TLDR CRYPTO 2025-07-24

SOLANA & JITO EXECS NAMED IN EXPANDED RICO SUIT OVER PUMP.FUN

Burwick Law and Wolf Popper have amended their RICO lawsuit against Pump.fun to include the Solana Foundation, Solana Labs, Jito Labs, and multiple executives, including Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, accusing them of facilitating an illegal digital gambling and money transmission enterprise. The complaint alleges violations of AML laws, the Bank Secrecy Act, and claims Pump enabled the laundering of stolen Bybit funds by the Lazarus Group. Plaintiffs claim Pump has generated $723 million from a system they liken to a “digital slot machine,” while Jito is accused of frontrunning winning trades via MEV.

NINTH CIRCUIT RULES NFTS CAN BE TRADEMARKED

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that NFTs like Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club qualify as “goods” eligible for trademark protection under the Lanham Act, a landmark win for NFT IP rights. However, it vacated the $9M judgment against artist Ryder Ripps and ordered a trial to determine whether consumers were actually confused by his RR/BAYC project, leaving the case far from over.

TELEGRAM CRYPTO WALLET GOES LIVE FOR 87M USERS

Telegram has officially launched its built-in, self-custodial TON Wallet to U.S. users, enabling seamless crypto transfers, swaps, and purchases directly within the app. Already adopted by 100M+ users globally, the wallet offers a user-friendly experience with features like stablecoin support, MoonPay-powered fiat ramps, and access to Telegram's Mini App ecosystem. This positions it as a serious contender to platforms like Cash App and Coinbase.

TETHER PREPS U.S. INSTITUTIONAL PUSH POST-GENIUS ACT

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says the company's U.S. expansion is “well underway” as it readies a new stablecoin tailored for institutional clients seeking faster settlements. The move follows the signing of the GENIUS Act, which mandates full USD backing and annual audits for large stablecoin issuers. While acknowledging that U.S. banks may initially have an edge, Ardoino said Tether's tech stack and market experience remain superior and ruled out any plans for a public listing like Circle.

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BEST STABLECOIN YIELDS ISSUE #13

This week's top stablecoin vaults include HyperBeat's USDT strategy on Hyperliquid at 15-35% APR and Euler's FalconStable at 35-60% APR, while ResolvLabs' RLP vault returns 27% APR (≈97% when leveraged). Avalanche stablecoins on Euler yield 47-96% APR, and BlackholeDex's ve(3,3) pools pay 30-70% APR. Other notable opportunities are Merkl's 28% APR for lending USDS, Plume's 20% APR vaults, and Gauntlet USD Alpha's 12% APY on USDC.

THE ROLEX INDICATOR

The “Rolex Indicator” tracks luxury watch prices and shows that true speculative euphoria often arrives late in crypto cycles, when new wealth starts flashing status symbols in the real world. In 2021, watch prices only really spiked after Bitcoin's second ATH and NFT mania, then crashed alongside crypto. Today, Rolex premiums remain muted despite near-record Bitcoin highs, suggesting we're in the middle rather than at the top of the cycle. When we finally see watches selling at 2x retail and countless wrist‐shots on social media, that's likely the late‐cycle signal.

WHY TWITTER IS LYING ABOUT TOKEN LAUNCHES

Crypto Twitter's favorite playbook – buying engagement, launching tiny floats, touting massive VC raises, and front-loading hype – simply doesn't move prices. Analysis of 50,000 data points from 40 major 2025 token launches shows near-zero correlation between Twitter metrics, initial circulating-supply percentages, or fundraising size and post-launch returns. The one statistically significant driver is Initial Market Cap, as larger IMCs predict weaker performance. The best predictors of success are realistic launch valuations, genuine product utility, authentic ongoing communication, and strong volume retention after the initial pump.

HOW HYPERLIQUID BREAKS WALL STREET'S GAME

Hyperliquid's HIP-3 and “Hyperps” introduce on-chain perpetual futures for pre-IPO private companies, creating a transparent, 24/7 market where anyone can trade valuations of firms like Stripe or OpenAI months before their IPO. By surfacing real-time price discovery and order flow, these permissionless markets undercut the traditional investment-bank book-building cartel that underprices shares by 20-40% and locks out retail until day one. With oracleless pricing and time-weighted funding mechanisms, Hyperps collapse the artificial private-public divide, democratize access to early growth, and strip away the “legalized front-running” banks have long enjoyed. While regulatory hurdles and initial liquidity constraints remain, Hyperliquid's approach promises to dismantle decades of IPO rent-extraction and usher in genuinely free capital markets.

YC'S CRYPTO SUCCESS

Famed startup incubator Y Combinator has only funded 72 crypto companies, but four of them – Coinbase, Axiom, OpenSea, and TRM – have become very successful.

AXIOM'S MASSIVE GROWTH

Axiom, a Telegram trading bot, has generated $179 million in revenue since launching in January.

SEC APPROVES BITWISE MULTI-ASSET CRYPTO ETF

The SEC has approved the conversion of the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund into a spot ETF holding a diversified basket of digital assets.

FLUID LEADS LENDING GROWTH WITH 20.2% SURGE IN ACTIVE LOANS

Fluid tops this week's fastest-growing lending protocols with a 20.2% increase in active loans, now totaling $1.3 billion.