Weekly Recap: Crypto Volatility Persists after Fed Leaves Rates Steady

Happy weekend Defiers!

Crypto markets are on track to end the week in the green after the Federal Reserve left benchmark rates unchanged on Wednesday. However, volatility persists as geopolitical and macro concerns weigh on investor sentiment.

The TON Foundation revealed that prominent VCs have invested $400 million in the blockchain’s native TON token, betting on its Telegram integration to fuel growth.

Hyperliquid is rolling out a new tiered staking mechanism for its HYPE token. The move comes as the perpetual exchange’s HLP vault bleeds TVL in the wake of a $4M attack.

Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to address a crypto conference after delivering a virtual message to the Digital Asset Summit in New York.

Plus, Ethereum devs delay Pectra upgrade, US lifts Tornado Cash sanctions, and PumpFun launches a native DEX.

Also, don’t forget to check out our interviews with Max Luck, Head of Growth at Flare Networks, Juan Benet, Founder of Protocol Labs, Sami Start, Co-Founder and CEO of Transak, and Yaniv Tal, Founder of The Graph.

Enjoy!

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PODCAST & INTERVIEWS

Flare Network: Full-stack (EVM compatible) L1 for data-intensive use cases | Max Luck Interview

Max Luck, Head of Growth at Flare Networks, discusses the layer-one EVM blockchain's focus on providing high-integrity data to builders through its enshrined oracles. He explains how Flare's secure bridging infrastructure and interoperability solutions are designed to connect non-smart contract chains like XRP, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin to the DeFi ecosystem.

Protocol Labs Founder Juan Benet on Decentralizing the Internet with IPFS & Filecoin

Juan Benet, Founder of Protocol Labs, discusses the importance of a decentralized internet and how Protocol Labs is working to achieve this through various open-source projects, most notably IPFS and Filecoin. He emphasizes the role of these technologies in creating a more secure, censorship-resistant, and efficient internet experience.

Sami Start on How Transak Simplifies Global Crypto Onramps | ETH Denver 2025

We spoke with Sami Start, Co-Founder and CEO of Transak, the gateway to Web3 that streamlines onboarding for hundreds of networks and dApps across the crypto landscape. Active in more than 160 countries, Transak offers straightforward fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat solutions, enhancing the real-world utility of digital assets.

The Graph's Yaniv Tal on GRC 20 and the Future of Web3 | ETH Denver 2025

Yaniv Tal, Founder of The Graph, joins us at ETH Denver 2025 to discuss the evolution of Web3 and the importance of composability for building a truly decentralized internet. He explains how The Graph's new Knowledge Graph standard, GRC 20, will enable developers to better organize and share information.

Friday

• Crypto Market Slips Again as Bitcoin Hovers Around $84,000 Bitcoin stalls and altcoins dip as traders weigh Fed decision and regulatory uncertainty.
• VC Firms Buy $400M of Toncoin The Open Network’s rapid growth and Telegram integration has attracted top investors.
• SEC Doesn’t Rule out That PoW Mining Constitutes a Securities Sale, Commissioner Crenshaw Says Caroline Crenshaw said that the SEC’s statement on proof-of-work has footnotes that say individual scrutiny of any specific project is necessary to rule it out as a securities sale.
• Ethereum Developers Delay Pectra Upgrade Mainnet Launch Ethereum developers will choose a new date for the mainnet launch after tests are complete on the Hoodi network.
• MegaETH Launches Public Testnet, Claims To Be Faster Than Base, Monad The network airdropped testnet tokens to nearly 200,000 wallets in 15 seconds.
• Jupiter Shatters All-Time High Monthly Revenue, Hitting $33M in February Jupiter posts record revenue for a fourth consecutive month.
• Bubb Memecoin Skyrockets 1,000% on Binance Co-founder Endorsement The Bubb memecoin reached a market cap of nearly $40 million.
• Tornado Cash Token Soars as U.S. Lifts OFAC Sanctions The decentralized crypto mixer has been banned in the United States since 2022.

Thursday

• Hyperliquid Whale Outed as Serial Scammer The trader drew attention for “insider trading” leading up to the US Strategic Reserve announcement.
• Internet Computer Revenue Hits All-time Highs The Layer 1 blockchain has earned more than 80% of its total revenue in the last three quarters.
• Canary Capital Files for Pudgy Penguins ETF The proposed exchange-traded fund would hold up to 15% of its assets in Pudgy Penguin NFTs.
• Ethereum Must Choose: Asset or Platform, Says EY’s Paul Brody Brody also said in an interview with The Defiant that enterprise Layer 2s will likely all fail.
• Crypto Market Slips Despite Trump’s Reaffirmed Support at DAS 2025 Lack of new policy commitments and profit-taking drive market weakness.
• PumpFun Expands DeFi Footprint with PumpSwap Native DEX The integrated decentralized exchange aims to provide a user experience with less friction, lower fees.
• Trump Vows to Make U.S. the “Undisputed Bitcoin Superpower” Trump became the first U.S. President to speak at a crypto conference.
• Hyperliquid Rallies on Tiered Staking System The mechanism will offer HYPE stakers trading fee discounts of between 5% and 40%.

Wednesday

• Crypto Market Rebounds Ahead of Fed Rate Decision Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP lead gains as the crypto market cap climbs to $2.88 trillion.
• Spark to Deploy as Much as $3.6 Billion Into Tokenized Treasuries Although an initial $1 billion was budgeted for the Tokenization Grand Prix winners, Phoenix Labs’s Sam MacPherson says the allocation could rise to $3.6B.
• Aerodrome Founder Denies that Coinbase 'Stabbed Them in the Back' When Coinbase launched Verified Pools, they chose Uniswap over Base partner Aerodrome.
• Raydium Fires Back at Pumpfun With New Token Launchpad LaunchLab offers linear, exponential, and logarithmic bonding curves and fee customization for coin creators.
• 83% of Institutional Investors Plan to Increase Crypto Allocations in 2025: Coinbase Around 68% of institutional investors cite greater regulatory clarity as the next catalyst for growth.
• Acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda Proposes Withdrawal of Crypto Custody Rule The rule would make it difficult, if not impossible, for registered investment advisors to purchase crypto for clients.
• Keyrock Aims to Strengthen Global Crypto Market Presence with U.S. Expansion The digital asset market maker launches a U.S. entity to enhance institutional trading solutions.

Tuesday

• Crypto Market Extends Losses as FOMC and Trade Tensions Unsettle Investors Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins decline as fears of a global trade war and Fed uncertainty weigh on sentiment.
• Hyperliquid’s HLP Vaults Bleed TVL in Wake of $4M Exploit The perpetual decentralized exchange’s HLP losses come as total all-time perps volume reached past $1 trillion.
• Coinbase Plans to Roll Out Onchain Swaps for KYC-Verified Users The initiative aims to provide trusted liquidity pools for KYC’d retail and institutional traders.
• President Trump’s World Liberty Financial Ups Token Sales to $550 Million A second sales round of $250 million worth of the non-transferable governance tokens attracted 85,000 buyers.
• Keeta Network Soars On Reported Investment from Eric Schmidt The token surged after the former Google CEO followed the Layer 1 network’s X profile.
• EOS Network Rebrands as Vaulta, Strengthening Its Web3 Banking Vision The transition includes a token swap and the launch of a Banking Advisory Council to bridge DeFi with TradFi.
• Onchain Sleuth Doubts Crypto’s Ability to Self-Regulate ZachXBT has been tracking and freezing funds related to the ByBit hack.
• Pump.Fun Token Graduation Rate Plummets Memecoin mania isn’t dead yet, but it just might be on life support.

Monday

• Crypto Market Dips as Investors Await Key Fed Decision Bitcoin and broader crypto market slides amid Federal Reserve uncertainty and trade concerns.
• Toncoin Spikes 30% After France Releases Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Durov has been released on bail while an investigation continues into the privacy-focused messaging platform.
• Aave DAO Rejects Plan To List Token Linked to RWA Initiative Aave founder Stani Kulechov said community consensus will be respected.
• Blackrock’s BUIDL and Ondo Crack $1 Billion as Tokenized Treasuries Hit All-Time High Ondo’s OUSG and USDY real-world asset tokens have passed $1 billion combined.
• Standard Chartered Slashes ETH Price Target to $4K from $10K, Saying L2s Are Draining Revenue Coinbase’s Base is the biggest problem, having cut $50 billion off of Ethereum’s market cap by itself, the investment bank said.
• CAKE Surges 40% as PancakeSwap’s Daily Volume Outpaces Uniswap The BNB Chain DEX recorded 60% more volume than Uniswap over the last 24 hours.
• World App Expands Ecosystem into Gaming With Razer Partnership World Network teams up with Razer to combat bots in gaming, following the launch of World Chat.

TRENDING

• SEC Doesn’t Rule out That PoW Mining Constitutes a Securities Sale, Commissioner Crenshaw Says
• Hyperliquid Whale Outed as Serial Scammer
• Internet Computer Revenue Hits All-time Highs
• Ethereum Must Choose: Asset or Platform, Says EY’s Paul Brody
• Trump Vows to Make U.S. the “Undisputed Bitcoin Superpower”
• Hyperliquid Rallies on Tiered Staking System