The blockchain space is evolving fast, but one issue continues to haunt Layer-1 designs: the Blockchain Trilemma, the near-impossible task of achieving scalability, decentralization, and security simultaneously. Despite years of innovation, no solution has decisively balanced all three. Enter Quai Network, a fresh Layer-1 contender that brings radical ideas to the table.

Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s co-founders, introduced the idea of the blockchain trilemma. This concept says blockchains can only truly excel at two out of three things: scalability, decentralization, and security. Take Bitcoin, for example. It’s highly secure and decentralized, but it comes at the cost of being slow and pricey. Conversely, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks tend to sacrifice some decentralization to boost speed and handle more transactions.

The core trade-offs haven't disappeared even with new solutions like Layer-2 rollups and hybrid chains. Ethereum still sees high fees when things get busy. Solana is blazing fast but has raised concerns about how decentralized it is. The trilemma is still one of the major hurdles in blockchain development.

Quai Network's Architecture: Beyond Nakamoto

Quai uses a unique consensus model called Proof-of-Entropy-Minima (PoEM), which gives more “weight” to blocks based on how much entropy, or randomness, is reduced during mining (think of it like counting the number of leading zeros). The block with the most weight wins, which helps the network achieve near-instant finality. The idea is to confirm transactions quickly without giving up on security.

The network is built around a three-layer system:

 Acts as the backbone for global consensus and security, creating a new block every 15 minutes.

 These collect headers from multiple Zones and allow transactions between Zones in the same region, with blocks every 5 minutes.

 These are the fast lanes—EVM-compatible environments that confirm transactions in about 7 to 10 seconds.


Thanks to this setup, Quai can scale horizontally without running into traffic jams. They claim the system can handle up to 50,000 transactions per second. And as demand grows, new Zones or subnetworks can spin up automatically, helping keep things fast and cheap.

Most Proof-of-Work blockchains use a lot of energy and aren’t exactly quick to scale. Quai takes a smarter route with merged mining via ProgPoW, letting miners secure all network layers: Prime, Region, and Zone Chains at once. This means Quai can scale its security much faster by tapping into existing mining infrastructure without needing extra hardware or computing power.

To keep miners engaged, Quai also uses a deflationary token model paired with a dual-token setup:

 is the main account-based token, used for gas fees, smart contracts, and decentralized apps.

 is a UTXO-based, privacy-focused coin designed for simple, cash-like payments using fixed denominations.

Miners can pick whether to earn QI or QUAI, or even lock their rewards to boost returns by up to 25%. The whole system is designed to grow securely, run efficiently, and reward long-term participation.


Quai’s design isn’t just theory; it’s built to solve real problems. Access lists allow the network to run transactions in parallel without risking conflicts. Each transaction lists the accounts and storage slots it will touch, so nodes can safely process unrelated transactions simultaneously. This helps cut down on bottlenecks while keeping the system stable.

In addition, Quai works smoothly with familiar Ethereum tools like Hardhat, Foundry, and OpenZeppelin. That means developers can easily migrate their dApps without much extra effort. With its self-hosted RPC setup, Quai stays flexible while giving developers solid control over how they connect to the network.

At House of Chimera, we see Quai carving out a unique position in a space dominated by PoS chains. It offers a high-throughput, privacy-aware, and energy-efficient Proof-of-Work alternative that stands apart from typical EVM forks. Some of the standout features include:

Stronger economic finality, making chain reorganizations more expensive.

Native on-chain checkpoints through coincident blocks.

A scalable design that expands based on network load.

Still, strong architecture alone won't be enough in a crowded market full of forks and short-term airdrop chasers. For Quai to truly break through, it’ll need real adoption, engaging apps, sticky incentives, and a story that resonates.

To understand Quai's full design philosophy, economic model, and competitive positioning, 

. It offers detailed insights into how Quai aims to redefine what Layer-1 blockchains can be.

Quai

Explore how Quai Network tackles the blockchain trilemma with a hierarchical PoW model, fast finality, and innovative scalability.

Quai Network’s Bold Solution to the Blockchain Trilemma

Aethir is a decentralized cloud infrastructure provider that aims to make high-performance computing, particularly GPU resources, more accessible, scalable, and cost-efficient. Unlike traditional cloud providers that rely on centralized data centers, Aethir leverages a distributed network of over 425,000 GPUs 

), including consumer-grade and enterprise-level hardware such as NVIDIA H100s. This model allows underutilized computing resources to be pooled and allocated dynamically based on demand, serving use cases in cloud gaming and AI development.

Aethir’s architecture is built around a three-layer system (Network, Edge, and Application) designed to minimize latency and optimize workload distribution. Its Edge devices act as gateways that manage local clusters and ensure rapid failover and resource reallocation, improving the quality of service for end-users. Additionally, Aethir employs a staking and slashing mechanism using its native ATH token to enforce service reliability and align incentives across the ecosystem.

With over 200 gaming studio partners, a reported capacity to serve 12 million monthly users, and a focus on decentralization, Aethir differentiates itself by offering an alternative to costly and centralized cloud platforms like AWS or Google Cloud.

: Self-reported Q1 2025 revenue reached $20.5 million, the highest among DePIN projects.

: Climbed to $127 million, reflecting a ~90% QoQ increase.

: Averaged ~100 million monthly compute hours, up ~25% QoQ.

: Mirrors broader DePIN momentum as GPU demand intensifies.

: Growth supported by AI adoption and sustained cloud gaming traction.

: 200+ partners and 690 gaming clusters serving ~12 million players.

: Trade tensions and compute scarcity may reinforce decentralized alternatives.

Q1 2025 marked a record quarter for Aethir, with self-reported revenue reaching $20.5 million, positioning it as the top-performing DePIN project in absolute revenue. The ecosystem's Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) rose to $127 million, reflecting a ~90% increase compared to the previous quarter. Aethir also reported an average of 100 million compute hours per month in Q1, representing a ~25% quarter-over-quarter increase in utilization. 

This growth aligns with a sector-wide uptrend observed across other DePIN networks such as Akash, GeodNet, io.net, and Edge, indicating strong momentum in decentralized compute infrastructure. The key driver behind this expansion is the sharp rise in global demand for GPU-based computing, heavily influenced by the acceleration of AI adoption across both Web2 and Web3 markets. This macro trend is reflected in search interest and supported by strong earnings from traditional chip manufacturers such as Nvidia and TSMC. 


Importantly, the broader geopolitical landscape may further reinforce the case for decentralized infrastructure. Trade tensions and semiconductor supply chain disruptions—particularly between the U.S. and China—pose risks for centralized providers but may highlight the resilience of borderless, decentralized alternatives like Aethir. These platforms, which lack centralized control or physical hubs, are inherently more resistant to regulation and tariffs.

As AI models grow in complexity, the scarcity of computing power becomes a critical constraint. Compute demand is expected to rise further as enterprises continue to scale their AI capabilities, evidenced by a ~50% year-over-year increase in enterprise AI usage in Europe. Aethir’s architecture and resource pool position it to meet these demands, particularly its ability to segment GPU types for AI and gaming use cases.

Beyond AI, Aethir maintains a strong footprint in cloud gaming. The platform partners with over 200 gaming companies and operates 690 clusters serving approximately 12 million players. While the growth rate in gaming is expected to be more stable than in AI, it represents a meaningful and recurring revenue stream as cloud gaming becomes a more viable alternative to traditional hardware-based gaming.

Network includes 425,000+ GPU containers with a total of ~23.6 million TFlops in compute capacity.

The average GPU performance (~59 TFlops) is comparable to retail-grade cards like the RTX 4080 Super.

Likely operational split—retail GPUs for gaming, high-end GPUs for AI workloads.

In Q1, the network delivered ~26 million GPU hours weekly, indicating a ~38.5% utilization rate.

GPUs are distributed across 95 countries, and Edge Devices are active in 97 countries.

66,000+ staked Edge Devices, with ~10% QoQ growth, supporting low-latency performance.

Edge Devices are placed close to users to optimize latency, especially for cloud gaming.

The Aethir Network currently comprises over 425,000 GPU containers with an aggregate compute power of 23,631,280 TFlops, theoretically capable of supporting over 209 million concurrent players. Based on the reported figures, the average compute power per GPU stands at approximately 59 TFlops, comparable to consumer-grade hardware such as the RTX 4080 Super. While not an issue for cloud gaming use cases, this hardware profile may not meet the requirements of more intensive AI workloads. As a result, it is expected that Aethir segments its operations, allocating retail-grade GPUs to gaming workloads and reserving enterprise-level GPUs, such as NVIDIA H100s, for AI tasks. This separation allows the network to serve both verticals efficiently without overburdening low-tier resources.

In Q1, the network delivered an estimated 26 million GPU hours weekly. The current GPU count equates to a utilization rate of approximately 38.5%, above the industry average and indicative of strong demand across its user base. While the exact distribution of hardware is unclear, Aethir has confirmed that its infrastructure spans 95 countries, though specific GPU counts per region are not disclosed.

A globally distributed network of Aethir Edge Devices supports this infrastructure, now present in 97 countries. Over 66,000 Aethir Edge Devices are staked and active on the network as of the latest reporting period, with roughly 10% quarter-over-quarter growth. These Edge Devices are critical in managing local clusters, facilitating rapid resource reallocation, and reducing latency, which is especially important for real-time applications like cloud gaming. Their proximity to end-users enables more stable service delivery and minimizes lag, reinforcing Aethir’s infrastructure design, which is focused on responsiveness and decentralization. To learn more about how the Edge Device prevents latency: 

https://www.houseofchimera.com/blog/is-aethir-the-next-giant-in-cloud-gaming

Slight QoQ decline in follower count on X; Smart Money followers down ~1%.

Smart Money mentions remained stable, indicating continued interest from key market participants.

Significant surge in engagement following Binance Alpha listing.

: Recovered later in Q1, but underperformed earlier due to broader altcoin market weakness.

ATH sentiment reached an all-time high toward quarter-end, driven by increased exposure and retail participation.

Metrics reflect broader market conditions, not waning interest in Aethir specifically.

Community engagement remains a key performance indicator within the crypto industry, particularly for projects operating in emerging verticals like DePIN. In Q1 2025, Aethir experienced minor declines across specific social metrics, including a 0.25% quarter-over-quarter drop in its X (formerly Twitter) follower count and a 1% decline in Smart Money followers. Despite this, Smart Money mentions remained stable, indicating that interest from informed market participants was largely unaffected by short-term volatility.

Aethir's social engagement saw a notable increase later in the quarter, primarily triggered by its listing on Binance Alpha. This event sparked a surge in user interaction and platform visibility, indicating a renewed community interest. While social dominance lagged earlier in Q1, due in part to broader altcoin market underperformance and Bitcoin’s outsized narrative share, it recovered toward the end of the quarter.

Notably, sentiment surrounding the ATH token reached an all-time high by the end of Q1. This likely reflects the influx of new users and retail investors introduced to the project through the Binance Alpha listing. The modest declines seen earlier in the quarter are more a function of prevailing market dynamics than project-specific challenges. Overall, Aethir remains well-positioned to build on its renewed momentum in Q2, especially if positive sentiment and engagement trends continue.

: Aethir’s token was listed on Coinbase, enhancing accessibility and legitimacy.

: Launched a $1 million grant program with Xsolla to support early-stage game developers.

: Grant recipients gain access to Aethir’s decentralized GPU resources for cloud-native gaming.

: Rolled out Aethir Forge, a global grassroots engagement program.

: Appointed ForgeMasters to drive adoption via education, events, and user onboarding.

: Established Regional Forges as operational hubs for community and partner activation.

Aethir’s instant‑play streaming tech in the SuperScale case study drove a 43% preference for instant play, +35% CTR and +45% conversion in Phase 1, and in Phase 2 delivered +143% stream selection, +75% D7 ROAS, +93% ARPU, +77% more sessions, +26% longer sessions, +60% D1 retention, and +80% D7 retention

Aethir has executed a series of strategic initiatives to reinforce its infrastructure, grow its community, and enhance its market presence. One of the most notable developments was listing its token on Coinbase. This move significantly improves accessibility for both retail and institutional participants while potentially boosting liquidity across trading platforms.

Aethir partnered with Xsolla to launch a $1 million grant program to support early-stage developers in the gaming vertical. The initiative provides financial backing and access to Aethir’s decentralized GPU network, offering scalable compute power to develop high-performance, cloud-native games. Beyond funding, the program is structured to promote innovation and solidify Aethir’s presence within the broader Web3 and gaming ecosystem.

To support the growth of its decentralized ecosystem, Aethir also introduced Aethir Forge—a community-led expansion framework focused on localized engagement. ForgeMasters, regional ambassadors responsible for hosting events, onboarding users, and fostering education around the Aethir platform, are central to this initiative. These efforts are coordinated through Regional Forges, which act as logistical and operational anchors across key markets. Collectively, these programs reflect Aethir’s approach to scaling its infrastructure and user base through coordinated, on-the-ground efforts.

Aethir is strategically positioned to benefit from several macro and sector-specific trends that are expected to shape the trajectory of decentralized infrastructure networks. The growing global demand for high-performance computing, particularly in AI and cloud gaming, continues to outpace the available supply of GPU resources. This supply-demand imbalance creates a favorable backdrop for Aethir’s decentralized GPU model, which aggregates underutilized computing power to meet dynamic market needs.

The increasing sophistication of AI workloads—such as large language model training, AI inference, and real-time agent-based systems—will likely intensify the demand for enterprise-grade GPUs. While Aethir’s current network comprises consumer-grade and high-performance units, its ability to segment resources between AI and gaming use cases suggests operational flexibility and room for targeted scaling. Expanding its database-grade GPU capacity will be crucial to securing more substantial AI-centric contracts and partnerships.

Geopolitical uncertainty and the potential for prolonged global trade disruptions, particularly in the semiconductor supply chain, could serve as an unintended catalyst for the development of decentralized alternatives. As traditional providers face regulatory and logistical bottlenecks, platforms like Aethir, which operate without centralized

Looking ahead, Aethir’s ability to scale its infrastructure while maintaining service reliability, expand its enterprise-grade GPU inventory, and capitalize on structural shifts in AI and gaming will be key to its long-term competitiveness. If victorious, Aethir could emerge as a core infrastructure layer in the broader decentralized compute stack, potentially rivaling centralized incumbents in specific verticals over the coming cycles.

Aethir has established itself as a notable player in the decentralized cloud infrastructure space, with a focus on GPU-intensive applications in AI and cloud gaming. Its distributed architecture, combined with an extensive network of consumer and enterprise-grade GPUs, enables dynamic resource allocation and cost-efficient compute delivery.

In Q1 2025, Aethir reported the highest revenue among DePIN projects, driven by strong growth in compute hours and network utilization. Strategic initiatives, such as the Xsolla gaming grant and the Aethir Forge community program, support further adoption and ecosystem expansion.

Key challenges remain around data transparency and scaling enterprise-grade infrastructure, particularly for AI workloads. However, Aethir's operational segmentation between gaming and AI, along with favorable market trends in compute demand, positions it to serve as a core infrastructure provider in the decentralized computing stack.

Aethir’s Q1 2025 growth report reveals record-breaking revenue, GPU usage, and adoption in AI and cloud gaming. Explore the full performance breakdown.

Aethir Q1 2025 Report: Record Growth in AI & Gaming

DeFi Summer 2.0: Can Better UX Trigger the Next Wave of Crypto Growth?

Nostalgia is arguably one of the most powerful emotions, a longing for a time when everything seemed more straightforward, better, and meaningful. That moment is the summer of 2020, not the Summer of ‘69, anon, but what’s now famously known as DeFi Summer. The good old times when one could get a 50% APR, and no one batted an eye. Unfortunately, the summer did not last forever, and now we are all in limbo with point systems.

But will DeFi Summer 2.0 make a comeback in 2025? Let’s find out.

 marked explosive growth in decentralized finance, with yields hitting 50%+ and TVL jumping from $800M to $10B.

The hype cooled fast, shifting from sky-high gains to slower, sustainable growth.

, spread across Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and more.

 Wallet chaos, seed phrases, and clunky apps block mainstream adoption.

 show that better UX could kickstart DeFi Summer 2.0.

DeFi Summer was a turning point in Decentralised Finance (DeFi), with multiple new and interesting projects emerging. During this time, the DeFi ecosystem surged in popularity as users gravitated toward platforms offering financial services without relying on traditional intermediaries. The sector saw meteoric growth, driven by a wave of new protocols (e.g Uniswap, Yearn, Compound, Sushiswap) that created a surge in available opportunities. Fierce competition for users led to exceptionally high APRs, sparking a domino effect across lending, borrowing, trading, and derivatives markets. Consequently, the industry's total value locked (TVL) went up significantly during this period, highlighting the increase in overall activity.

As with any golden era, DeFi Summer wasn’t without controversy. Chef Nomi infamously sold his entire stake of SUSHI tokens, and YAM Finance suffered a critical bug in its rebase mechanism despite accumulating $500M in TVL within a single day.


Yet, even with these setbacks, the growth was staggering. Uniswap’s monthly trading volume skyrocketed from $169M in April 2020 to over $15B by September, nearly a 100x increase. Total Value Locked (TVL) across DeFi jumped from $800M to over $10B, a nearly 13x surge. Surprisingly, even wrapped Bitcoin on Ethereum grew from 20,000 to almost 60,000 BTC in the same timeframe.


But DeFi Summer didn’t last forever. By the end of September 2020, the market cooled rapidly. Many top DeFi tokens saw steep declines, with some losing up to 75% of their peak value. As a result, the initial hype began to fade. The following opportunities were less explosive but more sustainable, shifting focus from aggressive gains to safer, long-term growth. TVL continued to rise at a more tempered pace.

The catalysts behind DeFi Summer were twofold. On one hand, a surge of innovative DeFi protocols introduced new use cases and, more importantly, attractive opportunities. This gave investors a compelling reason to engage with the DeFi ecosystem, as yields were competitive compared to traditional alternatives. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve had begun an easing cycle by cutting interest rates, significantly increasing overall economic liquidity. With abundant capital and a low cost of debt, investors sought higher returns beyond traditional markets, ultimately turning to DeFi as a promising alternative.

In the early days of DeFi Summer, initial participants were driven by a deep belief in the revolutionary potential of decentralized finance. They saw it as a fundamental way to reshape traditional financial systems. As the space gained momentum, it attracted a growing number of participants. This effect was further amplified by a surge in media coverage, which emphasized the potential of DeFi and fueled a sense of FOMO, drawing in even more users.


The initial surge in attention eventually peaked, giving way to a market driven by short-term speculators seeking quick profits rather than supporting the industry’s core vision. This wave of excessive hype was soon followed by a sharp drop in prices and waning public interest, triggering a prolonged bear market and a period of stagnation. The honeymoon phase, which had sparked high expectations and rapid industry traction, ended, ushering in a slower, more measured period focused on sustainable rather than explosive growth.

The return of DeFi Summer would feel like an unexpected snow day, or even better, like sipping an ice-cold cocktail on a sunny beach. But like all good things, it might never return, or worse, it might not feel the same. Today's crypto landscape looks markedly different from the 2020–2022 era, often considered the golden age of DeFi.


Remember the gas fees on Ethereum during that time? The sheer madness of paying up to 700 gwei, around $100, for a single swap? As painful as it was, it highlighted the overwhelming demand for DeFi and, perhaps more tellingly, just how intensely PvP the market indeed was.

The DeFi industry has evolved and matured significantly compared to its earlier days. It is now more resilient to hacks and has shifted toward a more sustainable growth trajectory. While total value locked (TVL) peaked at $200B in 2022 and has since declined to $112B, the sector has expanded in other key areas. Notably, participation has increased, and decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes have reached new highs, surpassing $50B in daily volume this January, roughly five times higher than the best day in 2022.


The number of Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks has grown substantially. In 2020, around 95% of DeFi activity was concentrated on Ethereum. By 2025, Ethereum’s dominance has dropped to roughly 55–60%, with Solana, Tron, and BSC collectively capturing about 15% of the market, and Layer 2s like Arbitrum holding around 2%.

This growing diversification has shifted the narrative. Between 2020 and 2022, being fast and cheap was a significant advantage due to Ethereum’s high fees and slower performance. However, by 2025, most infrastructure projects will offer low-cost transactions and quick finality. As a result, the ability to swap tokens for pennies in seconds is no longer a unique selling point, and the market has become saturated with DEXs and DeFi protocols relying on these features as their primary differentiator.


This begs the question: what will put your favorite DeFi application on the radar, and potentially could kickstart a DeFi summer? User Experience, I know it’s not a sexy topic, but let me cook here.

The Web3 UX is a rollercoaster, not full of joy but rather the opposite. It is filled with redundancy and complexity, making it a digital nightmare. Here are some basics: A Web3 user often needs multiple wallets. Metamask will get you far, but what about non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant chains like Bitcoin? Solana? SUI? APTOS? SEI? The list goes on. 


The next pain point in the Web3 UX is that the user needs to store the seed phrases of all their wallets individually. The funds are gone if the user loses access to these seed phrases. Remember that users need multiple wallets to navigate their favorite chains, precisely as blockchains come and go in the ever-changing and fast-paced crypto industry. A good example is SUI, which became relatively popular within a few months, as TVL increased from 500 million to over 2 billion within 6 months.


Imagine using a Web2 application and going through multiple hoops and holes just to perform simple stuff. Yeah, right, you will drop that application right away. Users value convenience nearly above everything, even over their privacy 

. Hence, making an application as convenient as possible should be the absolute goal for most projects, while in Web3, that’s currently not the case.

Fortunately, more Web3 projects are starting to understand that UX isn’t just a meme; it’s a key factor in reaching users beyond the Web3 niche. A prime example is Pump.fun, which made launching a meme coin possible in just a few minutes. The best part? Even normies could do it. That accessibility and the viral nature of memes created the perfect storm. Over 9.2 million coins were launched in under a year, generating more than $611 million in fees.

Love or hate them, meme coins proved a point: Pump.fun was a massive success. Its easy-to-use, casino-like interface created an environment where even teenagers could spin up their tokens. Now, we’re not saying DeFi needs to go full casino-mode, but the lesson is clear: UX matters. As long as Web3 apps are clunky and unintuitive, the average user simply won’t touch them.

DeFi today is still overwhelmingly complex. One wrong step can lead to significant losses. A handful of projects are working to fix that, and one standout is DeFiDotApp. It's the closest a Web3 DeFi app has come to replicating the feel of Web2. With social logins, no seed phrases to remember, no bridges to worry about, and no gas fees, onboarding becomes frictionless. Users can just tap, swap, and go, no extra extensions, apps, or hurdles that might push them away. Every additional step increases the chance they’ll quit the process.


Ultimately, ease of use is what drives retention. Once that’s in place, convenience, like saving time or simplifying tasks, does the rest. In crypto, we have a habit of overengineering things, but simplicity keeps users engaged. If DeFi is to see actual adoption, accessibility has to come first. Projects like @DeFiDotApp have set a new standard, and if others follow suit, we could attract fresh liquidity, the same fuel that powered the original DeFi Summer. A new wave of capital, paired with a sense of euphoria, is precisely what the space needs for another DeFi revival.

Will DeFi Summer make a comeback in 2025? Explore the catalysts, UX innovations, and trends that could revive DeFi's golden era.

Will DeFi Summer 2.0 Return in 2025? How UX and Innovation Could Spark the Next DeFi Boom

Crypto Bubble or Evolution? Why Bitcoin's Ascent and Altcoin Chaos Are Redefining the Market in 2025

Key Takeaways

While the DotCom Bubble saw a unified rise and crash, today's crypto market is fragmenting—Bitcoin is climbing institutional ladders while altcoins are left scrambling for attention, funds, and purpose.

Celebrity memecoins and TikTok-fueled rug pulls have turned parts of the altcoin market into a Ponzi-style casino, where hype trumps fundamentals, and 13-year-olds are making headlines—by rugging.

Bitcoin is no longer “just another coin”—it’s evolving into digital gold 2.0, increasingly decoupled from the chaos below it. ETF flows are treating it like an asset class of its own.

After gorging on altcoin deals in 2021, VCs have entered a phase of capital detox. Fundraising is up in quantity, but down in quality, showing that smart money is becoming much pickier.

One of the most brought-up comparisons by critics of the Cryptocurrency Industry is to the now-infamous DotCom Bubble. The Nasdaq shed over 75% of its value, wiping out a casual 5 trillion USD in marketcap. No more Pets.com, Boo.com, and Worldcom, as they all went down the drain in the DotCom Bubble.

Will Cardano, Solana, Bitcoin, and Ethereum have similar fate?

The Dotcom Bubble was a stock market bubble fueled by the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web, or the Internet. The bubble followed a typical ‘bubble path’, whereby Venture Capitalists poured billions of USD into startups, leading to rapid valuation growth and a rapid increase in the Nasdaq index. The significant increase in capital accessibility led to a period of excessive speculation and overvaluation of internet-based companies that came to an end in March 2000. The main driver of the speculation was the belief that the Internet would revolutionize how we live and work, which it eventually did, as there are over 5.56 billion Internet users.

But despite the wide success of the current Internet, we still had the Dotcom Bubble; why?

The bubble was fueled by a combination of factors, including the rapid acceleration in technological advancements and a significant adaptation rate, which led to an over-optimistic overview of the near future. To further add to the toxic cocktail, the cost of debt (e.g. interest rates) was relatively low in the 1990s, making it fairly cheap and accessible to acquire debt financing. To put the bubble into perspective, many companies were significantly overvalued, with some trading at Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratios of 200 or higher. A P/E ratio of 200 implies that, assuming constant earnings, an investor would take 200 years to recoup their investment through company profits alone.

The psychology of Bubbles (in a nutshell)

Like any mirage, the smoke and mirrors cannot last forever. Eventually, the smoke will disappear, and the collective realization will catch up. The interesting part of bubbles is that they are notoriously hard to predict when they will burst. Traditional Finance models assume that the investor (

) is rational; unfortunately, the cryptocurrency industry is nowhere close to rationality (

The characteristics of a bubble are key to understanding the psychology behind a bubble:

This term refers to the undue and baseless optimism investors exhibit during a bubble's expansion. Investors buy more assets in the hope of a price increase rather than the intrinsic value of the underlying asset.

 The social anxiety, and often peer-pressure, that fuels a bubble to the next level. The feeling that others are quickly increasing capital gains, while you are sidelined, which leads to more and more capital flowing in to capture the ‘opportunity’

 Investors tend to borrow more money to invest in a booming market, as they want to capture the opportunity.

As more investors flock to the market, more positions will be opened in the futures/options market.

 Investors are flocking to the market because of an ‘opportunity’; the price drives asset value, or speculation. The fundamentals are not necessary anymore.

 Bubbles, due to their explosive nature, capture the public's attention, as they often rise rapidly. The media amplifies the optimism, drawing normies into the bubble, hoping to capitalize on the boom (FOMO on steroids).

The driving force behind a bubble is greed and the illusion of easily accessible wealth, which flows out of overconfidence and overoptimism.

Overconfidence arises when investors believe they understand the market well enough to outperform it. In reality, they’re often just riding a broader upward trend. This illusion of knowledge leads to increased trading activity, under the belief that they can consistently beat the market. Early success reinforces this belief—since nearly everyone profits during a bull run, it fuels self-attribution bias. More capital is deployed, inflating the bubble further. The Dunning-Kruger effect plays a role here: less competent investors tend to vastly overestimate their abilities, while more knowledgeable ones are cautious. As inexperienced investors grow, a self-reinforcing echo chamber takes shape.

Overoptimism occurs when investors overrate the future potential of an asset, focusing solely on positive outcomes and assuming the price will continue to rise indefinitely. This mindset leads to ignoring fundamentals and warning signs. As the echo chamber grows louder, price becomes the dominant narrative, bolstered by stories of average individuals becoming overnight millionaires. The belief that “everyone will get rich” blinds investors to downside risks, which are minimized or outright dismissed. The result is a FOMO-driven culture, where people encourage others to buy in, effectively setting the stage for the greater fool theory, leaving latecomers as exit liquidity.

Numerous economists and renowned investors have labeled the cryptocurrency market as a bubble. Eight Nobel Prize winners, including Paul Krugman, have described Bitcoin as a speculative bubble. This view is echoed by high-profile figures like Jack Ma (Alibaba), Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway), and George Soros (Soros Fund).

On the other hand, the crypto community often rallies behind prominent Bitcoin advocates such as Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), Donald Trump (current U.S. President), and Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), among others.

The question arises: Who will be on the right side of financial history? 

While this is a complex question, bubbles are notoriously complex to predict. However, we can use a few tools to determine a good outlook on whether Bitcoin and/or the cryptocurrency market is truly a bubble.

Let’s start by examining the fundraising data within the cryptocurrency industry. The graph above displays all publicly announced fundraising events from 2014 through February 2025. Notably, there’s a clear correlation between Bitcoin’s price and the number of fundraising announcements—projects tend to go public with their funding rounds when overall market sentiment is positive. This is intuitive, as announcing a raise during bullish conditions generally attracts more attention and credibility.

However, something curious happened during the last cycle, from 2022 to late 2023. Despite Bitcoin trading at relatively low levels, fundraising announcements remained high. One explanation is that many of these projects had already secured funding earlier, likely during stronger market conditions. They waited to announce their raises until sentiment began to turn more positive. In other words, they timed their announcements to coincide with Bitcoin’s upward trend, even if its absolute price was still relatively low.


Yet, looking solely at the number of deals may give us a limited perspective. To get a clearer picture, we must go deeper into the data to determine if there’s a potential structural break. Interestingly, the correlation between the total monthly funds raised and Bitcoin’s average monthly price became negative in early 2022. While the number of deals held steady, the total capital raised dropped sharply and has only recently begun to recover.

This suggests that the average fundraising amount per project declined significantly during this period. This does not align with our earlier point that projects may have delayed their announcements until sentiment improved. If that were the case, we expect the average raise to remain relatively stable, since the fundraising would have occurred during more substantial market periods (e.g., 2021). Instead, the data indicates that many projects were likely raising smaller amounts in a weaker market environment, rather than simply timing their announcements for more favorable sentiment. The reason for the smaller raising amounts was that the venture capitalists were sidelined, or were locked into deals made in 2021.

In 1999 to 2000, the peak of the Dotcom bubble, there was one apparent trend: the number of deals and total investment skyrocketed. Even so, there were so many deals that even in 2017, the total investment amount was still approximately 40% lower than in the peak of the Dotcom bubble. The FOMO feeling combined with over-optimism and confidence led to a toxic cocktail of venture capitalists flocking to the markets to make highly financially risky and often baseless investments, further strengthening the bubble effect. Eventually, the bubble collapsed in 2001.

Based on the current data, a different pattern is observable. The Bitcoin price increases, while the overall total investment amount is lacking. This differs from what one saw with the Dotcom Bubble, as prices and the total investment amount were correlated.

This makes you wonder, what makes the cryptocurrency industry different from the traditional finance sector?

One of the most notable shifts in the 2024–2025 cycle is the changing makeup of market participants. The approval of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs in January 2024 marked a turning point, fundamentally altering market dynamics. In previous cycles, altcoins typically fueled bull runs. As Bitcoin rallied, its dominance would gradually decline as investors rotated into increasingly risky altcoins, driven by FOMO and the search for outsized returns. Eventually, as the risk-reward ratio became less favorable, sentiment would shift, and capital would flow back into Bitcoin as a comparatively more stable asset. This cyclical pattern was evident in both the 2017–2018 and 2021–2022 market cycles.

However, the current cycle is breaking that pattern. Since the Bitcoin spot ETFs' launch, Bitcoin dominance hasn’t declined; instead, it has continued to rise. As a result, many altcoins, including Ethereum, have failed to capture meaningful attention this time around. The few altcoin standouts have been chiefly confined to specific ecosystems, such as Solana, Hyperliquid, and Ton. This divergence is primarily due to ETF-driven capital flows focused solely on Bitcoin, with little spillover into the broader altcoin market. As a result, altcoins have been increasingly sidelined, a trend that mirrors the ongoing decline in fundraising activity across the sector.

Many altcoins now appear ‘cheap’ by historical standards, but they may remain that way for some time without renewed demand. As long as the spotlight remains fixed on Bitcoin through institutional products like ETFs, altcoins are unlikely to see a broad resurgence in investor interest.

Venture capitalists may have held back on funding despite Bitcoin’s rise due to a broader sense of market overconfidence. Many investors assumed the current cycle mirrored that of 2021, expecting altcoins to follow Bitcoin’s lead and surge in value. But that scenario never played out. As altcoins underperformed, retail investors increasingly turned to riskier assets—eventually flocking to memecoins. This shift resembled a leveraged bet, as memecoins are notoriously volatile and often operate more like a casino than a sound investment. The hype was further fueled by viral stories of individuals, even teenagers, making thousands or even millions through memecoin trading—often through questionable means like insider trading. This created a wave of irrational optimism, with the prevailing sentiment being: “Just buy a memecoin, and you’ll get rich.” In reality, the odds were overwhelmingly against the average investor—more on that in the next paragraph.

This brings us to the first defining trait of a bubble: irrational exuberance. The current cryptocurrency cycle reflects this, as investor attention shifted away from utility and fundamentals toward speculative bets on celebrity memecoins. The trend escalated to the point where even the sitting U.S. President, Donald Trump, launched his own memecoin, along with one for his wife, Melania Trump. Several other celebrities followed suit, often ending in rug pulls, including $HAWK by Hailey Welch, $JASON by Jason Derulo, and $MOTHER by Iggy Azalea, which is now linked to questionable gambling content.

This wave of celebrity-driven speculation attracted a large influx of new retail participants, primarily through platforms like TikTok, where these tokens were heavily promoted. For many, this was their first interaction with blockchain technology. The situation reached a new low when a 13-year-old launched a memecoin via Pump.fun, rugged it for $30K, and then repeated the scam with a coin meant to apologize for the initial rug. The fear of missing out (FOMO) became so extreme that bad actors increasingly exploited the frenzy.

Memecoins function as a high-risk speculative market, often resembling a rigged casino. They are roughly 50 times more volatile than Bitcoin; nearly 40% are identified as pump-and-dump schemes. One study found that just 0.11% of tokens launched on Pump.fun survive beyond the first 24 hours. This demonstrates how irrational exuberance combined with FOMO has led to a massive value extraction from inexperienced investors.

Broader market trends indicate a growing risk appetite. Ethereum has reached peak estimated leverage, even as open interest slightly declined after a significant price drop. This suggests more users are borrowing funds to amplify their exposure. However, such high leverage increases the market's fragility—even minor price swings can trigger outsized reactions, potentially resulting in a sharp market-wide liquidation event. On the other side, this can be seen as conviction, as investors are increasing their leverage here, as they might see Ethereum as being valued ‘cheap’ here, which one could argue for. However, it also puts them at a highly vulnerable position.

Now, before the inevitable question arises—“So are all altcoins just bubbles?”—the answer requires nuance. There are gradations. Memecoins are a textbook example of a negative-sum game, where the vast majority lose and a small group walks away with profits, often at others’ expense. Most participants will lose money, creating a lose-lose dynamic. That said, not all altcoins are inherently flawed. Some projects do generate revenue, albeit modestly. However, many altcoin markets consist of projects with no revenue and likely no path to sustainability. Still, this isn’t a uniquely “crypto” issue. The tech industry broadly faces similar dynamics, where roughly 90% of startups fail within the first five years.

The name of the game has changed. For years, Bitcoin and altcoins moved near lockstep, rising and falling as one broad, speculative asset class. But that dynamic is shifting. Since the approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs, the market has begun to treat Bitcoin differently. It’s no longer just the crypto market leader — it’s starting to look like its own asset class within the digital asset ecosystem.

While correlations between Bitcoin and altcoins still exist, they are weakening. Bitcoin's rallies have become steeper, more consistent, and increasingly decoupled from the rest of the crypto market. Meanwhile, altcoin markets remain sluggish, with capital inflows diminishing and funding rounds slowing down. What we're witnessing is an apparent liquidity rotation.

This rotation reflects a broader investor preference shift — away from speculative altcoins and toward assets with perceived staying power. As the most resilient and liquid digital asset, Bitcoin benefits from this reallocation. This behavior isn’t unique to crypto. In times of uncertainty, traditional and crypto investors tend to retreat to what they perceive as “safer” assets — a phenomenon known as a flight to quality. Historically, gold has played this role. Today, Bitcoin aims to join that category, which is now more accessible than ever through regulated investment vehicles like ETFs.

This shift doesn't spell the end for altcoins but changes the market dynamics. With lower overall funding and weaker inflows, altcoin projects face a more selective environment. The days of speculative mania may be over — at least for now — and only projects with straightforward utility, strong narratives, or deep liquidity will likely thrive.

Explore how crypto in 2025 diverges from DotCom history—Bitcoin rises with institutions, while altcoins plunge into hype and speculation.

Crypto Bubble 2025: Bitcoin vs. Altcoins – What Investors Must Know Now

, founder and former CEO of Binance, has expressed his thoughts about decentralised exchanges (DEXs) and the horrible Web3 user experience (UX) involved. If a founder of arguably one of the most successful Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) cannot navigate this space, can we expect your average Joe to do so? Or can we conclude that 

I wanted to put a few BNB in TST LP, as a test. I seen demos of Pancake before. It looked so simple. I thought, how hard could it be? But I forgot my IQ level.

The Web3 UX is a rollercoaster, not full of joy but rather the opposite. It is filledwith redundancy and complexity, making it a digital nightmare. Here are some basics: A Web3 user often needs multiple wallets. Metamask will get you far, but what about non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant chains like Bitcoin? Solana? SUI? APTOS? SEI? The list goes on.

The next pain point in the Web3 UX is that the user needs to store the seed phrases of all his wallets individually. The funds are gone if the user loses access to these seed phrases. Remember that the user needs multiple wallets to navigate his favorite chains, precisely as blockchains come and go in the ever-changing and fast-paced crypto industry. A good example is SUI, which became relatively popular within a few months, as TVL increased from 500 million to over 2 billion within 6 months. 


Liquidity flows like water; it always flows to the lowest point, or in other words, where it is most needed. Therefore, it is safe to say that if the financial incentives are significant enough, capital inflows will happen over time, right? 

In Web3, this is not necessarily the case, and that is due to the overwhelming barriers of entry to bridge your capital over to a new chain. Users must move their money through a blockchain bridge by signing multiple transactions and praying everything will be OK. However, this is not a familiar experience as one would have in Web2. Thus making the experience very surreal and confusing for new users.

Let’s assume you made it; you finally got your funds on Solana and can finally buy your favorite memecoin. Oh, never mind. We forgot about gas fees. Oh, that’s unfortunate; how do you get your Solana? Possibly through a Centralized Exchange, but that defeats the purpose of using the DEX in the first place. 

We didn’t even go into depth into the hurdles you must overcome to get the best pricing (i.e. routing) while using DEXs. This extended example shows the hilariously bad UX and how many balls an average user has to keep in the air to perform relatively simple stuff.


It is no secret that the number of Web3 developers has been dwindling for months now. We’ve been posting about it regularly, as the number of developers has decreased to ‘just’ 23,000 monthly active developers from 31,000 in 2021. The reason for the significant decrease is pretty broad, but it roughly comes down to the Developer Experience being equally bad as the Web3 UX. 

In Web2, one can use a lot of libraries and packages (e.g. SDKs), making development significantly more efficient and more plug-and-play. The Web3 developing environment is more scattered and less mature, making developing more time-consuming and frustrating.

It is not all bad news here; some light is on the horizon. The horrible state of DevEx and UX in Web3 is being agreed upon; thus, there is an increasing focus on improving these areas. Within the Chain Abstraction space are a couple of incredibly innovative and forward-thinking projects, such as Enso, Particle Network, and Okto.

The latter aims to be the ‘Eureka’ or Lightbulb moment in the Web3 industry by streamlining the UX and DevEX. The 

 Platform consists of four layers, which work together to abstract all the complexities away from the user.

 Forget seed phrases. With Okto's Decentralized Wallet Network (DWN), onboarding is as easy as logging into your favorite Web2 app – using social logins like Google or email, all secured by cutting-edge Multi-Party Computation (MPC) behind the scenes. Say goodbye to wallet juggling. DWN delivers a universal wallet, working seamlessly across multiple chains and dApps – you won't notice the blockchain complexities fading away. The user can focus on what he wants to achieve without worrying about how to get there.

: Bridging? That’s old news as well. With ULL, users won’t realize they are bridging assets across chains. You no longer need to figure out how to find the best routes or worry about managing gas fees across different networks. Everything is abstracted away, making cross-chain swaps as seamless as native transactions. It starts to feel like a Web2 application, right anon?

 This is the engine that makes it all work. DTN takes center stage, handling all the heavy lifting required to fulfill user intents. Does the user want to perform complex cross-chain DeFi transactions? That's not an issue. A decentralized network of DTN nodes orchestrates the entire process and will ensure that the user’s intent gets executed most resource-efficiently by utilizing the ULL.

The heart of the Okto Platform, the Okto Chain isn't just another Layer 1 blockchain; it's a dedicated coordination layer. Typically, Layer 1s are general-purpose chains whereby users can create dApps through smart contracts; in Okto, this is slightly different. Its purpose is to coordinate all the activities across the Okto Ecosystem, including DWN, ULL, and DTN.

Let’s assume a user wants to swap Wrapped Ethereum on Arbitrum for cbBTC on Ethereum. This is called the ‘intent’. The user expresses that intent, and the ULL will ensure it takes the most efficient route to swap the Wrapped Ethereum on Arbitrum for cbBTC on Ethereum. To ensure that every transaction is reliably executed and confirmed, DTN cuts the transaction into multiple sub-transactions, creates a payload, and gets it signed by DWN before execution.

After the swap, the cbBTC is put into a lending pool through the solvers. Last but not least, each sub-transaction that has occurred is being confirmed and monitored to ensure that there are no issues on both chains. If a sub-transaction fails, DTN automatically retries the logic or takes a different route to ensure the problem won’t happen again. If the intent is completed, the state of the Okto Chain will be updated; in other words, the DTN will log on to the Okto Chain that the intent is achieved.

Web2 programming has evolved over many years into an ecosystem where reusable, modular components are second nature—much like snapping together Lego blocks to build complex structures. In contrast, Web3 is still in its developmental phase. While it does adopt modular strategies—for instance, using frameworks like OpenZeppelin to develop smart contracts or leveraging development tools such as Hardhat—the ecosystem isn’t yet as standardized or as effortlessly composable as that of Web2.

In Web3, modular building blocks face extra hurdles. Components must operate under strict immutability and security constraints, meaning cryptographic protocols and consensus mechanisms govern every piece. This can complicate assembling and reusing these components, making the “Lego block” metaphor less intuitive. Additionally, as Web3 standards are still emerging, developers often encounter compatibility issues and the need for frequent updates, further complicating the modular integration process.

Okto aims to make the developer experience closer to the Web2 experience through the Okto SDK V2, allowing developers to start using the Okto Tech Stack without technical entry barriers. Developers can instantly begin to experience the entire stack - DWN, ULL, DTN, and Okto Chain - and deliver on a friendly UX through abstract multi-chain experiences.



Ready to dive into the action, anon? Check out Okto's testnet to embrace the power of Chain Abstraction fully. 
Make sure to visit

How is Okto aiming to solve the Web3 UX?

Avalon Labs: Unlocking Bitcoin’s $1.4 Trillion Potential in DeFi

Bitcoin is the world's most valuable digital asset, yet its role in decentralized finance (DeFi) remains limited due to its lack of smart contract functionality. With over 

 in idle Bitcoin, there’s a massive opportunity to make this capital more efficient.

Avalon Labs is tackling this inefficiency by introducing a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin and DeFi ecosystem. By leveraging cutting-edge financial innovations, Avalon Labs enables Bitcoin holders to access liquidity without selling their assets. In this article, we explore the challenges of Bitcoin DeFi and how Avalon Labs is shaping its future.


Despite Bitcoin’s dominance, it faces several limitations that hinder its integration into the DeFi ecosystem:

 Unlike Ethereum, Bitcoin does not support complex smart contracts, restricting its use in DeFi applications.

 Bitcoin’s base layer processes only 7 transactions per second (TPS), making it inefficient for DeFi activities requiring high-speed transactions.

 Multiple Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions exist, but they often create siloed liquidity pools, limiting seamless capital flow.

These challenges have led to an underutilization of Bitcoin in DeFi. However, solutions like Avalon Labs aim to bridge this gap and unlock Bitcoin’s true potential.

Avalon Labs: A New Approach to Bitcoin DeFi

Avalon Labs is pioneering a novel solution to integrate Bitcoin into DeFi while maintaining its security and decentralization.

 USDa, a stablecoin collateralized by Bitcoin, provides liquidity without requiring users to sell their BTC.

 Users can lock Bitcoin as collateral and borrow stablecoins, enhancing capital efficiency.

 USDa operates across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, and more.

By addressing Bitcoin’s limitations, Avalon Labs is positioning itself as a leader in Bitcoin DeFi, offering solutions that maximize liquidity and capital efficiency.

USDa Stablecoin: Enhancing Bitcoin’s Liquidity

One of Avalon Labs's core innovations is the 

, designed to unlock Bitcoin’s liquidity while maintaining price stability.

 USDa maintains a direct redemption ratio with USDT, minimizing de-pegging risks.

 Users lock their Bitcoin (via FBTC) as collateral and borrow USDa.

 USDa is backed by multi-signature custody involving partners like Mantle, Antalpha Prima, and Cobo.

This model allows Bitcoin holders to access liquidity without selling their assets, reducing exposure to market volatility.

 system, ensuring risk management and capital efficiency.

 Users can borrow up to 60% of their provided Bitcoin value.

Insights & Expert Advice on Web3 and Cryptocurrency

Research

Quai Network’s Bold Solution to the Blockchain Trilemma

Aethir Q1 2025 Report: Record Growth in AI & Gaming

How Avalon Labs is Unlocking Bitcoin's $1.4 Trillion DeFi Potential

Insights

Will DeFi Summer 2.0 Return in 2025? How UX and Innovation Could Spark the Next DeFi Boom

Crypto Bubble 2025: Bitcoin vs. Altcoins – What Investors Must Know Now

How is Okto aiming to solve the Web3 UX?