Base Drama, $OM Dump & India’s Blockchain Blitz. Something’s Breeding in Crypto’s Shadows💣👀
From the dramatic fallout of a $15M memecoin to the sudden collapse of Mantra’s OM token, revealing critical liquidity risks. What’s lurking behind these headlines? Find out in today’s deep dive.
gm gm OG readers,
What’s poppin’, fam?
Coinbase totally ghosted that $15M memecoin mess, and now Spar in Switzerland is vibing with Bitcoin, the crypto scene is definitely changing up.
Let’s dive! 🎯
📢 OG Shots:
Quick bites of OG news to get your week going.
Coinbase distances Base from highly criticized memecoin that dumped $15M
Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments
Crypto rug pulls have slowed, but are now more devastating: DappRadar
No-code developers can fine-tune AI models with ease
Crypto and stocks enter 'new phase of trade war' as US-China tensions increase.📊
Yo, fam! The U.S. just hit China with a major tariff bomb, like, up to 245% on imports, plus a crazy 125% reciprocal tax and some new Section 301 duties. Wild, right? This move has crypto and tech stocks vibing all over the place, not 'cause the fundamentals are weak, but 'cause investor confidence is super shaky right now. So, like, Nansen analyst Aurelie Barthere is saying we're totally in a "new phase" of the trade war, focussing on those high-value sectors like tech and pharma, you know? Until the U.S. and China settle their drama, expect risk assets to be mad volatile.📉
Since late 2024, crypto and U.S. stocks have been vibing together, especially when the markets take a hit. Investors are playing it safe, and pricey stuff like Bitcoin is catching some serious vibes. Nansen's saying there's a 70% shot the markets might hit rock bottom by June 2025, but it all depends on how those tariff talks go down. China just pulled in a serious trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, so things might get wild before they vibe down. 🧨
Everyone's lowkey hyped for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the May 6 FOMC meeting. If he drops hints about pushing back rate cuts 'cause of stubborn inflation or global drama, Bitcoin and other risky assets could totally take another L. But if he plays it chill, the markets might just vibe and stabilise. Yo, just a heads up, crypto's vibing off those macro feels not 'cause the fundamentals switched up, but 'cause the market's kinda thin and confidence is lowkey wobbly. Stay lit out there!🧠
Startup Spotlight 🔦
On this week’s startup spotlight, we present to you:
Loopscale is a Solana-based DeFi lending protocol that replaces traditional pooled models with an order book system, enabling direct, fixed-rate loans between lenders and borrowers. The platform has facilitated over $480 million in loan volume during its closed beta and is backed by investors such as CoinFund, Jump Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.
Crypto Market Analysis For The Week 📊
Yo, fam! This week was a rollercoaster! Bitcoin tried to break past $85K but got smacked down, closing around $84.5K. Ethereum's chilling under $1.6K, still looking for that spark. Altcoins like Solana and Avalanche made some noise with double-digit gains, but overall, the market's feeling the heat. Big news: 40 million TRUMP tokens unlocked, worth about $320 million, causing some serious FUD and a price dip. On the bright side, Bitcoin's RSI is at 68 with a bullish MACD crossover, hinting at a possible bounce. Stay sharp and keep those bags tight!👀
Funding Frenzy💰
Startups that have successfully secured funding recently. Check ‘em out!
Resolv has secured $10 million in a seed funding round led by Cyber.Fund and Maven11, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, SCB Limited, Arrington Capital, Animoca Ventures, and others. The funds will be used to scale Resolv's decentralized finance protocol and its USR stablecoin, which employs a delta-neutral yield strategy inspired by structured finance products.
ORO has secured $6 million in seed funding, with a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) and Delphi Ventures leading the round. Other participants include Ocular VC, Orange DAO, NEAR Protocol, and 0G Labs. ORO aims to unlock high-quality, private data for advanced AI models by leveraging blockchain technology to facilitate secure, permissioned data sharing.
neutrl has raised $5 million in seed funding, led by STIX and Accomplice, with participation from Amber Group, SCB Limited, Figment Capital, Nascent, and angel investors like Ethena founder Guy Young. The funds will support the launch of NUSD, a synthetic dollar token designed to generate yield by arbitraging discounted altcoin deals in over-the-counter (OTC) markets and employing delta-neutral hedging strategies.
Crash of Mantra OM token reveals crypto's 'critical' liquidity problems💥
The Mantra (OM) token just totally tanked, dropping more than 90% from like $6.30 to under $0.50 on Sunday, April 13. Wild, right? This random crash has totally exposed some major problems in our scene. Gracy Chen, the big boss at Bitget, said that when you mix tight token stacks, shady governance, and huge cash flows during those low-liquidity times, it can totally crash and burn. It's a major wake-up call that weekend vibes or the total absence of them can totally mess with the crypto scene.😬
So, like, Lookonchain just dropped some tea about 17 wallets, including ones tied to Mantra investor Laser Digital, moving a crazy 43.6 million OM tokens (around $227 million, no cap) to exchanges right before the crash. Wild, right? So, like, Mantra's CEO, John Mullin, totally said there was no insider dumping, but honestly, the timing is kinda sus. Mullin said the crash was due to "huge forced sell-offs" on centralised exchanges when liquidity was low, throwing shade at one exchange in particular—but he made it clear it wasn't Binance. Gracy Chen was like, "OKX could totally be the exchange we're talking about." This whole situation really shows how sketchy centralised control can be and how we totally need more transparency, fam.🕵️♂️
This ain't just about Mantra, fam. The whole crypto scene is kinda struggling with those weekend cash flow vibes. So, like, even Bitcoin took a dip under $75k on Sunday, April 6, 'cause traders were trying to play it safe with all the global trade drama going on. Lucas Outumuro from IntoTheBlock pointed out that Bitcoin's always-on liquidity makes it a major vibe during these moments. The vibe check? We gotta tackle the weak spots in our ecosystem, like how tokens are spread out and how exchanges roll, to create a stronger crypto vibe for the future.🔧
People to know 👥
With every promising project comes a promising leader! The person to know for this week is:
Mary Gooneratne is the co-founder of Loopscale, a Solana-based DeFi lending protocol. Under her leadership, Loopscale has facilitated over $750 million in loan volume and attracted more than 50,000 users during its closed beta. Gooneratne's background includes co-founding Bridgesplit, a platform for asset-based financing, and experience in machine learning at Google. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Duke University with a minor in Finance.
Polygon and Jio cooperation will promote real-world Web3 adoption for 450 million users.🚀
Polygon's linking up with India's telecom boss, Reliance Jio, to drop blockchain for more than 450 million peeps. They're vibing with Web3 tech in Jio's services, kicking it off with the JioSphere browser. This move is all about making blockchain super easy to use and tackling real-life issues for a huge squad of users. Sandeep Nailwal, one of the co-founders of Polygon, is all about that vibe where scalability and decentralisation can totally coexist, no cap. They're all about that zero-knowledge tech to keep transactions quick, cheap, and super secure.📱
Nailwal's all about those custom vibes for India's super diverse crew. A basic one-size-fits-all vibe just ain't gonna work for bringing in 450 million users, fam. Polygon and Jio are vibing to create dope use cases that hit different for users and slowly roll out those blockchain apps. We gotta vibe past all that tech talk and focus on solving actual issues for actual peeps. This plan is all about boosting the next level of Web3 vibes.💡
For real, Polygon is all about using blockchain to fight fake news and boost trust, not just tech vibes. Nailwal's saying that blockchain verification tools can totally help with threats like deepfakes, no cap. He’s also vibing about how Polymarket is becoming a big deal in finance and journalism. Polygon is totally vibing with blockchain's unchangeable flex to level up economic forecasting, policy-making, and all that jazz.🛡️
NFT Drops ☔️
Here are some NFTs to look out for this week:
Awakening is a limited-edition digital art drop, launching on April 25, 2025, exclusively on Nifty Gateway. The drop features 25 unique NFTs created by 25 renowned artists from across the globe, including names like Marjan Moghaddam, Yiying Lu, and Zach Lieberman.
Retro AI Season 9 is an NFT collection launching on the Cardano blockchain from April 21 to April 28, 2025. Hosted on jpg.store, this unverified drop features a distinctive aesthetic that blends themes of love, death, and zombies, all set against the emotional backdrop of the '80s and '90s.
Sine By Shaunaq is a generative art NFT collection dropping on Art Blocks from April 21 to April 28, 2025, on the Ethereum blockchain. The project features 256 unique pieces that explore recursive modulations of a single sine function, aiming to evoke appreciation for the familiar through minimal yet intricate visual patterns.
Tech Talk Episodes of the Week 🎙️
Want to know which podcast episodes are trending for the week? We gotcha!
Crypto Altruists Podcast - Episode 199 - Real-World Impact with Web3 - 10 Inspiring Blockchain Use Cases Driving Global Change
The Giving Block - Episode 43 - Busting 10 Myths in Crypto Philanthropy
Events🗓️
Check out some ‘must attend’ events happening in the ecosystem!
Virtual
Blockchain and Sustainability: Where are We Today? Is happening on April 22.
Funding the Commons’ Public Goods Town Hall #8: PGF Infra Showcase is happening April 22.
IRL
Blockchain Forum happening on April 23-24, 2025
Dubai AI Festival happening on April 23-24, 2025 in Dubai, UAE
Token 2049 happening on April 30- May 1, 2025 in Dubai, UAE
Join us the largest party of Token2049 Dubai: https://lu.ma/Somnia.token2049
We’re thrilled to announce our official partnership with Consensus Toronto 2025, the longest running event for blockchain, crypto, and Web3 innovation! As a community partner, we’re bringing you an exclusive 20% discount on tickets – use our special code [OGCLUBDAO20] to join us in Toronto this May.
🔗 https://go.coindesk.com/OGCLUBDAO20
TOKEN2049 Dubai is upon us, and we know the real ones are already booking flights and prepping fits.
As part of the OG CLUB DAO fam, you’re getting that alpha hookup – cop your tix with a 10% degen discount using our code: OGCLUBDAO10.
Let’s make this the most on-chain meetup of the year.
See you in the desert, anon. 🌴🐫
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