Bitget Daily Digest (Feb 18)｜Large-scale $SOL unlock incoming, Pump.fun trading activity cools 

Market highlights

1. On-chain data reveals that 11.2 million $SOL from FTX’s bankruptcy auction—worth approximately $2.06 billion—is set to be unlocked on March 1. Previously, FTX sold 41 million $SOL across three auctions, with buyers seeing mixed returns: Galaxy purchased 25.52 million $SOL at $64 each, now up 187%; Pantera and other institutions bought 13.67 million $SOL at an average price of $95, gaining 93%. Figure and others acquired 1.8 million $SOL at $102, with an 80% unrealized profit. Market participants are closely watching how these unlocked holdings will move.

2. Kaito AI has completed the KAITO Yaps token snapshot and plans to conduct the Kaito Genesis NFT snapshot at the same time today, providing a window for community participation. Meanwhile, Linea, a Layer 2 network under ConsenSys, announced via X that it has completed a Sybil attack appeal review with Nansen. This could pave the way for a major airdrop from an ecosystem heavyweight.

3. Pump.fun, a Solana-based token issuance platform, reported protocol fee revenue of $2.19 million yesterday, down 85.76% from its historical peak of $15.38 million on January 25. In a notable sign of cooling interest, a memecoin deployed via Pump failed to fill its liquidity pool within 30 minutes of launch for the first time. This suggests a decline in market engagement. The cooling speculative sentiment in the Solana meme sector signals a shift in short-term trading dynamics, making on-chain fund flows worth monitoring.

4. hulezhi, an address on Ethereum, burned and donated over 2010 ETH, leaving behind a message about "brain-machine enslavement." The incident quickly inspired Solana and Ethereum-based memecoins bearing the same name. Among them, $HULEZHI on Ethereum briefly reached a market cap of $25 million, while $hulezhi on Solana peaked at $2 million. This, once again, highlights the crypto market’s extreme sensitivity to bizarre narratives.

Market overview

1. $BTC is consolidating, and the market is seeing a broad decline. $SOL slid lower, while $ETH briefly hit $2849 before pulling back. Smaller-cap tokens saw rotation pumps, with new listings turning red across the board.

2. U.S. markets were closed for Presidents' Day. Defense stocks fueled a European rebound, marking the fifth record high in six days. Bonds declined, while oil and gold rebounded. 

3. Currently standing at 95,790 USDT, Bitcoin is in a potential liquidation zone. A 1000-point drop to around 94,790 USDT could trigger over $256 million in cumulative long-position liquidations. Conversely, a rise to 96,790 USDT could lead to more than $126 million in cumulative short-position liquidations. With long liquidation volumes far surpassing short positions, it's advisable to manage leverage carefully to avoid large-scale liquidations. 

4. Over the past 24 hours, the BTC spot market recorded $11.4 billion in inflows and $11.8 billion in outflows, resulting in a net outflow of $400 million. 

5. In the last 24 hours, $BTC, $SOL, $XRP, $TRUMP, and $DOGE led in net outflows in futures trading, signaling potential trading opportunities. 

Highlights on X

I. Aylo: BTC's independent narrative vs. SOL/ETH's short-term struggles

The current market situation mirrors the aftermath of the May 2021 crash, with altcoins struggling to reclaim previous highs while liquidity continues to drain. The SOL/BTC ratio is on the verge of a breakdown, and while most holders are still in profit, worsening sentiment could intensify sell pressure. ETH also lacks a compelling short-term narrative, with weak gas demand and fierce L2 competition acting as major roadblocks. Meanwhile, BTC maintains an "independent price action", backed by macro inflows (e.g., ETF net buying) and the halving cycle. A retracement could set the stage for another push to previous highs, though short-term technical pullbacks remain a risk. Investors are advised to reduce their holdings in high-risk memecoins, prioritize spot positions with solid fundamentals, and focus on BTC auto-invest.

X post: https://x.com/alpha_pls/status/1891557118160826500

2. RunnerXBT.eth: Why buying $SOL at this time is extremely risky

The March 1 FTX asset unlock will be the largest single unlock event in crypto history, with institutional buyers sitting on massive unrealized gains. This comes at a time when trust in the Solana ecosystem is crumbling. Investigative journalist Coffeezilla has launched an inquiry into certain projects within the ecosystem. Additionally, the LIBRA team (linked to Argentina’s presidential campaign scandal) has been accused of insider trading, though they claimed they "had prior knowledge but did not trade." Market panic stemming from the FTX collapse is at its highest since the event itself. As a former SOL bull, I must caution that institutional profit-taking, collapsing ecosystem trust, and fragile sentiment form a triple bearish catalyst. SOL's short-term risks currently outweigh its opportunities, and the ecosystem team must act with transparency to restore confidence.

X post: https://x.com/RunnerXBT/status/1891400277535703389

3. @Zixi.eth: From "changing the world" to "shitcoin casino"— can crypto rebuild?

The crypto industry is trapped in a narrative vacuum. The era of DeFi and NFT innovations since 2021 has given way to a Pump.fun-fueled "shitcoin casino," where project founders no longer preach "disrupting Web2" but openly admit that the crypto market is just a casino. Pump.fun's success exposes a broken market logic: Retail bets on overnight riches, project teams bet on extracting liquidity, and blockchains bet on transaction volume, but nobody talks about real technological advancements anymore. One X post from CZ can spawn a thousand broccoli-themed memecoins, trapping the industry in a cycle of speculative hysteria with zero real demand. To break free from this vacuum of nihilism, we must once again embrace the dreamer spirit of 2021—not by denying speculation, but by proving that crypto technologies can transcend the casino model. True innovation in stablecoins, DeFi, and data sovereignty can rebuild industry confidence by delivering real value to the silent majority.

X post: https://x.com/Zixi41620514/status/1890218180792184918

4. @yuyue_chris: Solana's trust crisis and BNB ecosystem's struggle — how to survive in a structurally broken market

The crypto market is facing dual pressures. Trust in Solana is collapsing due to FTX’s massive unlock and high-profile scandals involving leading projects (LIBRA- and TRUMP-linked teams). Funds are flowing out of SOL into ETH and BNB. Meanwhile, BNB Chain is stuck in a survival challenge. Binance relies heavily on CZ's personal brand and the exchange's popularity to keep its ecosystem afloat, but long-term technical debt stifles real innovation and market participants are growing numb to the "one post, one pump" playbook. More importantly, CZ's narrow understanding of on-chain dynamics means that ecosystem decisions are heavily influenced by a small internal circle, misaligning BNB Chain with the real needs of the ecosystem This has led to rampant project duplication and weak community engagement. In this context, the focus should be on team transparency and fundamentally strong projects with cash flow or real-world use cases (e.g., established DeFi protocols and utility-driven tokens) to hedge against systemic risks.

X post: https://x.com/yuyue_chris/status/1891339518462361986

Institutional insights

1.Santiment: ETH shows mild signs of a rebound as exchange supply hits an all-time low

X post: https://x.com/santimentfeed/status/1891625787620577568

2.CryptoQuant: Bitcoin CEX inflow/outflow ratio indicates continued accumulation, typically preceding short-term price increases

Read the full article here: https://cryptoquant.com/insights/quicktake/67b254c368e13c6010dd7f97-Bitcoin-demand-remains-high?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=sns&utm_campaign=quicktake&utm_content=darkfost

3.Matrixport: Majority of investors remain in profit, reducing the likelihood of panic selling

X post: https://x.com/Matrixport_CN/status/1891383084630561020

News updates

1. Argentina's President Javier Milei denied promoting a cryptocurrency and stated, "I did not promote it; I spread it."

2. Italy's central bank is in active discussions with crypto service providers regarding regulatory details and is emphasizing financial risk prevention.

3. Hitachi, in partnership with 12 Japanese companies, has launched an empirical experiment to improve the effectiveness of anti-money laundering (AML) measures in cryptocurrency trading.

4. Australia's financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC is taking action against 13 remittance service providers and crypto exchanges.

Project updates

1. The TRUMP token website shows that users who purchase official products before February 15 can receive token rewards.

2. Argentina's President Javier Milei retweeted articles on X about how to purchase $LIBRA.

3. PancakeSwap has burned 9,899,627 CAKE, worth approximately $28 million.

4. Linea has completed the Sybil attack appeal review and removed 3500 misjudged addresses.

5. Kaito AI: KAITO Yaps snapshot has been completed.

6. FTX's official wallet transferred 0.303 BTC, possibly a test for its first repayment transaction.

7. As of yesterday, Pump.fun's protocol fee revenue has dropped over 85% from its all-time high.

8. An urgent Ethereum Geth patch addresses a Merge oversight and prevents financial losses for validators.

9. Starknet: Cairo v2.10.0 has been released.

10. Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) bought 200 million WLFI tokens.

Recommended reads

1.What if $MELANIA was never launched? Reflecting on changes in this bullish cycle and effective sell strategies 

The cycle has been rough, worse than any previous one. Many would even call it a "crime cycle" as the amount of rugs and projects that extract money has been constantly growing. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the past and attempt to predict what comes next.

Read the full article here: https://x.com/0xFinish/status/1891205660617969952

2.Grayscale: Deep dive into the business model of Bitcoin mining and sustainability

Grayscale Research believes that Bitcoin mining can help accelerate adoption of renewable energy production over the coming years.

Read the full article here: https://www.grayscale.com/research/reports/the-power-of-bitcoin-mining