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.

Advanced

21 Apr 2025 weekly newsletter.png

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.

Beginner

1.png

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.

block-scholes-x-bybit-report.jpeg

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

KiloEx.png

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

Bybit Learn

web3

Explainers

OpenSea is the world's first and largest NFT marketplace. Find out the origin of it and why it is so popular amongst NFT collectors and digital creators.

Dive into the world of non-fungible tokens (

, the world’s largest NFT marketplace that has revolutionized the way digital assets are bought, sold, and traded. Whether you’re a seasoned NFT enthusiast or a curious newcomer, this comprehensive guide will unravel the intricacies of what is OpenSea, its founders’ pioneering vision, and how it has grown into a thriving platform for millions of users. So get ready to explore the endless possibilities of NFT trading and creation, and embark on an exciting journey through the world of what is OpenSea.

Understanding OpenSea: A Comprehensive Overview

Established in 2017, OpenSea has rapidly evolved into the world’s most extensive NFT marketplace, serving as a user-friendly platform for the trade, purchase, and sale of digital assets. It offers a diverse range of NFT categories, including:

Built on the Ethereum network and integrated with the Polygon blockchain, OpenSea ensures seamless transactions with reduced fees, making it a popular choice for NFT enthusiasts.

OpenSea’s intuitive interface simplifies the process of creating NFTs for users, while developers can utilize the platform to build customized NFT marketplaces for various purposes such as in-game items, crowdfunding initiatives, and utility NFT distribution.

Driven by the ambition to develop open protocols enabling developers and users to create open economies across games, platforms, and digital worlds, Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer founded OpenSea in 2017. They identified a need for NFT collectors to safely trade their digital assets, and thus, the world’s largest NFT marketplace came into existence.

Today, OpenSea embodies their vision of an all-encompassing platform for digital asset transactions, including digital currency.

OpenSea’s meteoric rise is evident in its impressive growth, boasting:

The platform’s quick expansion, powered by its accessible interface and various NFT categories, has positioned OpenSea as a preferred destination for global NFT enthusiasts.

The platform of OpenSea presents an intuitive marketplace for users to delve into and uncover NFTs. With various filters and search options, users can easily find and browse through NFT collections spanning a wide range of categories, such as:

When searching for a new home, it’s essential to consider not only the house itself but also other properties in the neighborhood to ensure you’re making the best investment.

Finding the perfect NFT on OpenSea is a breeze, thanks to the platform’s user-friendly navigation. Users can easily sort NFTs by applying filters such as price range, collection, rarity, and more. OpenSea’s marketplace also provides several categories for filtering, including art, music, domain names, virtual worlds, trading cards, collectibles, sports, and utility.

OpenSea accommodates a wide spectrum of NFT enthusiasts with its support for various NFT categories, such as art, music, collectibles, virtual lands, and sports assets. Some of the most popular NFT categories on OpenSea are Profile Picture (PFP) collections, including 

Creating, Buying, and Selling NFTs on OpenSea

With the platform’s simple and straightforward processes, users can easily engage in the world of NFTs.

OpenSea offers various sale types and auction options, catering to the diverse needs of its users.

Learning how to create NFTs on OpenSea is as simple as constructing an NFT collection and uploading digital files in accepted formats. With just a few clicks, users can mint their unique digital assets and showcase them to a worldwide audience.

Buying NFTs on OpenSea is a seamless process. Here are the steps:

OpenSea’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for users to discover and purchase their desired NFTs.

Selling NFTs on OpenSea is equally straightforward. Users can navigate to their collection, select the NFT they wish to sell, and choose between listing it as an auction or a fixed sale. OpenSea charges a fee of 2.5% for each transaction, ensuring a fair and competitive marketplace for all users.

Blockchain Integration and Multichain Support

By integrating with multiple blockchains like Ethereum and Polygon, OpenSea assures seamless transactions and minimized fees for its patrons. The platform’s multichain support enables users to access a diverse range of NFTs, promoting a more inclusive and thriving NFT ecosystem.

Built on the Ethereum network, OpenSea utilizes the Wyvern Protocol for smart contracts, enabling secure and decentralized NFT transactions. Ethereum’s features that make it an ideal choice for developers and businesses include:

Ethereum serves as the foundational blockchain infrastructure for OpenSea.

OpenSea’s integration with Polygon offers users:

While Polygon may lack the same level of familiarity within the NFT market as Ethereum, its benefits in terms of transaction speed and reduced fees make it an increasingly popular choice for NFT enthusiasts.

OpenSea maintains compatibility with a variety of crypto wallets, facilitating easy connection and management of NFTs for users. The platform emphasizes security measures to protect users’ assets, offering valuable advice on best practices and precautions to maintain the safety of digital wallets and transactions.

OpenSea supports an array of wallets, including:

This allows users to connect and manage their NFTs. Users can easily integrate their preferred wallet with OpenSea and use it to purchase, sell, and trade NFTs on the platform.

OpenSea encourages users to follow security best practices, such as using hardware wallets and being cautious of phishing attacks. The platform has implemented security measures to protect user wallets and transactions, locking compromised accounts and blocking stolen items.

However, users are ultimately responsible for the security of their digital wallets, and OpenSea recommends taking steps to ensure that wallets are secure.

By offering valuable NFT data and market trends, OpenSea equips users to make enlightened decisions and uncover top collections. The platform’s analytics tools, along with its API for tracking real-time NFT sales, offer valuable insights for collectors and investors alike.

OpenSea offers a range of NFT statistics and analytics tools, such as:

These tools allow users to mint nfts and sort them, including non fungible tokens, utility nfts, and other crypto collectibles, by sales volume, recent activity, and other metrics, providing valuable insights into the NFT market and trends.

OpenSea highlights top collections and projects, helping users identify popular and valuable NFTs. By consulting the rankings on the OpenSea website, users can discover the highest-ranking NFT collections based on volume, floor price, and other statistics.

Notable collections include Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Azuki, and Springfield Punks.

Comparing OpenSea to Other NFT Marketplaces

OpenSea distinguishes itself from other NFT marketplaces with its exclusive features, varied NFT categories, and competitive fees. However, it also faces challenges and controversies that may impact its reputation.

A comparison of OpenSea with competitors such as Rarible and SuperRare offers significant insights into the respective strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

OpenSea offers a user-friendly platform, diverse NFT categories, and low fees compared to competitors like Rarible and SuperRare. Its easy-to-use interface, comprehensive search options, and blockchain support make it a preferred choice for NFT enthusiasts.

Additionally, OpenSea adheres to metadata standards, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable user experience.

Despite its success, OpenSea has faced controversies, including insider trading allegations, plagiarism, and phishing attacks. These incidents may impact the platform’s reputation and user trust. However, OpenSea has taken steps to address these issues and implement measures to prevent future occurrences, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining a safe and secure marketplace for its users.

In conclusion, OpenSea has cemented its position as the world’s largest NFT marketplace, offering a diverse range of digital assets and a user-friendly platform for trading, buying, and selling NFTs. Its integration with multiple blockchains, compatibility with various wallets, and emphasis on security make it an attractive choice for NFT enthusiasts. So, whether you’re a seasoned collector or just starting your NFT journey, OpenSea is an excellent platform to explore the exciting world of non-fungible tokens. #Bybit #CryptoArk

OpenSea is a blockchain-based marketplace for buying, selling and trading NFTs, similar to eBay or Etsy but in a decentralized manner.

Overall, OpenSea is a safe place to buy and mint NFTs since they are stored in your own wallet. However, there have been reports of crimes targeting the platform and its clients in 2021 and 2022, so it is important to take precautions when buying or trading.

OpenSea is free to use for creating and minting Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Although selling an NFT on OpenSea is free, there may still be transaction fees involved depending on the blockchain being used, and OpenSea will typically take a 2.5%-10% fee from the total sale.

Open Sea is a great place for beginners to start exploring the world of NFTs, as it offers many options such as sports collectibles, domain names, trading cards, and virtual worlds.

OpenSea is a decentralized platform for buying and selling NFTs across multiple blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Polygon. It also enables users to mint their own NFTs.

What is OpenSea? Discover the World's Greatest NFT Marketplace

Compete for 2,500 USDT Every Week

Earn Points by Completing Tasks

Event Rules

Register now and get 10 points

Write/Reply Comments (0/5)

Publish an Article (0/5)

Share an Article on Social Media (0/5)

Like an Article (0/5)

Read an Article (0/5)

Weekly Leaderboard