Apr 21, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly highlight — Trump wants to fire Powell? 

US president Donald Trump is actively considering firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, following Trump's public criticism of Powell for not moving quickly enough to reduce interest rates. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett confirmed that the administration is examining this option, suggesting that Powell's actions have politically favored Democrats. Hassett argued that the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates shortly after Trump took office was intended to undermine the economic impact of the tax cuts implemented during his administration, which were deemed inflationary. He further criticized the Fed for not addressing inflation concerns stemming from federal spending under President Biden, implying a lack of accountability.

During a recent press conference, Trump conveyed his dissatisfaction with Powell, asserting that if he wanted to remove him, it could happen "real fast." While he did not explicitly state his intention to dismiss Powell, his remarks highlighted the growing tensions between the White House and the Federal Reserve regarding monetary policy. Hassett defended Trump's frustrations, advocating for a focus on economic policy rather than interpersonal conflicts. This situation underscores the complex dynamics between the executive branch and the central bank, as Trump navigates economic challenges leading up to the next election.

Weekly crypto highlight — XRP ETF coming

HashKey Capital has officially launched the HashKey XRP Tracker Fund, marking the first investment fund in Asia designed specifically to track the performance of XRP, the digital asset integral to Ripple's global payment ecosystem. This fund is aimed at professional investors and offers a unique opportunity to gain exposure to XRP without the complexities of direct asset management. Investors can subscribe through cash and in-kind options, with the fund providing monthly liquidity.

Ripple, as an early backer of the fund, is looking to enhance its strategic partnership with HashKey Capital, which already manages Hong Kong–listed spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum. This collaboration not only solidifies Ripple's presence in the Asian market, but also opens avenues for future financial products, such as the potential tokenization of a money market fund on the XRP Ledger. Fiona Murray, Ripple's Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region, highlighted that this partnership is part of a broader strategy to introduce more regulated cryptocurrency products for institutional investors in the region, aiming to foster a more robust crypto landscape in Asia.

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Trump’s desire to fire Powell might induce volatility; XRP ETF coming

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a new Ethereum ETF with staking capabilities, allowing institutional investors to earn staking rewards.

Daily top performer — Pyth Network (PYTH)

The S&P 500 dropped 1.5% to 5,282.70 this week, down 5.9% in April and 10% year-to-date, led by tech losses. Real estate and energy outperformed, while political pressure on Fed Chair Powell and inflation concerns weighed on sentiment. Gold dipped 0.6% to $3,319 after a record high, as Powell’s stagflation warning tempered its rally. Despite the pullback, the uptrend remains intact. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, are up by 0.77%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising 0.64% and 0.72%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is PYTH, up 10.1%, following the launch of Pyth Entropy for secure on-chain random number generation by Soneium.

Pyth Network (PYTH),  is a blockchain oracle system that delivers real-time crypto price data to blockchains, enabling smart contracts to react to market changes. Soneium 

 Pyth Entropy, a tool for securely generating random numbers on-chain. Two apps, HandsNFT AI and 2p2e, are already utilizing Pyth Entropy to create unpredictable and engaging experiences.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a new Ethereum ETF with staking capabilities, allowing institutional investors to earn staking rewards. This approval follows recent changes to local laws, with China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) partnering with OSL Digital Securities to launch the ETF by May 15. The ETF will offer exposure to Ethereum staking, transforming it from a passive investment into an active participant in the Ethereum network. The staking process is powered by Kiln, with OSL providing custody and insurance services. The rewards will contribute to the ETF's net asset value, benefiting shareholders.

Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $25.9M in inflows, all from non-GBTC funds, while GBTC recorded no flow.

" and a points campaign called Drops, where users can earn points—potentially leading to an airdrop—by engaging with Linera content on X. To join, sign up on 

, complete tasks like joining Discord and interacting on X, then enter the campaign. Keep engaging to earn more points, but avoid spamming.

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Hong Kong approves Ethereum ETF with staking rewards, boosting institutional participation

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events; the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume; and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

US president Donald Trump’s tariff policies are influencing both crypto and US equities. Last week, BTC and the S&P 500 rallied due to a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs (excluding China). Equities are slightly below their April 9 highs, while BTC is holding above $83K. Its implied volatility term structure has normalized, and the volatility skew has improved from last week’s bias toward out-of-the-money puts, though it hasn't fully shifted toward calls.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Tariff pause briefly brings back trading volume

Since our last report, open interest surged on Apr 9, 2025, as crypto spot prices rose after President Trump’s temporary tariff pause, accompanied by a nearly $10B increase in trade volumes. However, trade volumes have since returned to mid-March levels, and open interest has declined from the April 9 highs. The initial price spike indicates the tariff pause surprised the markets, but the subsequent pullback reflects concerns over remaining tariffs.

After being inverted for much of April due to trade policy shocks and macro headwinds, BTC’s term structure has disinverted, with front-end volatility dropping significantly this week. Call and put volumes have been balanced, with calls slightly exceeding puts most days. Apr 9, 2025, reflected mixed market sentiment, as both call and put volumes rose, but puts were higher overall. Open interest remains greater in calls, and has increased slightly since last week, reaching its highest level for the month (more than double from the beginning of April).

Despite a rally on Apr 9, 2025 that brought ETH close to $1.7K, traders sought downside protection, leading to higher volumes in put contracts as compared to calls. Since then, ETHUSDT options volumes have declined, but open interest remains strongly weighted toward calls with later expirations, which have increased since last week. After being inverted for much of April, ETH’s term structure of volatility has flattened, with volatility compressing around the 70% mark across tenors.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 16, 2025): Bitcoin put bias has moderated, but not yet shifted to calls

KiloEx (KILO) is a user-friendly DEX for perpetuals trading, offering high leverage, rewards, LSTfi integration and a robust multi-chain ecosystem.

 trading is one of the most lucrative areas for cryptocurrency enthusiasts if you know how to navigate the sometimes complex world of these contracts. Unlike standard futures, perpetual futures contracts have no expiration date, allowing traders to hold onto their positions as long as they prefer. You only exit a crypto perpetual (or “perp”) contract when you feel it’s the best time to execute your long or short trade. The lack of an expiration period makes these contracts attractive for traders.

Unfortunately, many crypto perpetual contract trading platforms are far from user-friendly. It seems like many perpetual crypto exchanges assume that only professional traders dabble in these contracts, and along with that assumption goes a second one — that these pros can navigate even the most complex user interfaces. As a result, finding a user-friendly perps platform is a challenge in the world of crypto trading.

 (DEX) that aims to change the status quo by providing a user-friendly environment for traders. Its platform also offers high leverage ratios, integration into the wider liquid staking token finance (LSTfi) ecosystem and generous reward programs for referrers and affiliates.

Thanks to its numerous benefits, this DEX caters to the needs of traders at all levels of expertise who are interested in crypto perpetuals. Operational since mid-2023, KiloEx launched its native token, KILO, in March 2025 to further enhance its platform's reward, staking and governance mechanisms.

 (BNB) that specializes in crypto perpetual futures trading.

 The platform prides itself on offering a user-friendly interface, high 

 ratios of up to 100x, multi-token vaults with generous APYs and a number of reward programs for referrers and affiliates.

Co-founded by Joey Ni (CEO) and Charles Gong (COO), KiloEx was originally launched on BNB Chain's mainnet in June 2023. As of mid-April 2025, the platform has additionally expanded its service coverage to five 

 (B2). This coverage allows KiloEx to access the ecosystems of three leading blockchain platforms — 

Manta, Base and Taiko are Ethereum-focused Layer 2 solutions, while opBNB is an efficient and low-cost optimistic rollup for the BNB Chain, while B

 is a platform linked to Bitcoin that acts as a major Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) enabler.

Because it’s a BNB-native platform, KiloEx's industry footprint is most notable within this blockchain's broader ecosystem. In fact, as Apr 17, 2025, KiloEx is the top DEX on the opBNB network by 

Using Layer 2 chains allows KiloEx to offer its users fast and low-cost transactions, which isn't always possible on a typical Layer 1 network. It's true that BNB Chain, the primary Layer 1 used by KiloEx, generally has much lower gas fees than Ethereum, the industry's leading 

 chain that’s notorious for its exorbitant costs. However, KiloEx's partner Layer 2 networks help drive costs and transaction times even lower. BNB Chain's current average gas fee is slightly over $0.10, while the opBNB Layer 2 rollup's comparable fee is only about $0.005.

In 2024, the platform introduced one of its most innovative features — the 

, which allows liquidity providers to stake multiple assets to earn high yields. That same year, KiloEx significantly expanded its partnership network, becoming an active player in the LSTFi ecosystem. LSTFi is a new stream within the DeFi industry that allows you to use 

 (LSTs) on various protocols for additional yield.

Having solidified its market presence in 2024, the project launched its native token, KILO, in March 2025. However, in mid-April 2025, KiloEx 

 and halted trading on April 15 as a risk management measure, pending investigation of the damage.

The Hybrid Vault is among the most innovative features offered by KiloEx. Essentially, it acts similarly to liquidity pools on other exchanges. Liquidity providers can contribute their crypto funds to the vault to support trading activity on the DEX and earn interest on their contributions, based on the fees earned by the protocol.

You can contribute a mix of coins to a KiloEx vault. Supported assets include 

Depending upon trading activity and the mix of coins contributed, you can earn APYs as high as 30%, making KiloEx one of the most lucrative choices for liquidity providers in this niche.

KiloEx uses a health factor calculation for this type of vault to keep your funds and the entire ecosystem safe. Based on the health factor score of your contribution to the vault, your funds could be liquidated if their value drops dangerously low.

Discounts are also offered for fixed-term deposits for established assets, such as USDT and USDC. Withdrawals for the fixed deposits are processed upon maturity, while all other withdrawals are processed within one to three "epochs," with each epoch on the platform lasting about three days. Thus, depending upon your contributed funds, you’ll wait anywhere from three to nine days to receive your crypto back.

The KiloEx platform also runs a generous referral program under which you can earn rewards for referring your friends to the platform. The amount you earn depends upon the trading volumes generated by the people whom you’ve referred. Additionally, your referees to the DEX can also benefit from fee rebates, again depending upon the volume of trade they generate.

There’s a tiered system, comprising nine levels, based on which you and your friends earn commissions and rebates. Under this system, even those referred traders whose monthly volume is at the lowest level (below $5,000) can still benefit from 5% rebates, while you also earn a 10% commission.

The table below shows the structure of this referral system with percentages for commission and rebates based on monthly trading volumes.

KiloEx offers an affiliate program for key opinion leaders (KOLs) with a certain level of social media following and influence in the crypto market. KOLs may apply to join the program by filling out an application, which is then considered by the project team within 48 hours.

To qualify for affiliate status, a KOL must have: 

Approved affiliates are provided a link to the platform, and are encouraged to invite their followers to trade on the KiloEx. If they invite at least five followers who trade at sufficient levels, the affiliates can start earning their commission. KOLs can earn up to 55% commission, depending upon the referred followers' trading activity.

KiloEx’s native utility token, KILO, is a 

 asset launched on BNB Chain. It’s used on the platform for governance, fee discounts on trades, rewards via 

, liquidity provision incentives and staking.

KILO is a supply-capped asset, with a maximum and total supply of 1 billion. The token’s supply allocation shares are shown in the chart below.

xKILO is an escrowed version of the KILO token. You can convert KILO to xKILO at a fixed rate of 1:1. The primary utility of xKILO is to provide boosted liquidity provision, which makes it possible to receive staking rewards. By locking xKILO on the platform, you can access special discounts and other benefits reserved for VIP-level users. Holding xKILO also grants you governance power to vote and influence the platform's future direction.

Unlike KILO, xKILO is nontransferable and isn’t tradable on the secondary market. The only ways to obtain xKILO are either to buy it with KILO or receive it via airdrops.

Platform users can earn points to qualify for KILO airdrops. Typically, you accumulate points by trading, depositing funds, referring others to the DEX, checking in to the platform and completing other specified eligible activities.

The project’s initial airdrop, Genesis Season, had an eligibility snapshot taken back in July 2024. Under the currently running airdrop campaign, Pioneer Season, users can earn points to receive KILO tokens for 180 days past the token generation event (TGE) in late March 2025 (i.e., until late September 2025).

Additionally, you can earn KILO tokens on Bybit simply by participating in the 

 event and holding BNB in your account. Every day at various random times, Bybit will take snapshots of your BNB holdings in your Funding and Unified Trading Accounts to calculate the number of KILO tokens you’re eligible for. The campaign will run through Apr 25, 2025, 11:59PM UTC, and you’ll have your share of KILO airdropped seven days after this date.

 market as a swap pair with USDT. If you don't have a Bybit account, you can easily 

, and access opportunities across hundreds of trading pairs and crypto products on the exchange's Spot and Derivatives markets.

As of Apr 17, 2025, the KILO token is trading at $0.039, which is 76.2% lower than its ATH of $0.1648 on Mar 27, 2025, and 17.3% higher than its ATL of $0.03344 on Apr 12, 2025.

Long-term price forecasts for KILO are mostly bullish. CoinCodex 

 at $0.0387 in 2027 and then rise to $0.135 in 2030 while PricePredictions 

When it comes to perpetuals trading, both traditional 

 (CEXs) and DEXs have often struggled to offer an intuitive trading experience. In contrast, KiloEx has made user-friendliness a cornerstone of its operations. With KiloEx, you can enjoy a streamlined trading process, access market trends info for thorough research, get an overview of the cryptocurrency market and conduct other activities via an interface that’s designed for anyone, irrespective of their familiarity with decentralized trading.

The platform also boasts a diverse range of other benefits not easily found in the world of perpetuals-based cryptocurrency trading — generous leveraged trading options, trading fee discounts, lightning-fast trades, low trading fees and an innovative Hybrid Vault system. Many of these benefits are thanks to KiloEx's collaboration with several Layer 2 decentralized platforms, which provide the technical infrastructure to enable low costs and fast order processing.

If you’re a crypto perpetuals enthusiast, KiloEx is definitely a platform to peruse.

Intermediate

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KiloEx (KILO): More than a DEX — a rewarding ecosystem

Bybit Learn

web3

Explainers

Altcoins

Particle Network is a Layer 1 blockchain powering chain abstraction that unifies users and liquidity across all blockchains through Universal Accounts.

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 world remains divided by invisible walls that force users to manage multiple wallets and navigate complex 

 processes. Particle Network aims to tear down these barriers through chain abstraction, creating a unified 

 experience whereby users interact with any blockchain through a single account.

This article examines Particle Network's vision for chain abstraction, its Universal Accounts technology and the PARTI token, which powers this ecosystem. We'll also analyze the project's history, technical infrastructure and market position to evaluate its potential as both technological innovation and potential investment opportunity.

 powering chain abstraction. It unifies users and liquidity across all blockchains through Universal Accounts, which provide a single address and combined balance for interacting seamlessly with any chain or 

Founded in 2022, Particle Network initially focused on wallet abstraction services, allowing users to create wallets linked to their Web 2.0 social accounts. This foundational approach evolved into Particle Network’s current comprehensive chain abstraction technology, which aims to bridge the divide between traditional internet experiences and the decentralized world.

Co-founders Pengyu Wang and Tao Pan launched Particle Network in April 2022 with a vision born from their mobile gaming experience. They recognized that blockchain adoption was hindered primarily by poor user experience, and so they set out to build back-end infrastructure that would make web3 as intuitive as traditional applications.

The project quickly secured $25 million from notable investors, including Spartan Group, Animoca Ventures and Alibaba Group. This backing accelerated Particle Network’s development, allowing it to serve over 30 million wallets and integrate with more than 7,000 

The project has demonstrated rapid progress, evolving from a wallet abstraction service to a comprehensive account abstraction provider — and now, to a full-fledged chain abstraction layer. This progression demonstrates the team's agility and commitment to systematically eliminating the barriers between users and web3's potential.

What does Particle Network aim to achieve?

Particle Network aims to solve the three most critical barriers preventing web3 mass adoption. The first challenge is fragmented user experience (UX). Today's web3 users juggle multiple wallets, memorize various 

 and navigate different interfaces for each blockchain. This complexity creates an overwhelming entry barrier for newcomers.

The second barrier is fragmented liquidity. As users spread assets across thousands of blockchains and 

, they must perform complex bridging operations to use their tokens where needed. These bridging processes are confusing and time-consuming, exposing users to additional security risks.

The third obstacle is gas token fragmentation. Each blockchain demands its native token for transaction fees, forcing users to maintain small balances of various tokens just to perform basic actions. This requirement adds unnecessary complexity and costs that further discourage participation.

Particle Network addresses these challenges by creating a truly borderless web3 ecosystem. Its founders’ vision enables users to interact with any application on blockchain through a single, unified interface — without needing to understand the complex technical infrastructure working behind the scenes.

Particle Network achieves chain abstraction through its Layer 1 blockchain, which orchestrates three innovative technologies working together as an integrated system. 

 wallets that maintain the same addresses and balances across all blockchains, eliminating the need for multiple wallets and creating a unified entry point to web3.

 enables seamless cross-chain asset movement. When users interact with a blockchain in which they don't hold native assets, the system automatically routes and executes the necessary transfers behind the scenes. Users simply see their combined balance — without ever having to deal with complex bridging operations.

 completes this seamless experience by solving the token fragmentation problem: users can pay transaction fees with any token they own on any chain, since the system handles all conversions transparently. All fees ultimately settle in PARTI tokens on Particle Chain, creating a unified gas experience across the ecosystem.

This infrastructure is powered by a technical backbone of 

Particle Network's technology stack includes three innovative features working together to unify the blockchain experience.

Universal Accounts is Particle Network's flagship product. It enables chain abstraction by providing users with a single interaction point for the multichain web3 ecosystem. This feature removes the need for manual bridging, or for managing multiple wallets and assets across different networks.

When users connect their existing wallets or create new ones through Particle Network, the system assigns them a Universal Account that maintains a consistent state and balance of information across all supported blockchains.

 is the first chain-agnostic trading platform that leverages Universal Accounts. It's 100% noncustodial, and allows users to trade any token on any chain without bridging. Users can trade, send and receive assets using a unified balance for all chains, and pay for gas with any token.

The platform enables users to buy tokens regardless of their existing chain, and to view comprehensive price and on-chain data with zero 

. Users can send assets directly between any chains and purchase tokens using fiat via various payment methods. The system also provides fast confirmation times and full 

Particle Network’s Universal SDK allows developers to create and manage Universal Accounts for their users and execute cross-chain transactions seamlessly. They can implement gasless transactions for which applications cover the gas fees, leverage session keys for improved user experience and customize access control for enhanced security.

By providing this tool kit, Particle Network makes it simple for developers to build chain-abstracted applications. These applications can then offer a superior UX while leveraging the strengths of multiple blockchain networks.

Currently in its Permissioned Ecosystem phase (Q1 2025), Particle Network is focusing on building flagship applications that showcase Universal Accounts. They've already launched UniversalX, the first chain-agnostic trading platform, and plan to release two more applications targeting essential web3 use cases.

Next comes the Collaborative Ecosystem phase (Q3 2025), whereby Particle Network will partner with key players in AI, trading and 

 to expand adoption. By Q1 2026, the project will enter its Permissionless Ecosystem phase, allowing any chain or application to integrate Universal Accounts and provide users with a seamless cross-chain experience.

With a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens, PARTI serves as the economic powerhouse of the Particle Network ecosystem. The token operates at three fundamental levels: 

When users interact with any blockchain via Universal Accounts, all transactions ultimately settle in PARTI on Particle Chain. This creates continual utility and demand for the token as the ecosystem grows, without requiring users to directly hold PARTI themselves.

The token’s distribution balances immediate ecosystem needs with long-term sustainability:

This structured distribution, combined with the token's essential utility, supports sustainable growth while preventing excessive concentration of ownership.

To drive early adoption, Particle Network launched the 

, which rewards testnet participation with PARTI points. Users earn points by sending transactions, paying for gas with USDG (Universal Gas) on the testnet and completing daily check-ins. Consistent participation yields progressively higher rewards to encourage regular engagement.

Committed community members can boost their earning potential by acquiring Particle Pioneer NFTs, which increase point earnings by 2–30%. The program has gained remarkable traction, attracting over 1.7 million registered accounts and distributing more than 57 billion PARTI points.

These accumulated points qualify participants for several benefits, such as upcoming PARTI token airdrops, bonuses on the 

 and whitelist spots for ecosystem projects. The strategic distribution of points and eventual token airdrops aims to reward early supporters, while creating a broad and engaged community of PARTI holders.

Looking to trade Particle Network tokens? Bybit now offers the PARTI/USDT trading pair. To get started, you'll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

While Particle Network demonstrates significant promise in the chain abstraction space, investors should carefully consider both its growth potential and risk factors before making investment decisions.

PARTI shows promising potential with its comprehensive approach to chain abstraction and strong foundation of existing integrations. However, potential investors should 

 before investing, particularly given the innovative nature of chain abstraction technology.

Particle Network solves the fragmentation problem that has effectively limited web3 adoption. Instead of juggling multiple wallets, managing separate balances and navigating different gas tokens across chains, Particle Network users have a single unified account that works everywhere. PARTI powers this seamless experience, potentially becoming the crucial link that finally makes blockchain technology accessible to everyone.

Particle Network (PARTI): The backbone of web3 chain abstraction

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