Hidden Gems: Sui DeFi, Bitcoin L2, and DEX on Ethena

Happy Wednesday, TM Family!

The total crypto market cap today is at $3.02T, with a -3.5% change in the last 24 hours. Leading assets by market cap are down by mid-single-digit percentages for the day.

The AI Agent narrative shows early signs of recovery, with categories like ‘AI Agent Launchpad 'and ‘AI Agents‘ up by 20%+ in the last seven days.

In Today’s Edition

1. Trending Tokens on the TM Platform

2. Hidden Gems: DeepBook, Arch Network, and Ethereal

1. Trending Tokens

Alpaca Finance ($ALPACA), Sui ($SUI), Virtuals Protocol ($VIRTUAL), and Bittensor ($TAO) are the top trending tokens on the platform with strong trader-grade signals. The trader grade signal turned bullish for Bittensor on April 19th, although it is down today, since the signal $TAO is up 22%.

Visit the Token Metrics Ratings page and click ‘Trending‘ to spot such opportunities early and directly trade on the platform.

2. Hidden Gems: DeFi on Sui, Bitcoin Scaling L2, and DEX L3 on a Stablecoin Protocol 

We scored many projects this week. Here are a few you should know about:

• DeepBook 

• Arch Network 

• Ethereal 

Please remember that some of these projects still need our code review process. Still, we want to call them out here because they preliminarily caught our eye based on our fundamental analysis process.

DeepBook - 70.83%

Website | X(Twitter)

Sector - DeFi

Status - Active

DeepBook is a decentralized central limit order book (CLOB) exchange built on the Sui blockchain, designed to provide a high-performance, low-latency trading platform for decentralized finance (DeFi).

It leverages Sui’s parallel execution and low transaction fees to offer deep liquidity and composability, making it one of the top three projects in the Sui ecosystem.

DeepBook supports developers, market makers, and liquidity providers with tools like a TypeScript SDK and real-time data indexing, enabling innovation in Web3 finance. 

Features

• CLOB Architecture: Supports market and limit orders for SUI tokens, enabling flexible trading strategies.

• High Performance: Offers ~390ms settlement, minimal slippage, low latency, and dynamic low fees.

• DeepBook Indexer: Provides real-time access to order book and trading data, with endpoints for pool information and volume analysis.

• TypeScript SDK: Simplifies developer interactions, enabling seamless dApp integration.

• Composability: Enables developers to build complex dApps by leveraging DeepBook’s liquidity.

Token

$DEEP is the native token of the ecosystem with a total supply of 10B, of which 2.5B is in circulation. The token is used to pay trading fees, and staking accrues additional benefits. 

Investors

DeepBook has raised $30K through an IEO on the Gate.Startup platform. 

Where to Buy the Token?

$DEEP is trading on centralized exchanges like Upbit, Bybit, Gate.io, and others, along with decentralized exchanges like Cetus and Bluefin. 

Arch Network - 65.83%

Website | X(Twitter)

Sector - L2

Status - Active

Arch Network is a bridgeless execution platform designed to enhance Bitcoin's capabilities by enabling fast, secure, and fully verifiable smart contracts, referred to as "programs" within its ecosystem.

By leveraging a specialized Arch Virtual Machine (ArchVM), a decentralized Proof-of-Stake Verifier Network, and a novel FROST + ROAST multisig architecture, Arch allows conditional execution without removing assets from the Bitcoin base layer. This innovation addresses the limitations of traditional bridge-based solutions by keeping assets on Bitcoin, thereby improving user experience, liquidity, and security.

Arch is the only platform enabling bridgeless applications on Bitcoin’s Layer 1, offering developers and users a simpler, more secure, and liquid alternative. It supports all popular use cases, like DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs.

Features

• Bridgeless Execution: Programs run directly on Bitcoin L1, eliminating liquidity fracturing and bridge risks.

• Specialized Virtual Machine (ArchVM): Handles state changes and off-chain computations efficiently, forked from Solana’s eBPF for high performance.

• FROST + ROAST Multisig: Supports role-dependent trust and conditional execution, enabling trustless and semi-trustless use cases.

• Wallet Compatibility: Native integration with popular Bitcoin wallets like Xverse, Unisat, and Ledger for seamless adoption.

• Efficiency by Design: Features UTXO program invocation, decoupled states, parallel execution, and atomic execution for state changes and asset transfers.

Investors

Arch Network has raised a total of $20M at a valuation of $200M across two funding rounds. The first was a $7M Seed round in May 2024, led by Multicoin Capital, and participated in by Santiago R. Santos, OKX Ventures, CMS Holdings, Big Brain Holdings, Cypher Capital, and others. The second was a $13M Series A in April 2025, led by Pantera Capital and participated in by Multicoin Capital. 

Ethereal 

Website | X(Twitter)

Sector - DeFi

Status - Teastnet

Ethereal is a decentralized spot and perpetual exchange built on the Ethena Network, leveraging native USDe collateral to deliver institutional-grade trading performance while preserving DeFi's security and self-custody benefits.

Designed to bridge the gap between the speed of centralized exchanges (CEXs) and the trustlessness of DeFi, Ethereal supports high-frequency trading with sub-20ms latency and the capacity to process over 1 million orders per second.

By integrating with the Ethena ecosystem, Ethereal aims to become a leading trading venue, offering a robust platform for managing spot and derivative positions backing USDe. Its innovative architecture and community-driven initiatives, such as the Season Zero campaign, position it as a promising project in the evolving DeFi landscape.

Features:

• Hybrid Onchain-Offchain Architecture: Uses a specialized sequencer to process offchain trades and commit them onchain in batches, similar to rollups, ensuring high throughput and low latency.

• Layer 3 (L3) Settlement: Operates as an L3 that settles onto the Ethena Network, maintaining consistent performance during high network congestion.

• USDe Integration: Native use of USDe collateral provides liquidity and stability, with rewards tied to Ethena’s ecosystem.

• Season Zero Rewards: Incentivizes early adoption through a pre-deposit campaign, offering 30X Ethena rewards and Ethereal Points until May 2025.

• Pyth Partnership: Integrates with Pyth for fast, accurate price feeds, enhancing trading reliability.

Token 

There is a live reward points program. The first season is called Season Zero, where USDe depositors get eUSDe receipt tokens, and holders accumulate Ethereal points. Rewards can increase to a maximum of 30x Ethena Rewards multiplier on the deposit. This has enabled the deposit TVL on Ethereal to reach $927M, and the mainnet is expected to launch after the conclusion of Season Zero in May 2025. 

That’s all for today, people. Let’s talk tomorrow.

Your Friends at Token Metrics