Release Date: January 20, 2025
Author: BlockBeats Editorial Department

Over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has shown a complex development pattern across multiple dimensions. The main topics of discussion have centered on the New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) advancement of its on-chain securities trading platform, which has sparked imagination around RWA (Real World Assets) possibilities, as well as the backlash against the ICO model and KOL (Key Opinion Leader) promotion chaos revealed by the Trove "incident." In terms of ecosystem development, WalletConnect is attempting to enter on-chain payment implementation through POS terminals, while the market continues to discuss the evolution of trading and clearing mechanisms, as well as the competition and balance between distribution channels and incentive structures.

I. Mainstream Topics

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced the launch of a blockchain-based securities trading platform, integrating the Pillar matching engine and blockchain post-trade systems. The platform provides trading and settlement capabilities for tokenized securities, introducing 24/7 operations, instant settlement, and stablecoin funding channels. It supports the exchange between tokenized shares and traditional securities and is compatible with multi-chain custody. NYSE's parent company, ICE, is also advancing the development of a 24/7 clearing system, emphasizing "on-chain native issuance" rather than wrapping existing assets. The market widely views this as a significant development in the RWA (Real-World Assets) sector, potentially accelerating the integration of blockchain infrastructure into capital markets.

The community's overall response has been generally optimistic, with many believing that this development could bring structural impacts to traditional finance. At the same time, however, debates have focused on technical details (such as the choice of underlying blockchain) and mechanism-related risks (such as clearing, risk control, and liquidity pressures under 24/7 trading). The discussion has further extended to its potential impact on DeFi and native L1/L2 blockchain ecosystems: some see it as a source of incremental capital and a new entry point for novel use cases, while others worry that the entry of traditional finance could compress or even reshape the current ecosystem. Infrastructure projects like Chainlink are seen as potential beneficiaries, while DEXs offering equity perpetual contracts (such as Hyperliquid) are viewed by some users as potentially negatively affected. Overall, positive perspectives remain dominant, but long-term factors such as regulatory adaptation and quantum security continue to be frequently mentioned.

TroveMarkets' ICO project has been exposed as a suspected rug pull: originally aiming to raise $2.5 million, it ended up oversubscribed to $12 million, with only $100,000 eventually refunded. The remaining funds were allegedly used by the team for a so-called "pivot" to a new product, rather than following the initial roadmap. At the same time, multiple KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) were accused of receiving $8,000 in promotion fees without disclosing their affiliations, leading to losses for the community. In response, the Ethos Network initiated a "slash" action, imposing reputation penalties on related accounts, affecting approximately 792 users and 16,000 reputation points. The incident highlights the long-standing issues with the ICO model: lack of transparency, misaligned incentives, and a trust deficit within the promotional ecosystem.

The community's emotions are intense and concentrated, with the main points of contention at both ends: one is the pursuit of responsibility for KOLs' (Key Opinion Leaders) promotional activities, and the other is the call for legal accountability regarding the project team's alleged misappropriation of funds and fraud. Many users are demanding full refunds and pushing for judicial intervention. Ethos's slashing mechanism is viewed by some as a "self-purification tool" for the community, but it has also raised concerns: can reputation-based penalties truly serve as effective constraints, and could a tokenized reputation system introduce new governance and collateral damage risks? A few involved KOLs have claimed they were not paid or that their research was insufficient, but the overall consensus leans more toward a warning: the market is now cleansing "lazy promotion," and due diligence and transparent disclosure remain fundamental requirements.

WalletConnect has launched a POS payment product that supports integration into Android terminal apps, aiming to bypass traditional banking systems on the merchant side to enable on-chain payments and stablecoin settlements. This product is targeted at offline merchant terminal scenarios, but real-world challenges remain concentrated at the distribution layer: POS terminals are often controlled by acquiring institutions (such as Worldpay), which may lack motivation to adopt the product due to potential losses in interchange fee revenue. The team emphasizes that "open terminals" and merchants' demand for lower fees could serve as breakthrough points, but overcoming the existing infrastructure, long-standing inertia, and industry chain competition will still be a significant challenge.

The market generally acknowledges the product's direction, believing that it theoretically has room for cost reduction and could potentially offer a more realistic entry point for on-chain payments. However, most discussions remain pragmatic, with a general consensus that the real bottleneck lies not in technology, but in channel control and economic incentive structures. Some suggestions propose using QR codes or on-chain credit as transitional solutions, while also monitoring external variables such as antitrust lawsuits, which might open up new channel opportunities. Overall, the product is seen as a positive signal for payment transformation, but most also acknowledge that achieving large-scale adoption in the European and American markets remains extremely challenging, and ultimately, regulatory progress and industry collaboration will be indispensable.

II. Mainstream Ecosystem Trends

Magic Eden announced that starting from February 1, 2026, 15% of the platform's total revenue will be directly injected into the $ME token ecosystem. This portion of funds will be evenly distributed in fixed proportions: 50% will be used for $ME token buybacks, and 50% will be distributed as USDC rewards to $ME stakers. Rewards will be calculated based on the "stake power," which considers the amount staked and the duration of the stake, and will be distributed on a monthly basis. The first round of rewards will be for February, with distributions expected to open in March, and must be claimed within 90 days.

Unlike previous $ME buybacks that occurred only in the market side, this upgraded plan has evolved into a long-term mechanism covering the entire ecosystem. It applies to all Magic Eden product lines (NFTs, prediction markets, Packs, etc.), aiming to more directly link platform growth with token value, thus achieving "alignment of platform success and ecosystem benefits."

The community's overall response has been positive. Many users believe that this mechanism will bring "seven-figure level" buybacks and rewards pools, significantly strengthening the value support and narrative shift for $ME. Some discussions have pointed out that the long-term effects still depend on the platform's revenue stability and sustainability. However, the overall sentiment remains enthusiastic, with almost no noticeable negative feedback.

MegaETH will launch a global stress test on January 22nd, aiming to process 11 billion transactions within 7 days, with an expected throughput of 15,000–35,000 TPS. More latency-sensitive application scenarios will be activated during the test, and the mainnet is expected to launch within a few days after the stress test concludes. Users have shown strong interest in this test, viewing it as potentially the most symbolically significant transaction volume validation in the history of EVM-compatible chains. However, they also emphasize the need to closely monitor system failures and stability performance.

At the same time, Coinbase and Circle announced a collaboration with the government of Bermuda to provide digital asset infrastructure, business tools, and educational support, aiming to help Bermuda become the "world's first fully on-chain national economy." This partnership has sparked optimistic discussions within the community, with many believing it could serve as an important model for promoting global regulatory adoption. However, some voices have also warned of the need to remain cautious regarding Coinbase's historical controversies in past business operations.

At the community development level, the Hong Kong Ethereum Community Hub is scheduled to open in spring, with a launch event planned for January 24th, focusing on offline interaction, collaborative creation, and event hosting. Many users view it as an important node for connecting the East Asian ecosystem and are looking forward to its establishment.

In addition, ENS officially launched a Google Cloud BigQuery dataset, enabling anyone to analyze on-chain ENS activities using SQL within seconds. The dataset includes core tables such as registrations, resolvers, reverse records, and more, with daily updates. The dataset natively integrates with Google's Gemini AI, which can be used to draft and optimize SQL queries, and is considered by many users as a powerful tool that significantly lowers the barriers to research and data analysis. The overall feedback is positive, though a few discussions have extended to uncertainties regarding L2 incentive mechanisms and regulatory variables.

The competition for Hyperliquid's HIP-3 is heating up. Known deployers include teams and institutions such as @felixprotocol, @markets_xyz, @ventuals, @tradexyz, @hyenatrade, @Dreamcash, and @SeliniCapital. Market expectations for the auction price of deployment eligibility have been pushed up to 3,000–4,000 HYPE. Discussions generally suggest that there could be 20+ deployers within the next 6 months, but only a few will be able to establish long-term advantages, with the overall landscape leaning toward a "winner-takes-all" dynamic.

Many users believe that small-sized teams are likely to be eliminated directly during the bidding phase. Ultimately, the deciding factors for success are not only product capabilities but also the ability to secure unique distribution channels and transaction traffic entry points.

On the other hand, Markets.xyz's recently released analysis of equity perpetual flow structures has drawn attention: 91% of its trading volume comes from algorithmic trading, of which 86% is non-directional trading (more akin to "mining" logic), while only 14% is attributed to retail trading. These figures are seen as revealing the reality that the current growth of Perp DEXs heavily relies on incentives rather than genuine demand, further reinforcing the community's doubts about the "authenticity of traffic."

At the same time, HyperLend announced the launch of the HPL token (with TGE approaching), allocating 30.14% of the tokens for ecosystem incentives. It also disclosed that it has raised $1.7 million in funding, with staking and locking mechanisms expected to launch soon. The community's overall evaluation is largely positive, as they believe it will help align the interests of the Hyperliquid ecosystem. However, they also caution the market to be wary of fake tokens and potential information confusion.

In addition, Trade.xyz's XYZ100 will switch to an isolated margin mode starting on January 20th, and will allow users to withdraw unrealized profits and losses from open positions. This upgrade is seen by many as a key enhancement that can significantly improve capital efficiency and strategy flexibility. Overall, the discussion has focused on the increasing level of competition and the deep impact of incentive structures on market behaviors.

Perp DEX Paradex in the Starknet ecosystem announced a blockchain rollback to block 1,604,710 due to a database migration error that briefly displayed the price of BTC as zero, triggering large-scale liquidations. The incident quickly sparked mockery and skepticism, with many believing the rollback exposed the fragility of on-chain DEXs and the gap between the "decentralization" narrative and the reality of centralized control.

In the discussion, one comparison was frequently mentioned: some users emphasized that Solana has never experienced rollbacks or forks, attributing this to its more decentralized validator structure (the community mentions over 800 validators), and argued that this makes it more secure and available than certain Layer 2 architectures. Others, however, expressed a more pessimistic view, suggesting that perpetual DEXs (decentralized exchanges) might have been the "wrong product model" from the start, as centralized control often reemerges under the guise of "fixing the system" in extreme situations.

The overall public opinion is almost uniformly negative, with the main concerns focused on reliability and centralization risks, and there is hardly any positive feedback.

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