Majors Rip Higher, Altcoin Rotation Accelerates

GM Anon!

Bitcoin has broken through the $100K barrier for the first time since February, while Ethereum ripped over 25% following its Pectra upgrade and return to deflationary status. Institutional momentum is clearly picking up, with Fidelity pitching BTC to execs and new capital entering from firms like Metaplanet. Exchange reserves are drying up, short positions are getting wiped, and majors are back in price discovery mode. The question now: are we witnessing the next leg of the bull market? 

Let’s get to it!

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TLDR

• BTC breaks $104K for the first time since February; over $800M in shorts liquidated.

• Exchange BTC reserves continue to fall, signaling tightening supply conditions.

• ETH surges 25%+ post-Pectra upgrade; network returns to deflationary mode.

• Fidelity actively pitching BTC to corporate executives, boosting institutional momentum.

• Metaplanet issues $25M in bonds to buy BTC; Strive eyes BTC treasury pivot.

• Ripple-SEC case officially concludes, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for XRP.

• Coinbase to acquire Deribit for $2.9B, expanding into crypto derivatives.

• NAVI Lending TVL jumps from $400M to $614M; strong DeFi growth on Sui.

• Pump.fun posts $20M+ in weekly fees, ranking just behind PancakeSwap.

• Hyperliquid TVL nears $1B; on-chain perps activity continues climbing.

Market Moves 

Bitcoin broke through the $100,000 mark for the first time since early February, touching $104,000 in a sharp move that caught markets off guard. The rally has been fueled by tightening supply conditions—exchange reserves are plummeting, signaling that coins are increasingly being moved off trading platforms and into cold storage. Meanwhile, over $800 million in shorts were liquidated in the past 24 hours, amplifying the upside and pushing BTC firmly back into price discovery territory.

Institutional interest is also heating up. Fidelity has reportedly begun pitching Bitcoin exposure directly to corporate executives, reinforcing the idea that BTC is now being framed as a long-term balance sheet asset. 

At the same time, Japan’s Metaplanet announced the issuance of $25 million in bonds to purchase more Bitcoin, following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy’s leveraged treasury playbook. Strive is also planning a treasury pivot to BTC, as the digital asset narrative continues to expand beyond crypto-native circles.

Ethereum isn’t being left behind. ETH surged more than 25% following the rollout of the long-awaited Pectra upgrade, which brought efficiency improvements and strengthened staking mechanisms. 

The network has also flipped back to deflationary status, adding another tailwind to ETH’s rally. The impact was felt across high-end NFT markets, with CryptoPunks reclaiming a $100,000 floor in response to the ETH move.

Elsewhere in the regulatory and infrastructure space, Ripple’s long-running battle with the SEC has finally come to an end—removing a major source of uncertainty for XRP holders. On the CeFi side, Coinbase is reportedly acquiring Deribit for $2.9 billion, marking a bold push into crypto derivatives. Meanwhile, Superstate is bringing tokenized equities to Solana, suggesting that RWAs are finally hitting the L1s.

On the fintech and stablecoin front, a wave of developments is underway. Meta is in discussions to roll out its own stablecoin products, while Ramp, Stripe, Robinhood, and Revolut are all launching new services tied to crypto payments and accounts. Moonpay has also announced a partnership with TRON. 

Market Data Points

NAVI Lending’s TVL has surged from ~$400M in April to over $600M, now sitting at $614.44M—signalling strong traction. With $160M borrowed and $11.5M in annualized fees, NAVI is emerging as a key DeFi player on Sui. 

The protocol offers overcollateralized lending for assets like SUI, USDC, wETH, and wBTC, and supports isolated pools, flash loans, and soon, cross-chain functionality.

Hyperliquid’s TVL has soared to nearly $941M, nearly doubling since late March and marking a sharp recovery from its Q1 drawdown. Backed by $3.5B in daily perps volume, $763K in app revenue, and over $2.6B in bridged TVL, the Layer 1 is reasserting its dominance in on-chain trading infrastructure.

Retail interest in memecoins has clearly cooled off. Google search volume peaked in December 2024, marking the height of retail euphoria—but has since dropped by over 80% into April 2025, returning to levels seen mid-2024. The hype cycle appears to be resetting.

Pump.fun is once again putting up serious numbers, generating over $20.2 million in fees over the past 7 days. That places it just behind PancakeSwap and ahead of major names like Uniswap, Jito, and Tron. As memecoin mania simmers down, Pump.fun continues to stand out—not just for volume, but for its ability to consistently convert activity into real revenue.

Bitcoin’s on-chain volume is on the rise again, climbing sharply to over $65B (7DMA) after a multi-week lull. This uptick signals a fresh wave of transactional activity—often a leading indicator of renewed market momentum and deeper capital rotation.

Majors & Memes

This past week saw strong price action across the board, with Ethereum leading the charge after its Pectra upgrade. ETH jumped over 27%, dragging majors and memecoins up with it, while Bitcoin reclaimed $104K for the first time since February.

Among the top gainers, Daku (DAKU) stood out with a 120% rally—still under the radar but catching smart money attention. Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) wasn’t far behind, up 112% with nearly $1B in weekly volume, showing real traction beyond meme hype. 

Mog Coin (MOG), a name that’s been on fire recently, gained another 68% as it solidified its position among top Solana-based memecoins.

KAITO also impressed, up 57%, and PEPE posted another 43% weekly climb as memecoin momentum continued to spill over. Maple Finance (SYRUP) gained 37% on the back of rising DeFi interest, while Pyth Network (PYTH) and Popcat (POPCAT) saw 35% and 29% gains, respectively.

SOL gained 16.8%, with strong memecoin-driven flows continuing to support its momentum. Meanwhile, coins like Aave, UNI, and Pi Network posted healthy double-digit returns, rounding out a strong week across most sectors.

The theme right now is rotation—capital is flowing into both majors and high-beta plays. If ETH continues to lead, it could fuel a broader move into mid-cap alts and newer narratives like AI, restaking, and modular infra.

Mindshare

Mindshare across the Solana memecoin ecosystem remained dynamic over the past 7 days, with a few clear leaders dominating attention.

Fartcoin continued to hold the top spot, commanding a significant share of attention throughout the week, with a noticeable spike between May 6–9. BOOP also maintained a steady grip on visibility, consistently staying in the top tier. 

Meanwhile, House made a strong showing across the week, carving out a clear band of engagement, particularly around May 5–7.

Gork, despite recent price volatility, saw elevated attention early in the week but faded toward the end. DRA, arc, and Anon each gained pockets of traction mid-week but didn’t sustain upward momentum. Newer or lower-float names like UFD, pwease, and neet saw brief surges but couldn't maintain consistent presence.

On the tail end, projects like Hosico, SPOT, and vampcoin2 gained slightly in visibility near May 9, suggesting potential early-stage traction or narrative rotation brewing.

Overall, Fartcoin and BOOP continue to dominate the narrative, while new contenders are gradually gaining mindshare as traders rotate into emerging memes.

Smart Money Accumulation

Smart money activity in the Solana ecosystem this week showed a mix of conviction, rotation, and fresh entries.

Fartcoin remains the top token by dollar value held at $2.92M, despite a slight -8.42% drop in smart wallet exposure—suggesting strong underlying conviction even as some wallets trimmed. In contrast, Gork saw a sharp -43.21% reduction in holdings, though it still holds $1.31M across smart wallets, showing some are staying put.

The standout performer was Hosico, with a +64.63% spike in smart money inflows, pushing its balance to $444.37K. House also climbed with a +17.41% increase, now sitting at $467.75K—steadily growing in favor.

AGiXT gained +37.29%, reflecting rising interest at a balance of $264.04K. New entries like vampcoin2 and urmom debuted with $317.73K and $290.63K respectively, pointing to emerging narratives.

Meanwhile, Italianrot and LAUNCHCOIN saw moderate outflows, down -8.53% and -10.61%, as capital rotated into stronger momentum plays.

Ethereum smart wallets showed a more tempered rotation this week, with modest inflows into select tokens and light trimming across others, reflecting a cautious but still engaged stance.

CULT still leads by smart wallet count (11) and sits atop the board with $804.92K in total holdings. However, its -11.2% drop suggests capital has been steadily rotating out as attention shifts. Similarly, KTA saw a -6.5% slide in smart wallet exposure, although it retains a sizable $395.79K balance.

MOONKIN held firm with 6 wallets but experienced a slight -2.34% reduction, still maintaining a strong $287.59K in positioning. Meanwhile, PEPE—despite only a -0.05% move—remains a massive allocation in dollar terms at over $31.66M.

COCORO stood out as the biggest gainer of the week with a +15.25% uptick, pushing holdings to $127.06K. SHRUB also ticked higher (+4.08%) to $131.50K, while smaller names like DOGE and EBULL rose modestly at +1.33% and +1.67% respectively.

Elsewhere, BITCOIN (on Ethereum) saw minor outflows at -8.71%, but balances remain intact at $135.60K. ALF held flat on the week but retained its $121.22K allocation.

Overall, the data suggests Ethereum-aligned wallets are rotating more selectively, with few major inflows and a cautious tone dominating this week’s moves.

That wraps up this post—we hope you found the insights valuable. See you next week, anon! 🚀