Geopolitics Pause the Pump

GM Anon!

Just when it looked like crypto was ready to rip, macro said “not so fast.” Markets got smacked after Israel’s strike on Iran, derailing what was shaping up to be a breakout week. BTC held better than most, but risk appetite took a hit. There’s a lot to unpack—let’s break it down.

TLDR

• Markets pulled back sharply after Israel’s strike on Iran, stalling a near breakout and driving global risk-off sentiment.

• Trump confirmed a China deal and vowed Iran won't get a nuclear bomb, while U.S. CPI surprised to the downside and the dollar hit a two-year low.

• Bitcoin adoption deepens — GameStop raises $2.25B in new debt to buy BTC; 21 companies added BTC to reserves in the past month.

• USDC expands with native launch on XRP Ledger and Shopify support via Phantom; Walmart and Amazon explore issuing stablecoins.

• Coinbase enables U.S. DEX and perps trading, and partners with AmEx on a BTC cashback card; SEC delays altcoin ETF decisions.

• Tokenized gold launches on Hyperliquid; Moody’s to rate Solana-based RWAs, while Sharplink buys $463M ETH and drops 70% on dilution news.

• Ethereum sees $1.1B in net inflows, dominating liquidity while chains like Solana and Base suffer sustained outflows.

• PancakeSwap and Meteora lead in protocol fee generation, signaling DeFi strength; ETH transactions hit yearly highs.

• Smart money rotates hard on Solana, trimming LAUNCHCOIN, KLED, and LABUBU while accumulating FARTCOIN, CHILLHOUSE, and DUNA.

• EVM smart wallets accumulate JOE, R1, and AVM, while RAI and SBET see outflows; positioning is tactical, not aggressive.

Market Update

Markets were on the verge of a breakout this week—until macro risk slammed the brakes. Crypto plunged after news broke that Israel had struck Iranian nuclear assets and military commanders, triggering a broad selloff across risk assets. With reports suggesting the operation could stretch over two weeks, geopolitical tension has overtaken bullish momentum. 

Trump’s public statements reinforced the stakes, claiming Iran “can’t get a nuclear bomb,” while also announcing a finalized deal with China. At the same time, China moved to ease rare-earth export curbs, offering a brief supply-side reprieve. U.S. CPI data came in lower than expected, giving markets a momentary lift before Middle East headlines reversed sentiment, while the dollar slid to its lowest level since March 2022.

Despite the turbulence, BTC adoption continues to deepen across corporate and institutional fronts. GameStop is now raising $2.25 billion in debt to add more BTC to its treasury, following its earlier $1.75 billion raise. In total, 21 companies have added BTC to their reserves over the past 30 days. The momentum is spilling into other ecosystems—Polkadot’s community is now proposing a BTC-denominated treasury, reflecting a broader shift toward hardened reserves and long-term store-of-value strategies among major networks.

Payments infrastructure also saw meaningful developments. USDC launched natively on the XRP Ledger, while Phantom enabled USDC payments for Shopify merchants, expanding stablecoin utility in retail. Meanwhile, both Walmart and Amazon are reportedly exploring their own stablecoin issuances, signaling that legacy giants are preparing to onboard directly into blockchain-based payments.

Coinbase added to this trend by unveiling support for DEX and perpetuals trading in the U.S., alongside a collaboration with American Express for a Bitcoin cashback card. At the same time, the SEC delayed rulings on several altcoin ETF applications, showing regulators remain cautious even as institutional rails continue to expand.

Elsewhere, activity in DeFi and RWAs continued to build. Tokenized gold is now live on Hyperliquid, offering traders exposure to real-world assets within on-chain environments. Moody’s confirmed it will begin providing credit ratings on Solana-based RWA protocols, lending new credibility to one of the fastest-growing DeFi ecosystems. Sharplink, meanwhile, acquired $463 million worth of ETH—but its equity fell 70% after announcing a secondary offering, highlighting the continued disconnect between on-chain positioning and equity market appetite.

In sum, while macro shocks have reintroduced risk-off behavior, capital continues to rotate strategically across Bitcoin treasuries, stablecoin infrastructure, real-world asset protocols, and Web3 consumer products. The market may have been interrupted—but under the surface, the next wave is already taking shape.

Market Data Points

Over the last 30 days, PancakeSwap has surged to the #2 spot in protocol fee generation with $166.6M, outperforming Uniswap ($96.7M) and nearly matching stablecoin giant Circle. Tether remains the clear leader with $584M, but PancakeSwap’s performance across chains signals growing cross-chain dominance and strong user activity. 

Meanwhile, newcomer Meteora has quietly pushed ahead with $163.4M, just behind PancakeSwap. Other mainstays like Aave, Lido, and Ethereum trail with ~$43M each, while ZNS Connect and Pump still show traction.

Ethereum network activity continues to climb, with daily transactions (7DMA) now trending near 1.45 million—the highest level in over a year. This sustained uptick signals growing on-chain engagement, likely driven by renewed DeFi activity, meme coin rotations, and elevated L2 throughput funneling back into Ethereum’s base layer. As transactional demand rises, it reinforces ETH’s strength as the ecosystem’s economic engine.

Maple Finance has crossed $2.22B in total value locked, marking a massive surge in institutional DeFi interest. The protocol has seen rapid growth since March, with borrow volume nearing $805M and daily token volume hitting $78.3M. With 42% of its $542M market cap staked and a token price steady at around $0.50, momentum remains strong.

Ethereum dominated net flows this week with a staggering $1.1B in net inflows, driven by $2B in fresh capital and only $870M in outflows—far ahead of any competing chain. Most other networks, including Base, Solana, Arbitrum, and Avalanche, saw sustained outflows, signaling a broad rotation of liquidity back into Ethereum.

Majors & Memes

This week was turbulent across the crypto market, shaped by broader macro uncertainty and sharp rotations across sectors. Despite the volatility, ETH held firm as a top performer among majors, closing the week up +2.6%, supported by steady capital flows into its ecosystem. BTC and BNB also posted modest gains (+1.2% each), signaling resilience in the face of external pressure. In contrast, SOL and XRP saw continued selling, with SOL down -1.4% and XRP sliding -1.6%, suggesting a cooling off from prior strength.

Among alt-L1s and infrastructure plays, Hyperliquid (HYPE) maintained its uptrend with a +2.6% gain, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) added +2.8%, reflecting defensive rotation into older assets with renewed traction. Kava (KAVA) and IoTeX (IOTX) gained +2.9% and +8.3% respectively, showing renewed interest in smaller-cap chains amid the chop.

Aerodrome Finance (AERO) led the week’s gains, soaring +15.3% as DeFi liquidity returned to high-yield venues. WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) followed with +9.5%, confirming the strength of exchange-linked tokens. In the meme and modular sector, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) rose +4.6%, while Jito (JTO) and Sky (SKY) climbed +4.2% and +6.5% respectively—highlighting selective appetite for high-beta narratives.

Overall, capital rotated sharply this week, favoring yield, token utility, and modular ecosystems—while large caps reflected a defensive posture amid ongoing macro headwinds.

Mindshare

Narrative mindshare across the Solana ecosystem shifted dramatically over the past seven days, as traders rotated out of earlier frontrunners and consolidated attention around a tighter group of emerging themes.

From June 6–8, the landscape was highly fragmented with a wide spread of tokens—LABUBU, USELESS, KLED, CHILLHOUSE, and KNET—commanding a significant share of trader focus. The broad dispersion in attention suggested a highly speculative environment, with capital and engagement distributed across dozens of low-float and meme-adjacent plays. This peak in fragmentation hit on June 8, where nearly every tracked name registered meaningful activity, reflecting a full-spectrum narrative grab.

By June 10, however, that trend reversed sharply. Mindshare began consolidating, and weaker narratives rapidly faded from focus. By June 12, attention had collapsed into a narrow range dominated by aura, which now holds a commanding lead. The sharp drop in diversity after June 11 indicates a market-wide shift in sentiment—likely tied to fatigue in low-conviction trades and a refocus around perceived higher-quality or coordinated plays.

Notably, M2 and RICO re-emerged late in the cycle with regained share, suggesting they may be among the few narratives surviving the broader cooldown. CHILLHOUSE and DUNA, previously on the rise, saw their presence fade alongside other names like USELESS, LABUBU, and KLED, confirming that smart money and retail attention are no longer supporting these rotations at the same intensity.

Smart Money Accumulation

Smart money behavior in the Solana ecosystem over the past seven days shows a clear shift away from overextended positions and into newer or low-float tokens with perceived upside. LAUNCHCOIN, while still holding the top spot by total balance at $1.9M, saw a sharp -22.78% drop in holdings—suggesting large wallets have been actively de-risking after a strong run-up. Similar patterns played out across IBRL (-23.56%), LABUBU (-16.55%), and RIPVC (-9.27%), all of which posted notable outflows that hint at reduced conviction or profit realization.

KLED stood out with the second-largest wallet balance at $1.28M but suffered a deeper -30.2% drawdown—confirming that the unwind isn’t isolated. USELESS was hit even harder, plunging -73.41% in smart money allocation, a move that typically signals full exit behavior rather than tactical trimming.

On the other end of the spectrum, accumulation was concentrated in a few key plays. Fartcoin jumped 25.12% in wallet holdings, pushing its balance to $1.41M—one of the few tokens to show rising confidence among top wallets. 

CHILLHOUSE also saw a strong 23.7% increase, likely reflecting quiet stacking ahead of a narrative push. DUNA posted a 13.08% rise, showing more controlled, steady accumulation. Notably, RUNNIT appeared for the first time on the list, suggesting smart wallets are beginning to take positions.

Smart money accumulation across EVM chains over the last seven days shows a balanced mix of fresh entries, light accumulation, and selective trimming—without the aggressive rotation seen on Solana.

R1 leads with a newly tracked position totaling $372.9K, making it the largest smart money balance on this list. Its sudden appearance suggests a strong coordinated entry from top wallets. AVM is another new entry with $197.5K now tracked, also signaling fresh interest.

JOE was the standout in terms of percentage growth, jumping 24.71% over the week to $413.6K—now the second-largest holding. This kind of move reflects early stacking ahead of renewed momentum or upcoming developments. MOODENG also gained smart money traction, up 9.85%, with growing attention despite its smaller $94.3K footprint. SHRUB saw a modest 2.57% uptick, suggesting light but steady accumulation.

Tokens like PEPE and CULT showed negligible changes (0.22% and 0.0%, respectively), indicating that top wallets are sitting on existing bags without making significant adjustments. RATOS also held flat at $655.1K, currently the largest EVM smart money allocation, but with no directional signal over the week.

On the outflow side, SBET dropped -15.41%, a notable reduction but not a full exit—suggesting profit-taking rather than loss of conviction. RAI saw the sharpest drop at -19.19%, bringing its balance down to $90.4K, possibly indicating fading interest or a tactical exit.

Overall, smart money across EVM chains is in accumulation mode but with more measured positioning than Solana. The emergence of R1 and AVM as new tracked holdings stands out, while the strong build in JOE points to renewed wallet confidence. Most other tokens are seeing stable or cautious behavior, with no signs of major inflows or panic selling.

That wraps up this post—we hope you found the insights valuable. See you next week, anon! 🚀