The Trump MEME Coin Drains the Crypto Market, Is it a Good Opportunity for DeFI Bargain Hunting?

By: blockbeats|2025/01/20 08:00:03
0
Share
copy
Original Author: jinglingcookies, Researcher at monad xyz
Original Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: This article introduces multiple DeFAI (Decentralized Finance combined with Artificial Intelligence) projects, focusing on how different AI agents simplify DeFi operations, execute trades, provide market analysis, and other functions. The author showcases the characteristics of these projects, token utilities, market performance, and their potential in the decentralized finance field. DeFAI is still in its early stages and faces many challenges such as a lack of strong token value accrual and intense competition. Lastly, the author encourages AI developers to collaborate with the crypto field to drive technological advancement together.

The following is the original content (rearranged for better readability):

If you've experienced the AI agent craze in the past month, you must have heard of the term "DeFAI" and heard many people pronounce it in different ways. But who cares about pronunciation when the price is skyrocketing?

The term DeFAI was coined by danielesesta (founder of HeyAnonai, more on this later) who launched Wonderland TIME during the 2021 DeFi summer. Simply put, DeFAI = DeFi + AI, meaning DeFi protocols combined with AI, simplifying the complex processes of using DeFi (making DeFi accessible even to our grandmothers).

Everyone was talking about TRUMP yesterday. If you still don't know what that is, unfortunately, you're probably ngmi. But the key point is, yesterday's TRUMP craze caused numerous other AI token prices to plummet as many people exited their AI positions to go all in on TRUMP.

This provided us with a potential opportunity to enter at a more favorable price. This is also the reason I wrote this article, to introduce you to 50 DeFAI projects for you to choose which you believe will be the projects of the future in DeFi—Making DeFi Great Again (MDGA—yes, I know, that name is terrible).

Notes:

Most of these projects are from CoinGecko's DeFAI category. Thanks to the outstanding users for providing the resources.

Displayed price changes are rounded to the nearest whole number.

All data is taken from January 19 to 20, 2025.

AIXBT | aixbt Agent | Market Analysis Agent

Introduction: An AI agent that provides actionable insights and identifies market narratives.

Features:

Shares insights about project fundamentals, such as DAU (Daily Active Users), revenue, upcoming project updates, etc.

Interacts with users on Twitter, responds to questions through it (though not guaranteed).

If a user queries through the aixbt terminal, a response is guaranteed (wallet must hold at least 600,000 AIXBT).

Can mint a token (CHAOS) through SimulacrumAI and change its avatar (Quantum Cats gifted by udiWertheimer's TaprootWizards).

Recent Developments:

Ranks first in kaitoai’s CT Leaderboard.

Has a 31.11% market share in the AI agent market.

Token Utility:

Access exclusive market insights provided by aixbt through the terminal.

Participate in governance voting.

Price Changes:

7 Days: +56%

30 Days: 180%

Market Cap: $6.17 Billion

Other similar agents include: tri sigma

ASYM41b07: Specializes in capturing token bonding dynamics.

AcolytAI: Provides more nuanced analysis.

sperg ai: Technical, fundamental, and sentiment analysis.

kwantxbt: Technical analysis.

The Trump MEME Coin Drains the Crypto Market, Is it a Good Opportunity for DeFI Bargain Hunting?

AIXBT's Market Share in the AI Agent Space

GRIFFAIN | griffaindotcom | Abstract Platform

Introduction: Intent-based endpoint that simplifies on-chain transaction complexity.

Features

Personal Agent: Created by the user, can be given specific instructions and authorize a wallet to perform on-chain operations.
For example: swap 100 USDC for SOL.

Professional Agent: Created by Griffain, with specific practical functions, such as token sniping.

Token Utility

According to the documentation, most transactions on Griffain are paid in SOL.

It is currently unclear how the GRIFFAIN token will be used.

Notes

Backed by Solana Labs, Griffain has sparked a lot of discussion on Twitter.

Price Change

7 Days: +24.7%

30 Days: +6.6%

Market Cap: $4.56 Billion

Other similar agents include

HeyElsaAI

HieroTerminal

StrawberryAI 5

ProjectPlutus

blormmy

hyperflyai on HyperliquidX

PAAL | PaalMind | Agents-as-a-Service (AaaS)

Introduction: A platform providing agents for various purposes.

Features, offering a range of robots:

Paal Bot: A question-answering robot.

Enterprise Agent: An agent for automating processes.

Autonomous Trading Agent: A self-executing trading agent used for trade execution.

Token Utility

Shared revenue with PAAL holders.

Access to advanced features.

Price Changes

7 Days: -9.5%

30 Days: +70.9%

Market Cap: $3.12 Billion

Other similar agents include: GT Protocol

ANON | HeyAnonai | Abstract Platform

Introduction: DeFi abstraction layer—conducting DeFi operations through conversational language (via a Telegram bot) combined with AI-driven market insights.

Features

Offers various DeFi operations such as swapping, lending, cross-chain, etc.

Gemma: Research agent that gathers alpha information and market narratives from platforms like Twitter, Telegram, etc.

AUTOMATE: TypeScript framework enabling DeFi protocols to integrate with Hey Anon, providing abstraction layer functionality to users.

Supports multiple chains including Arbitrum, Base, and will eventually support Solana—enabling the building of cross-chain DeFi abstractions.

To learn more about HeyAnonai's features, check out this thread.

Progress

The launch of Hey Anon sparked a massive buzz, heralding the start of a new category, DeFAI.

Token Utility

Access AI agent services.

Token distribution through a grant program.

Governance Token: Holders can guide protocol development.

Price Changes

7 Days: +47.4%

14 Days: +143.8% (yet to reach 30 Days)

Market Cap: $2.18 Billion

GRIFT | orbitcryptoai | Abstract Platform

Introduction: A platform that seamlessly connects DeFi interaction and alpha resources.

Features

Seamless DeFi execution, such as yield seeking.

Alpha information retrieval through tracking Twitter accounts.

Task scheduling, e.g., automatically swapping to SOL when a certain condition is met.

Token Utility

Exclusive access to advanced features.

Revenue sharing.

Notes

Currently one of the most well-equipped terminals.

Orbit is developed by sphereone with the support of alliancedao.

Price Change

7 Days: +86.9%

30 Days: +442.3%

Market Cap: $1.14 billion

SPEC | Spectral Labs | Trading Agent

Introduction: Perpetual contract trading agent

Features
Users can create an agent (similar to pumpdotfun) and provide wallet access for trading

The agent has an interactive brain that can display its thought process

By purchasing agent tokens, users can interact to influence the agent's decisions

Token Utility
Users need to hold SPEC to create an agent
Participate in governance and influence the agent


NOTE: Since users have to buy agent tokens first, there is significant friction in agent interaction (I prefer the mechanism of orbitcryptoai), leading to many redundant agents, making the platform appear chaotic
Price Change
7 Days: -1.4%
30 Days: -25.2%
Market Cap: $1.02 billion

MODE | modenetwork | Abstract Platform

Introduction: AI-driven Layer 2 platform.

Features

Mode AI Terminal: Execute DeFi operations through natural language.

AI Agent Marketplace: Access agents with various on-chain capabilities.

Data Layer: Analyze market data, train agents to perform better under volatility.

Development Stats

1,684 agents.

4,066 transactions completed.

Funds Managed: $304,000.

Token Utility

Provide early access to new features and advanced functionalities.

Price Changes

7 days: +10.6%

30 days: +24%

Market Cap: $1.02 billion

DRV | derivexyz | Trading Agent

Introduction: Full-stack AI-driven trading platform.

Features

Research: Access news, trends, and market data from MessariCrypto.

Execution: Translate market insights (e.g., bullish/bearish) into actionable trades, one-click execution.

Portfolio Management: Custom interface through prompts.

Token Utility

Not explicitly mentioned but may be used for prompt and execution fees.

Notes

If you wish to try Derive Pro, you can join the waitlist here.

Price Changes

No price change data available yet as the token recently launched.

Market Cap: $91 million

Other similar agents include: loomlayai

Introduction: On-chain execution platform based on a honeycomb architecture.

Features

On-chain DeFi Execution: Execute DeFi operations entirely within the terminal through natural language prompts, such as swaps, liquidity provision, staking, etc.

Portfolio Agent: Assist in identifying yield opportunities for users' idle assets.

EMP | EmpyrealSDK | Launchpad

Introduction: An agent that launches and executes on-chain operations through social media.

Features

Execute on-chain operations by interacting with social media platforms (Twitter, Farcaster, Reddit, etc.) comments.

Validator network used to validate messages before execution.

Token Utility: Share revenue with EMP stakers.

Development Status: Kudai IO leverages SimulacrumAI with support from Empyreal.

Notes

Having a private command option, similar to a private chatbox, would be nice.

Having a sidebar extension to provide prompts while users browse tweets would be more convenient.

Price Change

7 Days: +15.9%

30 Days: +0.4%

Market Cap: $80 million

Other similar agents include: bankrbot

ALPHA | AlphaArc4k | Launchpad

Introduction: Data-driven analytics agent based on-chain.

Features

Alpha Studio: Allows users to build agents that can analyze complex databases and generate actionable insights.

AI Agent Hub: Access a list of agents created by others.

Note: Similar to aixbt, but more focused on on-chain analytics.

Price Change

7 Days: +95.3%

14 Days: +34.4%

Market Cap: $38 million

OLAS | autonolas | Launch Platform

Introduction: Agent launch platform.

Features

One of the earliest agent frameworks to launch.

Users can create their own agents using the provided framework.

Token Utility: OLAS staking is required when creating an AI agent.

Price Change

7 Days: -4.3%

30 Days: -33%

Market Cap: $43 million

Other similar agents include: LayerAIorg

GATSBY | gatsbyfi | DeFI Infrastructure

Introduction: On-chain data-driven analytics agent.

Features

Explorer: View transactions made by wallets.

Execution: Backtest trading strategies.

Ideal for professional/experienced traders. Trading execution conditions can be more creative (based on real-time blockchain information).

Price Change

7 Days: -12.8%

30 Days: +321.8%

Market Cap: $40 million

SNAI | swarmnode | Launch Platform

Introduction: Deploy serverless AI agents.

Features

Serverless: Deploy agents to the cloud without managing servers.

Pay-per-Use: The agent can run at a specific time, and the creator only pays for its active time, increasing cost-effectiveness.

SwarmNode: Orchestrates cooperation among agents.

Notes

You can create agent clusters for niche domains, then coordinate sharing information to find alpha.

Price Change

7 Days: -30.3%

30 Days: -51.6%

Market Cap: $38 million

NEUR | neur sh | Abstract Platform

Introduction: Solana's smart co-pilot.

Features

Smart Agent System: Obtain Web3 native insights through natural language prompts.

Seamless On-chain Execution: Swapping, token minting, NFT transactions, etc.

Token Use Cases

Open-source development contributions.

Community-driven project.

Developer rewards and bounties.

Technical infrastructure improvements.

Notes

Provides highly comprehensive answers.

Execution speed is extremely fast.

Price Change

7 Days: -34.5%

14 Days: -3.4%

Market Cap: $28 million

STRDY | SturdyFinance | DeFi Optimization

Introduction: AI-optimized lending yield.

Features: Sturdy identifies various yields in the lending market through AI.

Token Use

Governance token.

Price Change

7 Days: -14%

30 Days: -34.9%

Market Cap: $25 million

PROMPT | AIWayfinder | Abstract Platform

Introduction: Simplifying DeFi interactions.

Functionality: Creators can create "shells" on Wayfinder, which contain instructions to perform certain DeFi operations, such as exchanging 100 USDC for SOL and depositing it into sanctumso. Users can simply click to execute these operations without manually going through each step.

Token Utility:

PROMPT is not yet live but will have the following utilities:

 Staking to create "shells".

 Used to pay for accessing "shells".

MOZ | Mozaic Fi | DeFi Optimization

Introduction: AI-optimized cross-chain yield and liquidity strategies.

Functionality: As one of the earliest AI-driven yield protocols, Mozaic identifies optimal yields and regularly adjusts positions.

Token Utility: Governance token.

MONK | monk agent | Trading Agent

Introduction: Research and trading assistant.

Functionality:

Built by the Fere AI team, focusing on multi-agent intelligence (Fere Pro, Market Pulse Agent, Investment Agent).

24/7 market analysis and trading.

Monk can provide data-driven market insights on cue.

MOBY | mobyagent | Market Analysis Agent

Introduction: AI co-pilot supported by assetdash, whalewatchalert, griffaindotcom.

Functionality: Provides insights into assets with significant whale activity.

Other similar agents include: Gekko Agent

T3AI | trustInWeb3 | DeFi Optimization

Introduction: AI agent focused on lending.

Features: Non-collateralized lending, automated risk management.

CATG | boltrade ai | Trading Agent

Introduction: Data-driven trading agent.

Features: Trade based on insights on Boltrade DEX, provide extensive metric viewing capabilities.

ConsoleKit by BrahmaFi | DeFAI Infrastructure

Introduction: Wallet access control for AI agents.

Features: Establish boundaries for on-chain operations AI agents can perform, protect users from malicious or spoofed agent behavior.

slate ceo | Abstract Platform

Introduction: Intent-based DeFi execution.

Features: Cross-chain DeFi execution, terminal detailed explanation of DeFi execution paths.

vainguard ai | DeFAI Infrastructure

Introduction: Autonomous trading agent.

Features: Initially providing human-like autonomous trading. "Will become financial managers of their own as they start to own their own finance.

Summary: Review of 25 DeFAI Protocols

Early Stage: Many mentioned projects are still in the testing phase.

Transaction Agent Performance: More time is still needed to validate whether the transaction agent can perform well.

Automated DeFi Execution: Excellent, as it abstracts complexity.

DeFAI Moat Problem: It is challenging to establish a competitive barrier in the DeFAI space, as many projects share similarities.

Token Value Accumulation Issue: Most tokens lack strong value accumulation, and some do not even have a clear use case.

Some terminals take a long time to respond to user prompts, which may be due to either blockchain issues or suboptimal data retrieval by the agent.

Original Tweet Link

You may also like

a16z Leads $18M Seed Round for Catena Labs, Crypto Industry Bets on Stablecoin AI Payment

Traditional finance is still stuck in a "human-to-human" model, while Catena aims to achieve "AI-to-AI" interaction.

Never Underestimate the Significance of the US Stablecoin 'Infrastructure Bill'

Original Title: "Never Underestimate the Significance of the US Stablecoin 'Genius Act'"Original Author: 0xTodd, Partner at Nothing Research


If the US stablecoin bill, the "GENIUS Act," passes smoothly this time, its significance will be tremendous. I even think it's significant enough to enter the top five in Crypto history.



Although abbreviated as the GENIUS Act, which translates directly to the Genius Act, it is actually the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, which translates to "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Dollar Stablecoins."


The proposal is lengthy, with several key points summarized for everyone:


· Mandatory 1:1 Full Asset Backing: Assets include cash, demand deposits, and short-term US Treasuries. At the same time, misappropriation and rehypothecation are strictly prohibited.


· High-Frequency Disclosure: Reserve reports must be published at least monthly, introducing external audits.


· Licensing Requirement: Once the circulating market cap of the issuer's stablecoin exceeds $100 billion, it must transition into the federal regulatory system within a specified timeframe, adopting banking-grade regulation.


· Introduction of Custody: The custodian of the stablecoin and its reserve assets must be a regulated qualified financial institution.


· Clear Definition as a Payment Medium: The bill explicitly defines stablecoin as a new type of payment medium, primarily regulated by the banking regulatory system, rather than restricted by the securities or commodities regulatory system.


· Embracing Existing Stablecoins: A maximum 18-month grace period after the bill's enactment, aimed at encouraging existing stablecoin issuers (such as USDT, USDC, etc.) to promptly obtain licenses or become compliant.


After finishing the main content, let's talk about the significance of this matter with an excited heart.


Over the years, when others asked, "After working in the Crypto industry for 16 years, what application have you created?"


In the future, you can confidently tell others—Stablecoins.


First, Clearing Concerns is a Prerequisite


Some people have held opposing views. In the past, people's impression of stablecoins was that they were an opaque black box. Every few months, there would be FUD — whether Tether's assets were frozen or Circle had a significant black hole deficit.


In fact, if you think about it, Tether easily rakes in billions of dollars a year just from the interest on those underlying government bonds. Circle, slightly less, also made a $1.7 billion profit last year.


They basically made money while standing there. From a motivational standpoint, they have no malicious intentions. In fact, they are the most eager for compliance.


Now, this opaque black box will become a transparent white box.


In the past, the only complaint was that Tether's funds might have been frozen by the United States. Now, they will be directly placed into U.S. compliant custodial institutions, with high-frequency disclosures, so you can rest assured.


【No need to worry about a rug pull】 is such a huge advantage—I think especially all Crypto people understand this.


Second, Mastering the Standard is Very Important


Stablecoins were once almost on the verge of being overtaken by CBDCs. In any country, if a central bank digital currency really exists, it is highly likely not built on a blockchain, at most it is built on some internal central bank consortium chain, which to be honest, is meaningless.


When CBDCs were at their peak, that was the most dangerous time for stablecoins.


If CBDCs had become a reality back then, stablecoins today would have been relentlessly suppressed into a dark corner, and blockchain would only be able to play a minimal role.


The remaining half-dead stablecoins would even have to learn the standards of central bank digital currencies, completely relinquishing their standard-setting power.


And now, stablecoins have won (or are about to).


Instead, everyone should learn the 【Blockchain + Token】 standard.


Nowadays, many blockchains actually have no meaningful applications on top, only stablecoin transfers. For example, with Aptos, the only scenario I use Aptos for is transfers between Binance and OKX.


And now, stablecoins will be legislated, what does that mean?


That's right, blockchain will become the only standard.


In the future, every stablecoin user will be the first to learn how to use a wallet.


As an aside, I actually think Ethereum's concerted push for EIP-7702 is quite forward-thinking. While other chains are all about memes, thank you Ethereum for sticking to account abstraction.



EIP-7702 is about Account Abstraction, which can support, for example:


· Social Account Registration Wallet

· Paying GAS with Native Coin

· And more


This paves the way for future new users to heavily use stablecoins, solving the last-mile problem.


Third, Deposit Enters a New Era


Furthermore, once stablecoins receive legislative support, deposits and withdrawals will become even easier.


Let's imagine a scenario: previously, hindered by the gray nature of stablecoins, but after the bill passes, many traditional brokerages can support stablecoins themselves. The money from a US stock investor can be converted into stablecoins in minutes and instantly deposited into Coinbase. Believe it or not.



Let's imagine another scenario: if the brilliant bill smoothly passes through the House of Representatives, next, you will see:


Due to the extremely lucrative nature of this trading, existing stablecoin leaders and newly entering traditional giants will crazily start promoting their stablecoin products.


And an outsider, due to these promotions, will start using stablecoins. And then one day, after finding out that the wallet account has been created, will explore Bitcoin inside. Is mining Bitcoin difficult?


Stablecoins are a huge Trojan horse. The moment you start using stablecoins, you unwittingly step half a foot into the Crypto world.


Fourth, Conclusion


As a large reservoir for digesting US debt, although stablecoins cannot directly absorb debt, they at least provide ammunition for the US debt secondary market. These functions are quite important, and slowly, stablecoins are becoming a part of the US debt market's body. Therefore, once the US legislation is passed and experiences the benefits, there is no turning back.


And, we are also confident that stablecoins are indeed one of the great innovations in our industry. People who have used stablecoins will find it hard to return to the traditional cash-banking system.


Once the bill is passed, users can't go back. In the future, concerns are about to be resolved, standards will be mastered, and the era of large deposits seems to be on the horizon.


Original Article Link

Pharos, deeply integrated with AntChain, is about to launch. How can we get involved?

What is the relationship between the $8 million funded NewChain and Ant, and how will they interact?

$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.


Arthur Hayes: Why I'm Betting on ETH While the Market Is Obsessed with SOL

"I personally have also allocated 20% to gold, expecting the price of gold to potentially rise to $10,000-20,000 by the end of this market cycle."

The End and Rebirth of NFTs: How the Meme Coin Craze Ended the PFP Era?

There must be another Labubu hidden beneath the ruins.

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more