Summary

1. BTC has been consolidating after rebounding on May 13, facing resistance at $105,000 with weak upward momentum but clear support below.
2. ETH surged then entered a volatile range; ETF outflows suggest the rebound may be technically driven rather than capital-driven.
3. Crypto insurance firm Chainproof has launched a new insurance product for Ethereum stakers.
4. JPMorgan completed its first public tokenized treasury trade using Chainlink and Ondo.
5. Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) launched a crypto deposit and withdrawal service.
6. Pump.fun’s market share has significantly declined as LetsBonk.fun and Believe capture increasing portions of daily token launches.

Market Overview

Market Commentary

• BTC – Since rebounding from around $102,000 on May 13, BTC has been fluctuating between $102,500 and $105,800. Repeated failures to break above $105,000 suggest weakening bullish momentum, while consistent support near $102,000 indicates ongoing buying interest. Technically, a decisive breakout above or below this range could have a significant impact on short- to mid-term price trends.
• ETH – ETH has seen heightened volatility over the past week. After briefly surging to around $2,600 on May 9, it has been trading in a choppy range between $2,425 and $2,700. Despite a strong move on May 8 and a slight rebound in the ETH/BTC ratio, continued outflows from spot ETH ETFs last week indicate that the rally may have been technically, rather than capital, driven.
• Altcoins – The altcoin market showed mixed performance over the past 7 days. Some sectors, such as Meme coins, AI Agent tokens, and Gate ETF-related projects, performed strongly. Notably, MOODENG (SOL) saw significant gains. However, the broader altcoin market experienced a short-term pullback. Market sentiment remains in the “greed” zone, according to the Fear and Greed Index.
• Futures – Over the past week, the BTC buy/sell ratio turned negative, signaling a short-term bearish outlook. Although risk assets briefly rallied following the China-U.S. Geneva trade talks, Bitcoin had largely priced in the positive news beforehand. Profit-taking ensued, and large BTC ETF outflows were recorded the day after the announcement, reflecting institutional caution toward Bitcoin in the near term.
• Macro Data – On May 13, the U.S. released its April Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, showing an unexpected drop in inflation. March’s CPI fell by 0.1% month-over-month, the lowest in five years, while core CPI rose 2.8% year-over-year—the smallest gain in four years. Despite this easing of inflation pressure, the trend may be difficult to sustain, especially amid broad tariff policies proposed by the Trump administration.
• Stablecoins – The total market cap of stablecoins rose by 0.13% to $242.54 billion, indicating continued inflow of off-exchange capital.
• Gas Fees – On-chain activity on Ethereum has declined from previous highs. As of May 15, the network showed a downward trend in activity, with average gas fees dropping to just 0.468 Gwei.

Trending Sectors

This week, Bitcoin traded within a wide range of between $105,000 and $102,000, while altcoin sectors showed mixed performance. According to Coingecko data, three sectors made notable breakouts: Frog-Themed, Launchpad, and Layer 2, which rose approximately 57%, 44%, and 20% respectively over the past seven days. All three sectors are driven by strong technical narratives or market hype, making them standout themes in the current cycle.

Frog-Themed
Fueled by the explosive popularity of Pepe, a wave of Frog-Themed meme coins has gained traction, becoming iconic symbols in the meme coin world with large and enthusiastic communities. Over the past seven days, the sector surged more than 57%. Top performers included FROC, SIZE, and BABYPURPE, with FROC alone soaring over 400% at its peak.

Launchpad
Launchpads, which serve as bridges between high-quality early-stage projects and investors, have long attracted capital due to their higher probability of investment success. Over time, they have evolved into one of the most fertile grounds for 100x or even 1000x potential crypto assets. The Launchpad sector saw a strong rally this week, with a total gain of over 44%. Notable tokens include LAUNCHCOIN, REVS, and GOCHU.

Layer 2
Layer 2 refers to a variety of solutions designed to address blockchain scalability issues. Well-known examples include Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and Ethereum’s Plasma—both act as high-speed channels for their respective networks. While implementation varies, the common goal is to significantly increase transaction throughput. This sector rose more than 20% over the past week, with KRO, GEL, and ERN leading the gains.

Focus of the Week

Chainproof Launches New Insurance Product for Ethereum Stakers

Crypto insurance provider Chainproof, in partnership with insurance brokerage IMA Financial Group, has introduced a new insurance product tailored for Ethereum stakers. This product is designed to mitigate slashing risks and guarantee a minimum annual yield equivalent to the Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR). If staking rewards fall below the CESR due to slashing events, Chainproof will compensate for the difference.

This launch marks a significant advancement in the blockchain insurance sector by improving yield predictability and reducing staking risks—particularly appealing to institutional investors. It may attract additional capital into Ethereum’s staking ecosystem, enhancing overall network security. The move also signals a shift toward more professional and institutionally aligned crypto insurance offerings, potentially paving the way for more asset-specific and risk-specific insurance products in the future.

JPMorgan Executes First Public Tokenized Treasury Trade Using Chainlink and Ondo

JPMorgan announced that its blockchain division, Kinexys, has completed its first settlement of a tokenized U.S. Treasury transaction on a public blockchain. The trade involved purchasing tokenized Treasuries issued on Ondo Finance’s public ledger, with settlement triggered via Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol.

As a traditional financial giant, JPMorgan’s move sets a precedent for institutional adoption of DeFi and blockchain technologies. The use of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) in this trade highlights the massive potential of bringing traditional assets on-chain, potentially unlocking new liquidity streams. Chainlink played a critical role in the transaction, reinforcing its value as a cross-chain infrastructure layer and promoting efficient data and value transfer across networks. JPMorgan emphasized that this is part of a long-term strategic shift, underscoring a deeper transformation in financial infrastructure.

Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) Launches Crypto Deposit and Withdrawal Services

Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) has launched crypto deposit and withdrawal services, enabling users to store, trade, and transfer major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) via the Tiger Trade platform. The firm holds a Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) license issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

As a licensed brokerage firm entering the crypto space, Tiger Brokers’ move marks a major step forward in integrating traditional finance with digital assets. It provides Hong Kong investors with a compliant and convenient access point for crypto trading and may encourage more participation from traditional investors, thereby expanding market liquidity and user engagement.

Sky Reports $5M Q1 Loss Amid High Interest Payouts for USDS Incentives

DeFi savings protocol Sky reported a $5 million net loss in Q1 2025, a steep decline from the $31 million profit in the previous quarter. The loss was primarily driven by a 102% increase in interest expenses as the protocol aggressively incentivized users to convert DAI into its new stablecoin, USDS. While the USDS yield was lowered from 12.5% to 4.5% in February, the cost burden remained high. During the quarter, total DAI and USDS supply rose by 57%, with over $450 million flowing in via Ethena Protocol, which deposits funds into Sky to mint USDS and redistributes yields to holders of its own stablecoin, USDe.

Despite short-term losses, Sky’s bold move to compete with DAI by offering high returns reflects its ambition to expand aggressively. Its partnership with Ethena demonstrates strong traction and potential utility across the broader DeFi ecosystem. However, investors should closely monitor the protocol’s ongoing losses and assess whether Sky can manage costs while maintaining user growth—a key factor for its long-term sustainability.

Key Data Highlights

Believe Ecosystem Surpasses $450M in Market Cap, Over $1.4B in Total Trading Volume

According to data from Believe Screener, the total market capitalization of tokens within the Believe ecosystem has exceeded $450 million, with more than 11,231 tokens created and a cumulative trading volume of $1.406 billion. LAUNCHCOIN continued its upward momentum, once peaking at $360 million in market cap with a 24-hour trading volume of $120 million. At the time of writing, its market cap has pulled back to around $270 million, marking a more than 200x increase since late April.

PASTERNAK was originally a celebrity token launched by Clout founder Ben Pasternak. Clout is a SocialFi platform that enables celebrities and creators to issue tokens under their own names, turning personal branding into financial instruments. On April 28, Clout rebranded to Believe, and on April 29, PASTERNAK was renamed Launch Coin on Believe (LAUNCHCOIN) to align with the new platform identity.

The rapid rebound of the Believe platform reflects sustained market interest in both influence financialization and early-stage project speculation. However, due to high volatility and sentiment-driven dynamics, it is more suitable for short-term, high-frequency traders. While LAUNCHCOIN currently benefits from strong community consensus and hype, it lacks stabilizing mechanisms. The quality of projects varies, and tokens tend to have short life cycles, raising concerns over sudden liquidity drops and sell-offs. Key areas to watch include: quality control for new project listings, the timeline for platform governance rollout, integration with major exchanges such as Gate, and whether Believe can build defensible moats against rising competition.

XRP and DOGE Open Interest Surges While Price Momentum Fades

According to Glassnode, speculative positions in XRP and DOGE futures markets have grown significantly despite weakening spot prices—indicating increased appetite for volatility and downside exposure. Data shows:

• DOGE open interest surged 63.9% in one week (from $989 million to $1.62 billion), with spot price rising 40% to $0.23.
• XRP open interest grew 41.6% (over $1 billion in new contracts), while spot price rose modestly from $2.14 to $2.60.

The divergence between surging open interest and weakening price momentum suggests an accumulation of leveraged speculative positions. When open interest grows faster than investor conviction—as, as reflected in flat spot prices—it, it often precedes flash crashes, a pattern seen repeatedly in past cycles. This imbalance should be approached with caution.

Pump.fun Market Share Drops Sharply as LetsBonk.fun and Believe Rise

According to Dune Analytics, Pump.fun is losing its dominant position in the meme coin launch space, with new platforms like LetsBonk.fun, Believe, and LaunchLab rapidly gaining ground. Pump.fun’s share of daily token launches has plummeted from over 98% to just 57.5%. LetsBonk.fun now accounts for 17.9%, Believe for 12.9%, and LaunchLab for 5%.

Recent top-performing meme coins—including LAUNCHCOIN, GOONC, DUPE, and Hosico—were all launched via LetsBonk.fun or Believe, while Pump.fun has struggled to produce notable new projects.

The rise of LetsBonk.fun and Believe fills the void left by Pump.fun, showcasing differentiated strengths in platform design, community engagement, and tokenomics. LetsBonk.fun emphasizes virality and meme appeal, making it attractive to creators and new users alike. Believe, on the other hand, leverages aesthetic design, strong community participation, and influencer collaborations (KOLs) to drive project retention and discussion.

In the meme coin space, launch platforms act as traffic distributors. Once a platform loses the ability to host trending tokens, users and creators quickly shift attention elsewhere. A deeper issue for Pump.fun lies in its increasingly stale mechanics. The platform has become overly homogenized and lacks innovation, contributing to user fatigue. Market rumors suggest Pump.fun may launch its own token platform token—a: a possible way to revive user interest and stickiness. Without such innovation, Pump.fun risks becoming a relic of Solana’s earlier meme coin cycle rather than a lasting ecosystem pillar.

Market Opportunities

Gate Launchpad

This week’s featured Launchpad project on Gate is Puffverse (PFVS). Puffverse is a metaverse gaming platform built on the Ronin blockchain, focusing on a “casual gaming + social + play-to-earn (P2E)” model. Developed by a core team from Xiaomi’s original game studio, Puffverse combines deep Web2 development experience with cutting-edge Web3 innovation.

In 2024, Puffverse secured strategic investments from top Web3 investors including Animoca Brands, showcasing strong project potential and long-term vision. The same year, it fully migrated to Ronin Network, a high-performance blockchain ecosystem known for supporting games like Axie Infinity. Ronin now provides Puffverse with robust infrastructure and comprehensive ecosystem support.

Looking ahead, Puffverse aims to build a cloud-based gaming platform, develop a hybrid physical-digital IP ecosystem, and expand its influence across both Web2 and Web3 domains, positioning itself as a next-generation standard-setter for Web3 games and virtual worlds.

How to Participate:
Pre-Launch Requirements (Before the Subscription Window)

• Gate Account: Register and complete identity verification.
• Deposit Funds: Ensure sufficient USDT balance, as the Launchpad supports USDT-only subscriptions.

Subscription Period

• Time Window: May 13, 2025 at 11:00 to May 16, 2025 at 20:00 (UTC+8)
• Steps:

1. Log in to Gate and visit the [Launchpad] page
2. Select the Puffverse project and click “Participate Now”
3. Enter the subscription amount and confirm to lock the funds

Launchpad Details

• Price: 1 PFVS = 0.07 USDT
• Total Tokens Offered: 10,000,000 PFVS
• Allocation Formula: Based on individual contribution relative to the total.Formula: (User Contribution / Total Contributions) × Total Tokens
• Individual Cap: Max 10,000 PFVS per user
• Token Distribution: Tokens will be released on the TGE (Token Generation Event) day
• Spot Listing: Expected by end of May
• Unlock Schedule: 100% unlocked at TGE

Funding Weekly Recap

Several blockchain projects completed successful funding rounds this week, covering infrastructure and developer platforms. According to RootData, from May 9 to May 15, nine projects raised a total of $75.6 million. Key highlights include:

Openverse Network
On May 12, Openverse Network raised $11 million in a strategic round led by Castrum Capital. Openverse is a Layer 0 interoperability hub designed to connect blockchains, metaverses, and the traditional internet under a “fully open cross-chain protocol” vision. It proposes frameworks like the Bitcoin VRC10 Protocol, Private Key VRC11 Protocol, and Public Key Issuance Mechanism (PCIM).

Funds will be used to accelerate ecosystem development globally, including partnerships, developer onboarding, and building an open, interconnected value transfer network.

Nirvana Labs
On May 13, Nirvana Labs closed a $6 million extended seed round. The team is developing a Web3 infrastructure platform that allows developers to create API gateways connected to a global network of low-latency nodes across 30+ data centers.

By offering lower latency and high throughput, Nirvana Labs claims to reduce infrastructure costs by up to 85% compared to traditional cloud services like AWS. The funding will be used to expand its data center footprint and enhance core services such as Kubernetes-based deployment management.

KYD Labs
On May 14, KYD Labs raised $7 million in a seed round led by a16z Crypto, signaling strong investor interest in blockchain ticketing. KYD is a Web3 event ticketing platform that leverages blockchain (including smart contracts and potentially NFTs) to enhance fan engagement and increase revenue opportunities for event organizers.

The platform has already processed over $4 million in ticket sales and helped venues like Le Poisson Rouge achieve a 30% increase in sales—highlighting its commercial viability.

Next Week to Watch

Token Unlocks

According to data from Token Unlocks, several major token unlock events are scheduled for the week of May 19–25, 2025, with a total estimated unlock value exceeding $560 million.Top 3 upcoming unlocks are as follows:

• PYTH – Unlocking approximately $374 million worth of tokens on May 19 at 02:00 UTC+0, representing 58.62% of its circulating supply. The current circulating supply stands at 36.2% of the total 10 billion tokens.
• MURA – Unlocking approximately $4.09 million worth of tokens on May 23 at 12:00 UTC+0, accounting for 1.00% of circulating supply. Current circulating supply is 88.0% of its 1 billion total supply.
• VENOM – Unlocking approximately $6.7 million worth of tokens on May 25 at 08:00 UTC+0, representing 2.86% of circulating supply. Current circulating supply stands at 29.4% of a total of 2 billion tokens.
  
  
  References：
• Gate, https://www.gate.io/price/bitcoin-btc
• Sosovalue, https://sosovalue.xyz/zh/assets/etf/us-eth-spot
• Gate, https://www.gate.io/bigdata/estimate
• Cryptoquant, https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/derivatives/taker-buy-sell-ratio?exchange=all_exchange&window=DAY&sma=0&ema=0&priceScale=log&metricScale=linear&chartStyle=line
• Coinglass, https://www.coinglass.com/pro/AvgFunding/ETH
• Bls, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.htm
• Defillama, https://defillama.com/stablecoins
• Etherscan, https://etherscan.io/gastracker
• Coingecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/modular-blockchain
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/05/14/chainproof-combats-ethereum-slashing-losses-with-guaranteed-yearly-yields
• Fortune Crypto, https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/05/14/jpmorgan-chase-kinexys-digital-payments-ondo-chainlink/
• Cnyes, https://news.cnyes.com/news/id/5978994
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/13/defi-savings-protocol-sky-slumps-to-5m-loss-as-usds-interest-payments-wipe-out-profit
• X, https://x.com/glassnode/status/1922638034656239968
• NEAR, https://pages.near.org/blog/blink-and-its-final-near-launches-600ms-blocks-and-1-2s-finality/
• Gate, https://www.gate.io/zh/launchpad
• Rootdata, https://cn.rootdata.com/Fundraising
• Token Unlocks, https://tokenomist.ai/unlocks
• Investing, https://cn.investing.com/economic-calendar/

Gate Research is a comprehensive blockchain and crypto research platform that provides readers with in-depth content including technical analysis, market insights, weekly reviews, industry research, trend forecasts, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Disclaimer
Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets or products before making any investment decisions. Gate assumes no liability for any losses incurred from such decisions.