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Bitcoin ($BTC) still sits at the top of the crypto food chain with a market cap of over $2.2T, but its dominance comes with a catch. The network is slow, expensive, and limited in what it can actually do.

Ten-minute block times and gas fees that can spike to $100+ mean it’s great as ‘digital gold,’ but useless for the fast-paced world of DeFi, NFTs, and meme coin trading.

Meanwhile, Ethereum ($ETH) and Solana ($SOL), and even DOGE ($DOGE) have built thriving ecosystems on speed and accessibility – areas Bitcoin has lagged for years.

That’s where Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) steps in. With $14.4M already raised in its presale, this new Layer 2 claims to be the scalability upgrade Bitcoin has been waiting for.

The Problem: Bitcoin Is Powerful But Stuck in First Gear

Bitcoin is unmatched as a store of value, but that’s both its strength and its limitation.

For years, $BTC has been branded as ‘digital gold,’ something you hold, not something you use. And the numbers explain why. The network averages just 7 transactions per second (tps), compared to Solana’s recent peak of over 100K tps.

Each Bitcoin block takes around 10 minutes to confirm, making even simple payments feel ancient in a world where you can tap your phone for instant settlement.

When demand spikes, things get even worse. During the April 2024 launch of the Runes protocol, Bitcoin’s mempool was clogged for days, with transactions waiting hours or more to clear. Fees spiked as high as $127 during the minting frenzy, making normal transfers nearly impossible.

High transaction fees make sense if you’re moving $1M in treasury reserves, but it’s absurd if you’re trying to trade a meme coin or NFT.

And because Bitcoin isn’t programmable like $ETH or $SOL, it can’t host dApps, DeFi protocols, or meme ecosystems that fuel most of today’s crypto activity.

That’s why Bitcoin sits in a strange position. Institutions love it for balance sheets and ETFs, but for everyday retail use, it’s practically inert.

The Solution: Bitcoin Hyper as Bitcoin’s Execution Layer

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) positions itself as the missing ‘execution layer’ for Bitcoin. Instead of trying to rebuild Bitcoin from scratch, it adds scalability through the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) – the same engine that powers Solana’s 100K+ tps performance.

In practice, this means you can bridge $BTC into Hyper, where it’s minted one-to-one on the Layer 2. From there, transactions settle in sub-seconds with almost no fees.

Hyper then bundles everything together using zero-knowledge proofs and commits the state back to Bitcoin’s main chain, keeping security intact. And if you want to withdraw, you simply bridge out and reclaim your $BTC on Layer 1.

Builders also get a familiar toolkit: SVM compatibility means they can tap into Solana’s developer stack, but with Bitcoin’s liquidity behind it. If Bitcoin is the vault, $HYPER is the trading floor. It’s where the culture, the speculation, and the real usage can finally happen.

Want to dig deeper?

Check out our what is Bitcoin Hyper guide for the ecosystem, community sentiment, and more.

Why This Matters for Bitcoin’s Standing

With a ~$2.2T market cap and trading near $112K, Bitcoin is already the heavyweight of crypto. But size alone doesn’t equal activity. Right now, most of that value just sits idle.

$HYPER changes the equation by making Bitcoin liquid in ways we’ve only seen on ecosystems like $ETH and $SOL. Think of it like turning gold bars into Apple stock splits… suddenly usable, divisible, and accessible for everyday transactions.

If even 1% of Bitcoin’s vast market value flowed into Bitcoin Hyper’s DeFi layer, it would instantly rival the largest existing L2 ecosystems like Mantle ($MNT) and Polygon ($POL).

And culturally, the timing is perfect: meme coin mania and yield-hungry DeFi degens thrive on low fees and speed. If Bitcoin can deliver both, it starts pulling attention and liquidity back from rival chains. That shifts $BTC from being a passive asset into an active, usable layer of global finance.

The Financial Side: $14.4M Presale Momentum

On the numbers alone, Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is off to a fast start. The presale has already pulled in more than $14.4M, with tokens priced at $0.012875.

Early buyers can stake for eye-catching yields of 104% while also securing priority access to governance votes, future airdrops, and launchpad allocations. That’s helped $HYPER stand out among the wave of best crypto presales this year.

Timing also plays a role: with VanEck maintaining its $180K target for 2025, appetite for Bitcoin-adjacent projects is high. Investor sentiment reflects that excitement with $HYPER shaping up as one of the year’s most watched plays.

Follow our how to buy Bitcoin Hyper guide for step-by-step instructions on joining the presale.

Final Thoughts – Bitcoin’s Next Chapter?

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is aiming straight at Bitcoin’s longest-running weakness: scalability. By merging $BTC’s unmatched brand power with Solana-style speed, it wants to flip Bitcoin from a passive store of value into a fully usable ecosystem.

The $14.4M presale shows there’s no shortage of appetite for that vision, though the usual questions of execution, adoption, and long-term sustainability remain.

If Bitcoin finally gains a true execution layer, $HYPER could be the spark that unlocks meme coins, DeFi, and everyday payments on $BTC rails.

But as always, presales and crypto carry risks. Please do your own research (DYOR) before committing capital. Only invest what you’re comfortable losing.

Authored by Aidan Weeks, Bitcoinist – https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-hyper-raises-14-4m-best-buy/

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XRP futures became the fastest contract in CME Group history to cross $1 billion in open interest (OI), achieving the milestone in just over three months.

CME Group reported its crypto futures suite surpassed $30 billion in notional open interest for the first time, with XRP and Solana futures each crossing the $1 billion threshold. Additionally, Ethereum reached the OI record of $10.5 billion.

The derivatives exchange stated:

“Our Crypto futures suite just surpassed $30B in notional open interest for the first time ever. Our SOL and XRP futures, along with ETH options, each crossed $1B in OI, with XRP being the fastest-ever contract to do so, hitting the mark in just over 3 months.”

Strong trading activity

XRP futures recorded their largest daily volume since July 15 on Aug. 25, with 7,533 contracts traded and over $1 billion in total volume, according to CME data.

The activity demonstrates appetite for regulated XRP exposure through CME’s CFTC-supervised platform.

The milestone comes as traditional finance firms seek cryptocurrency derivatives products. CME launched XRP futures in May 2025, providing institutions with standardized contracts settling to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth, connected the futures activity to potential spot ETF demand on Aug. 26.

He said:

“CME Group says XRP futures contracts have crossed over $1 billion in open interest… Fastest-ever contract to do so (took just over 3mos). There’s already $800+mil in futures-based xrp ETFs. Think people might be underestimating demand for spot xrp ETFs.”

After the CME XRP futures launch on May 19, Geraci noted that spot ETFs were only a matter of time. The affirmation is likely because analysts view regulated futures markets as a crucial requirement for spot crypto ETF approvals.

Several asset managers have filed for spot XRP ETFs with the SEC, including applications from 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and Grayscale.

CME’s crypto derivatives now include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. BTC futures account for the largest share, with over $16 billion in open interest, while Ethereum futures hold approximately $10.5 billion. Additionally, both XRP and Solana recently joined the billion-dollar club.

The $30 billion milestone represents institutional adoption of crypto derivatives as portfolio management tools.

Mentioned in this article

Pump.fun, a platform that enables anyone to create and launch memecoins, concluded one of the largest and fastest initial coin offerings (ICOs) on Saturday. Within 12 minutes of the ICO going live, the platform raised $600 million from the sale of 15% of its token supply for $0.0040 each.

The ICO, which ended far quicker than the assigned 72 hours, put the platform’s fully diluted valuation at $4 billion, according to the platform.

Over the next 48-72 hours, all 150 billion PUMP tokens will be transferred to the investors. The tokens, however, will remain untradeable and untransferrable until the platform completes the distribution phase by July 15, according to ICO Drops data.

The PUMP token was available for sale on various centralized exchanges, including Gate, Kraken, and KuCoin, each of which saw cumulative investments worth $5 million, $30 million, and $16.5 million, respectively.

Bybit announced that due to unexpected delays in its application programming interface (API), the PUMP sale was oversubscribed. The exchange said it is verifying the final allocation of users whose funds are frozen. For users who did not receive an allocation, Bybit said it will refund all funds.

Investors from the U.S. and the U.K. were barred from participating in the ICO for regulatory reasons. According to Bloomberg, today’s ICO pushed Pump.fun’s total token sales to $1.32 billion.

All about the PUMP token

The platform describes the PUMP token as a “utility coin that will be used alongside the pump.fun brand behind the Pump.Fun Protocols.”

Holders of the PUMP token can choose to participate in promotional giveaways. Pump.fun, however, clarifies that its protocols will remain permissionless and will not require the use of PUMP tokens.

The PUMP token’s maximum supply is capped at 1 trillion, of which 33% or 330 billion tokens are allocated to the ICO. Of the 33%, 18% or 180 billion tokens were sold to institutional investors in a private sale, the platform said in an X post. The remaining 15% was sold to retain investors during today’s ICO.

It is worth noting that data Pump.fun shows that only 12.5% of the token supply was sold for a total of $500 million. However, Pump.fun co-founder Alon Cohen told Bloomberg that all 15% of PUMP’s supply was sold in today’s ICO as per previously announced plans.

Community reaction

Despite the undeniable success of Pump.fun’s ICO, the crypto community is divided over its merits. This is especially in light of Pump.fun facing growing competition from LetsBONK and a decline in revenue. LetsBONK, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, has clocked more volume than Pump.fun over the past week, according to Dune Analytics data.

Noting that he is not an investor, Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at venture capital firm Dragonfly, noted:

“$PUMP is going to be getting 25% of Pump revenues, so beyond one of the largest ICOs ever, this will be one of the highest gross revenue tokens in crypto.”

Others, however, are less thrilled about the ICO. For instance, Jeremie Henicz, head of XBorg AI, asked if he’s the only one who finds it “cringe,” while responding to Qureshi. Similarly, Marty Bent, founder of Truth for the Commoner (TFTC), stated:

“Pump.fun and those supporting it (even if at arm’s length) are Pied Pipers leading Gen Z to ruin.”

Even before the ICO, many have criticized the platform’s tokenomics. Crypto researcher Rex, for instance, called the platform’s tokenomics exploitative, with nearly 40% tokens allocated to Pump.fun itself.

Mentioned in this article

June 9th, 2025 – Sydney, Australia

With the support of Galaxy Ventures and previous investment from notable industry leaders like Vitalik Buterin, RISE sets out to solve the blockchain adoption challenge with its exponentially faster blockchain technology; offering real-time performance of as low as 5ms latency and a 100k TPS target, while maintaining a decentralization-first roadmap.

RISE, a real-time blockchain scaling Ethereum with record throughput and ultra-low latency, announced a $4 million investment from Galaxy Ventures, bringing total funds raised to date to $8 million. This latest funding round will enable RISE to continue to push the boundaries of blockchain performance and develop the next generation of blockchain applications.

Offering instant transaction speeds is a key pillar of bringing more assets, enterprises, and users onchain, but building a blockchain that provides this has been difficult to date. RISE, a new blockchain built on top of Ethereum, solves this with its breakthrough transaction architecture, powered by Shreds which enable record-breaking latency as low as 5-milliseconds. This is especially significant for advanced DeFi use cases such as orderbook strategies, options, high-frequency trading, and market making. RISE launched its public testnet earlier this month, which has already undergone significant battle testing, reaching over 2 billion transactions, including over 50,000 transactions processed in a single 1-second block. This enables developers to experiment and build onchain apps that operate with a new standard of performance, introduced as “Infinite Speed”: real-time performance, decentralized.

By rethinking blockchain design from first principles, RISE addresses a fundamental tradeoff where low latency and high throughput previously required compromising decentralization. Competing blockchains often rely on centralized approaches, introducing censorship risk and single points of failure. RISE was built from day one to deliver unstoppable performance without sacrificing decentralization, enabling real-time transactions on widely accessible, standard hardware. RISE will also implement performance-compatible based sequencing to leverage Ethereum’s vast network of validators and unlock synchronous composability between Ethereum and RISE.

Key Differentiators of RISE:

• Shreds: Sub-blocktime transaction confirmations enabling as low as 5ms round-trip latency
• Scalable Throughput: Currently benchmarked at over 50,000 TPS, with plans to exceed 100,000 TPS
• Based Sequencing (Coming Soon): Unlocking a true extension of Ethereum and solving liquidity fragmentation for users
• Secured Shreds (Coming Soon): Preconfirmations economically secured by Ethereum Validators, significantly improving the security profile

“Performance is only meaningful if it lasts,” said Sam Battenally, co-founder and CEO of RISE. “RISE was built to stay fast—forever. This investment from Galaxy Ventures underscores the need for infrastructure that doesn’t just scale technically, but scales trustlessly. We’re excited to accelerate toward mainnet and bring the next generation of crypto apps into reality.”

RISE will use the funding to support product and app development in the lead-up to mainnet launch. Builders can explore the testnet now at portal.risechain.com.

“RISE is the first project we’ve seen that addresses the scalability trilemma without material security tradeoffs,” said Neil Bhuta, Investor at Galaxy Ventures. “It brings a level of speed, scalability, and decentralization that is essential to supporting a new generation of high-performance applications. We’re proud to back a talented team that is pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.”

About RISE

RISE is a next-generation Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain redefining performance with “Infinite Speed”—delivering instant transaction confirmation at unprecedented scale, while upholding Ethereum’s core principle of decentralization. Its architecture enables as low as 5ms latency and will support over 100,000 TPS, unlocking a radically improved experience for both developers and users. Seed investors include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and AAVE founder Stani Kulechov. For more information, users can visit https://risechain.com/.

Contact

Co-Founder and CEO
Sam Battenally
RISE Labs
sam@riselabs.xyz

Built on the same foundation as its larger Gemini AI, the new model is optimized for efficiency, allowing developers to create AI applications without relying on cloud processing.

According to Google, Gemma 3 delivers top performance among AI models that operate on a single GPU, outperforming competitors like Meta’s Llama-405B, OpenAI’s o3-mini, and DeepSeek-V3. Only DeepSeek R1 ranks higher.

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The AI model can analyze text, images, and short videos, offering a 128k-token context window that enables it to process large inputs. It also includes built-in function calling and structured output.

Gemma 3 also introduces official quantized versions, which reduce precision levels to make the model smaller and improve processing speed.

While open-source developers have created similar modifications for other AI models, Google’s official versions are designed for maximum efficiency.

Google describes the Gemma 3 family as its “most advanced, portable, and responsibly developed open models yet”.

Despite its open-source branding, the model’s licensing restrictions remain unchanged, which limits how it can be used. However, Google is promoting its adoption by offering cloud credits, including $10,000 in research funding through the Gemma 3 Academic program.

Meanwhile, Alibaba Cloud recently introduced its new AI model, QwQ-32B. How does it compare to other AI models? Read the full story.