TL;DR

• The May FOMC meeting left the benchmark interest rate unchanged and maintained the monthly cap on asset reduction. The Fed also acknowledged that it is partially entering a policy dilemma.
• Key U.S. economic data this week includes inflation figures, along with retail sales, industrial production, housing statistics, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.
• Staking-related activity in the Ethereum ecosystem surged last week, supported by BlackRock’s filing for an Ethereum staking ETF.
• $ETHFI surged over 100%, while $Eigen and $Lido both rose by around 40%.
• A Dune-like analytics platform, Space and Time, was listed on Binance and Coinbase, with a current fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $730M.
• Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade aims to regain traction among institutional stakers and enhance user experience.
• Coinbase launched x402, aiming to transform “HTTP 402” into an on-chain payments layer.
• Jump Crypto invested in Securitize to accelerate on-chain real-world assets (RWAs) and expand institutional access. Most of the newly funded projects are in the data sector.

Macro Overview

May FOMC meeting: benchmark interest rate unchanged, monthly cap on asset reduction maintained, the Fed acknowledged partially entering a policy dilemma.

On May 7, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a target range of 4.25%–4.50%, with the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) rate set at 4.40%. The pace of balance sheet reduction also remains unchanged, with the monthly cap on asset roll-offs maintained at $40 billion — comprising $5bn in US Treasuries and $35bn in MBS.

The Fed acknowledged that it has partially entered a policy dilemma, indicating that future decisions may require a trade-off between controlling inflation and supporting employment. At the same time, Chair Jerome Powell stated that the current policy rate is in a “very good position” to respond flexibly to various economic developments. If unemployment and inflation rise simultaneously, creating a conflict between the Fed’s dual mandate, the Fed would prioritize the objective that deviates more significantly from its target.

This week the key economic data release will be the US inflation data, with the CPI on Tuesday and PPI on Thursday. As inflationary pressures could intensify at the start of the second quarter, the inflation data could be high, attributed to rising tariffs. Official data will be closely watched for the future inflation trend. Other data coming this week include US retail sales, industry production, housing stats and UoM sentiment data.

The dollar index continued to recover from the several-month low point last week, as the Fed’s decision for no interest rate cut this month has been largely priced in and the US-China trade talk is expected to meet some agreements.

The total assets increased for $1.6bn last week, further showing the turbulence before the overall market conditions meets the Fed’s expectation to fully halt QT.

Gold price rose above $3,400 in the early days of last week, but quickly dropped as US-China trade talks approached making progress, and the geopolitical uncertainties eased.

Crypto Markets Overview

1. Main Assets

As of Monday, the price of BTC was approximately $10,400 and ETH was around $2,500, representing week-on-week increases of 10% and 38%, respectively. Last week’s rally lacked clear catalysts, although there were rumors that BlackRock is in discussions with the SEC regarding an ETH staking ETF. The ETH ecosystem also saw a strong rebound, particularly in the staking sector, with $Eigen surging 67% and $ETHFI jumping 108%.

2. Total Market Cap

Last week, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.33 trillion. Excluding BTC and ETH, the altcoin market cap was $926.1 billion, representing a week-over-week surge of 14.4% and 14.7%, respectively. The current market rally is driven by the Ethereum ecosystem, particularly the staking sector.

3. Top 30 Crypto Assets Performance

Last week, BTC and ETH rose 11% and 40%. The Ethereum ecosystem performed strongly, especially the staking sector, with UNI up 40.3%. Among AltChains, SUI gained 24.4% and SOL rose 21.1%, with similar performance.

Given that ETH is still considered undervalued, this rally is expected to continue into this week, with BlackRock’s staking-related narrative likely remaining the main focus, including Etherfi, Lido, EigenLayer, SSV, Rocket Pool etc.

4. New Token Launched

Last week, major token launches included Doodles, Space and Time, and Obol Network.

Obol Network aligns closely with the staking narrative and is a direct competitor to SSV. The team appeared well-prepared to capitalize on the recent hype around staking, moving quickly to issue their token.

Space and Time was listed on both Binance and Coinbase, with a FDV of $730M. One of its market makers is GSR. Functionally, it resembles a lower-tier version of Dune, and at this stage, it appears to offer little value for secondary market investment.

Doodles was listed on Bybit with a FDV of $70M.

The Key Crypto Highlights

1. Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade aims to regain ground with Institutional stakers and UX enhancements.

Ethereum has activated its long-anticipated Pectra upgrade, the most significant protocol update since the 2022 Merge, introducing major changes to staking mechanics, wallet usability, and overall network efficiency. The hard fork includes EIP-7251, which increases the maximum stake per validator from 32 to 2,048 ETH, enabling staking providers to consolidate operations and reduce network congestion. Another key improvement, EIP-7702, enables crypto wallets to temporarily act as smart contracts, moving Ethereum closer to account abstraction and features like gas payments in stablecoins and wallet recovery options. In total, Pectra incorporates 11 EIPs, streamlining validator onboarding, optimizing data availability, and enhancing cryptographic operations. The upgrade arrives as Ethereum faces competitive pressure from faster-growing ecosystems like Solana, prompting internal debate over leadership and developer engagement. Despite two failed testnet runs earlier this year, Pectra successfully finalized on mainnet and is viewed as a critical step to retain Ethereum’s role as a foundational layer for decentralized applications.

2. Coinbase launches x402 to turn “HTTP 402” into Onchain payments layer

Coinbase has introduced x402, a new open-source payments protocol built on top of the long-dormant HTTP 402 “Payment Required” status code. Reviving this decades-old placeholder, x402 enables seamless, onchain pay-per-use transactions using stablecoins like USDC; without the need for subscriptions, credit cards, or API keys. The protocol is designed to unlock monetization across API services, content platforms, and AI agent infrastructure by letting any server request payments and any client: human or autonomous agent; respond with digital payment signatures. This shift enables autonomous agents to pay per API call or content access without human-in-the-loop friction, dramatically expanding the viability of agentic commerce. For developers and API providers, x402 streamlines integration and supports real-time revenue tracking, compliance, and secure microtransactions.

3. Jump Crypto invests in Securitize to accelerate Onchain RWAs and Institutional access

Jump Crypto has acquired a strategic equity stake in Securitize, a leading platform for asset tokenization, as part of a broader effort to accelerate institutional adoption of real-world assets (RWAs) onchain. While the financial terms remain undisclosed, the collaboration will focus on improving institutional access to tokenized securities and advancing collateral management infrastructure. Securitize, whose clients include Apollo, BlackRock, and KKR, has facilitated the tokenization of nearly $4B in assets under management. With Jump Crypto already active as a trader, investor, and contributor to protocols like Pyth and Wormhole, the firm’s backing signals growing conviction in tokenization as a transformative force in capital markets. Securitize COO Michael Sonnenshein emphasized this as a pivotal moment for institutional trust in the RWA space, which now exceeds $22B in onchain value according to rwz.xyz. The partnership positions both firms at the forefront of bridging traditional finance and blockchain-based infrastructure.

Key Ventures Deals

1. Doppel Raises $35M Series B to scale AI-Driven enterprise security defense platform

Doppel, a cybersecurity platform focused on defending against AI-driven social engineering threats, has raised a $35M Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to $54.4M and valuing the company at $205M. Additional backers include 9Yards Capital, Sozo Ventures, and returning investors such as a16z and Strategic Cyber Ventures. Since its Series A in early 2024, Doppel has achieved 400% growth in enterprise customers, 3x growth in ARR, and an 8x increase in expansion revenue. Its core product, Doppel Vision, combines proprietary LLM technology with expert oversight to detect and dismantle attacker infrastructure across domains, emails, apps, and social platforms. The company also partners with OpenAI to train cybersecurity agents capable of autonomously identifying and neutralizing complex digital threats. Partnering with firms like Secure Consult, Doppel is redefining executive protection and enterprise risk management in an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape. The funding will support product expansion, continued AI development, and scaling to meet enterprise demand, positioning Doppel as a category-defining leader in proactive threat defense.

2. Sentora_A new merger backed by $25M funding to simplify institutional access to DeFi markets

DeFi analytics firm IntoTheBlock and structured product specialist Trident Digital have merged to form Sentora, a new company aiming to streamline institutional access to decentralized finance. Sentora raised $25M in backing from New Form Capital, Ripple, Tribe Capital, and others. The platform combines IntoTheBlock’s data expertise with Trident’s financial structuring capabilities, offering asset managers a unified interface for yield strategies, compliance, risk management, and structured products. Sentora seeks to abstract away the complexity of engaging with fragmented DeFi ecosystems; multiple chains, protocols, and wallets into a single, intelligent interface tailored to institutional needs. The merger reflects a broader wave of crypto consolidation in 2025 and underscores DeFi’s evolution from a retail-dominated space to one attracting sophisticated capital. With DeFi protocols managing under $130B in TVL, dwarfed by trillions in traditional finance, Sentora is betting that a trusted, all-in-one institutional platform can unlock the next phase of onchain capital adoption.

3. CodeAnt AI launches with $2M raised at $20M Valuation to tackle code quality and security with AI technology

CodeAnt AI, an AI-driven code review platform founded by Amartya Jha and Chinmay Bharti, has raised $2M in Seed funding at a $20M valuation. The round was led by Y Combinator, VitalStage Ventures, and Uncorrelated Ventures, with additional participation from DeVC, Transpose Platform, Entrepreneur First, and several angel investors. Designed to streamline software development, CodeAnt AI helps engineering teams cut manual code review time and reduce bugs by over 50%. The platform integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps, offering real-time feedback and one-click fixes across more than 30 programming languages. Its core engine is built on a proprietary, language-agnostic abstract syntax tree (AST) system that detects project-wide code issues, supplemented by integration with security databases and support for custom rules. With enterprise-ready deployment options and flexible pricing starting at $10 per developer per month, CodeAnt AI is targeting teams that need scalable, secure, and intelligent code review workflows. The new funding will support team expansion and continued development of its code quality and application security suite.

The number of deals closed in the previous week was 15, with Infra having 8 deals, representing 53% for each sector of the total number of deals. Meanwhile, Data had 4 (27%) and DeFi had 3 (20%) deals

The total amount of disclosed funding raised in the previous week was $106M, 26% deals (4/15) in previous week didn’t public the raised amount. The top funding came from Data sector with $44M. Most funded deals: Dopple $35M; Sentora $25M

Total weekly fundraising rose to $106M for the 2nd week of May-2025, an increase of +4% compared to the week prior. Weekly fundraising in the previous week was down -33% year over year for the same period.

About Gate Ventures

Gate Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gate.io, is focused on investments in decentralized infrastructure, middleware, and applications that will reshape the world in the Web 3.0 age. Working with industry leaders across the globe, Gate Ventures helps promising teams and startups that possess the ideas and capabilities needed to redefine social and financial interactions.

Website: https://ventures.gate.io/
Twitter: https://x.com/gate_ventures
Medium: https://medium.com/@gate_ventures