Fear & Greed Climbs, Avalanche Scores, and Hyperliquid Gains
Weekly Market Update #71
In partnership with Elementus
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Before jumping into last week’s action, check out some of the research published last week by the Reflexivity team:
-Maple Finance: The First Institutional Asset Manager On-Chain
Major Market Developments:
😎 Fear & Greed Index: 68 (Greed)
⚽ Avalanche lands FIFA + VanEck fund (Spotlight)
💰 FTX to distribute another $5 B to creditors (30 May)
🚨 CoinDesk uncovers fresh Movement Labs fraud details
🔄 Omni buys back 33.7 % of investor tokens
🐳 Strategy scoops 7,390 BTC
🧠 LayerZero integrates with Bittensor’s AI network
⚙️ Sei Labs unveils “Sei Giga” multi-proposer EVM whitepaper
🦊 Rabby wallet adds HyperEVM support
📱 Solana Mobile reveals $SKR token + shipping date
📜 Lido publishes v3 whitepaper
🇺🇸 Texas House passes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill
💥 CetusProtocol hacked (~$200 M), offers $6 M white-hat bounty
📝 Hyperliquid responds to CFTC’s perpetuals consultation
Fear & Greed Index:
Score: 68 – Greed. Sentiment remains buoyant, edging toward froth. When the gauge pushes above 60, profit-taking bouts often follow. This is the third week in a row where the fear and greed index has surpassed 65.
Note: The index ranges from 0 (extreme fear during capitulations and sell-offs) to 100 (extreme greed during euphoric, overbought conditions).
ETF Flows:
Spot-Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $2.75 billion of fresh capital over 19-23 May 2025, a surge powered chiefly by BlackRock’s IBIT ($2.43 billion) and reinforced by Fidelity’s FBTC ($210 million) and ARK/21Shares’ ARKB ($101 million). Even with Grayscale’s GBTC posting a $89 million outflow and an increase in outflows on 23 May (FBTC and ARKB each down roughly $74 million, GBTC down $89 million), the group finished the week decisively higher.
During the same window, spot-Ethereum products turned positive, gathering $248 million in net inflows led by BlackRock’s ETHA ($136 million), Fidelity’s FETH ($38 million) and a late-week burst into Bitwise’s ETHE ($44 million), while the Grayscale trust added a modest $25 million. The parallel strength indicates investors are broadening digital-asset exposure, with Bitcoin vehicles still capturing the bulk of new money but Ether funds finally moving back into favour.
Spotlight 🔦
Avalanche just scored two headline wins that broadened its reach from global sport to institutional finance.
1. FIFA’s dedicated chain
Football’s governing body will launch a custom Layer-1 blockchain on Avalanche to power FIFA Collect digital memorabilia, in-stadium rewards, and fan engagement tools. Avalanche’s sub-second finality and low fees convinced FIFA to build natively rather than mint on a shared network. The chain goes live ahead of the 2026 World Cup, giving Avalanche exposure to billions of fans.
2. VanEck’s “PurposeBuilt” RWA fund
Asset manager VanEck revealed a private PurposeBuilt Fund targeting real-world-asset (RWA) projects launching on Avalanche. Slated for June, it will back post-token ventures in gaming, AI, on-chain finance, and tokenized Treasuries, deploying capital and providing secondary-market liquidity via Avalanche’s Evergreen subnets.
What it means
Consumer + institutional pull: FIFA taps AVAX for mass-scale fandom; VanEck validates the chain for compliant RWA issuance.
Subnet narrative: Both deals exploit Avalanche’s customisable subnet architecture, isolating throughput for FIFA’s collectibles while letting VanEck spin up regulated asset zones.
Brand boost: With a global household name and a $90 B asset manager onboard, Avalanche reinforces its pitch as the high-speed rails for real-world adoption, adding fresh catalysts for AVAX demand.
Avalanche’s twin announcements highlight how a multichain future will be shaped by chains that can service both mainstream consumer brands and sophisticated financial products, an edge Avalanche is keen to leverage heading into the second half of 2025.
Rapid Reflexivity: Quick Market Takes ⚡
FTX creditors – The recovery trust will pay a second $5 B tranche on 30 May, boosting market liquidity for claimants.
LayerZero × Bittensor – Interoperability giant LayerZero now pipes TAO assets natively across 50+ chains.
Robinhood RWA pitch – A 42-page SEC filing outlines on-chain Treasury and muni-bond products, bridging Wall Street to crypto rails.
SEI Giga whitepaper – Introduces a multi-proposer, parallelized EVM L1 aimed at “10K TPS real yield” for DePin and social apps.
Celestia Lotus upgrade – Adds data-availability sampling cost cuts and sequencer-free rollup tooling.
Rabby + HyperEVM – Leading multichain wallet integrates Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM for one-click perpetual trading.
Initia trims staking yield – Governance proposal halves inflation as network activity ramps.
Solana Mobile’s $SKR – New utility token powers Saga 2 loyalty and in-phone dApp marketplace; handsets ship in August.
Lido v3 whitepaper – Plans modular architecture, dual-token governance, and opt-in slashing insurance.
Texas Bitcoin bill – State House passes legislation to build a strategic BTC reserve and mining training programme.
Cetus hacked – Sui DEX drained for ~$200 M; team offers $6 M white-hat bounty for fund return.
Worldcoin raises $135 M – a16z and Bain back privacy-enabled “World ID” push.
Hyperliquid vs CFTC – Lab’s public letter urges clear rules permitting 24/7 on-chain perpetuals to keep innovation onshore.
Hyperliquid was the largest gainer this week, likely helped by two factors:
(1) Their public reply to the CFTC on 24/7 perpetuals signalled regulatory maturity, attracting larger traders.
(2)Rabby’s HyperEVM integration puts the exchange one-click away for 200k+ users.
The biggest losers of the week experienced negligible dips, further highlighting the strength of the broader markets.
Disclaimer: This research report is exactly that — a research report. It is not intended to serve as financial advice, nor should you blindly assume that any of the information is accurate without confirming through your own research. Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets are incredibly risky, and nothing in this report should be considered an endorsement to buy or sell any asset. Never invest more than you are willing to lose, and understand the risk that you are taking. Do your own research. All information in this report is for educational purposes only and should not be the basis for any investment decisions that you make.