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

The price of Litecoin has fluctuated much over its lifespan, but is it still a good investment? Bybit Learn takes a look.

 (LTC) has been increasing in popularity, its price pumping by 8.9% over the past two weeks and reaching a high of $94.77 (as of May 24, 2023).

Litecoin’s price pump has significantly increased its market capitalization, surpassing meme coin

Given the price surges in LTC, is it a good investment now? In this article, we’ll explain what Litecoin is, why it has remained a top crypto, the risks of investing in it and whether you should either trade or invest in Litecoin.

Also widely known as Digital Silver, Litecoin is an open-source, global peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency network that allows people to send payments worldwide quickly and inexpensively. Founded on Oct 13, 2011, Litecoin was created as a fork of Bitcoin (BTC) to improve on three main issues faced by the Bitcoin network:

Litecoin was founded by former Google employee and Coinbase engineering director 

, who decided to create a “lighter” version of Bitcoin that would enable faster transactions, greater scalability and lower transaction fees.

LTC was built to use the Scrypt algorithm with a 

 (PoW) consensus. Scrypt is more cost- and power-efficient and accessible than the SHA-256 algorithm used by Bitcoin. This makes it possible for regular consumers to use Scrypt to 

 Litecoin, lowering the barrier to entry for miners and enhancing the decentralization of mining power.

Using Litecoin’s PoW mechanism, miners are rewarded with LTC when they complete a block. Similar to Bitcoin, the rewards for mining Litecoin decrease over time in a process known as 

. The following are the key dates for Litecoin rewards halving:

As the upcoming Litecoin halving event is just a few months away, Litecoin has recently been gaining more attention from the crypto world, its price pumping to a high of $94.77 on May 18, 2023. This recalls past halving events, in which LTC’s price surged several months prior due to reduced supply and sustained demand. 

For example, before its 2019 halving event, Litecoin witnessed a notable price increase. Starting at $30 in January, LTC price surged to a peak of $141.82 on Jun 23, 2019. Similarly, preceding its halving event in 2015, LTC’s price experienced an upward trajectory, from a low of $1.45 in May to a price of $7.66 by Jul 9, 2015.

Here are the key milestones achieved by the Litecoin team:

Charlie Lee forks Bitcoin, modifying Bitcoin’s code with several enhancements.

2013: Charlie Lee Joins Coinbase as Engineering Director

Litecoin experiences positive price action, soaring by 10x from $3 to $30 when the news is released.

The adoption of SegWit and the Lightning Network layer further enhance Litecoin’s

Charlie Lee sells all of his Litecoin holdings in December, coinciding with the time Litecoin peaks in price, undermining the faith of investors and creating speculation about Lee’s potential manipulation of Litecoin prices. However, Lee clarifies that he acted over concerns of his growing influence on Litecoin, which could lead to a conflict of interest. More details can be found 

Here’s a timeline of Litecoin’s price action since its launch.

Launched just two years after Bitcoin, Litecoin quickly gains followers and reaches a high of $0.30.

In Q4, Litecoin experiences a price increase of 1,000%, reaching an all-time high of $44.53.

After the euphoria of a 1,000% price increase, the price of Litecoin drops significantly over the next three years, trading below $5 and reaching a low of $1.38.

In April, Litecoin’s price finally manages to surpass the $5 mark and skyrockets to a high of $319.26 in December, an increase of over 6,000%.

The price surge is once again unsustained, and as the cryptocurrency market crashes in 2018, LTC’s price plunges to between $20 and $130 over the next two years with many cryptocurrencies experiencing the same fate.

LTC reaches an ATH of $410.26 in May 2021, breaking the previous high of the 2017 bull market. Its price then experiences a sharp drop shortly after, trading between $100 and $280 through the end of 2021. 

Given the bear market, Terra-LUNA crash and FTX debacle, the crypto market as a whole takes a beating, with LTC’s price also in a downturn since its all-time high. 

LTC’s price shows growth in the beginning of the year, from $69.95 on Jan 1, 2023 to a peak of $102.83 on Feb 16, 2023. Despite its decline in March to $69.29, LTC quickly recovers, climbing to $101.82 by mid-April. As of May 24, 2023, LTC is trading at $86.37, with a market cap of more than $6.3 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of over $576 million. It has a circulating supply of 72.9 million tokens and a total supply of 84 million.

How Litecoin Remains a Top Crypto Even After a Decade

Having existed for a decade, Litecoin’s valuation still remains within the top 20 cryptocurrencies in the market. As a matter of fact, with its recent surge in price, it’s managed to make its way to the top 15. There are still growth opportunities, given its technical potential and the leadership of Charlie Lee, who possesses great technical expertise.

Following are some of the unique advantages effected by Litecoin that could potentially make LTC a good investment.

Litecoin generates blocks every two and a half minutes, which is four times faster than Bitcoin’s block mining time of ten minutes. As such, Litecoin’s network is able to achieve greater throughput.

Litecoin has a transaction processing speed of 54 TPS, which is markedly higher than Bitcoin’s transaction processing speed of 5 TPS.

Scrypt is used to power Litecoin’s PoW consensus mechanism, giving the network a lower barrier to entry and allowing more individuals to participate in Litecoin mining. This contributes to the network’s decentralization, given that mining power is no longer concentrated among bigger players who can afford mining.

Litecoin has a fee structure 1/50th the size of Bitcoin’s, which significantly reduces transaction costs.

 of November 2019 included the MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Block) update, which would improve anonymity for both senders and receivers of transactions on Litecoin’s network. 

Now, with the majority of nodes having given their permission, MWEB is finally available. Activated on May 19, 2022, this upgrade has brought substantial privacy feature enhancements to the Litecoin network. Transactions can be kept private while they’re getting verified. With MWEB, users can opt in as necessary to conduct private transactions, and transaction anonymity is guaranteed — so that the transaction amounts are only known to the sender and receiver.

Moreover, MWEB is more comprehensive than its recently implemented privacy measures for Litecoin users alone. MWEB also makes significant advancements to blockchain operations. For instance, its cut-through capability assists in removing all unnecessary transaction data from blocks so that long transactions are condensed into a single one. In other words, the block only records one input-output pair, eliminating the need to record each input and output separately. This contributes to network efficiency.

Over 3,000 businesses accepted LTC as payment in January 2022, a relatively large number. Due to its quick adoption, Litecoin has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies for investments with practical uses. 

The Litecoin Foundation asserted in January 2022 that Visa would permit owners to use the Litecoin Card to spend Litecoin. Coinbase, BitPay, NOWPayments, CoinGate, Alliant and CoinPayments are examples of cryptocurrency-native payment processors that accept Litecoin payments. Online retailers can accept Litecoin payments through e-commerce systems such as Shopify and WooCommerce.

In 2021 and 2022, the Litecoin team hit multiple milestones. For instance, In 2021, Litecoin saw the introduction of the 

 token creation platform, which enables developers to build NFTs and construct their own bespoke cryptocurrencies on the network. 

, the first NFT marketplace on the Litecoin network, was introduced in 2022. A Litecoin-based Lightning Network mobile wallet, as well as user-friendly MWEB-integrated mobile wallets, have also been announced by the developers.

Given the abovementioned properties of Litecoin as a blockchain and the developments they’ve accomplished within the past two years, one can argue that Litecoin is indeed a cryptocurrency to invest in.

Litecoin has fluctuated in value since it first launched back in 2011. 

’s price will surge to $134.95 by the end of the year, and will continue to rise to $277.76 in 2025. LTC is expected to then surpass its ATH to reach a new peak of $613.27 by 2027, and to break the $1,000 mark by 2029 at $1,281.26. Its price is projected to reach $2,590.49 by 2030.

This growth is also supported by analysts at DigitalCoinPrice, though less bullish than the Litecoin forecast at PricePrediction, with LTC closing the year at just $201.08. LTC is expected to rise to $333.77 by 2025, $419.67 by 2027, $683.45 by 2029 and $959.69 by 2030.

Historically, Litecoin halving events have had significant effects on LTC’s price and on market sentiment. Previous halvings have often resulted in bullish trends, driven by reduced supply and sustained demand. However, it’s important to acknowledge that past performance does not necessarily guarantee future results, given the highly volatile nature of the impressionable cryptocurrency market. As such, it’s advisable for you to do your own research before making any investment decisions.

Despite the pros of Litecoin as mentioned in the previous section, there still remain risks to investing in it. The privacy function mentioned above serves as a double-edged sword for Litecoin, having also attracted negative attention.

Despite the excitement surrounding transaction confidentiality that Litecoin has introduced with Mimblewimble, problems have appeared on the regulatory front, particularly with regard to 

On Jun 8, 2022, just a short while after Litecoin’s official launch of the MWEB protocol, five leading South Korean exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX (now closed) — 

. Following the implementation of strict regulation and an outright ban on 

 by regulators in 2020, South Korean exchanges have avoided privacy-related cryptocurrencies.

Should You Trade, or Invest, in Litecoin?

You can choose to purchase Litecoin and keep it as an investment item in your wallet. If price changes are significant, owning this virtual currency will give you a chance to gain from capital appreciation. Holding Litecoin for an extended period may also pay off nicely as its price reaches new heights, due to the upcoming halving event or the potentially soaring price of Bitcoin.

Otherwise, you can choose to trade Litecoin with either spot or derivatives trading, each of which can accommodate long and short positions.

To learn whether investing or trading is better suited to you, check out our article 

The number one rule for all crypto investment is not to invest more than you can afford to lose. This applies whether you’re a beginning or advanced trader. Also, diversification is a well-known practice — such as investing no more than 10% of your portfolio in any 

When applied to trading, the main rule is straightforward: Never trade more than 1% of your capital in a single transaction. Stick to this rule, and your funds will be protected. 

You can buy Litecoin on most cryptocurrency exchanges to hold for an extended period. However, you can also trade perpetual contracts to speculate on LTC, with a predetermined price at a specified time in the future.

 Perpetual contracts. You can buy LTC with the USDT stablecoin via a Perpetual contract with leverage. Simply fund your verified account with USDT, or convert another cryptocurrency to USDT. 

Overall, there are multiple factors that contribute to the value of Litecoin. Other than the faster, more scalable and decentralized design of the blockchain itself, Litecoin has also achieved significant traction with regard to adoption and usage.

Is Litecoin a Good Investment, and Why Does It Remain a Top Crypto?

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