Berachain Comprehensive Ecosystem Guide: Which Potential Projects and Reward Strategies Are Worth Paying Attention To?

By: blockbeats|2025/02/07 11:30:03
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Original Title: Berachain Ecosystem Guide: it is finally REAL
Original Author: getmoni_io, Moni Team Member
Original Translation: Ashley, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: The article introduces the Berachain ecosystem and its innovative Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism, highlighting the reward system for liquidity providers and validators through user-network interactions. Berachain aims to attract user participation through a dynamic inflation and decentralized economic model. The author also outlines multiple projects within the Berachain ecosystem, including DeFi applications and NFT collections, demonstrating the potential and opportunities of this emerging ecosystem.

Below is the original content (slightly restructured for better readability):

Berachain Introduction

Berachain is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK and provides security through a novel consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL).

PoL is similar to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) but goes a step further. Users can interact with applications and participate in DeFi protocols while earning $BGT rewards, where $BGT is the governance token. $BGT can be burned in exchange for $BERA, which can be used for staking.

· Higher liquidity in a given protocol → Higher rewards for validators.

· More generous rewards → More validators choose to stake their $BGT in that protocol.

· More $BGT → Greater rewards for users.

Berachain Comprehensive Ecosystem Guide: Which Potential Projects and Reward Strategies Are Worth Paying Attention To?

Protocols are interested in creating their own Gauges to attract liquidity. The more rewards they allocate to validators, the more their liquidity providers (LPs) can earn in $BGT. As a result, more users aspire to become LPs of the protocol, purchasing the project's native token, which also has a positive impact on its price. It's like a pyramid, each layer covered in rich honey, ensuring all participants stay engaged throughout the process.

Berachain's Three Core Tokens

$BERA—Primary token that will be traded on exchanges and used for staking.

$BGT—A non-transferable governance token that can only be exchanged for $BERA through burning $BGT. Rewards are earned through contributing to the network.

$HONEY—The network's native stablecoin.

Difference Between PoL and PoS

· Proof of Stake (PoS) only rewards users for staking tokens, even if they are not actively participating in the network.

· Proof of Liquidity (PoL) rewards users for interacting with the network, ensuring fair security rewards and making participation more attractive.

Fast transactions and extremely low fees are no longer appealing—many networks offer similar features, each trying to outdo the other. The real magic is when users have a reason to stay in the platform. This challenge is incredibly difficult, and so far, it seems that no one has fully cracked this puzzle.

Blockchains like Solana and Ethereum can only retain users through third-party developers in their ecosystems. Without DeFi visionaries, who would use Ethereum? Without this wave of meme coins, who would use Solana?

Berachain attracts users through an economic model where value flows between applications and the network—ultimately, this value will come back to you in the form of rewards.

Most PoS networks suffer from fixed monetary inflation—a bit like paying security fees for an empty store. Berachain addresses this issue by introducing dynamic inflation, adjusting rewards based on actual demand.

Comparison of PoS and PoL

In a PoS system, users must choose between staking tokens for security and using them in DeFi to generate additional value. PoL separates these functions into two different tokens:

$BERA: Ensures network security and serves as a fuel fee.

$BGT: Used for rewards, delegation to validators, and governance voting. It can only be earned by staking $BERA as a validator or by depositing assets into the reward pool. Validators stake BERA to earn BGT rewards. The more capital locked, the higher the rewards.

Is Berachain Only for Liquidity Providers?

Users do not need to lock up their BERA with the validator. Instead, they can participate in ecosystem activities, earn "checks" through activities, and deposit them into the reward pool to receive BGT.

· Can be any token.

· No creative restrictions on the project.

· "Checks" can be earned through any activity—you don't even need to provide liquidity.

Projects can simply distribute "checks" by using their application. Validators receive rewards in BGT form, but most of the rewards go to the reward pool (similar to staking) and are then redistributed to users. The protocol can stake BGT on behalf of its users to incentivize more participation.

Where Can Proof of Liquidity Be Applied?

· Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs):
Unlike traditional token incentives, DEXs can allow users to earn BGT through validators, reducing participants' risk.

· Real-World Assets (RWA):
PoL can be used to incentivize asset tokenization, such as real estate. Users earn BGT by finding favorable trades or interacting with the platform.

· Layer 2 on the Berachain Stack:
High-throughput applications can launch their own L2 on Berachain while still having access to PoL.

Investors: Polychain Capital, Framework Ventures, Brevan Howard Digital, invested $142M, along with smaller funds like Shima Capital, Tribe Capital, and others.


Website—https://www.berachain.com/
Twitter—https://twitter.com/berachain
Discord—https://discord.com/invite/berachain
Docs—https://docs.berachain.com/

Funds Bridging: Berachain has partnered with LayerZero to create a native bridge from any L2 network. Official bridging link: click here.

Projects to Watch

Next, we will take a closer look at the most interesting projects and try to answer a key question — What should we do?

Some projects are eager to launch a token, while others are gradually advancing through a scoring system. Project rewards in the form of Discord roles can be expected. If you have been actively involved in role activities over the past few years — congratulations, this may lead to a generous airdrop. Participants in Boyco's project will have a special label for easy recognition. However, Boyco participants, apart from receiving a 2% $BERA reward, have not gained any other significant advantage.

Shogun

Shogun — an intent-based DeFi protocol that connects different blockchains and allows users to perform cross-chain transactions through a unified interface. Users can exchange assets without manually bridging tokens or switching wallets. The protocol uses a hybrid approach: liquidity comes from both CEX and market makers, as well as from DEX and passive liquidity pools. The project offers various trading options and interfaces, including a Telegram bot, mobile/desktop applications, and widgets for other platforms.

Investment Status: $6.9M, funded by Polychain Capital, dao5, Arrington Capital, among others. Participated in the Build A Bera program.


Operating Advice: Join Discord and actively participate in project activities. Create art, write Twitter threads, and post on the community forum channel. Your content may be noticed by the team, leading to the corresponding role. You can also participate in project activities, such as today's 3 PM UTC poker game. Through these activities, you can earn the Goat or Shogun Oakmont roles.


Await the launch of reward activities, which may include a scoring system and NFT collections.

Kodiak (Boyco)

Kodiak is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Berachain, providing smart liquidity management. It allows traders to swiftly exchange tokens, while liquidity providers can automate pool management and earn incentives without complex operations. The team's main products include: Kodiak DEX for trading, Kodiak Islands for automated liquidity management, Sweetened Islands for incentivizing participants, and Panda Factory as a token launchpad. All these features make trading and asset management within the same ecosystem more seamless. The protocol has accumulated $1 billion in deposits and is involved as part of Boyco.


Investment Status: Shima Capital, Kenetic Capital, Amber Group, and others invested $2 million. Participated in the Build A Bera project.


Operation Advice: Wait for the launch of the rewards system and provide liquidity. The project has no social activities, and roles cannot be obtained through farming. You can deposit funds into a liquidity pool through providers like EtherFi to earn rewards for multiple projects (including Kodiak).

Infrared (Boyco)

Infrared is a liquid staking protocol that allows users to stake BERA and BGT tokens on Berachain and receive iBERA and iBGT as rewards. This way, users can earn staking rewards while leveraging their assets in DeFi protocols. The project collaborates with validator nodes on the Berachain network and integrates with applications such as BeraBorrow (loan supported by iBGT), Timeswap (loans and liquidity), and Kodiak (liquidity pool management).


Investment Status: $2 million, led by Binance in the Berachain ecosystem. Participated in the Build A Bera project.


Operation Advice: Wait for the launch of the rewards system and PoL incentives, stake your tokens. Join the Discord channel and earn the Illuminance role through active participation or winning in Rumble events.

Ramen

Ramen is a decentralized protocol designed for liquidity management and token launches. The project offers a capital-efficient solution through centralized liquidity mechanisms on the Ramen DEX and a token launch platform on the Ramen Launchpad. The project utilizes community governance, using the veRAMEN token to determine liquidity incentives and protocol revenue distribution.


Operation Advice: Registration for the $RAMEN sale will be required during the Gacha phase; the actual private sale round/Gacha round contribution phase will start 1-2 days later. In mid-January, an NFT holder snapshot was taken, and rewards will be distributed among these holders. All we need to do is stay tuned and participate in the BGT farm through this protocol.

Beratone (Tasty NFTs)

Beratone is an online Play-to-Earn (P2E) farming and fishing simulation game available on PC and mobile devices. The game is inspired by Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, offering players the opportunity to explore the world, manage a farm, collect resources, customize their home, and interact with other players. The team aims to attract casual gamers who may not be familiar with cryptocurrency. The game integrates blockchain mechanics, allowing players to earn rare in-game items and trade them.


Investment Status: Animoca Brands, SNZ Holding, and others have invested $2 million. Participated in the Build A Bera project.


Operating Advice: The team has promised to release a demo soon. Initially, access will be limited to NFT holders. The prices of these NFTs have not surged on the web before the network launch like NFTs from other ecosystems. Owning these NFTs can unlock the Diamond Paws character and provide various in-game privileges. You can join Discord and try to acquire different roles:

Collector: Acquire roles through purchasing articles.

TonePoster: Earn rewards by posting memes on Twitter.

BeraVinci: Earn rewards by posting artwork on Twitter.

BasedBera: An extremely important role manually awarded by the team.

Berabot

Berabot is a trading bot on Berachain, currently available only on the testnet.


Operating Advice: The project has a collection of 4200 items in the form of NFTs, where holders will receive a 10% token airdrop from the project. Additionally, NFT holders will also receive a FCFS whitelist position for the Steady Teddies collection.

Beraborrow (Boyco; Tasty NFTs)

Beraborrow offers instant liquidity by issuing the stablecoin Nectar ($NECT) fully backed by the network's native assets. Users can deposit Infrared's iBGT (staking derivative) and LP tokens into specific Dens, mint $NECT, and use it within Berachain's DeFi ecosystem.


Investment Status: Undisclosed amount investment from Dewhales Capital, Optic Capital, and Hercules Ventures.


Operational Advice: The project has an NFT collection, but according to Discord information, a snapshot has not been taken yet. It is highly likely that NFT holders will receive an airdrop, although this has not been directly confirmed. However, they mentioned holding these NFTs. An event based on points is expected to be announced soon, so stay tuned for updates.

Gummi

Gummi is launching a trading terminal designed for the Berachain ecosystem transactions. It will include a customizable trend page to help users quickly discover new trends.


Investment Status: Investments totaling $2 million from Arrington XRP Capital, Animoca Brands, Cypher Capital, etc. Participated in the Build A Bera project.


Operational Advice: Wait for the project's launch and reward system. Currently, you can test the application on the testnet, but do not expect rewards for now.

Goldilocks DAO (Boyco)

Goldilocks DAO is a Ponzi ecosystem similar to the YES project on Blast, offering DeFi and NFT lending solutions. It consists of three products and three tokens:

Goldiswap: An AMM that manages the price of the LOCKS token, ensuring a gradual minimum price increase, meaning the LOCKS token price will not drop below a certain threshold.

Goldilend: A loan platform that uses blue-chip NFTs as collateral.

Goldivaults: Tokenizing future DeFi yield positions for trading and speculation.

Investment Status: Investments totaling $1.5 million from HackVC, Shima Capital, etc.


Operation Recommendation: This project will launch its token at the start of Berachain. In Boyco, it has not generated much enthusiasm and has received a rather moderate TVL. This is understandable as it has not offered much besides the $BERA token. Stay tuned for the platform's launch and the subsequent developments of the Ponzi scheme.

Blast

Blast is a project that does not offer points, lacks venture capital backing, has no social influencers, no low-quality mobile apps, and also has no rewards. Only $BLAST.


Operation Recommendation: This is a meme coin from CBB that will be distributed to those who are quickest to sell out the $BLAST airdrop. Pac-man will also receive 0.5% of the total supply, which is quite interesting.

Smilee (Tasty NFTs)

Smilee is a platform on Berachain where users can earn returns through price fluctuations and manage asset liquidity. The platform allows for swing trading, opening both long and short positions, and has no liquidation risk. The protocol is currently live on Arbitrum and undergoing active testing. The project plans to launch on Berachain next week along with the introduction of a reward program. This program will involve the wrapping of gBERA (a liquid staking token that automatically accrues earnings for holders). When you stake BERA through Smilee, you will receive gBERA, allowing you to earn additional income from MEV and Smilee incentives while maintaining liquidity.


Operation Recommendation: Check out the platform's tutorial and wait for the launch next week. Additionally, the project has 3 NFT collectibles, each of which will grant a token airdrop. All links can be found here.

Yeet

Yeet is a combination of a revenue-generating treasury casino and DeFi app, with all features integrated on one platform.


Operation Recommendation: It might be a little late to get into NFTs now, but Yeet's token will have a public sale on February 7th. Conditions include 100% issuance at TGE, a FDV of $12.5 million, and 8% of the tokens will be sold publicly. Please DYOR.

Beramonium Chronicles

Beramonium Chronicles is a placement RPG game currently available on the testnet. The preview testing for Season 2 is about to launch, and $BERA tokens will be distributed as rewards upon completion.


Operation Advisory: The NFT holders' snapshot has been completed, and they will receive WL (whitelist) for the upcoming $BERAMO token sale on Ramen Finance in mid-February. You may consider participating in the public sale phase.

Junky Ursas

Junky Ursas is a full-fledged casino offering a variety of gambling games where players can win or lose some $BERA or $HONEY. You know, everything on Berachain is about bears and honey! You can also provide liquidity and earn rewards through the liquidity pool.


Operation Advisory: Try out these games on the testnet so that when the project goes live on the mainnet, you are already familiar with the rules and can earn rewards. Keep an eye on the liquidity pools and provide liquidity for decent returns. Additionally, there is an upcoming NFT minting event on February 7th happening on Magic Eden. Holders will receive various privileges and airdrops of project tokens.

NFT Collection

Here are some of the collectible series set to launch in the early days of the mainnet.

Bullas

Bullas is one of the few highly anticipated NFT collections on Berachain that has yet to be released. A showdown between bull and bear markets.


Operation Advisory: The minting event is now open (GTD phase): Link

Steady Teddys

Steady Teddys is the most powerful NFT collection on Berachain apart from the official series. The avatars in this series are used by many members of the Berachain ecosystem.


Operation Recommendation: The minting date is unknown, awaiting more information.

Ooga Booga Beras

Ooga Booga Beras is the final wave of the seventh reincarnation, to be distributed to holders of the first six reincarnations. Additionally, there will be a public minting event. Previously, users who completed the THJ task could receive a discount voucher.


Operation Recommendation: Keep an eye on the project and await updates.

Other Highlights

Wakalah: Built an RWA protocol related to Dubai real estate. Recently, it seems that this project has disappeared from the radar.

Beradoge: Nostalgic style NFT collection containing a butt plug and potential drops. The project has multiple NFT collection series: Beradoge Gen 1, ANGRY BIDIOTS, and Beradoge Buttplugs. If you don't mind losing money, you can buy these NFTs.

Block Chain: A Layer 2 blockchain built on Berachain by HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu. You can wait for its launch and try making memes there.

Memeswap: Memeswap, not much to add. There is an NFT collection here, but please check the floor price.

Bera Horses (Tasty NFTs): A GameFi RPG cross-platform game with horse-riding bears. The game has an NFT collection containing 4200 items. Do Your Own Research is required.

Original Article Link

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$COIN Joins S&P 500, but Coinbase Isn't Celebrating

On May 13, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Coinbase would officially replace Discover Financial Services in the S&P 500 on May 19. While other companies like Block and MicroStrategy, closely tied to Bitcoin, were already part of the S&P 500, Coinbase became the first cryptocurrency exchange whose primary business is in the index. This also signifies that cryptocurrency is gradually moving from the fringes to the mainstream in the U.S.



On the day of the announcement, Coinbase's stock price surged by 23%, surpassing the $250 mark. However, just 3 days later, Coinbase was hit by two consecutive events: a hack where employees were bribed to steal customer data and a demand for a $20 million ransom, and an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the authenticity of its claim of having over 100 million "verified users" in its securities filings and marketing materials. These two events acted as mini-bombs, and at the time of writing, Coinbase's stock had already dropped by over 7.3%.


Coincidentally, Discover Financial Services, being replaced by Coinbase, can also be considered the "Coinbase" of the previous payment era. Discover is a U.S.-based digital banking and payment services company headquartered in Illinois, founded in 1960. Its payment network, Discover Network, is the fourth largest payment network apart from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.


In April, after the approval of the acquisition of Discover by the sixth-largest U.S. bank, Capital One, this well-established digital banking company of over 60 years smoothly handed over its S&P 500 "seat" to this emerging cryptocurrency "bank." This unexpected coincidence also portrayed the handover between the new and old eras in Coinbase's entry into the S&P 500, resembling a relay race scene. However, this relay baton also brought Coinbase's accumulated "external troubles and internal strife" to a tipping point.


Side Effects of ETFs


Over the past decade, cryptocurrency exchanges have been the most stable "profit machines." They play a role in providing liquidity to the entire industry and rely on trading fees to sustain their operations. However, with the comprehensive rollout of ETF products in the U.S. market, this profit model is facing unprecedented challenges. As the leader in the "American stack," with over 80% of its business coming from the U.S., Coinbase is most affected by this.



Starting from the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, traditional financial capital has significantly onboarded users and funds that originally belonged to exchanges in a more cost-effective, compliant, and transparent manner. The transaction fee revenue of cryptocurrency exchanges has started to decline, and this trend may further intensify in the coming months.


According to Coinbase's 2024 Q4 financial report, the platform's total trading revenue was $417 million, a 45% year-on-year decrease. The contribution of BTC and ETH's trading revenue dropped from 65% in the same period last year to less than 50%.


This decline is not a result of a decrease in market enthusiasm. In fact, since the approval of the Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, the inflow of BTC into the U.S. market has continued to reach new highs, with asset management giants like BlackRock and Fidelity rapidly expanding their management scale. Data shows that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) alone has surpassed $17 billion in assets under management. As of mid-May 2025, the cumulative net inflow of 11 major institutional Bitcoin spot ETFs on the market has exceeded $41.5 billion, with a total net asset value of $1214.69 billion, accounting for approximately 5.91% of the total Bitcoin market capitalization.


Chart showing the trend of net outflows for Grayscale among the 11 institutions


Institutional investors and some retail investors are shifting towards ETF products, partly due to compliance and tax considerations. On one hand, ETFs have much lower trading costs compared to cryptocurrency exchanges. While Coinbase's spot trading fee rate varies annually in a tiered manner but averages around 1.49%, for example, the management fee for IBIT ETF is only 0.25%, and the majority of ETF institution fees fluctuate around 0.15% to 0.25%.



In other words, the more rational users are, the more likely they are to move from exchanges to ETF products, especially for investors aiming for long-term holdings.


According to multiple sources, several institutions, including VanEck and Grayscale, have submitted applications to the SEC for a Solana (SOL) ETF, with some institutions also planning to submit an XRP ETF proposal. Once approved, this may trigger a new round of fund migration. According to a report submitted by Coinbase to the SEC, as of April, the platform's trading revenue from XRP and Solana accounted for 18% and 10%, nearly one-third of the platform's fee revenue.



However, the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs passed in 2024 also reduced the fees for these two tokens on Coinbase from 30% and 15% to 26% and 10%, respectively. If the SOL and XRP ETFs are approved, it will further undermine the core fee revenue of exchanges like Coinbase.


The expansion of ETF products is gradually weakening the financial intermediary status of cryptocurrency exchanges. From their original roles as matchmakers and clearers to now gradually becoming mere "on-ramps and off-ramps" for funds, exchanges are seeing their marginal value squeezed by ETFs.


Robinhood Takes a Stand, Traditional Brokerages Join the Fray


On May 12, 2025, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins gave a keynote speech at the Tokenization and Cryptocurrency Working Group roundtable. The theme of his speech revolved around "It is a new day at the SEC," where he indicated that the SEC would not approach enforcement and regulation the same way as before but would instead pave the way for cryptocurrency assets in the U.S. market.



With signs of cryptocurrency compliance such as the SEC's "NEW DAY" declaration, an increasing number of traditional brokerages are attempting to enter the cryptocurrency industry. One of the most representative cases is the well-known U.S. brokerage Robinhood, which began expanding its crypto business in 2018. By the time of its IPO in 2021, Robinhood's crypto business revenue accounted for over 50% of the company, with a significant boost from the Dogecoin "moonshot" promoted by Musk.


In Q1 2025 earnings report, Robinhood showcased strong growth, especially in revenue from cryptocurrency and options trading. Fueled by Trump's Memecoin, cryptocurrency-related revenue reached $250 million, nearly doubling year-over-year. Consequently, Robinhood Gold subscription users reached 3.5 million, a 90% increase from the previous year, with the rapid growth of Robinhood Gold providing the company with a stable source of income.



Meanwhile, RobinHood is actively pursuing acquisitions in the cryptocurrency space. In 2024, it announced a $2 billion acquisition of the long-standing European cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp. Additionally, Canada's largest cryptocurrency CEX, WonderFi, which recently went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, also announced its integration with RobinHood Crypto. After obtaining virtual asset licenses in the UK, Canada, Singapore, and other markets, RobinHood has taken a proactive approach in the compliant cryptocurrency trading market.



Furthermore, an increasing number of brokerage firms are exploring the same path. Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers, and others are also dipping their toes into cryptocurrency trading, with some having applied for or obtained the VA license from the Hong Kong SFC. Although their user bases are currently small, traditional brokerages have a natural advantage in user trust, regulatory licenses, and low fee structures. This could pose a threat to native cryptocurrency platforms in the future.



User Data Breach: Is Coinbase Still Secure?


In April 2025, security researchers discovered that some Coinbase user data was leaked on the dark web. While the platform initially responded by attributing it to a "technical misinformation," it still raised concerns among users regarding its security and privacy protection. Just two days before Dow Jones Indexes announced Coinbase's addition to the S&P 500 Index, on May 11, 2025, Coinbase received an email from an unknown threat actor claiming to have obtained customer account information and internal documents, demanding a $20 million ransom to keep the data private. Subsequent investigations confirmed the data breach.


Cybercriminals obtained the data by bribing overseas customer service agents and support staff, mainly in "non-U.S. regions such as India." These agents abused their access to Coinbase's internal customer support system and stole customer data. As early as February this year, blockchain detective ZachXBT revealed on X platform that between December 2024 and January 2025, Coinbase users lost over $65 million to social engineering scams, with the actual amount potentially higher.


Among the victims was a well-known figure, 67-year-old Ed Suman, an established artist in the art world for nearly two decades, having been involved in the creation of artworks such as Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" sculpture. Earlier this year, he fell victim to an impersonation scam involving fake Coinbase customer support, resulting in a loss of over $2 million in cryptocurrency. ZachXBT critiqued Coinbase for its inadequate handling of such scams, noting that other major exchanges have not faced similar issues and recommending Coinbase to enhance its security measures.


Amidst a series of ongoing social engineering incidents, although there has not been any impact on user assets at the technical level so far, it has raised concerns among many retail and institutional investors. Especially institutions holding massive assets on Coinbase. Just considering the U.S. BTC ETF institutions, as of mid-May 2025, they collectively hold nearly 840,000 BTC, and 75% of these are custodied by Coinbase. If we price BTC at $100,000, this amount reaches a staggering $63 billion, which is equivalent to the nominal GDP of two Iceland in the year 2024.


Visualization: ChatGPT, Source: Farside


In addition, Coinbase Custody also serves over 300 institutional clients, including hedge funds, family offices, pension funds, and endowments. As of the Q1 2025 financial report, Coinbase's total assets under management (including institutional and retail clients) reached $404 billion. The specific amount of institutional custodied assets was not explicitly disclosed in the latest report, but it should still be over 50% based on the Q4 2024 report.


Visualization: ChatGPT


Once this security barrier is breached, not only could the rate of user attrition far exceed expectations, but more importantly, institutional trust in it would undermine the foundation of its business. Therefore, after a hacking event, Coinbase's stock price plummeted significantly.


CEXs are All in Self-Rescue Mode


Facing a decline in spot trading fee revenue, Coinbase is also accelerating its transformation, attempting to find growth opportunities in derivatives and emerging assets. Coinbase acquired a stake in the options platform Deribit at the end of 2024 and announced the official launch of perpetual contract products in 2025. This acquisition fills in Coinbase's gap in options trading and its relatively small global market share.



Deribit has a strong presence in non-U.S. markets, especially in Asia and Europe. The acquisition has enabled Coinbase to gain a dominant position in bitcoin and ethereum options trading on Deribit, accounting for approximately 80% of the global options trading volume, with daily trading volume remaining above $2 billion.


Meanwhile, 80-90% of Deribit's customer base consists of institutional investors, with their professionalism and liquidity in the Bitcoin and Ethereum options market highly favored by institutions. Coinbase's compliance advantage, coupled with its already robust institutional ecosystem, makes it even more suitable. By using institutions as an entry point, it can face the squeeze from giants like Binance and OKX in the derivatives market.



Facing a similar dilemma is Kraken, which is attempting to replicate Binance Futures' model in non-U.S. markets. Since the derivatives market relies more on professional users, fee rates are relatively higher and stickiness is stronger, making it a significant source of revenue for exchanges. In the first half of 2025, Kraken completed the acquisition of TradeStation Crypto and a futures exchange, aiming to build a complete derivatives trading ecosystem to hedge the risk of declining spot transaction fee income.


With the surge of Memecoin in 2024, Binance, OKX, and various CEX platforms began massively listing small-market-cap, highly volatile tokens to activate active trading users. Due to the wealth effect and trading activity of Memecoins, Coinbase was also forced to join the battle, successively listing popular tokens from the Solana ecosystem such as BOOK OF MEME and Dogwifhat. Although these coins are controversial, they are frequently traded, with fee rates several times higher than mainstream coins, serving as a "blood-boosting" method for spot trading.


However, due to its status as a publicly traded company, this practice is a riskier endeavor for Coinbase. Even in the current crypto-friendly environment, the SEC is still investigating whether tokens like SOL, ADA, and SAND constitute securities.


In addition to the forced transformation strategies carried out by the aforementioned CEXs, they are also starting to lay out RWAs and the most talked-about stablecoin payment fields, such as the PYUSD launched through a collaboration between Coinbase and Paypal, Coinbase's support for the Euro stablecoin EURC by Circle that complies with EU MiCA regulatory requirements, or the USD1 launched through a collaboration between Binance and WIFL. In the increasingly crowded trading field, many CEXs have shifted their focus from just the trading market to the application field.


The golden age of transaction fees has quietly ended, and the second half of the crypto exchange platform game has silently begun.


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Source: Overheard on CT (tg: @overheardonct), Kaito


PUMP: Today's discussions about PUMP focus on its new creator revenue-sharing model: the platform will allocate 50% of PumpSwap revenue to token creators, sparking varied reactions from users. Some criticize the move as insufficient or even misleading, while others view it as a positive step the platform is taking to reward creators. Meanwhile, PUMP faces market pressure from emerging competitors like LetsBONKfun and Raydium, which are rapidly gaining market share. Users also express concerns about PUMP's sustainability and potential regulatory risks in the U.S., with discussions extending to the platform's impact on the entire memecoin ecosystem.


COINBASE: Today, Coinbase became the first crypto company to join the S&P 500 Index, replacing Discover Financial Services, sparking widespread industry attention. The entire crypto community views this milestone as a significant development, signaling that crypto assets are further integrating into the mainstream financial system. The news has sparked lively discussions on Twitter, with many users pointing out that this may attract more institutional investors to enter the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets.


XRP: XRP became the focal point of today's crypto discussion, with its significant market movements and strategic advances drawing attention. XRP has surpassed USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, sparking market excitement and discussions about its future potential. The surge in market capitalization and price is believed to be related to increasing institutional interest, deepening strategic partnerships, and its role in the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, XRP's integration into multiple financial systems and its potential as a macro asset class are also seen as key factors driving the current market sentiment.


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1. "What Is 'ICM'? Holding Up the $4 Billion Market Cap Solana's New Narrative"

Overnight, the hottest narrative in the crypto space has become "Internet Capital Markets," with a host of crypto projects and founders, led by the Solana ecosystem's new Launchpad platform Believe, releasing this phrase. Together with "Believe in something," it has become the new slogan heralding the onset of a bull market. What exactly is the so-called "Internet Capital Market," will it become a short-lived hype phrase like the Base ecosystem's previous Content Coin, and what related targets are available for selection?


2.《LaunchCoin Surges 20x in One Day, How Did Believe Create a $200M Market Cap Shiba Inu After Going to Zero?|100x Retrospective》

LAUNCHCOIN broke through a $200 million market cap today, with the long-lost liquidity and such a high market cap "Memecoin" almost bringing half of the on-chain crypto community CT into the fray. The community is crazily discussing this token, with half of it being FOMO and the other half being FUD. This token, originally issued by Believe founder Ben Pasternak under his personal identity, transformed into a new platform token after a renaming. From once going to zero to a $200 million market cap, what happened in between?


On-chain Data


May 14 On-chain Fund Flow


After Surging 40%, Has Ethereum Price Peaked Upon Exiting the Craze?

Whether you are an insider or an outsider, these days you must be familiar with the news about Ethereum. The reason is simple, causing Ethereum enthusiasts to sigh with emotion and almost throwing off-guard those who defend Ethereum, Ethereum, with a "3-day surge of 40%," climbed to the top of the Douyin Hot List.



Where Does the Rally Come From?


As we all know, Ethereum launched the Pectra upgrade on May 7th. This most significant network upgrade since early 2024 integrates the Prague execution layer hard fork and the Electra consensus layer upgrade, significantly improving Ethereum's performance through 11 improvement proposals. The account abstraction feature (EIP-7702) allows users to flexibly manage wallets through social media accounts or multi-signature schemes, reducing the user threshold, attracting more users and developers. The staking mechanism optimization increases the validator ETH cap from 32ETH to 2048ETH and introduces a flexible withdrawal method, making it easier for institutions and individuals to participate in network security, enhancing the market's confidence in Ethereum's long-term value.


At the same time, Pectra optimized the interaction efficiency of Layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum and Optimism, making transactions faster and cheaper, leading to a surge in on-chain activity. As a crucial step for Ethereum's transition from "2G" to "5G," the Pectra upgrade not only enhances network vitality but also "recharges confidence" in the market, directly driving the price increase.



Related Reading: "Ethereum Skyrockets 22% in One Day, E Enthusiasts Rejoice"


It's not just Ethereum itself, as Wall Street also brought important bullish news.


The world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, proposed to the SEC allowing Ethereum ETFs for staking. This proposal is expected to elevate Ethereum ETFs from a mere investment tool to a bond-like "interest-bearing asset," bringing investors both capital appreciation and passive income, igniting market optimism about Ethereum's future potential.



Specifically, BlackRock has proposed to amend its S-1 filing to allow investors to create and redeem ETF shares directly with Ethereum instead of the U.S. dollar (i.e., in-kind redemption). This move, combined with its $2.9 billion BUIDL Fund launched in March 2024, aims to deepen the integration of traditional finance with blockchain. The BUIDL Fund is a tokenized fund operating on the Ethereum network, investing in traditional assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds. This setup is highly attractive to institutional investors, as they can not only benefit from Ethereum's price appreciation but also earn stable cash flow through staking.


Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's Head of Digital Assets, stated in a CNBC interview in March 2025 that the addition of staking functionality will significantly enhance the appeal of the Ethereum ETF. He admitted that when the Ethereum spot ETF was launched in July 2024 without staking functionality, the market demand was lackluster, and staking could be the key to reversing this trend.


Meanwhile, the SEC's shifting stance on cryptocurrency regulation has also fueled this upward trend. During the tenure of the previous SEC chairman, the regulatory approach was tough, and staking was strictly viewed through the Howey test as a potential unregistered security. Therefore, when approving the Ethereum spot ETF in May 2024, staking functionality was explicitly prohibited.


However, with Trump back in the White House and Paul Atkins taking over the SEC, there has been a noticeable relaxation in crypto regulation. Apart from BlackRock, ETF issuers such as Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, and 21Shares have also submitted applications for similar staking and in-kind redemption.


Related reading: "New Chairman Takes Office, SEC Transforms into 'Crypto Daddy' Within 48 Hours"


If staking ETFs are approved, the benefits are likely to go beyond price appreciation. The introduction of staking functionality could redefine the role of crypto assets, making them more similar to traditional financial products that provide returns and value appreciation, thereby driving Ethereum closer to mainstream finance.


Currently, the SEC still needs to address several decisions related to crypto ETFs, including whether to approve ETFs for Solana, XRP, Litecoin, and even Dogecoin. With the calls for an "altcoin season" growing louder, Ethereum's strong performance may just be the beginning of a larger crypto market frenzy.


In addition, the Trump family-related DeFi project WLFI is also bullish on this wave of rise, with frequent on-chain activities. According to on-chain data analyst @ai_9684xtpa's monitoring, a WLFI-related address is currently borrowing coins to go long on ETH, borrowing 4 million U from Aave to buy 1590 ETH at an average price of $2515 per ETH.


Has Ethereum's Price Peaked in This Wave?


For this epic surge of Ethereum after half a year of silence, the community has indeed gained more confidence and hope, which has also led to a revival of the entire altcoin market. However, amidst the joy, there are also voices of pessimism. Below is a summary conducted by BlockBeats based on community discussions.


The optimists point out that the current market structure is similar to the eve of the bull markets in 2016 and 2020, predicting a life-changing surge in the next 3-6 months, where some altcoins may even achieve astonishing single-day gains of up to 40%.


@liuwei16602825 stated that this surge signifies the return of the bull market as a sure thing. There is no need to worry about a pullback. The driving force behind the surge uses a high-cost isolated operation, fearing a drop more than any retail investor and will definitely do everything to support the price.


Related Reading: "Ethereum Leads the Surge Triggering the 'Altcoin Season' Speculation, How Do Traders View the Future Market?"


The bears mainly believe that this surge is different from the bull market of 2021, as the current market lacks the confidence of large-scale retail investors entering and holding positions for the long term, with funds rotating too quickly.


@market_beggar observed that a Bitfinex E/B whale has started to close positions and believes that if this whale maintains its high-speed position-closing operation for the next few days, it can be inferred that the whale no longer sees the upside potential of ETH, preparing to take profits and exit. The closing time will be a key focus going forward.



@FLS_OTC stated that there are still many uncertainties at the macro level, and the liquidity cannot support a major bull market. At this stage, it is a "last hurrah," not a complete reversal, and will continue to remain in a short position.


@off_thetarget believes that after ETH transitioned from POW to POS, it lost the "gold standard" of mining machine power cost support. The staking economic model led to a breakdown in value anchoring. Additionally, the L2 ecosystem (such as Starknet, zkSync, etc.) suffered from liquidity fragmentation, failing to establish an effective capital inflow mechanism, causing the collapse of the split disc pattern. Furthermore, the ETH community's excessive pursuit of technical narratives divorced from real-world needs resulted in a weak ecosystem growth. Therefore, he believes that ETH's intrinsic value system has crumbled, and the price is bound to plummet to the 800-1200 range, with a decisive short position at 1800.


@Airdrop_Guard, based on the core logic of the "High Probability Trading Strategy," where three sets of underlying logic different trading systems (such as volume depletion, price supply-demand, long/short position funding rate, etc.) simultaneously issue a short signal at the same point (2580), creating a high-probability trading opportunity. He emphasizes that these systems must be based on different algorithms and logics (rather than mere technical indicator overlays). The current ETH trend aligns with the short conditions in multiple independent dimensions of his trading system, hence the decision to short.


Overall, Bitcoin still maintains over 54% market dominance, and institutional funds' continued preference for it may limit the altcoin's upward potential. The market's future direction will depend on multiple factors, such as Bitcoin's price trend, global macroeconomic conditions, and whether funds can effectively rotate from Bitcoin to the altcoin sector.


Although Ethereum's recent leadership in the market has brought about optimistic sentiment, investors still need to remain rational as different sectors of altcoins are likely to show divergence in trends. Whether this round of Ethereum's rise will usher in a true altcoin frenzy may require more time and conducive conditions.


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