Abstract

• Bitcoin price dropped by 3.57% to $92,258.1, while Ethereum price fell by 8.31% to $2,492.07.
• Berachain’s Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassed $3.3 billion, overtaking Arbitrum and Base to become the 6th largest public blockchain.
• Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade encountered issues on the Holesky testnet, failing to achieve finality and affect the mainnet deployment.
• The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) officially approved the USDC and EURC stablecoins, incorporating them into the cryptocurrency token regulatory framework.
• Rings Protocol’s TVL exceeded $84 million, setting a new historical high.
• South Dakota vetoed the Bitcoin Treasury Reserve Bill.

Market Analysis

• BTC - The price of BTC has dropped by 3.57% in the past 24 hours, currently standing at $92,258.1. BTC briefly fell below $91,000 today, reaching the lower bound of its downtrend channel. No signs of a rebound have appeared in the short term, and trading volume has increased compared to previous levels. The blue MACD line is currently at -964.4, below the signal line, indicating that bearish momentum remains strong, with the potential for a rebound still unclear. Investors should monitor potential bottoming indicators and volume patterns.[1]

Additionally, according to CoinGlass data, a total of $240 million in BTC contracts were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with the overall market facing $887 million in liquidations, marking the largest liquidation event since February 3rd. [2]

• ETH - The price of ETH has fallen by 8.31% in the past 24 hours, currently priced at $2,492.07. On February 24th, ETH briefly broke through the resistance level at $2,840, but the price quickly retraced and fell below the upward trend. Overall trading volume has slightly increased, but no volume spike has been observed at the bottom. ETH is currently consolidating around the $2,460 level. [3]

• ETF - According to SoSoValue data, on February 24th, the total net outflow for U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETFs was $516 million[4], and the total net outflow for U.S. Ethereum Spot ETFs was $78.09 million[5]. Data is as of 3:00 PM (UTC+8) on February 25th.
• Altcoins - Tokenized Gold, Tokenized Commodities, and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) sectors saw respective changes of +1.7%, +1.0%, and +0.1%. Data is as of 12:00 PM (UTC+8) on February 25th[6].
• U.S. Stock Market Indices - On February 24th, the S&P 500 index dropped by 0.5%, the Dow Jones index rose by 0.08%, and the Nasdaq index fell by 1.21%[7].
• Spot Gold - The price of spot gold reached $2,936.55 per ounce, with a daily decline of 0.54%. Data is as of 12:00 PM (UTC+8) on February 25th[8].
• Fear and Greed Index - The Fear and Greed Index is at 25, indicating that the market is in a state of extreme fear[9].

Top Performers

According to Gate.io market data [10], based on trading volume and price performance over the past 24 hours, the top-performing altcoins are as follows:

VANA (VANA) — The price increased by approximately 20.76% in a single day, with a circulating market cap of $240 million.
Vana is a decentralized data liquidity network that helps users control their private data and earn rewards by contributing data. Its tokenized trading model turns personal data into a tradable asset, creating value in fields like AI training, and is dubbed the “Spotify of data economy.” The VANA token is used for trading, staking, and governance, bridging Web2 and Web3 while promoting decentralized data ownership and the AI economy.

Additionally, Vana announced the VRC upgrade, which focuses on incentivizing DataDAO (DLP) and high-quality data contributions, and introduced the veVANA mechanism to encourage long-term staking and governance. On February 24, YZi Labs announced an investment in Vana, with the specific amount undisclosed. This news may have increased investor confidence, subsequently driving the price up[11].

ELA (Elastos) — The price increased by approximately 19.42% in a single day, with a circulating market cap of $59.27 million.
Elastos is focused on building a decentralized SmartWeb based on blockchain technology. With a main-side chain structure, multi-layer consensus, and smart contract consensus computing, Elastos provides a secure and reliable foundation for its platform. On top of this, it has built decentralized identity, communication, storage, and computing platform services. The aim is to provide a system platform that supports distributed applications while offering strong user privacy protection and data security, acting as an engine for the wave of data assetization[12].

Elastos has raised $20 million from private investment firm Rollman Management, and plans to expand its mined ELA tokens into Bitcoin reserve assets. After securing this funding, Elastos launched a series of branding activities and market-making plans. Meanwhile, its rapidly growing ecosystem has strengthened investors confidence, contributing to the price increase.

KAITO (Kaito) — The price increased by approximately 5.29% in a single day, with a circulating market cap of $406 million.
Kaito is an AI-powered digital asset research platform aimed at integrating and analyzing decentralized information in the cryptocurrency field to improve investor research efficiency. The platform’s MetaSearch feature allows users to retrieve multi-source information with a single click, optimizing investment decisions.
Kaito (KAITO) launched its staking reward feature on February 21, with initial rewards coming from liquidity incentives. Additionally, it introduced nine new projects for voting, and voters were announced to receive Genesis NFTs. This initiative led some airdrop recipients to delay selling their tokens, reducing selling pressure. Meanwhile, fans who didn’t receive the airdrop actively bought and looked forward to the staking feature, potentially driving the price of its token up[13].

Data Highlights

Berachain TVL Surpasses $3.3 Billion, Overtakes Arbitrum and Base to Become the 6th Largest Public Blockchain by TVL
Berachain’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has surpassed $3.3 billion, overtaking Arbitrum and Base to become the 6th largest public blockchain by TVL. This growth is primarily attributed to its innovative Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism, which allows users to earn rewards by providing liquidity, enhancing capital efficiency.
Berachain’s rise has intensified competition among public blockchains and attracted more capital inflows, bringing new innovative ideas to the DeFi ecosystem. Among them, Infrared Finance is the protocol with the highest TVL within the Berachain ecosystem, showing strong growth with a TVL exceeding $1.5 billion, and a 7-day growth of 21.89%. It is becoming an important pillar of the Berachain DeFi ecosystem. Its liquidity staking model has not only enhanced the security of the Berachain network but also facilitated the expansion of liquidity across the entire ecosystem[14].

Rings Protocol TVL Exceeds $84 Million, Setting a New All-Time High
The Total Value Locked (TVL) of Rings Protocol has reached $84 million, with a 24-hour increase of 28.05%, setting a new all-time high. Rings is a scalable yield-stablecoin protocol on the Sonic chain, offering competitive yields to stakers, providing deep liquidity for Sonic DeFi, and funding Sonic DeFi projects through its lockers.

The launch of the “Olympus Staking Program” within the Sonic ecosystem may be the main driving force behind the surge in Rings’ TVL. This program allows users to deposit SONIC tokens into the protocol’s liquidity pool and earn triple rewards: basic staking rewards, Rings stablecoin rewards, and airdrops from ecosystem projects. Additionally, the first 500 users who lock up more than $50,000 and additional access to mint NFTs. This mechanism has successfully attracted Yield Farmers seeking compound returns and Alpha Hunters vying for limited assets, leading to a significant increase in daily transactions on the Sonic chain, creating a positive cycle of “staking inflow → TVL growth → token appreciation → more staking”[15].

Dolomite TVL Continues to Rise, Surpassing $900 Million
Since launched on Berachain, Dolomite’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has surpassed $900 million, with a daily increase of 12.17%. As a next-generation money market and decentralized protocol, Dolomite focuses on providing cross-chain unified margin accounts, automated leverage strategy management, and liquidity aggregation services for institutions and large investors. Its core innovation lies in introducing the traditional financial model of prime brokerage onto the blockchain, allowing users to manage diversified positions such as lending, staking, and arbitrage through a single interface.
After Dolomite launched on Berachain on February 7, its BERA token, offering an annual yield of up to 25%, likely attracted more capital into the ecosystem, resulting in a continuous growth of its TVL[16].

Spotlight Analysis

South Dakota Vetoes Bitcoin Reserve Bill
On February 24, the South Dakota House Business and Energy Committee tabled HB 1202, a bill that would have allowed the state government to include Bitcoin in its fiscal reserve assets. Due to the 40-day statutory session for the current legislative year, and the bill being postponed for review until the “41st day,” this procedural decision effectively equates to a veto. The proposal had sparked heated debate, with supporters arguing that Bitcoin could serve as a hedge against inflation, while opponents expressed concerns about its price volatility potentially destabilizing state finances.
South Dakota has becomes the first state in 2025 to reject a government-held Bitcoin plan, marking a sharp contrast to similar bills recently approved in Texas and Florida. This decision may prompt conservative state governments like Wyoming and Utah, which had planned to reference this bill, to reevaluate the political and financial risks. Additionally, the potential Bitcoin allocation of about $1.7 billion for state pension funds and trust accounts has been temporarily frozen, potentially affecting the market expansion of institutional-grade crypto custody services. This event highlights the divisions among U.S. local governments on cryptocurrency regulation, with technology-driven economies tending to favor more open policies, while agriculture and energy-driven states are more cautious[17].

Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Encounters Issues on Holesky Testnet, Fails to Achieve Finality or Impact Mainnet Deployment
Ethereum’s significant upgrade Pectra launched on the Holesky testnet but failed to achieve finality because blocks did not receive enough validator votes within the preset time. As Ethereum’s mainnet “stress test simulator,” Holesky’s issues exposed technical vulnerabilities in the upgrade plan, mainly related to the compatibility between the node synchronization mechanism and new staking validation logic.
This failure indicates that Ethereum’s attempt to bundle 11 upgrade proposals led to an imbalance in managing code complexity, increasing the risk of unintended interactions. Moreover, although Holesky’s scale is three times that of the mainnet, the test did not cover extreme staking scenarios, revealing insufficient pressure testing of the validator ecosystem. The failure to achieve finality means that the upgrade may impact block consensus and transaction security on the mainnet, and the development team must optimize module splitting strategies before the Sepolia testnet on March 5 to ensure stable deployment of Pectra[18].

Dubai Financial Services Authority Officially Approves USDC and EURC Stablecoins, Integrating Them into Crypto Token Regulatory Framework
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has officially approved Circle’s stablecoins USDC and EURC, integrating them into the authority’s crypto token framework. This approval allows companies within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to use these stablecoins for digital asset applications such as payments and financial management. This recognition reflects the UAE’s proactive stance on the stablecoin market and aligns with the global trend of rising USDC adoption.
Since 2024, the UAE has rolled out legal frameworks to regulate the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry, and in June, it approved a new regulatory system to oversee and license stablecoin issuance. Additionally, Circle’s major competitor, Tether, had its USDT recognized as a virtual asset by Abu Dhabi in December 2024, entering the local real estate market. Notably, since January 1, 2025, 82.5 billion USDC have been minted on the Solana network, indicating strong demand for this stablecoin in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. As of February 24, 2025, USDC’s market cap reached $56.5 billion, while USDT maintained a leading 63% market share. With USDC’s adoption continuing to rise in both the Solana network and the Middle East market, its global influence is expected to increase further[19].

Funding News

According to data from RootData, a total of 6 projects publicly announced funding rounds in the past 24 hours, raising over $111 million in total. The largest single funding round amounted to $100 million. These projects span sectors such as DeFi, cybersecurity, and more. Below are the details of the funding:：[20]

Ethena — Ethena has completed a $100 million strategic funding round, with investors including Franklin Templeton and Fidelity Investments’ venture arm F-Prime Capital. Ethena is building derivatives infrastructure to enable Ethereum to transform into global internet bonds via delta-neutral positions on stETH. The funds will be used to launch a new stablecoin product, USDe, aimed at traditional financial institutions.

USDe is an Ethereum-based stablecoin backed by derivatives and uses a “delta-neutral” strategy to hedge staked Ethereum, offering a stable crypto-native currency solution. The launch of this product is expected to provide traditional financial institutions with a safer and more transparent digital dollar alternative, facilitating the fusion of DeFi, CeFi, and traditional finance, as well as driving innovation in the stablecoin market.

Imua —Imua has raised $5 million in seed funding, led by No Limit Holdings, Draper Dragon, and Paramita. The funds will be used to accelerate Imua’s technological development and ecosystem expansion, further enhancing its impact in the shared security space. Imua is a Layer 1 (L1) protocol built specifically for shared security, using restaking technology to aggregate economic security from multiple blockchains. It also standardizes this security with embedded oracles into USD pricing, with plans to extend to decentralized computing services. This technology helps integrate liquidity from diverse blockchains, positioning Imua as a universal protocol for shared security.

Imua’s funding and development signal that decentralized security aggregation is becoming a key direction in blockchain infrastructure, potentially accelerating the integration of Web3 with traditional finance, AI computing, gaming, and other industries, as well as driving widespread adoption of shared security models.

Byzantine Finance —Byzantine Finance has completed a $3.5 million pre-seed funding round, led by Blockwall and Node Capital. The funds will be used to develop a permissionless “aggregation layer” protocol designed to enable multiple blockchains to share liquidity, state, and users without sacrificing sovereignty.

Byzantine Finance is a startup focused on restaking aggregation layers, offering white-label restaking infrastructure for Web3 businesses. Its solution is similar to EigenLayer and other restaking protocols, which provide Ethereum-level security for middleware and other services. However, Byzantine Finance focuses on delivering customizable restaking products for Web3 businesses, emphasizing fast integration and flexibility.

The success of this funding round reflects market recognition and demand for restaking aggregation layer solutions, signaling that this area will receive more attention and development opportunities in the future.

Airdrop Opportunities

Hub.xyz

Hub.xyz is a decentralized Web3 social platform designed to connect creators with brands using AI-driven solutions, promoting content monetization and community interaction. By utilizing Decentralized Identity (DID) and on-chain data analytics, Hub.xyz helps creators build their exclusive fan economy and provides brands with precision-targeted marketing channels. The platform integrates Web3 technologies to ensure data transparency and security while giving users greater control over their content.

Hub.xyz has launched its 2025 airdrop campaign, aiming to reward users through AI model training. Participants can earn IQ points based on the quality and intelligence of their contributions. These points are then converted into HUB token airdrop rewards. Additionally, Hub.xyz plans to launch more interactive activities in the future to further incentivize users to engage with the platform’s ecosystem.[21]

How to Participate:

1. Visit the official page.
2. Link your X account to the platform.
3. Complete community tasks, such as following on X and Discord.
4. Start earning IQ points by engaging with Hub.xyz tweets.
5. Stay actively engaged to meet the official requirements.

Note:
The airdrop program and participation methods may change at any time. Users are advised to stay updated through Hub.xyz’s official channels for the latest information. Additionally, users should participate cautiously, be aware of the risks, and conduct thorough research before joining. Gate.io does not guarantee the issuance of future airdrop rewards.


References:

1. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Coinglass,https://www.coinglass.com/zh-TW/LiquidationData
3. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/zh/trade/ETH_USDT
4. Sosovalue,https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
5. Sosovalue,https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-eth-spot
6. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
7. Investing,https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
8. Investing,https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
9. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/bigdata
10. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/price
11. X,https://x.com/vana/status/1894041248119533906
12. X,https://x.com/ElastosInfo/status/1894088197665181996
13. X,https://x.com/KaitoAI/status/1894042784710963598
14. Defillama,https://defillama.com/chains
15. Defillama,https://defillama.com/protocol/rings
16. Defillama,https://defillama.com/protocol/dolomite
17. South Dakota Legislature,https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/282760.pdf
18. Dora the Explorer,https://dora.holesky.ethpandaops.io/
19. Circle,https://www.circle.com/pressroom/usdc-and-eurc-become-first-stablecoins-recognized-by-dubai-international-financial-centre
20. Rootdata,https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
21. Hub.xyz,https://ai.hub.xyz/cult/tickerodds

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