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- Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos and more Week 7 2025
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos and more Week 7 2025
Keeping you updated on crypto, web3 and blockchain
TL;DR
2.5M Bitcoin on Exchanges Sparks Supply Shock Concerns
University of Austin Launches $5 Million Bitcoin Fund
ETH Researcher Sparks Bitcoin ‘Sound Money’ Debate
Vitalik Pushes for Higher Ethereum Gas Limits
Injective Launches TradFi Index for On-Chain Stock Trading
Story Launches Public Mainnet for Programmable IP Market
Fed Chair Calls for Review of Crypto Debanking
World Liberty Financial Co-Founder's X Account Hacked
and much more!
Market, Airdrop & Memecoin Update
Before we dive in, make sure to check out our recent Market, Airdrop and Memecoin updates:
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
Bitcoin exchange reserves have dropped to 2.5 million BTC, their lowest level since 2022, signaling a potential supply shock as institutional demand from ETFs continues to rise. Bitcoin remains resilient above $95,000 despite global trade tensions, with analysts citing strong institutional interest and seller exhaustion.
However, stagnating spot ETF inflows pose a challenge, as $186 million in net outflows were recorded on Feb. 10. A drop below $95,000 could trigger over $1.52 billion in liquidations. Despite short-term risks, Bitcoin’s 2025 outlook remains bullish, with price projections ranging from $160,000 to $180,000.
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) acquired 7,633 BTC for $742.4 million at an average price of $97,255 per BTC, increasing its total holdings to 478,740 BTC, worth over $46 billion. The purchase was funded through a $742 million stock sale.
Despite a $670.8 million Q4 net loss and $1 billion in impairment losses, the company benefits from new fair-value accounting rules, adding $12.75 billion to retained earnings. Strategy’s $82.3 billion market cap trades at a premium to its BTC net asset value. Shares rose 0.7% Friday and gained 518% over the past year, with pre-market trading up 1.9% Monday.
JP Morgan’s report suggests Tether may need to sell Bitcoin and other reserves to comply with proposed U.S. stablecoin regulations. The rules would require issuers to hold compliant assets like Treasury bills, increasing transparency and audits.
Tether, recently relocated to El Salvador, argues it has over $20 billion in liquid assets and $1.2 billion in quarterly profits. CEO Paolo Ardoino dismissed JP Morgan’s claims, calling them "salty." The legislation remains uncertain, and Tether asserts it can adapt if necessary. USDT remains the largest stablecoin, with a $32.8 billion daily trading volume.
The University of Austin has allocated $5 million of its $200 million endowment to Bitcoin, making it the first U.S. university to invest directly in the asset. Partnering with Unchained, the university will hold Bitcoin for at least five years, citing long-term value. This move follows investments by Emory and Stanford, as institutional interest grows.
Meanwhile, state governments and foundations are also exploring Bitcoin as a reserve asset. However, some experts remain skeptical, citing volatility and regulatory uncertainty. While Bitcoin adoption expands, investors await clearer guidance from regulators before mainstream institutional acceptance.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, acquired $436.9 million worth of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in Q4 2024, according to a recent filing. The investment coincided with BlackRock obtaining a commercial license in Abu Dhabi. BlackRock’s ETF, the largest by assets under management, holds nearly $56 billion.
This marks a significant crypto-related investment by Abu Dhabi, which previously invested in Bitcoin mining. The move underscores growing institutional interest in Bitcoin, with potential long-term market implications as sovereign wealth funds increasingly allocate capital to digital assets.
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
Ethereum researcher Justin Drake claims Bitcoin's fixed 21 million cap poses long-term security risks, making it “cooked” compared to Ethereum's adaptive monetary policy. He highlighted Bitcoin's 0.83% annual supply growth versus Ethereum’s 0.5%, arguing ETH will become “ultra sound” money as issuance declines.
Bitcoin proponents, including James Check, countered that mining efficiency, energy advancements, and economic incentives ensure sustainability. Drake also acknowledged Ethereum’s staking-related risks and proposed a “Croissant Issuance” model to balance security and decentralization. The debate underscores ongoing tensions between Bitcoin and Ethereum over their long-term economic viability.
Vitalik Buterin advocates for increasing Ethereum’s gas limit beyond the recent 36 million raise, emphasizing benefits for censorship resistance, L2 interoperability, and security. He warns that current limits may be insufficient for handling mass L2 failures or reducing costs for routing assets.
Raising L1 capacity by 5.5x to 9x could mitigate risks and enhance efficiency. He also highlights security concerns with L2 ERC-20 issuance. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, set for April 8, aims to improve scalability by increasing blob data availability, with a staker-voted mechanism for future gas limit adjustments.
Uniswap’s Ethereum Layer 2 solution, Unichain, is now live on mainnet, leveraging the OP Stack for scalability. The network processed over 88 million transactions and 12 million smart contracts during testing. To drive adoption, Uniswap Labs will cover interface fees for swaps in the initial months.
Unichain offers 1-second block times and 95% lower gas fees than Ethereum. It will launch as a stage 1 rollup with plans for greater decentralization. With 80+ applications already building on Unichain, its integration with Across Protocol aims to enhance interoperability across ERC-7683-compatible chains.
Goldman Sachs increased its Ethereum ETF holdings by over 2,000% to $476 million in Q4 2024, while its Bitcoin ETF position more than doubled to $1.52 billion. Investments were primarily in BlackRock’s iShares and Fidelity’s crypto funds. The acquisitions reflect rising institutional adoption amid favorable regulatory shifts.
The bank’s strategy aligns with surging market prices, despite past skepticism toward crypto. Goldman also exited positions in Bitwise and WisdomTree Bitcoin ETFs. This expansion highlights Wall Street’s growing confidence in digital assets, signaling a broader shift in financial institutions’ approach to blockchain-based investments.
Ethereum developers agreed to accelerate the rollout of future protocol upgrades, ensuring faster hard fork deployments. During the Feb. 13 All Core Devs meeting, leaders endorsed a more aggressive approach to upgrade timelines, with the Pectra and Fusaka forks set for April.
Pectra, featuring 20 EIPs, enhances wallet functionality and scalability, doubling blob data availability. Fusaka, focused on transaction inclusion, has an April 10 finalization deadline. The decision follows calls from Paradigm to quicken Ethereum’s technical advancements to maintain its competitive edge as a top Layer 1 blockchain.
Cosmos Highlights of the Week
Injective has launched the TradFi Index, an on-chain perpetual market tracking major publicly traded equities via its decentralized exchange, Helix. This innovation enables 24/7 trading, up to 25X leverage, and permissionless access, eliminating barriers like brokerage accounts and residency restrictions. The index includes companies like Amazon, Apple, and Goldman Sachs, providing enhanced hedging opportunities and increased liquidity.
Injective aims to accelerate financial asset tokenization and improve market efficiency. By bridging traditional and decentralized finance, Injective is pioneering a future where all financial assets are accessible on-chain, reshaping global finance with real-time, borderless trading solutions.
Story has officially launched its public mainnet, introducing a Layer 1 blockchain designed to create a programmable market for intellectual property (IP) in the AI era. With IP valued at $61 trillion, Story enables permissionless exchange, ownership, and monetization, addressing inefficiencies in traditional IP systems.
The platform’s ecosystem supports instant licensing, IP tokenization, and fair revenue distribution. The Day 1 rewards portal is now live for early participants. With a growing range of applications, Story aims to redefine how IP is managed, traded, and utilized in AI-driven markets, marking a major shift in digital ownership and innovation.
The Persistence community is considering a proposal to allocate 1 million XPRT from the community pool to sustain liquidity incentives on Persistence DEX and other DEXs. A previous proposal allocated 1M XPRT, enhancing liquidity across multiple trading pairs. As of February 10, 2025, 47,368.97 XPRT remain for future incentives.
The new allocation would be distributed over six months, with monthly performance reviews. Key pools incentivized include XPRT pairs on Osmosis, Aerodrome, and Velodrome. The community is invited to provide feedback on the proposal, its allocation size, and alternative strategies to maintain or grow liquidity across supported exchanges.
Story Protocol has launched its Initial Incentives program, allocating 10% of the $IP token supply to reward users and community members. The initiative employs strong anti-farmer and anti-sybil measures, ensuring rewards go to genuine participants. Half of the allocation is reserved for direct claims, while the other half will be distributed via ecosystem projects.
The program starts on Day 1 of the Public Mainnet and includes multiple rounds of rewards, prioritizing real users and long-term engagement. Additional grants and hackathons further support the ecosystem’s growth, reinforcing Story's commitment to a sustainable incentive model.
Nebula Finance introduces a liquid staking mechanism for $DYM holders, enabling them to stake tokens and receive $nDYM at a 1:1 ratio while earning staking rewards. The platform ensures security through a partnership with @silk_nodes, which serves as the validator and sequencer. Stakers receive 90% of the rewards, with a 10% fee directed to the NebulaFi treasury.
Additionally, $NBL is used for gas fees within the ecosystem, further fueling the treasury. $nDYM remains tradable within the Dymension ecosystem, offering liquidity while staked. Nebula Finance hints at future opportunities for $NBL stakers, encouraging engagement via Discord.
Other Highlights of the Week
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed concerns over the debanking of crypto firms, calling for a "fresh look" at the issue. During a Senate Banking Hearing, Senator Tim Scott urged Powell to prevent excessive financial regulations. Powell acknowledged that while debanking was not intentional, regulatory actions had unintended consequences.
The lack of clear guidance has made banks hesitant to serve crypto firms, leading to widespread account closures. Powell’s remarks underscore the need for explicit policies to ensure crypto companies can operate within the financial system rather than being excluded due to regulatory uncertainty.
Coinbase reported $6.1 billion in full-year revenue for 2024, more than doubling its 2023 total. Q4 revenue reached $2.3 billion, beating estimates by $430 million, with net income at $1.3 billion. Transaction revenue soared 172% quarter-over-quarter to $1.6 billion. The exchange ended Q4 with $9.3 billion in USD resources.
Coinbase shares are up 16% in 2025 and 112% over the past year. The company is pushing for regulatory clarity, urging U.S. regulators to end crypto debanking. Coinbase remains optimistic about a more crypto-friendly administration and growing global attention on digital assets.
Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, had his X account hacked, with attackers promoting a fake Barron Trump memecoin. The hacker falsely claimed that Donald Trump would confirm the project. World Liberty Financial quickly addressed the breach, urging users to ignore the scam.
This follows a similar incident in January, when Ivanka Trump warned about a fraudulent memecoin using her likeness. The Trump-linked DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, launched its own token, WLFI, in October 2024. The company is working to resolve the security issue and prevent further misinformation.
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