Weekly Digest: April 2025 | Week 4

Highlights

• Bitcoin steadies around $85,000 amid macro turbulence and continued institutional buying.

• Solana dApps dominate DeFi revenues as Jupiter, PumpFun, and Jito each generate $12M+ in weekly fees.

• Hyperliquid captures 68% of decentralized perps volume and challenges CEXs in volume and open interest.

Macro Market Update

Bitcoin inched up 1.7% to $85,200 last week, maintaining its strength despite heightened U.S.-China trade tensions and slowing crypto market activity. Escalating tariffs—as high as 145% from the U.S. and 125% from China—continue to strain global markets. The White House's tightened export controls, particularly against NVIDIA, led to a $5.5B charge for Q1 and a 7% stock drop, dragging down the S&P 500 by 2%.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that tariffs could hinder both price stability and employment. He stressed a one-off price adjustment to maintain long-term inflation expectations, signaling a cautious monetary stance.

Meanwhile, gold surged to a new all-time high of $3,426, with tokenized gold (PAXG) trading volume reaching $1.87B MTD. In contrast, crypto volumes continued to decline:

• BTC spot CEX volume: -45% since Feb

• BTC futures volume: -22% since Feb

• Global crypto spot volume (CEX): -72% since Dec 2024

Asia still leads in BTC session returns (+10% MoM), followed by Europe (+5%) and the U.S. (+3%). Strategy added 3,459 BTC last week, pushing its total to 531,644 BTC (avg. price: $67,556).

Our take: Bitcoin is acting like digital gold, staying resilient while global equity markets stumble. As regulatory clarity and macro direction settle, BTC may soon break its sideways range.

Solana Update

Solana saw renewed interest from institutions. Janover Inc. (backed by ex-Kraken execs) now holds over 163,000 SOL and has partnered with Kraken on validator delegation. Sol Strategies, based in Toronto, also reported substantial SOL holdings.

On-chain metrics are surging:

• Weekly DEX volume: +90% to $15B

• PumpSwap share: 23% of Solana DEXs

• Daily PumpSwap fees: $1.05M

• DAUs: 264,430

Memecoins remain dominant, driving over 40% of Solana DEX volumes. Fartcoin leads with $285M daily volume and 109% price gain over 30 days, surpassing Shiba Inu in activity.

Top Solana dApps like Jupiter, Pump, and Jito returned to DeFi’s top five by revenue, each generating over $12M in the past week.

Our take: After weathering its post-election sell-off, Solana is showing signs of robust recovery. Institutional accumulation, rising dApp revenue, and active DeFi infrastructure suggest Solana’s momentum is far from over.

Hyperliquid Update

Hyperliquid now controls 68% of decentralized perpetuals volume and is rapidly closing the gap with major CEXs in both daily trading and open interest. Open interest vs. major CEXs:

• Binance: from 10% to 14%

• Bybit: from 13% to 21%

• OKX: from 29% to 37%

Revenue in April is on track to hit $30M+ with major allocations to the Assistance Fund and HLP vaults. Key April highlights:

• 20.5M HYPE tokens repurchased ($236M total)

• Spot market volume (Apr MTD): $2.8B

• Unit, its on-chain order book, has seen $100M+ in deposits

• Transaction cost for 1 BTC trade: $25 (vs $82-$330 on CEXs/Uniswap)

HyperEVM (launched Feb) now holds $700M TVL. Early DeFi apps:

• Felix Protocol (feUSD minting): $128M TVL

• HyperLend (leveraged HLP lending): $84M TVL

Our take: Hyperliquid is emerging as more than just a DEX. With growing perps dominance, an active spot market, and early DeFi adoption on HyperEVM, it’s positioning itself as a serious L1 contender.

Closing Thoughts

While global macro and trade dynamics remain uncertain, Bitcoin continues to act as a stabilizing force. Solana is bouncing back with strength, and Hyperliquid's momentum shows no signs of slowing.

FinchTrade continues to provide institutional-grade liquidity, OTC solutions, and insights to help you navigate volatile markets with confidence.

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