Memecoin Supercycle? 😮
Plus, 👀 Attention is everything, 📈 Ethena’s stablecoin boom, 🏀 ETH ETFs rebound, and more!
Good Monday! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.
In today’s edition:
🪙 Memecoins fuel Solana activity
💹 Spot ether ETFs gain traction
💡 Could Rep. French Hill dismantle Operation Choke Point 2.0?
🔥 BONK burns $4 million
🔍 Who will lead the SEC?
📈 Ethena rides the bull market wave
🛠️ Aptos protocol Thala turns crisis into comeback
🚀 Ripple token gains
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What’s Poppin’?
Solana dApps See Massive Fees Amid Memecoin Frenzy
by Tikta
Half of the top 10 crypto protocols by fees generated were on Solana, said DeFi educator Patrick Scott on X, attributing the surge in activity to a memecoin frenzy.
“This is either a massive top signal or radical shift in market activity,” Scot said.
DeFiLlama data shows that several Solana-based protocols set fee records on Nov. 17.
Raydium, an automated market maker, reached $11.79 million in fees, while Jito, a liquid staking protocol, generated $7.89 million, its third-highest day of fees.
Memecoin launchpad pump.fun saw $1.65 million in fees, its seventh-highest day, and Telegram bot Photon earned $2.36 million, marking its fifth-highest day.
Solana memecoins POPCAT, Dogwifhat (WIF) and PNUT have all seen massive rallies in recent weeks. The total value locked (TVL) on Solana is up to $10.49 billion at the time of writing, according to DeFiLlama.
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Spot Ether ETFs See Record $515 Million Weekly Inflows
By Tikta
Spot ether exchange traded funds might have gotten off to a slower start than their bitcoin counterparts, but recent activity suggests things could be turning around.
Data from SoSoValue shows that spot ether ETFs recorded $515 million worth of inflows for the week ended Nov. 15 — the highest weekly value since they were launched earlier this year.
Blackrock’s ether ETF ETHA had a weekly net inflow of $287 million, and Fidelity’s ETF FETH had a weekly net inflow of $199 million.
Other ETFs such as VanEck’s ETHV, Invesco’s QETH, and 21 Shares’ CETH all saw minor inflows, while Grayscale’s ETHE lost another $101 million over the week.
Rep. French Hill Would Target Operation Choke Point 2.0
Take by Juan Aranovich
Arkansas Representative French Hill has pledged to investigate “Operation Choke Point 2.0” if he becomes chair of the House Financial Services Committee.
This unofficial policy allegedly blocked crypto companies from accessing traditional banking services, a tactic Hill compares to Obama-era targeting of controversial industries such as payday lending.
Hill, a staunch crypto advocate, has made this investigation his top priority in his bid for leadership.
This policy is outrageous and deserves scrutiny. If Hill succeeds, it could hold regulators accountable and force banks to treat crypto companies fairly.
It’s a bold stance, but one that reflects growing frustration with how financial institutions have been weaponized against emerging industries.
Memecoins Are All About Attention
Take by Juan Aranovich
BONK, one of Solana’s leading memecoins, is burning a lot of tokens.
After destroying $4 million worth of tokens last week, the BONKDAO announced plans to cut its supply by 1 trillion tokens (roughly $50 million at current prices).
Unsurprisingly, this move and the memecoin mania that’s driving the markets, has driven up prices — BONK is up 105% over the past week, now sitting at a $3.5 billion market cap.
Token burns reduce supply, and in crypto, anything scarce often gains value. But burns are also about attention.
Memecoins thrive on community hype, and campaigns like this — complete with hashtags like #LetsBONK — fuel engagement.
The move comes as BONK expands to the Base network, with Binance.US adding it to its platform this week.
The SEC Chair Race Heats Up
Take by Juan Aranovich
Rob Stebbins, former general counsel under former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Jay Clayton, is now a leading contender for the SEC Chair role.
Stebbins has been a vocal critic of current SEC chair Gary Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement,” which has left the crypto industry frustrated and uncertain.
He slammed Gensler for failing to create clear rules and praised Trump’s pro-crypto stance, saying, “relief cannot come soon enough.”
While Brad Bondi, another candidate for SEC chair, brings more crypto-native experience with his ties to DeFi. While Stebbins has the stronger backing from Washington insiders, including Clayton.
With Gensler hinting at resignation, the choice of SEC Chair will shape whether the agency focuses on clear rules for the crypto industry or continues its heavy-handed approach.
Stebbins’ insider status could make him a stabilizing pick for the agency. The industry will be watching closely to see if his rhetoric translates into real change.
Ethena Rides the Bull Market With Crazy Yields
Take by Juan Aranovich
Ethena, a synthetic dollar protocol, is one of the biggest winners of the current crypto rally. Its flagship stablecoin, USDe, offered an annual percentage yield of 30% last week, driven by rising funding rates and demand for leveraged trades. For context, that’s more than eight times the Fed’s risk-free rate — a wild number even for crypto.
The stablecoin’s market cap has surged back to $3 billion, making it the fourth-largest USD-pegged token.
The boom shows how bull markets amplify everything, even a “synthetic dollar” protocol. Traders betting on bitcoin’s all-time high are indirectly fueling Ethena’s returns, creating a feedback loop of high yields and growing supply.
The protocol’s governance token, ENA, is up 65% in the last two weeks.
XRP Surges 97% in a Week Amid Heightened Whale Activity
By Tikta
Ripple-issued XRP has rallied 97% over the last seven days to a three-year high of $1.16.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the token was the third-most traded cryptocurrency after bitcoin and ether over the last 24 hours, with a trading volume of $10.9 billion.
Market intelligence platform Santiment noted that the rally was primarily driven by “whale” and “shark” wallets that accumulated tokens worth $526 million in the last week alone.
XRP’s momentum comes amid optimism around the token’s status with regulators as 21Shares pursues approval to launch a spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
Aptos Protocol Thala Recovers $25 Million After Exploit
By Tikta
Thala, a decentralized finance protocol built on the Aptos blockchain, has recovered the $25 million stolen in an exploit on Friday after successfully negotiating with the hacker.
The attack exploited a vulnerability in Thala's V1 liquidity pool contract, specifically in the latest update to v1 farming contracts. The flaw allowed the attacker to withdraw millions of dollars of tokens from the protocol’s liquidity pool.
Thala worked with blockchain security professionals SEAL 911 and Ogle Security Group to identify the exploiter and negotiate a $300,000 bounty for the full return of funds.
Thala is the third-largest Aptos protocol based on its total value locked of $192 million. It provides an automated market maker and a yield-bearing stablecoin called Move Dollar (MOD).
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Daily Bits… ✍️✍️✍
📜 Options trading for spot bitcoin ETFs moved closer to launch after the CFTC issued a staff advisory that cleared regulatory hurdles, leaving approval in the hands of the Options Clearing Corporation.
📉 Manifold Finance's FOLD token collapsed by 98% to $0.64 amid product dissatisfaction, halted liquidity support, and founder Sam Bacha's unresponsive behavior.
📈 Tokens on Coinbase’s Base blockchain surged, with MIGGLES gaining over 300% as transaction volumes and total value locked (TVL) hit record highs.
🎮 ETHGlobal Bangkok's hackathon showcased 713 crypto projects targeting AI, DAO tools, and games, with 10 finalists competing for a $750,000 prize pool.
🇪🇺 Dutch fintech Quantoz launched MiCA-compliant euro (EURQ) and dollar (USDQ) stablecoins, fully backed by fiat reserves and supported by Tether and Kraken.
What Do You Meme?
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is down 0.7%, trading at $90,433
ETH is down 1.2%, trading at $3,081
BTC dominance: 56.43%
Crypto market cap: $3.18T
*All data as of today, 08:00 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
Recommended Read
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