Bitcoin Accumulation, Hyperliquid Surge, Sui Hack, and Solana RWAs

Happy Friday, TM Family!

Welcome to the Token Metrics Daily newsletter, where we cover key market movements, regulatory updates, and early alpha for our readers and investors. 

Let’s dive in! 

Bitcoin has entered its most robust accumulation phase since January 2025, with its price climbing above $111,000 and its total market capitalization reaching $2.2T for the first time.

According to Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score, which hit 1.0, buying activity spans all wallet cohorts. This phase began in early May, initially driven by whales holding over 10,000 BTC, followed by smaller holders as prices rose. This marks a reversal from the January-to-April period, when Bitcoin’s price fell from $109,000 to approximately $75,000 due to selling pressure.

Check $BTC Trading Signals on Token Metrics

The options market reflects strong bullish sentiment. The $300,000 June strike is the most popular call option, with a notional value of $620M, while the $200,000 strike holds $420M. This suggests traders anticipate significant price increases, potentially to $200,000 or even $300,000 by June 2025. 

U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their highest combined daily inflows since January, totaling $1.05B on May 22. Bitcoin ETFs attracted $934.8M, led by BlackRock’s IBIT with $877.2M, while Ethereum ETFs saw $110.5M. This surge aligns with Bitcoin’s recent all-time highs and Ethereum’s ongoing rally, signaling renewed institutional interest (ETF Inflows).

Hyperliquid, a high-performance layer-1 blockchain focused on permissionless perpetual trading, saw its native token, HYPE, surge 15% in 24 hours to a new all-time high above $37.

The platform’s open interest reached a record $9B, driven by significant on-chain activity. Notably, a whale known as “James Wynn” placed a $1.1B long Bitcoin bet using 40x leverage, highlighting the platform’s appeal for large-scale traders.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sought public input on regulating crypto derivatives in a 24/7 trading environment. Hyperliquid Labs responded with two comment letters, supporting the CFTC’s proactive approach and advocating for DeFi frameworks to create safer and more efficient financial products. This engagement is a rare instance of a DeFi-native protocol interacting directly with U.S. regulators, reflecting the sector’s growing maturity and the need for favorable regulatory frameworks. 

The Cetus Protocol, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Sui network, was exploited, resulting in a $223M loss in tokens, including SUI and USDC. The attacker used spoof tokens to manipulate price curves and reserve calculations, draining liquidity pools. The attacker’s wallet holds 12.9M SUI (approximately $54M), with a net worth of 32.9M SUI (~$137M), likely to obfuscate funds.

The Cetus team paused smart contracts to prevent further losses and is collaborating with the Sui Foundation to recover funds. Approximately $162M of the stolen assets have been “paused.” The team confirmed the incident via an X post and is preparing a detailed statement.

Centrifuge, one of the leaders in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), is expanding to the Solana blockchain with Anemoy’s $400M tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, represented by the deJTRSY token. This fund enables users to earn yield on Solana DeFi platforms like Raydium and Kamino. Centrifuge’s deRWA tokens are designed for transferability and use in DeFi, with the platform managing $76M in active loans.

That’s all for today, people. Happy weekend.

Your Friends at Token Metrics