan and interest are fully repaid, the user will receive all the collateral assets in their original form.

At the same time, the platform supports users obtaining a credit line of up to 60% of the value of their collateral assets.

In terms of payment currencies, the 1inch Card supports mainstream Layer 1 assets such as BTC, ETH, LTC, and XRP, but does not currently support Layer 2 network assets. When users make purchases, the system will automatically convert to fiat currency and complete the settlement. The platform's fee structure is relatively complex but clear: the card transaction fee is 2%, the exchange between cryptocurrencies and the conversion of crypto to fiat is 1.75%; if it is a crypto asset withdrawal, the fee is between 0.4% and 0.5%; and if fiat currency is withdrawn via bank transfer, a 3.49% fee is required. In terms of card services, there are no annual or maintenance fees, but a £2.50 fee is charged for GBP withdrawals, and a €3.00 fee plus a 1.5% fee for foreign currency withdrawals.

Although these fees seem high, they are not stacked. That is to say, direct card swipes incur a 2% fee plus potential foreign exchange conversion fees, and after converting to fiat currency at a 1.75% fee, fiat currency can be used for consumption, which is not much different from other crypto assets overall.

In addition, the 1inch Card offers 2% crypto cashback on each transaction, further enhancing the cost-effectiveness of daily use. Combined with its collateral-based stablecoin lending capabilities, flexible term settings, and widely supported asset types, the 1inch Card is not just a consumption card but a mini financial toolkit for crypto asset holders, occupying a unique position in the increasingly integrated DeFi and real-world financial scenarios.

According to the official announcement, Binance will list Ondo (ONDO) online at the following times:

• Binance Earn: ONDO will be listed on April 11, 2025, at 22:00 (UTC+8).

• One-click trading: Within one hour after the spot listing of ONDO.

• Instant exchange platform: Within one hour after ONDO is listed on Binance spot.

• Binance leverage: Scheduled for April 11, 2025, at 22:20 (UTC+8).

Introduction to Ondo Finance Project

Ondo Finance is an innovative protocol focusing on tokenizing traditional financial assets through blockchain technology, aiming to provide compliant, efficient, and highly liquid on-chain financial services for institutional and individual investors. Its core mission is to enhance the security, efficiency, and accessibility of the financial market through on-chain products and to become a benchmark in the field of Real World Assets (RWA) tokenization.

Composition of the Ondo Finance Team

• Justin Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Ondo, former head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, driving the development of crypto lending tools and the expansion of emerging market, with an MIT AI background empowering technological strategy.

• Nathan Allman, CEO and co-founder, bringing experience from Goldman Sachs' crypto market and ChainStreet investments, focusing on institutional-grade product innovation and ecosystem layout.

• Ian De Bode, Chief Strategy Officer, a digital asset expert from McKinsey, optimizing market landing strategies with interdisciplinary capabilities (nanotechnology + blockchain).

• Katie Wheeler, Vice President of Partnerships, with a background in Circle's Web3 business, deepening global payment cooperation and expanding Latin America/Europe crypto ecosystem connections.

Ondo Finance Project Financing

• Seed Round (August 2021, $4 million)

  • Led by Pantera, with participation from DCG, CoinFund, and other institutions, laying the foundation for the project's early development and exploring compliant on-chain financial solutions.

• Series A (April 2022, $20 million)

  • Jointly led by Pantera and Founders Fund, with Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global following, promoting the implementation of tokenized U.S. Treasury bond products.

• Public Offering Round (July 2022, $10 million)

  • Valued at $535 million, funds used to expand the scale of tokenized assets, strengthen competitiveness in the RWA field, with undisclosed investors.

Ondo Finance Announces Token Economics

The total supply of ONDO tokens is 10 billion, of which 3.38 billion (approximately 33.9% of the total) have already been unlocked, with 6.61 billion still locked (66.1%). The main allocations are in four areas:

• 5.21 billion (52.1%) for ecosystem growth, including community incentives and partnership projects;

• 3.3 billion (33%) for protocol development and technical maintenance;

• 1.29 billion (12.9%) for private sales, where investors acquired at a discounted price of $0.0133-$0.02;

• 200 million (2%) for community sales, priced at $0.055.

From the allocation perspective, the project side has invested over 85% of the tokens into long-term ecosystem construction and protocol development, showing a focus on sustainable development. It is worth noting that private investors obtained a significant price advantage, with the lowest price being about a quarter of the community sale price.

Future Outlook for Ondo Finance

As a frontrunner in the RWA track, Ondo Finance is expected to further expand the scale of institutional-grade on-chain assets in the future, promoting the widespread application of traditional assets like U.S. Treasury bonds in the DeFi field. With the improvement of regulatory frameworks and the increase in institutional adoption rates, its tokenized products may become a key bridge connecting traditional finance and the crypto market. If successful in expanding the global market and deepening DeFi ecosystem integration, ONDO could occupy a core position in the new wave of RWA.

Why Trump's Tariff Policy Might Be Beneficial for Bitcoin?

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 26, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, announcing a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars.

Image source: Win McNamee/Getty Images

For more information:

• Bitcoin prices fell significantly during the Trump administration, contrary to investor expectations.

• Economic uncertainty and tariff policies have driven investors towards safer assets like gold, affecting the crypto market.

• Analysts believe that tariffs may weaken the dollar's dominance, which could be beneficial for Bitcoin in the long run.

• So far, the performance of the crypto market during the Trump administration has been quite different from expectations. Investors had hoped that regulatory reforms and policies such as the Bitcoin strategic reserve would significantly push up prices, but the results have been the opposite. At the beginning of this year, Bitcoin prices were well above the $100,000 mark, but for most of March, they had fallen to a low of around $85,000.

Cryptocurrency prices have been dragged down by their increased correlation with traditional assets such as stocks and bonds, which are being hit by macroeconomic uncertainty. Tariffs - additional charges imposed by the United States on imported goods from other countries - have worried Wall Street about a global economic recession. Crypto investors are moving away from crypto assets because they are seen as relatively high-risk。

"This is all about the market's 'risk appetite,' which continues to deteriorate, creating a temporary split between crypto assets and gold. Gold continues to be the preferred 'safe-haven asset,'" said Marc Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM International Investment Services。

"This is largely driven by central bank foreign exchange reserve managers who are trying to reduce their exposure to the dollar, which has long been a concern for them。”

As the global financial and trade systems become increasingly fragmented, investors are starting to look for lower-risk asset alternatives, including the dollar. For now, this means turning to gold, which has risen 18% so far this year。

But this could change, according to Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and author of "The Story of Blockchain: An Introduction to the Technology That No One Understands."

"I think the entire future is fraught with uncertainty and, in some ways, unpredictability because there are so many intersecting factors, and both cryptocurrencies and tariffs are new territories. Some people think that cryptocurrencies are just risk-on tech assets that will be sold off due to tariffs. But Bitcoin is seen as 'digital gold' in certain circles, and physical gold is rising rapidly on the news of tariffs. So what will be the outcome?"

In other words, economic uncertainty may drive investors to turn to Bitcoin, much like they have sought out gold in recent months。

Another positive signal is that the impact of tariffs on cryptocurrencies may already be "priced in," and the worst may be over, according to Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale (a leading crypto asset management firm)。

President Trump is expected to announce U.S. tariff policies on Wednesday, April 2, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, known as "Liberation Day."

Pandl estimates that tariffs have already reduced economic growth by 2% this year. But "Liberation Day" may alleviate the most severe pain felt by financial markets。 "If we see a tough but phased statement on Wednesday, and the focus is on the 15 countries they seem to have targeted, I expect the market to rebound on the news," Pandl said in an interview with CoinDesk。

"Once we get past this announcement, the crypto market may refocus on the fundamentals, which are very positive."

Pandl noted that announcements like Circle's IPO would not happen unless institutions are confident in the digital asset sector and related policies。

In addition, Pandl - a former macroeconomist at Goldman Sachs - believes that tariffs will increase demand for non-dollar currencies。

"I think tariffs will weaken the dollar's dominance and create room for competitors, including Bitcoin. Prices have fallen in the short term. But the first few months of the Trump administration have further strengthened my long-term confidence in Bitcoin as a global currency asset."

Despite the current market's pessimism about prices, Pandl still believes that Bitcoin will hit a new all-time high this year。 "If I didn't think Bitcoin would be a long-term winner, I wouldn't have left my Wall Street job," he said。

"Farm in bear markets, trade in bull markets; don't get greedy in good times, and don't get complacent in bad times."

The most fundamental step is to lower expectations.

Whether it's secondary markets, primary markets, or airdrops (which are similar to a hybrid of primary and secondary markets), one should recognize that the crypto industry has entered a bear market in terms of valuation. I've mentioned many times before the importance of returning to common sense. In a cold market, excessive emotional premiums will be deflated to return to their true value. If you can lower your expectations and not be too greedy, that will be the foundation for continuing to work in a bear market.

Before farming, the most important thing to understand is: What is the essence of farming?

• Farming is a participation channel in the hybrid primary market, which has some similarities to primary investments.

• Airdrops, in their current form, are marketing tools used by project teams to acquire customers and boost data to achieve listing effects.

• Farming is not guaranteed to yield returns; it is an investment without a confirmed commitment from the project team.

Based on these three points, you will realize that the main group of primary investors—most VCs—actually don't make money, and the pattern of primary investment is to invest in bear markets and harvest in bull markets.

Almost all simple and lucrative airdrops in recent years have come from bear markets, such as APT and ARB. These were released when the secondary market was not performing well, and retail investors' capital and time costs were not as high, especially Aptos, which was a big airdrop even at the A8 testnet level.

However, last year was mostly a bull market, and the likelihood of being "reverse-farmed" during primary investments in a bull market is inevitably high. If you understand that farming is essentially a primary investment without a contract, you will see that being reverse-farmed might just be the norm.

Looking back at the timeline of Nillion, this project raised funds and launched activities mainly for retail participation in Q3 last year, which coincided with the two most active quarters of the secondary market. Now, when the TGE (Token Generation Event) is happening, it is at the worst time for the secondary market environment... Essentially, this is a matter of timing.

So, what should you do now?

Observe More, Act Less

Even in a bear market, there are often unexpected opportunities. For example, the recent $COCORO was a big "golden dog." Slowing down and making money is still possible; it just depends on how you judge the level of the narrative.

On the basis of observing more and acting less, don't be too greedy. Earning tens of thousands of dollars at a time is already quite satisfying.

Farming can still be done, but don't expand or increase capital investment.

If necessary, you can focus more on daily farming tasks. If you can lower your expectations, there are still many easy daily tasks in the crypto world. For example, Binance Wallet's IDO tasks can earn hundreds of dollars per account, OKX's CryptoPedia activities, and Bybit's Solayer & Launchpool activities. These are all guaranteed airdrops that people usually look down upon because of the small amounts involved. This is an issue of expectations.

Moreover, when farming, think more and review more. This can also improve your understanding of the industry, rather than just treating it as a routine task. For example, how can you improve your efficiency? How can you systematize the process of collecting information? How can you organize and plan your projects and knowledge base? These are all ways to optimize your approach.

Self-Improvement

If you can, read more books, especially those that enhance your learning abilities. Learning languages or improving your academic qualifications can have very practical benefits.

Exercise to build a good physical foundation for the bull market.

Believe that good times don't require excessive effort, and bad times don't require complacency. Try to find areas that still have advantages instead of just following what others are doing.