Mar 17, 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 — consumer sentiment falls

US consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in over two years, reflecting growing concerns about the economic impact of tariffs. According to data from the University of Michigan, the preliminary sentiment index for March 2025 dropped to 57.9 from 64.7 in February, the lowest level since November 2022. This decline was worse than expected by a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Inflation expectations surged, with consumers anticipating a 3.9% annual price increase over the next five to ten years, the highest rate over three decades. Additionally, consumers expect prices to rise by 4.9% over the next year from 4.3%, marking the steepest rise since 2022.

As US president Donald Trump’s tariff policies expand, consumers across the political spectrum increasingly worry that these extra duties will lead to higher costs. Despite recent inflation cooling, ongoing price pressures could lead households to reduce discretionary spending.

The survey also indicated a record low in consumer expectations regarding personal finances, with respondents estimating only a 48.7% chance of stock market gains in the coming year. Joanne Hsu, 

 the University of Michigan, emphasized that uncertainty surrounding economic policies complicates financial planning.

Some analysts warned that declining consumer confidence poses a significant threat to spending, as fears of an economic downturn may deter purchases of major items. Overall, the current conditions gauge and the expectations index fell to their lowest levels in several months, showcasing widespread consumer apprehension.

Weekly crypto highlight — Bitcoin see slight life in the past weekend

Bitcoin rebounded from a four-month low earlier this week alongside other risky assets recovering from recent market turmoil. Economic uncertainties driven by a wave of tariffs from President Trump and the threat of a government shutdown have led to significant sell-offs across various asset classes, including cryptocurrencies.

“As we conclude a week of widespread selling, markets are experiencing a relief rally from oversold conditions,” stated Ravi Doshi, Co-Head of Markets at FalconX. The avoidance of a US government funding shutdown has eased market uncertainty.

On Friday, Bitcoin rose by as much as 6.2%, reaching $85,301, while smaller digital assets surged even more: Solana gained over 9%, Chainlink increased by 13% and XRP rose nearly 8%. Earlier in the week, Bitcoin had dropped to around $77,000, a significant decline from its all-time high of $109,000 in January 2025.

This slump triggered record outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, and large liquidations in crypto derivatives markets. Crypto markets are bouncing back as macro-driven liquidations seem to be pausing. Analysts suggest that ongoing macroeconomic stability may support crypto prices.

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Consumer sentiment falls as crypto recovers from 4-month low

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.

The ongoing sell-off in risk-on assets has intensified bearish signals in derivatives markets for crypto assets. Funding rates indicate a demand for short exposure, futures prices are trading below spot prices and volatility smiles are showing a strong skew toward OTM puts as traders hedge against further declines. The at-the-money (ATM) volatility term structure has inverted again after a lack of clarity around Trump’s proposed strategic digital asset reserve caused short-dated volatility to fall briefly before last weekend.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Choppy spot price movements have had an impact on funding rates, with BTC and altcoin rates reacting primarily to spot fluctuations, rather than long-term market views. ETH has sold off more sharply during declines, and hasn’t participated as strongly in relief rallies, resulting in the worst YTD performance among the five tokens in Trump’s proposed digital asset stockpile. This is reflected in funding rates, with ETH perpetual swaps showing strong demand for leveraged short exposure to further downside risk.

Investors continue to protect against further decline

Despite higher realized volatility increasing both short- and long-tenor implied volatility, options trade volumes remain low. Last Friday’s expiration of significant open interest was mostly for downside protection against a deepening sell-off. However, the options market has reverted to an inverted term structure, which had dissipated during last Friday’s White House crypto summit, with strong relative demand for short-dated put contracts.

Open interest in Solana (SOL) options declined at the end of February, with over $5M in calls and more than $3M in puts expiring and most positions not rolled over. Despite SOL trading 44% below its January ATH, most new positions are in calls. However, this new positioning is disappointingly weak, given SOL's inclusion in Trump’s crypto reserve announcement alongside BTC, ETH, XRP and ADA.

Beginner

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Mar 14, 2025): Investors hedge further declines

BinaryX has rebranded to Four, uniting GameFi, IGOs, and MemeFi under one ecosystem. With BNX now FORM, Four continues to innovate in blockchain gaming."

Having launched in May 2021, BinaryX, which started out as a 

 (DeFi) platform, has continued to evolve and adapt to the rapidly changing blockchain landscape. However, in the spirit of adaptability and innovation, the platform switched to 

, focusing its attention on play-to-earn (P2E) games.

As a GameFi platform, BinaryX has also created an 

 (IGO) launchpad from which developers can launch GameFi projects.

Now, BinaryX has rebranded to Four in order to align with the mission of its 

 product, a launch platform for the meme coin ecosystem.

Let's learn more about BinaryX and the way it continues to shape the crypto market with innovative products and adaptable business models.

 hub for the development of GameFi projects, includes an IGO launchpad to facilitate developers in launching games. 

BinaryX began in 2021 as a decentralized derivative trading system that featured the use of 

. But in 2022, the BinaryX team gradually evolved its project into a GameFi platform in order to adapt to the increased demand for P2E games. Its aim is to make web3 games more accessible and approachable to the vast community of gamers.

BinaryX also developed an IGO launchpad to serve as a comprehensive hub for gaming developers to launch their GameFi projects, and for investors to receive early access to promising new play-to-earn games. Furthermore, the BinaryX team announced the incorporation of a 

 (DAO) into its GameFi ecosystem so that its community of token holders could participate in voting on governance matters.

In February 2025, BinaryX rebranded to Four in order to align with its latest product, Four.meme, which was launched in July 2024. Following the rebrand, its native token, BNX, would now become FORM to reflect the project's commitment to innovation and adaptability.

As one of the top web3 platforms on BNB Chain, BinaryX has continued to innovate and experiment with different business models to adapt to the blockchain landscape's fast-paced nature. To this end, BinaryX has the following diverse products under its wing.

BinaryX launched its Initial Game Offering (IGO) launchpad in May 2022 as a dedicated platform to support blockchain gaming projects. The launchpad helps game developers secure funding for decentralized video games. They also get a platform on which to build communities and accelerate their web3 game development.

By leveraging BinaryX’s expertise in GameFi and its existing user base, projects gain exposure to a vast community of crypto gamers. The platform offers early access to promising blockchain games, allowing investors to participate in token sales and 

 presales. BNX holders can use their tokens to vote for games' listings on the BinaryX platform, and they also receive rewards, such as game tokens and NFT 

Some notable games launched on the BinaryX IGO launchpad include 

. These games showcase BinaryX’s commitment to innovation in GameFi, integrating play-to-earn mechanics, NFTs and decentralized governance to help create immersive gaming ecosystems.

BinaryX's GameFi trading platform is a marketplace designed for seamlessly trading blockchain gaming assets, including NFTs, in-game tokens and virtual items. Launched to support the growing GameFi ecosystem, the platform enables gamers and investors to buy, sell, trade and auction assets from BinaryX-powered games in a secure and efficient manner.

 and DeFi principles, BinaryX ensures transparent transactions with minimal fees, and enhances liquidity for in-game assets while empowering players to maximize their earnings.

The BinaryX GameFi trading platform supports transactions involving 

In January 2022, BinaryX launched the BinaryX DAO, a first for a GameFi project, through which BNX token holders can participate in the project's community governance, determine airdrop and dividend ratios, and submit proposals on how to improve the BinaryX ecosystem.

Case in point: BinaryX's community participated in voting for/against the platform's rebranding to Four during a community vote that was held from Sep 21–23, 2024.

The BinaryX Treasury serves as the financial backbone of the BinaryX ecosystem, supporting the development and sustainability of its GameFi projects. Some sources of assets used to fund the treasury include initial capital injection by the BNX team, income from gaming activities, income from the IGO launchpad and profit from external investment.

Profits in the BinaryX Treasury are used to reward BNX stakers, incentivize BinaryX sidechain node providers and finance strategic investments in third-party projects.

BNX is the native token for the BinaryX platform. Its original maximum supply of 2.1 billion tokens was adjusted to 580 million after a community vote in late July 2024.

Distribution of the 580 million BNX tokens is as follows:

Following BinaryX's rebranding to Four, BNX will change to FORM, and holders will be allowed to exchange to the new token at a ratio of 1:1 (details to follow at a later date).

BinaryX has integrated a multi-token model. Apart from BNX, the other two tokens associated with the platform are as follows:

BinaryX officially rebranded to Four on Feb 21, 2025, following an overwhelming vote via its DAO, marking a significant transformation in its vision for GameFi and DeFi innovation. This shift comes with a revamped website, which will serve as a hub for the GameFi platform, IGO launchpad and Four.meme, a new addition to Four’s expanding ecosystem.

Following the rebranding, a 1:1 token migration from BNX to FORM is necessary in order to enhance the token's identity and align with the project's new direction. FORM remains on the BNB Chain, ensuring smooth compatibility with existing infrastructure.

 (CEXs) won’t need to do anything — the token swap to FORM will take place automatically. BinaryX will liaise with these exchanges to switch from the BNX contract address to the one for FORM.

 (DEXs), cold wallets and self-custody wallets will need to carry out a manual token swap based on a converter provided by BinaryX. To carry out this token swap, you’ll need to do the following:

 landing page (link will be provided at a later date).

4. Sign to authenticate your transaction to receive the FORM tokens.

5. Add the new FORM contract address into your wallet to see the new tokens.

You can buy BNX as a USDT Perpetual contract (

) on the Bybit trading platform. However, the BNXUSDT contract will be delisted on Mar 17, 2025, 9AM UTC, so make sure to close your open positions and cancel your active orders for BNXUSDT as soon as possible.

Over the years, BinaryX has consistently demonstrated strong performance. The rebranding of BinaryX to Four marks a bold step forward in its mission to impact the web3 space. This transformation reflects the project’s commitment to expanding its ecosystem, enhancing token identity and integrating innovative elements, such as Four.meme, alongside its GameFi platform and IGO launchpad.

By adapting to the evolving crypto landscape, Four is positioning itself as a comprehensive hub for web3 and gaming enthusiasts so that it can offer a seamless experience for gamers, investors and meme culture participants. The introduction of the FORM token ensures a more cohesive and recognizable branding, reinforcing Four’s long-term vision. Thanks to the smooth migration process from BNX to FORM, users can continue participating in the ecosystem while benefiting from enhanced liquidity and utility.

Four remains dedicated to GameFi innovation, supporting successful blockchain games such as 

, all of which feature play-to-earn mechanics, NFTs and decentralized governance. The revamped platform is designed to foster a dynamic gaming economy, support new game launches and provide a secure environment for trading digital assets. With its rebranding and expanded offerings, Four is set to lead the next wave of blockchain gaming and DeFi innovation, uniting gamers, developers and investors in a vibrant web3 ecosystem.

Intermediate

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From BinaryX to Four: A unified hub for GameFi, IGOs and MemeFi

Learn about the benefits of using Bybit Pay and the step-by-step instructions to get started with Bybit Pay now.

Traditional financial systems and blockchain-based ecosystems have long operated in silos, creating friction for users and businesses alike. 

 is a new payment solution that’s been designed from the ground up to solve this issue to make cryptocurrency transactions seamless for any users.

With the aim of mainstreaming crypto payment options, Bybit Pay has already begun partnering with traditional payment solution providers, enabling users to transact with cryptocurrencies through existing infrastructure. For example, with its recent 

, Brazilian users can now shop by using cryptocurrencies in a quick and effortless manner. 

In this article, we’ll explain the benefits of using Bybit Pay and provide step-by-step instructions for new users who want to get started with the platform.

With more than 60 million users on the Bybit platform, Bybit Pay empowers merchants with access to the global network of its vast user base. Meanwhile, users benefit from a seamless integration with web3 wallets that makes paying with crypto as easy as paying with fiat currency. The platform also offers collateralized payment tools that allow users to borrow against their NFT and crypto holdings. 

Through these innovative features, Bybit Pay blends the ease of traditional finance with the flexibility of cryptocurrencies, creating an ecosystem that benefits both users and merchants.

Bybit Pay can be accessed using the Bybit App on mobile and desktop. 

While filling in the form, make sure that the information you enter matches the information you’ve already provided during 

: As of now, only verified users in Brazil can make transactions using a Pix QR code.

Since the Pix integration, Brazilian users can use Bybit Pay wherever Pix is accepted. This opens up a vast network of offline establishments in the country, since Pix is Brazil’s leading instant payment system provider. 

In addition to offline establishments, Bybit Pay can also be used with a number of e-commerce providers for online shopping using cryptocurrencies. Bybit Pay will be available to users from other regions soon.

With the launch of Bybit Pay, Bybit is integrating crypto payments with traditional payment services providers — and vastly expanding the number of places where cryptocurrencies can be used.

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How to use Bybit Pay for effortless payments

Bybit Learn

Altcoins

Blockchain

Polygon is one of the top Layer 2 scaling solutions designed to enhance scalability while maintaining security when using and building on Ethereum.

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 is one busy ecosystem and plays a massive role in driving the 

 movement forward. However, despite its novel architecture, the blockchain is limited in its scalability due to challenges such as network congestion and high gas fees.

 scaling solutions were birthed. One such platform is Polygon (formerly Matic Network), designed to bring interoperability between multiple 

-compatible blockchains, including Ethereum.

Let’s explore the Polygon universe and learn why its token, MATIC, is one of the 

Polygon is a Layer 2 scaling solution designed to provide an easy-to-use platform. It’s equipped with the tools necessary to enhance scalability while maintaining security when using and building on Ethereum. 

As the home of decentralized applications (

) products, Ethereum’s network is often clogged, reducing the speed of transactions and increasing gas fees. 

To counter this, projects such as Polygon act as an additional layer designed to enhance the capabilities of the primary blockchain without changing its original structure.

Polygon was initially known as Matic Network and was co-founded in Mumbai, India in 2017 by a team of ambitious Ethereum developers: Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun, said to be the first Indian crypto billionaires.

 to Polygon in a bid to expand its mission and tech scope to include a suite of developer solutions for catering to various functionalities.

 to Ethereum, running parallel to the Ethereum mainchain architecture and offering EVM compatibility.

When it was initially launched, Matic Network was basically a scalability solution for Ethereum-based applications. Matic Network started with plasma chains to transfer assets between the mainchain and the sidechain. 

 are independent blockchains outside the main Ethereum blockchain, designed with their own consensus mechanism to allow the confirmation of transactions off-chain. 

With its rebranding to Polygon in 2021, Polygon uses ZK-rollups for more effective scaling of Ethereum. It now aims to be the aggregator for all Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solutions and to transform Ethereum into a multi-chain network. Some of its upgraded features include Polygon zkEVM, Polygon PoS and Polygon Supernets.

Polygon's mainchain is a sidechain that uses a 

 (PoS) approach to decide who can mine or validate a block. This is in complete contrast to 

 (PoW), whereby every competing node attempts to solve a complex problem, and the miner with the most expensive hardware wins.

 for choosing block producers, which increases the network's scalability and security. Block producers are chosen randomly from among PoS validators in the network, providing increased security and scalability as the pool of validators is quite large.

Polygon validators running parallel to the Ethereum mainchain keep validating the Polygon ecosystem's transactions at regular checkpoints. This helps maintain consistency and addresses any disputes that might arise.

Apart from this, Polygon has its own Polygon Network layer, which is essential for block production and local consensus in its blockchain ecosystem. The Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) helps Polygon implement smart contracts. 

, which combine a large number of off-chain transfers into a single transaction. This mechanism helps add anonymity to transactions, thus ensuring privacy for users. Even though validation and consensus are available, no private information is leaked, which is referred to as 

All of these strategies combined provide Polygon with a distributed and secure architecture. This is how it easily surpasses the Ethereum network’s current throughput of 14 

 (TPS). The increased scalability makes transactions a much cheaper commodity than they currently are on Ethereum’s overburdened network.

As two of the most popular blockchains in DeFi, Ethereum and Polygon play a crucial roll, especially among developers. There's often debate about their capabilities and distinctions. At times, Polygon is seen as a replacement for Ethereum.

However, Polygon is built on top of Ethereum and benefits fully from the latter's strengths, such as leveraging its enhanced security and developed architecture. It shares Ethereum’s values of open innovation and complete decentralization. 

Rather than compete with Ethereum, Polygon is designed to help its blockchain provide an improved user experience by speeding up transactions at a lower cost.

, designed to significantly solve Ethereum’s scalability issues by decongesting its network, could render Polygon redundant. However, Polygon remains a strong network that’s crucial to facilitating Ethereum's shift toward a more scalable system and making it accessible to all. 

For now, it will take time for Ethereum to catch up with Polygon's speeds and low fees. Polygon can process up to 65,000 transactions per second, much faster than Ethereum's current capacity of around 10 to 15 transactions per second. Hence, as a user, you may want to use Polygon for transacting, due to its high throughput and extremely low gas fees as compared to Ethereum. 

Benefits of Polygon Over Alternative Blockchains

Even though there are many scalability solutions based on Ethereum’s network, Polygon has its own distinct set of advantages. Some of these are listed below.

) — the first-ever EVM-compatible version of ZK-rollups, designed to work effortlessly with all existing smart contracts, developer tools and wallets. At the same time, it also reduces user friction by removing the need for any modification or reimplementation of code. 

In addition, zkEVM inherits Ethereum’s security while increasing performance and reducing fees by a large amount. With zkEVM, any smart contract or developer tool that can be used on Ethereum can now be used on Polygon. 

The development team aims to build zkEVM into the holy grail of web3 infrastructure of scalability, security and Ethereum compatibility.

Polygon’s zkEVM rollup was released on the public testnet on Oct 10, 2022, while the mainnet went live on March 27, 2023. Furthermore, one of the co-founders shared that plans were underway to upgrade Polygon PoS into a 

, making Polygon's security comparable to Ethereum's. Having the network as a validium rather than a rollup implies that only validation proofs will be stored on Ethereum, while all the other data is stored locally. 

This upgrade will also drastically reduce costs and open up the network to applications, such as web3 gaming, which process large volumes of transactions. The upgrade is expected to be made between February and March 2024 in what developers are calling Polygon 2.

To reduce its gas spikes as well as its block transaction finality time, Polygon implemented a mainnet 

There are two parts to the upgrade. The first is the reduction of gas spikes. Gas spikes are the abnormal price surges in gas fees that occur due to two factors — the 

 update, and Polygon's switch to PoS, which has led to faster block times. In addition, the 

 will be increased from eight to 16 to ease the base fee rate changes, due to a rise above or drop below the target gas limits. After the denominator is increased to 16, the base gas fee is expected to fall from 12.5% to 6.25%.

 of Polygon’s blocks from 64 to 16 blocks to solve the chain reorganization issue. As the 

 length is equivalent to the sprint length, a reduction in sprint length will reduce the time needed to produce blocks continuously. This will lower the frequency of reorgs, thereby leading to better transaction finality times. This update doesn’t impact the total time or number of blocks a validator produces, so block rewards won’t be reduced.

MATIC was first released in 2017 with the launch of the Matic Network, which began with the goal of solving the Ethereum network’s inherent problems related to its performance and affordability issues. Since then, it’s been widely adopted in various projects, making it one of the most popular scalability solutions in the crypto market. To build upon its initial success, the Polygon team expanded its services with a broader vision.

Thus, in February 2021, MATIC was rebranded to Polygon, offering an improved scalability solution incorporating interoperability in its long-term vision.

Following this, Polygon has been designed to create a world where users of EVM-compatible blockchains can interconnect and transact without needing a third-party enabler. 

As of Jul 1, 2023, Polygon’s price was $0.70, approximately 22,223% above its all-time low (ATL) of $0.00314 on May 10, 2019, and a 75.94% drop from its all-time high (ATH) of $2.92 on Dec 27, 2021. 

Price forecasting experts are quite bullish on MATIC’s price. According to DigitalCoinPrice’s 

, price analysts believe it could hit a maximum price of $2.56 in 2025 and increase to $7.34 in 2030. Experts at PricePrediction 

, asserting that MATIC could hit $2.02 in 2025 and rise to a maximum price of $14.06 by 2030. 

While these price predictions represent a bullish outlook, they aren’t financial advice or a guarantee of the future price of Polygon. We highly recommend that you always 

 before investing in MATIC or any other altcoins. 

As Polygon employs a PoS consensus, it requires validators and delegators to secure the network. Each time a validator checks and adds new transactions to the blockchain, they’re rewarded in MATIC tokens. 

Anyone can become a validator on Polygon and set up their own node, or lease to a community node. Rewards depend upon the amount of MATIC staked and the transactions in the network. If your selected validator makes a serious error, you may lose part or all of the MATIC tokens you’ve staked.

Alternatively, you can stake your MATIC with 

 to automatically earn rewards that go directly into your account. Bybit Savings allows you to withdraw your MATIC at any time, as compared to the nine-day unstaking period on the Polygon Network.

Polygon has done incredibly well in its bid to onboard more users into web3 by providing an easy way to benefit from the superior architecture of Ethereum, without worrying about high gas fees and delayed transactions. 

Furthermore, the project’s rebranding to expand its technical scope has opened up its architecture to a diverse range of services, leading to a thriving ecosystem.

Notably, Polygon has proposed a major upgrade to its network, dubbed 

, which the team believes will significantly improve scalability and unify liquidity. When successfully implemented, Polygon 2.0 will leverage ZK (zero knowledge) technology to create what it's calling the 

, enabling unlimited creation and exchange for all.

MATIC is driving innovation payments on DApps, DEXs and gaming networks. Its fast market adoption is behind its favorable prospects and price jump.

There are around 19,000 DApps currently using the Polygon Network to implement their services. 

Some top projects using MATIC coin currently include:

Polygon has established a wide range of partnerships to adopt more users, including the following.

What Is Polygon (MATIC): Unlocking Limitless Scalability

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards