Chill Guy is a viral meme illustration that took social media by storm before a crypto project used the meme to launch a Solana-based token. Learn more here.

What started as a simple illustration of a laid-back dog has become a global meme sensation, with the cartoon character known as Chill Guy dominating both social media trends and cryptocurrency markets. Created by artist Phillip Banks in October 2023, the easygoing canine character sparked a viral movement that has attracted major brands worldwide.

This article follows Chill Guy’s transformation from a social media sensation to a cryptocurrency asset. We'll examine its viral beginnings, community growth, market impact and what potential investors can expect from CHILLGUY in the future.

 is a viral meme illustration by artist Phillip Banks, depicting a laid-back dog in casual clothes whose easygoing attitude took social media by storm before a crypto project used the meme to launch Just a Chill Guy as a Solana-based token.

What Does Just a Chill Guy Aim to Achieve?

The CHILLGUY meme coin aims to spread a "Why worry?" philosophy into cryptocurrency markets by embracing the laid-back, stress-free attitude that made the original meme go viral. The project transforms this easygoing vibe into a community-driven token, where being low-key isn't just a catchphrase — it's a shared mindset among holders.

The CHILLGUY community brings this philosophy to life by sharing endless variations of the CHILLGUY meme across social platforms. Through market swings and viral trends, CHILLGUY keeps his iconic pose: hands in pockets, subtle smirk, perpetually relaxed.

Just a Chill Guy (CHILLGUY) operates as a Solana Program Library (SPL) token on the 

 blockchain, leveraging the network's ultrafast speeds and low costs to ensure smooth trading. The token was created using Pump.fun, a specialized platform that lets users launch Solana-based tokens without any fees, removing traditional barriers to token creation.

CHILLGUY is a community takeover (CTO), meaning it's completely owned and directed by its token holders with no central team in control. This decentralized structure ensures the project stays true to its community-driven nature, its holders collectively guiding its future while embodying the laid-back spirit of the original meme.

The CHILLGUY token launched with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, of which 999,965,435 are currently in circulation. This near-complete distribution of tokens to the market supports active trading and community participation.

What makes CHILLGUY's tokenomics particularly notable is its widespread distribution across more than 142,000 unique holders (as of Nov 27, 2024), achieved in just 12 days. This rapid expansion of its holder base demonstrates strong community adoption and aligns with the project's decentralized, community-driven principles.

CHILLGUY has exploded across social media, especially on TikTok, where the meme has amassed hundreds of millions of views. Its laid-back character resonates with users worldwide, inspiring countless creative adaptations.

Major brands worldwide have embraced CHILLGUY in their marketing campaigns. From Sprite Europe to NFL on CBS, the character has resonated across mainstream media, even catching the attention of global figures like El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele.

The “Chill Guy” meme’s influence spans multiple social media platforms, with a growing community of followers: 96.6K on X (

). On the other hand, the meme token itself also has a vast community, with 39.9K on X (

) and an active Telegram channel of over 15,000 members. These numbers reflect the meme's ability to engage audiences across different platforms.

The token's popularity in cryptocurrency markets matches its social media success, with CHILLGUY maintaining a substantial 24-hour trading volume of over $330.03M as of Nov 27, 2024. This high trading activity demonstrates the strong market interest in CHILLGUY beyond its meme status.

Looking to trade Just a Chill Guy tokens? Bybit now offers the CHILLGUY/USDT Spot trading pair and CHILLGUYUSDT Perpetual contract. To get started, you’ll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

While CHILLGUY has maintained strong trading volumes and continues gaining mainstream attention through its viral social media presence, investors should carefully weigh its strengths and risk factors before making investment decisions.

With its widespread brand adoption, sustained trading activity and explosive community growth of over 142,000 holders, CHILLGUY demonstrates significant market potential. However, meme coins are inherently volatile. Potential investors should 

 and invest no more than they can afford to lose.

CHILLGUY is the latest viral sensation to harness the power of the attention economy to convert social media momentum into crypto market success. While CHILLGUY has already demonstrated its ability to capture mass appeal, its position as a leading meme token will depend upon how effectively it maintains its cultural relevance and community engagement in this fast-moving market.

Intermediate

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Just a Chill Guy (CHILLGUY): Embracing the Art of Nonchalance

Zircuit (ZRC) combines optimistic and ZK rollups with AI-driven security, offering fast, low-cost Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. 

 network has flourished, mainly due to the ongoing network congestion, high fees and poor scalability of the latter. Many of these platforms use rollup technology, whereby batches of multiple transactions processed off-chain are bundled together and posted in bulk to the underlying Layer 1. Ethereum-linked rollups mainly come in two varieties 

 (ZK). While optimistic rollups boast lower computational overhead, the ZK variety of these networks features a higher degree of security.

Zircuit (ZRC) is a Layer 2 chain that adopts a hybrid approach, combining the elements of optimistic and 

. This lets the platform offer the performance benefits of optimistic technology along with the security of ZK validity proofs. To further enhance overall security, Zircuit uses a unique 

 (AI)–driven system of monitoring for malicious transactions.

 (ZRC) is a hybrid Layer 2 blockchain that combines the features of optimistic and ZK rollups, and uses AI-driven monitoring for potentially harmful transactions. 

 rollup development technology, a popular framework for building optimistic rollup networks. Additionally, it uses zero-knowledge proofs, which lets the platform offer the best of both worlds 

 the performance benefits of optimistic rollups and the security of ZK technology. Zircuit is 

The Zircuit project takes security very seriously, and has introduced a unique system of AI-based protection against malicious transactions at the sequencer node level. The use of ZK proofs and an AI-based protection system make Zircuit one of the most secure platforms in the competitive world of Ethereum Layer 2 chains.

Along with its excellent security benefits, Zircuit also boasts low costs, fast transactions, excellent scalability and 2-second block production intervals. All these features make it an ideal environment for 

 (DApps) in various niches, particularly 

 (DeFi). In fact, the leading protocols within the Zircuit ecosystem are all dedicated to the finance niche, with Zircuit Staking being the largest application by TVL.

With its heavy focus on DeFi, Zircuit aims to become a leading liquidity hub for various token types within the sector, including 

. These assets can be staked through the Zircuit staking program — supported by the platform's Liquidity Hub — to earn staking APRs, airdrop rewards and points based on the Zircuit Point program (covered further in our article).

The platform also operates a secure native bridging solution, 

, to help users transfer assets between its Layer 2 network and Ethereum Layer 1.

The company behind the project, Zircuit Ltd., was founded in 2021 in Canada by Dr. Martin Derka, Jan Gorzny and Angel Xu. Zircuit's testnet was launched in November 2023, but made headlines in April 2024 when the project reported that its 

 (TVL) had soared past $2 billion. While testnet TVLs are more a gauge of future potential for a blockchain than an indicator of its existing worth, the news attracted the attention of industry observers toward the platform. Following its highly publicized testnet success, Zircuit launched the first phase of its mainnet in August 2024. This was followed by the launch of the platform's native token, ZRC, in November 2024.

As a typical rollup, Zircuit uses an off-chain sequencer node to batch and organize Layer 2 transactions for subsequent posting to the underlying Ethereum Layer 1. The batches have ZK validity proofs attached to them to signal to Layer 1 validators that they’re free from fraudulent transactions. Zircuit's architecture also includes prover nodes, whose job is to produce these validity proofs.

However, unlike other rollups using ZK proofs (also known as validity proofs), Zircuit doesn't generate validity proofs for every block of transactions. Instead, some blocks have pre-generated template proofs, while others go through the process of having a dedicated validity proof created for them. After a few blocks featuring validity proofs, there are several more that utilize template proofs. The image below illustrates this approach.

The key reason Zircuit has adopted this form of proof design is that the process of generating ZK proofs is computationally intensive. By using template proofs for some of the blocks in a sequence, Zircuit can reduce the overall computational overhead. However, the project’s team has stated that the template proof model is temporary, and will be phased out in the future. At that stage, the platform will move to generating ZK proofs for each block.

Zircuit features a highly modular design whereby provers — responsible for generating validity proofs on the platform — can easily be plugged into or removed from the network. This modular approach is distinct from the standard ZK rollup design, in which provers are more tightly and less flexibly integrated into the overall architecture.

As noted earlier, Zircuit uses a dedicated sequencer to organize and batch transactions into blocks. The platform also applies AI-driven monitoring at the sequencer level (the Sequencer Level Security, or SLS) to spot and exclude fraudulent transactions before they’re finalized on Layer 2.

When transactions are first posted to Zircuit, they enter the 

 — a temporary area from which the sequencer picks and organizes individual transactions into blocks. The mempool is being monitored at all times, using AI algorithms to identify suspicious transactions. If a transaction in the mempool raises a flag, it's quarantined and assessed for validity before the sequencer can include it in a block. The image below shows how this process works.

One of the distinct features of Zircuit is its hybrid architecture, which combines the properties of optimistic and ZK rollups. At the base level, Zircuit is built using Optimism's Bedrock development framework, a technology popular for optimistic rollup networks. However, the use of ZK proofs — or, to be more precise, a combination of validity proofs and template proofs — ensures that Zircuit enjoys a security level that standard optimistic rollups normally can't match.

The use of AI-based SLS provides robust security to Zircuit, complementing the already highly secure ZK proof system. Very few Layer 2 networks in the industry currently feature anything similar, making the platform a true pioneer of AI use for sequencer-level operations.

Like any rollup based on Optimism Bedrock, Zircuit enjoys EVM compatibility. This allows for smooth interoperability with the underlying Ethereum Layer 1. EVM compatibility also makes it easy for developers familiar with Ethereum’s environment to develop Zircuit-based DApps, or to port existing Ethereum applications to the platform. Developers can take advantage of technologies commonly used for Ethereum (e.g., the Solidity programming language and the Hardhat development framework) to build Zircuit applications and smart contracts.

Zircuit Bridge is a native bridging solution designed to easily transfer tokens between Ethereum and Zircuit. It boasts high security, low transaction fees and fast transfers, and allows users to move a variety of cryptocurrencies between Ethereum and Zircuit, including ETH, 

) and LRTs like Super Symbiotic LRT (weETHs). As of late November 2024, the total number of cryptos supported by the bridge is close to 30.

Zircuit has launched a reward program called Zircuit Points. Users can earn these Points by staking supported assets, and by participating in the Build to Earn initiative (more on this below). Accumulated points will be converted to ZRC tokens in the future. Points also create the opportunity to qualify for token airdrops.

The primary way for most users to earn Zircuit points is via 

. The Zircuit Staking program lets you stake LSTs, LRTs, popular stablecoins, some wrapped tokens and Ether (ETH) to earn points. Using LSTs and LRTs, you can earn yields (along with native Zircuit staking APRs and Points) from the respective staking and restaking platforms that issue these assets.

Zircuit Points earned via staking have different multipliers, depending upon the asset. For example, Ether has a multiplier of 0.5, while LSTs, LRTs and stablecoins have a multiplier of 1. Multipliers for different LST and LRT assets may be subject to change in the future.

Build to Earn is another way to qualify for Zircuit Points. The program allows developers to contribute to the Zircuit ecosystem and earn Points in a number of ways, including:

Launched in November 2024, ZRC is the platform's native cryptocurrency. It's an 

 asset deployed on both Zircuit and Ethereum Layer 1. ZRC is mainly used for reward distributions, and participation in token airdrops for ecosystem DApps. Currently, transaction fees on the network are paid in Ether. It's possible that, in the future, ZRC might be used for some transaction fee payments.

ZRC is also used for rewards under the Gas Rebate program. As users conduct transactions on the platform, they 

. Zircuit’s Gas Rebate program provides rebates to offset some of the incurred fees. The amount of ZRC earned as a rebate is proportional to the amount spent on gas in ETH; the project's documentation states that for each ETH spent on gas, the user earns 125% in ZRC. All kinds of gas fee payments qualify for the rebate, including ordinary asset transfers and transactions involving interaction with Zircuit DApps.

ZRC is a supply-capped token, with a maximum and total supply of 10 billion. The token's supply allocation shares are as follows:

The ZRC token is available on Bybit's Spot market as a swap pair with USDT (

 to grab a share of the 5 million ZRC prize pool. New users who sign up for a Bybit account and complete identity verification can earn ZRC rewards by accumulating a deposit volume of at least 2,000 ZRC, or by depositing 100 USDT and trading 100 USDT worth of ZRC via their first trade with Bybit. 

Meanwhile, existing users can qualify for ZRC rewards by trading at least 500 USDT worth of ZRC on the Bybit Spot market, with the possibility of earning up to 10,000 ZRC based on trading volume. The 

 event will run through Dec 10, 2024, 8:59AM UTC.

Zircuit is among the pioneering Layer 2 platforms to adopt a hybrid design for a rollup network. Thanks to the platform's architecture, users can take advantage of low transaction costs, fast transfers and great scalability while enjoying the benefits of high security delivered by ZK proofs and AI-driven mempool monitoring. AI-based monitoring for fraudulent transactions is a particularly notable feature of the platform and is undoubtedly among the most advanced technologies employed in the blockchain industry.

User security combined with faster and cheaper transactions for the Ethereum network — all in one package — is now feasible, thanks to Zircuit's innovative technology and unique approach!

Advanced

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What Is Zircuit (ZRC): Where Performance Meets Cutting-Edge Security

Bybit is celebrating its sixth anniversary with the #Super6Bybit event, offering a $1.2 million prize pool and focusing on its bbSOL token.

Daily Top Performer — Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL)

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.38% as tech stocks dropped and inflation data reinforced a hawkish Fed outlook. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was down by 0.40%, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 1.86% and 1.79%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today's top performer is VIRTUAL, which surged 53.6% following the launch of the $MUSIC token by Agentstarter, featuring AI-driven music video capabilities and community-focused tokenomics.

Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), founded in 2021, allows users to invest in and co-own AI-driven virtual assets like companions and influencers. Its model fosters community ownership, transforming AI agents into revenue-generating assets across platforms like Roblox and TikTok. The platform attracts contributors from AI and gaming to drive innovation in virtual economies. 

, using AI to create music videos and offering features like animated videos, voice mimicry, and karaoke tracks. The tokenomics allocate 60% for airdrops, 20% for liquidity, and 10% each for the development team and Virtuals Protocol.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

Bybit is celebrating its sixth anniversary with the 

, offering a $1.2 million prize pool and focusing on its bbSOL token. Launched in September 2024, bbSOL is the first exchange-backed Liquid Staking Token on Solana, providing liquidity and staking rewards. The campaign, running from November 28, 2024, to January 6, 2025, invites participants to build, transform, and supercharge their bbSOL through tasks, leaderboards, and community milestones, increasing rewards. The event combines gaming mechanics, community engagement, and opportunities to win prizes while promoting innovation and growth in the crypto space.

Yesterday, there were no flows in BTC Spot ETFs, including GBTC and non-GBTC categories.

. Stake BNB on Lista's portal to get slisBNB, then deposit it into Astherus to earn airdrop points with multipliers (3X for Lista, 1.15X for Astherus). No lockup is required, and slisBNB is the most efficient option.

Beginner

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Bybit Celebrates 6th Anniversary with $1.2M Prize Pool and bbSOL Supercharging Campaign

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.

ETH has outperformed, bolstered by SEC Chair Gary Gensler's announcement of his Jan 20, 2025 departure, and suggested by growing open interest in ETH perpetual. This positive momentum extends to several large-cap altcoins previously scrutinized by the SEC, as indicated by bullish funding rates for long positions.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

ETH Open Interest Grows While BTC’s Declines

ETH is outperforming BTC following the announcement of SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s departure, as evidenced in perpetual swap markets. BTC open interest has decreased from last week's highs, while ETH contracts have increased. Additionally, ETH trade volumes constitute a larger share of daily trading as compared to much of the past six months, despite an overall dip in trade volumes this week. The gradual decline in BTC open interest, without a surge in trading activity, indicates a strategic repositioning, rather than a wave of liquidations.

BTC Option Curve Inversion Deepens as Price Retreats

The pullback in the spot BTC price from the $100K target has led to a flat ATM volatility term structure, with short-tenor options dropping below 60%. 

This trend continues the correlation between term structure inversion and BTC spot price returns observed since the U.S. election on November 5, 2024

. The decline in front-end volatility aligns with lower realized volatility levels. While demand for short-tenor options has moderated, there hasn't been a notable change in open interest for calls or puts. Instead, their growth has stalled at the week's start.

Sentiment in ETH options markets seems moderately more bullish than in BTC's during the recent decline in momentum from the post-election rally. Call options lead in both trading volumes and open interest. 

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Nov 27, 2024): Signal on ETH Outperformance Against BTC Surfaces on Long-Term Contracts

DeFi

What exactly are Ricardian contracts, and what's so special about them? Find out more. What exactly are Ricardian contracts, and what's so special about them? Find out more.

The_“BowTie”_representation_of_the_Ricardian_model.png

One of the most promising potential use cases of blockchain technology is the development of “live” contracts that are securely stored inside digital infrastructure and are legally valid and completely tamperproof, thanks to cryptographic identification. Ricardian contracts are bringing that idea to life and have become the latest blockchain sensation to pique the interest of crypto enthusiasts.

If you have even a passing interest in cryptocurrencies, then you’ve probably heard of smart contracts — executable code that’s stored on a blockchain and automatically runs when preset conditions are met. Ricardian contracts are similar at a base level, except that they’re legally binding.

The concept of Ricardian contracts originates from the 1990s, but it has never been implemented on a large scale before. In this guide, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about Ricardian contracts, including the technology’s history, how it differs from smart contracts, and some examples of potential use cases. 

A Ricardian contract is a digital contract that functions as a legally binding agreement between two parties based on agreed-upon terms and conditions. The contract is cryptographically signed and verified using the blockchain, but is readable by both people and machines. 

The “BowTie” representation of the Ricardian model. Source:

These days, almost all documents are stored in a digital format, typically Word documents. However, with so many Word documents being emailed back and forth, it can be tough for all the parties involved to know which is the most up-to-date, authentic version of the contract.

Ricardian contracts solve this problem by taking the legalese used by lawyers and incorporating it with a digital signature. The final step, which is the “magic” of the process, is to secure it using cryptography. The algorithm produces a unique key or hash that is exclusively tied to the document. That hash always refers to that one document, and only that document can reveal that hash.

Whenever the parties involved do anything relating to the contract, they can simply include the hash — not the document, not the name, not an extract — just the hash. Since the contract is easily readable by both machines and people, computers can simply look up the hash to confirm the details, while people can read the contract as a plain old-fashioned text document — allowing all involved parties to easily access and process the laid-out information. 

As an example, let’s say the terms of a U.S. Treasury bond are written out using a Ricardian contract. The contract basically turns the bond into its own database with metadata that includes the name of the bond, the issuer, the owner, its denomination, etc. The database contains all of the details of the original agreement, but in digital form with machine-readable tags. The contract is then digitally signed with private keys and hashed so that it can be easily identified. Anyone or any system that wants to access the details of the bond simply has to search for the hash value.

The concept of Ricardian contracts was pioneered in the ’90s by financial cryptographer Ian Grigg, who 

 described a Ricardian contract as “simply a text document with all the normal words that the lawyers like to use with all the terms and conditions; it’s a way of communicating a legal document across to a program such that both the program and the human are happy to understand what’s going on.” 

Technology in the ’90s wasn’t robust enough to properly implement Grigg’s theories. However, those limitations are now being removed thanks to blockchain technology. There are now a growing number of projects that support Ricardian contracts, including Block.one, the originator of 

Grigg briefly partnered with Block.one and brought his expertise to the 

, which is a self-governing and performance-based blockchain that provides developers and businesses with the tools to build large-scale, consumer-facing decentralized applications. The system includes support for both Ricardian contracts and smart contracts.

Ricardian contracts haven’t been implemented on such a large scale before, but it makes sense that the concept would find a home on the blockchain. Blockchain technology not only satisfies the technical requirements, but it also provides the perfect testing ground for legally valid live contracts.

What’s the Difference Between Ricardian Contracts and Smart Contracts?

Smart contracts have received a lot of hype in recent years, but one thing is often overlooked: they can’t, in their current form, replace actual legally binding contracts involving two parties. Ricardian contracts, or at least a hybrid of smart and Ricardian contracts, may hold the key to that problem. Here’s what sets a smart contract apart from a Ricardian one.

The concept of smart contracts was first proposed in the early ’90s by computer scientist Nick Szabo. In simplest terms, 

 are digital agreements that automate the actions of blockchain-based applications when predetermined conditions are met. They form the basis of 

 (DApps), which are built on blockchains like Ethereum and are vital for 

Smart contracts execute automatically by following simple “if … then” statements which are coded on the blockchain. The network of computers that make up a blockchain executes the actions outlined in the contract when the preset conditions are met and verified. Examples of such actions could be anything from sending notifications and releasing funds to issuing a ticket and registering a vehicle. These actions are immutable, and can’t be altered or undone by anyone. 

Programming languages are used to codify smart contracts, and although they’re easy enough for developers to write, the contents of the contract can’t be read by laypeople who don’t understand programming languages. Businesses can’t rely on smart contracts in their current form, because numerous business processes are subject to compliance requirements that involve auditing by humans. 

It also doesn’t help that the actions of smart contract code are immutable on the blockchain, which isn’t exactly a desirable feature for companies that must react to evolving circumstances in the real world. Contractual agreements between businesses or businesses and clients often change, and smart contracts don’t offer the flexibility to adapt to any changes. 

Unlike smart contracts, Ricardian contracts not only record the actions of a contract but also its intentions, even before its execution. The contract uses a hash to quickly and efficiently refer to a particular document. Here are some benefits of Ricardian contracts: 

That’s not to say that Ricardian contracts will replace smart contracts, though. The two will likely mix in the future in some hybrid form of legally binding digital agreements to be executed automatically once the terms are fulfilled by the involved parties. The two technologies, when combined, have the potential to become the future of blockchain-based legal agreements. 

While Ricardian contracts are still a new concept, the potential use cases for the technology are limitless. They can be used to forge a wide array of agreements. Below are three use cases for Ricardian contracts: 

 was among the first crypto projects to implement Ricardian contracts in 2019 by introducing what it called “richly rendered Ricardian contracts” in its tool kit for developers.

EOS pairs features of Ricardian contracts and smart contracts to make the actions and intent of a contract easily understandable to users. This ensures a smart contract’s code is completely transparent, which is an important feature — because blockchain actions are often final. 

Before the implementation of Ricardian contracts, it was difficult for an average smart contract user to understand what actions they were agreeing to. Users had to depend on app developers to explain what a smart contract does on the front end, without any auditable association with the actions that take place on the blockchain. 

EOS has announced two new features that implement Ricardian contracts and redefine how data is presented to users before they agree to sign transactions: 

As an illustrative analogy, think of the Ricardian Contract Specification as a programming language, and the Template Toolkit as a browser that renders documents written in that language. Together, these two features will enable DApp developers to create smart contracts with clear explanations of the agreements their users are consenting to. 

Ricardian contracts could considerably broaden the range of possible blockchain applications, especially when combined with smart contracts. They can clearly define the intentions of two parties, legally bind them, and execute actions based on the agreed terms. 

Even though the concept of Ricardian contracts is now decades old, the actual use of the technology is still fairly new. If widely adopted, it could have a significant impact on many blockchain processes, particularly in trade and finance. 

Head over to our guide to read up about 

How Are Ricardian Contracts Different From Smart Contracts?

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