For the Love of the Game (Market Commentary) |
Just over 1 week ago, Web3 was rocked by the Libra scandal, and it felt like we just couldn't catch a
break. Suddenly, we received some of the best news of the cycle when Coinbase announced that the SEC would be ending their litigation against the CEX. But just as soon as the good news rolled in, we were sucker punched by the biggest hack in crypto history when the Bybit exchange got hacked for $1.4B. As
you might guess, this was still just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s dive into what happened in crypto, AI, and NFTs over the past week. The SEC is Going Through Changes The SEC is going through changes, and it’s safe to say they’re very positive for crypto and NFTs. From regulatory changes to scaling back enforcement actions, the past week brought some of the most impactful changes we’ve seen in crypto
this cycle. - The SEC announced the creation of a new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, which will be the
entity to combat misconduct across AI, blockchain, and crypto.
- Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, posted a video on X and informed the world that the SEC notified
him that they would be ending its litigation against Coinbase.
- OpenSea’s Devin Finzer, the CEO of OpenSea, also shared a similar message in a post on X. The SEC
informed him that they are closing their investigation into the once largest NFT marketplace in the world.
- RobinHood also received the good news, announcing yesterday that they were informed by the SEC of
the closure of their investigation.
The Biggest Hack in Crypto History On Friday, the crypto space was rocked by a major hack when the Bybit exchange, via a still unknown compromise, lost $1.4B in a malicious attack by the North Korea hacker group called Lazarus. - Ben Zhou, the Co-Founder of Bybit, posted details about the compromise on X, informing the world that
a transaction from their cold wallet to their warm wallet was intercepted. The hack impacted customer funds.
- Few details have emerged, but it appears that the hackers targeted the 4 multi-sig wallet signers and
got them to install malware on their devices. When they signed a transaction, the malware spoofed the real application prompt.
- Bybit has replaced all funds through a series of loans and OTC Ethereum
purchases.
- The hackers have attempted to wash the stolen funds through meme coins launched on
Pump.fun.
Kanye is Launching a Memecoin It started as rumors, but after details emerged late last week, those rumors turned into reality. Yes, Kanye is launching a memecoin. As you would expect, there is chaos surrounding the $YZY token launch. - After confirming on X that a token is coming (the post is now deleted), details leaked showing the token contract address,
along with details about the Bank of YZY.
- It is believed that Kanye sold access to his X account for $20M to a possible scammer
named Bark.
- More insider info from someone who was close to the token launch suggests that Kanye is getting
bad advice and that plans changed from an initially exciting launch to something that the poster believes people should stay far away from.
- Over the weekend, Kanye and Dave Portnoy started a public feud over the token, with Dave calling it a scam and Kanye replying that he doesn’t even know who Portnoy is.
- DMarket was the top NFT collection by sales volume with $9.93M in sales. Buyers remained nearly flat, though up +0.74% to
$26,017.
- Courtyard sales fell -7.05% to $7.07M, with buyers falling -32.03% to 5,991.
- Pudgy Penguins sales were down -49.07% on the week to $4.35M, and buyers saw a -29.89% decline. The top sale was Pudgy Penguin #6615 which sold for 20 ETH ($53,689.72)
- Doodle's sales fell -76.42% to $3.29M with buyers down -59.70% to 216. The top sale was Doodle #1776 which sold for 8.63 ETH ($23,252.75)
- Bored Ape Yacht Club sales are down -45.04% to $2.58M with buyers falling 40% to 45. The top sale was BAYC #2130 which sold for 40 ETH ($106,553.37)
- Hypio sales on Base are up +5.28% to $2.20M with buyers down -11.46% to 425. The top sale was Hypio #4744, which sold for 5.8 ETH ($15,750.41).
- Ethereum NFT sales fell -68.07% to $31.04M with buyers up +34.46% to
46,145. The top sale was CryptoPunk #2948 which sold for 52.5 ETH ($139,250.97)
- Bitcoin NFT sales fell -9.92% to $19.13M while buyers climbed +35.81% to 26,128. The top sale was OMB #89 which sold for 1.1442 BTC ($110,374.66)
- Mythos Chain sales fell just -0.01% to $15.13M, and buyers are up +44.05% to 57,335.
- Solana sales fell -13.22% to $9.86M while buyers climbed +52.93% to 99,096. The top sale is Portals #489 which sold for 173 SOL ($29,976.90)
- Global sales fell -11.16% to $115.78M, the lowest weekly sales of 2025 and a new 15-week low.
- Wash sales declined -47.53% due to OpenSea ending their short-lived incentivized listing/buying.
- Trade profits fell to its 2nd lowest point of the year with -$10.52M in losses.
The CryptoSlam 500 NFT Index is down --1.22 % in the past 7d, with both crypto and NFT floor prices sliding, especially over the past 24 hours.
ETH NFT Composite - 719.38 (+0.80)
SOL NFT Composite - 524.63 (-0.92%)
CAR NFT Composite - 628.50 (-0.29%) AI Agent market cap and mindshare continues to fall as the crypto ecosystem still reels from the Libra scandal last week. Still, we continue to see building across the agentic ecosystem as builders continue to innovate in
AI. - AI16Z still leads the AI pack with a $328.47M MC, and this week released the newest update to their
ElizaOS, along with the AI16Z DAO kicking off their AI version of Shark Tank called Clank Tank.
- Kaito had their long-awaited TGE and token claim last week. We also got news that the platform would involve mining, validating, and staking, all revolving around monetizing data and attention. There was major controversy surrounding the popular AIXBT agent who didn’t receive a token claim, even though it was the 2nd highest ranked account on crypto Twitter. Kaito’s CEO posted that he would send AIXBT half of his own tokens, while the community votes on how to reward AI agents going forward.
- Keke_terminal, along with a handful of AI artists, was featured last week at the first ever Christie’s AI art gallery titled Augmented Intelligence. It was a milestone moment for NFTs and AI, where major artists like Robbie Barrot, Refik Anadol, Claire Silver, Kevin Abosh, Roope Rainisto, Pindar Van Arman, and more finally got a spotlight put on their
works.
- Billy Bets, an AI agent that analyzes and bets on sports, launched its token last week with Vader Research’s new EAO (Early Agent Offering). The token quickly climbed to a $7M market cap and then rocketed to $12M over the weekend after a fantastic winning streak with its live sports bets. Billy Bets started with a $100K portfolio and quickly saw over $17K in wins from bets.
Crypto took a beating in the past 7d as the reality of tariffs set in, combined with continued meme coin scandals in crypto.
Top Gainers 7d
IP -
$4.77 (+148.1%)
MKR - $1,435.90 (+37.2%)
FTM - $0.7736 (+27.2%)
SEI - $0.2674 (+16.0%)
OM - $8.20 (+13.3%)
Top Losers 7d
RAY - $2.99 (-36.0%)
LDO - $1.40 (-25.1%)
MOVE - $0.4198 (-23.6%)
MNT - $0.8215 (-23.1%)
IMX - $0.6287 (-22.3%)
Be smart and keep your finger on the pulse of this market, by keeping your eyes on CryptoSlam and the indexes. You can stay plugged in by fixing your vision on our new daily Web3 live show called Chain Reactor.
Have a MEGA GM!
— Yehudah Petscher |
An AI Companion is an advanced artificial intelligence system designed to interact with users in a personalized, conversational way. These digital assistants can provide real-time insights, manage tasks, offer emotional support, and even learn
from user interactions to improve over time. In Web3 and crypto, AI companions are increasingly integrated into trading, research, and community engagement, acting as always-on agents that enhance decision-making and efficiency. Received this from a friend? Sign up for this CryptoSlam VIP newsletter. |
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