Crypto Morning Brief: CME officially launches Solana futures contracts, Backpack to kick off "official season"
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Crypto Morning Brief: CME officially launches Solana futures contracts, Backpack to kick off "official season"
Bitcoin's profit-to-loss ratio has risen to 0.23, the highest level since last September.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday's Market Dynamics
WLFI: Has added BTC, ETH, TRX, LINK, SUI, and ONDO to its digital asset strategic reserve program
According to its official blog, Trump-affiliated crypto project WLFI completed its second token sale, generating total proceeds of $550 million from simultaneous offerings in the U.S. and internationally.
In addition, WLFI has formed partnerships with leading blockchain protocols including Ondo Finance, Ethena, Chainlink, Sui, and Aave. The project has also established a digital asset strategic reserve program encompassing BTC, ETH, TRX, LINK, SUI, and ONDO.
Zach Witkoff, co-founder of WLFI, stated that this milestone demonstrates recognition from individuals knowledgeable in cryptocurrency and finance, and that WLFI is poised to drive the development of decentralized finance and reshape the global financial landscape in the coming years.
U.S. February retail sales rise 0.2% month-on-month, below expectations
According to Jin10 News, U.S. February retail sales increased by 0.2% month-on-month, falling short of the expected 0.6%. The previous figure was revised downward from -0.90% to -1.2%.
QCP Capital: With thinning crypto narratives, equities remain the primary focus
QCP Capital’s latest analysis noted that over the weekend, a Bitcoin whale opened a $400 million short position with an average entry price of $84,000 and a liquidation price around $86,000. This triggered market volatility on Sunday, as certain trading groups attempted to force the liquidation of this highly leveraged (40x) position, which would require only a 2.5% price move. Nonetheless, the position remains open and has already paid nearly $400,000 in funding fees.
The report indicated that the Crypto Fear & Greed Index currently stands at 32% (within the "fear" zone), reflecting ongoing risk-averse sentiment, particularly amid broad negative sentiment in equity markets. This further reinforces Bitcoin’s role as a macro hedge. For example, on last Friday, the BTC-17MAR25-80k-P option was actively bought up 300 times, clearly aimed at hedging weekend volatility risks.
Despite persistent market noise, Bitcoin has remained stable above $80,000, showing resilience compared to equity markets. In contrast, U.S. stock index futures opened lower this morning due to renewed concerns about economic recession—sparked by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said a recession cannot be ruled out, echoing earlier remarks by Trump. Markets are now awaiting tonight’s release of U.S. retail sales data to determine whether January’s 0.9% decline signals the beginning of slowing consumer spending or merely a correction following a strong end to the 2024 holiday season.
The report suggests that with thinning crypto narratives, equities remain the central focus. Last week’s weaker-than-expected U.S. CPI data provided temporary relief, but the Federal Reserve is unlikely to shift dovish immediately. Given ongoing tariff risks and inflation concerns, the outlook for rate cuts remains uncertain. Therefore, QCP Capital expects the Fed to hold rates steady at Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. However, with markets searching for any clues regarding the Fed’s next move—especially amid uncertainty surrounding potential policy shifts under Trump—market volatility is likely to remain elevated.
Strategy acquires 130 bitcoins at average price of $82,981
According to an official announcement, Strategy increased its Bitcoin holdings by 130 BTC between March 10 and March 16, 2025, at an average purchase price of $82,981, totaling approximately $10.7 million in investment.
As of March 16, Strategy has accumulated a total of 499,226 bitcoins, representing roughly $33.1 billion in total investment, with an average acquisition cost of $66,360 per bitcoin. The company’s Bitcoin yield (BTC Yield) for 2025 year-to-date stands at 6.9%.
YZi Labs announces investment in Plume Network to advance real-world asset tokenization and RWAfi
According to official news, YZi Labs has invested in Plume Network (Plume), a fully integrated modular blockchain purpose-built for real-world assets (RWAs). Plume is building an EVM-compatible environment capable of bringing diverse physical assets on-chain while integrating them into a composable RWAfi ecosystem, thereby unlocking practical utility.
Max Coniglio, Investment Director at YZi Labs, said: “At YZi Labs, we back projects that leverage blockchain technology to create real-world impact—and Plume is a prime example. By bringing tangible assets on-chain, they’re unlocking new capital, expanding access, and accelerating adoption. By making RWAs as seamless as any other digital asset, Plume is bridging traditional finance and DeFi, paving the way for broader adoption.”
CME officially launches Solana futures contracts
According to The Block, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) officially launched Solana (SOL) futures contract trading today, widely seen within the industry as a key step toward potential approval of a SOL spot ETF. CME Group introduced two contract specifications: a micro contract (covering 25 SOL) and a standard contract (covering 500 SOL).
Chris Chung, founder of Solana exchange platform Titan, stated in a press release: “This is a significant milestone for Solana and paves the way for eventual approval of a SOL ETF.” Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s Head of Digital Asset Research, also commented on X, saying this brings the launch of a SOL ETF “one giant step closer.” Currently, at least 13 SOL-based exchange-traded products await approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Canary files S-1 for its SUI ETF
According to public filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Canary Capital Group LLC has submitted an S-1 registration statement to the SEC for the proposed launch of the Canary SUI ETF.
Backpack hints at launching 'official season' this Friday
Backpack posted “Friday.” on X accompanied by an image reading “The seasons are coming,” possibly signaling the launch of its “official season” this Friday (March 21).
Previously, Backpack founder Armani Ferrante stated, “Pre-Season has ended. The first official season is coming.”
Glassnode: Bitcoin profitability stress ratio rises to 0.23, highest since September last year
According to Glassnode data, the Bitcoin profitability stress ratio has reached 0.23—the highest level since September last year. This metric measures the relative size of supply currently held at a loss, reflecting overall market pressure.
Glassnode noted that historically, readings above 0.2 typically indicate periods of heightened market stress. If the value continues to climb, it may signal increasing market pressure and potentially reinforce a broader shift in market sentiment.
Standard Chartered: Structural downtrend in Ethereum expected to continue; lowers year-end target to $4,000
Standard Chartered stated in a research report published Monday that Ethereum’s structural downtrend is expected to persist, prompting the bank to significantly revise down its year-end 2025 price target for Ethereum from $10,000 to $4,000.
The report noted: “Ethereum is at a crossroads.” While “it still dominates across several metrics,” this dominance has been eroding for some time. Layer-2 blockchains were originally designed to enhance Ethereum’s scalability, but Standard Chartered estimates that Coinbase’s Base alone has reduced Ethereum’s market cap by $50 billion—and expects this trend to continue.
Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, said market forces could eventually halt this structural decline, “particularly if tokenization of real-world assets grows significantly,” as “ETH’s security dominance means it should retain 80% share of that market.” However, “this can only happen if the Ethereum Foundation actively changes course—such as by taxing Layer 2s”—a scenario the bank considers unlikely.
Standard Chartered forecasts that the ETH/BTC ratio will fall to 0.015 by the end of 2027, the lowest level since 2017. Nevertheless, the bank still expects Ethereum’s price to recover from its current level of around $1,900, as rising Bitcoin prices are likely to lift all digital assets—but Ethereum’s underperformance is expected to persist.
ai16z founder Shaw: ElizaOS v2 1.0.0 test version experience coming soon
Shaw, founder of ai16z, posted on X: “ElizaOS v2 1.0.0 is under development, and a test version experience is coming soon. There’s still much work to do before final release, but the new version will include an app.exe so anyone can run the agent without any cumbersome setup.”
Market Movements
Suggested Reading
Evening Review: What Meme Coins Have Been Trending This Past Week?
This article focuses on the past week, during which Meme tokens on the BSC chain surged strongly, attracting substantial liquidity, while performance on Solana and Base chains weakened comparatively. It reviews the background, market performance, and associated risks of several popular Meme tokens, reminding investors to participate cautiously.
U.S. Treasury Secretary: White House Trying to Avoid an ‘Inevitable’ Financial Crisis
This article covers remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, who stated the White House is working to avoid a financial crisis triggered by massive government spending over recent years, while attempting to achieve sustainable growth through policy adjustments. Despite the Trump administration’s push for workforce reductions and deregulation, U.S. debt and deficit issues continue to worsen. Additionally, markets have fluctuated amid concerns over tariffs and economic slowdown, though Bessent views market corrections as healthy and believes pro-business policies will drive long-term economic growth.
The New Order of Crypto: From Wild West to Wall Street Siege
This article discusses how the cryptocurrency market is transitioning from a “Wild West” phase to a “Wall Street siege,” with retail investors gradually exiting and institutional capital and traditional financial giants taking control. Mainstream assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are becoming focal points, while altcoin liquidity dries up. Web3’s promises remain unfulfilled, with stablecoins being the only successful killer application so far. Meanwhile, developers are shifting from crypto to AI, industry rules and regulations are forming, and the influx of institutional capital is driving crypto toward corporatization and maturity.
How Can AI Enhance Web3 Marketing Efficiency? A Practical Guide from Design to Brand Positioning
This article explores how to use AI tools to improve efficiency in Web3 marketing and emphasizes the importance of brand positioning, sharing two case studies: one on how a designer used AI tools to create a testnet banner, and another on how a Web3 project optimized its brand positioning and narrative strategy using AI.
52 Trading Taboos: Lessons Every Trader Should Learn from Painful Experiences
This article compiles 52 trading taboos derived from traders’ painful experiences, aiming to help traders avoid common pitfalls and strengthen discipline and risk management.
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