Movement $38M Buyback & Binance MM Drama

📢Sponsor | 💡Telegram | 📰Past Editions

Good Morning.

Fidelity is making their stablecoin. WLFI is making its stablecoin. Soon, your mama is making her own stablecoin. 2025 is shaping up to become the year of stablecoins, and we’re only three months in.

Check out our latest podcast episode with ETH Sign!

In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Binance IDs MOVE Dumper; Movement Plans $38M Buyback 🔎 

• Case Study: IrysVM: Pay Once, Deploy Forever ☁️ 

• Governance & Features: Proposal to Defund Arbitrum GCP 💸 

You read and share. We listen and improve. Send us feedback at [email protected].

TOGETHER WITH

Safu

Looking to stay ahead in the meme coin market?

Safu Tech is the premier Solana meme wallet tracker, designed to help you follow the highest P/L traders across the top meme coins. 

Gain insights into the moves of top-performing wallets, follow the smart money, and uncover opportunities in real-time.

Start tracking the top traders and take your trading strategy to the next level.

WHAT MATTERS

Binance Flags MOVE Dump; Movement Starts $38M Buyback

State of play: Binance has identified a market maker responsible for dumping 66M $MOVE tokens just one day after the token's launch on December 10, netting $38M USDT in profit before being expelled from the platform.

• The same party was previously offboarded from Binance for misconduct involving GPS and SHELL tokens.

• Binance has since frozen the profits and informed the Movement Network Foundation, which stated it had no prior knowledge of the activity.

• In response, the Movement Foundation severed ties with the market maker and launched a $38M buyback program using the recovered funds.

• The goal is to establish a "Movement Strategic Reserve" to support long-term ecosystem health by purchasing $MOVE over the next 3 months on Binance.

• These tokens will be moved to an onchain reserve wallet. While Binance cited the action as a way to compensate users.

Additionally, Binance suspended an employee from its Wallet team for allegedly front-running a memecoin (UUU) launch using insider information from a prior role at BNB Chain.

• The exchange is cooperating with authorities and will reward four whistleblowers with $100,000 for exposing the misconduct.

Why it matters: The incident highlights ongoing concerns over market integrity in crypto. Binance's $38M freeze and Movement’s buyback show efforts to enforce accountability, protect users, and restore trust.

Our take: This is a great move (pun intended) from Rushi to mediate the unfortunate situation that happened.

For builders and investors: There are many shady market makers in our space because of the global jurisdiction and lack of regulation. Be careful who you’re doing business with.

CASE STUDY

IrysVM: Pay Once, Deploy Forever

Credit to APEROL for the original article

Irys is a Layer 1 programmable datachain that combines permanent data storage with EVM-compatible smart contract execution through IrysVM.

• Developed by the team behind Bundlr, it offers low-cost, decentralized infrastructure with a hybrid Proof-of-Work/Proof-of-Stake system and up to 100,000 txs/second.

• One notable application is a no-code AI-powered site builder that allows users to generate and deploy websites on IrysVM for a one-time fee.

• Initial deployment of 100MB costs between $1 and $5, with future updates ranging from $0.10 to $0.50, depending on size.

• Compared to traditional cloud infrastructure, which often incurs annual costs between $270 and $1,300, IrysVM offers lower long-term expenses and avoids recurring fees.

• Use cases for Irys extend to AI systems, content verification through tamper-proof storage, and data feeds for decentralized infrastructure networks.

Irys’s approach provides an alternative model, where users maintain control over content without relying on centralized platforms or continuous subscription models.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 500 crypto VC individuals 👇

INSIGHTS

dYdX Launches Token Buyback

dYdX has initiated its first token buyback program, allocating 25% of annual net protocol fees—approximately $4.4M—to monthly purchases of its native token.

• Managed by the dYdX Treasury SubDAO, the repurchased tokens will be staked to enhance network security rather than burned.

• The move was approved through a community vote and is part of a broader fee distribution model.

• The program also supports the MegaVault, staking rewards, and Treasury SubDAO.

• The buyback program coincides with dYdX’s upcoming 50% token emissions reduction set for June 2025.

• With 85% of $DYDX tokens already unlocked, all emissions are expected to end by June 2026.

The token rose over 8% on the news, trading above $0.71 with a $546M FDV.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Arbitrum Debates Defunding $215M Gaming Program

Arbitrum DAO is considering a proposal to claw back funding from its Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP), which was allocated 225M ARB tokens (worth ~$215M) to support Web3 gaming on the Arbitrum network.

• The proposal argues that the GCP was approved during an overly optimistic period and has since suffered from mismanagement, lack of transparency, and contributor turnover.

• It also cites concerns over increased compensation requests and reduced reporting standards.

• Launched in March 2024, the GCP aimed to support gaming projects with a $25M cap on operations and the rest dedicated to grants.

• Despite claims of over 64 projects in its pipeline, critics say the program has struggled to implement basic processes.

• Supporters, including a GCP council member, counter that Arbitrum remains a key hub for gaming, with over 25 gaming-related chains using its tech stack.

Other notable feature updates:

• Sonic is now live on Infinex.

• Pump.fun launched PumpSwap.

• USDS is now available on Arbitrum.

• Chaos Labs has introduced Chaos AI.

• Hyperliquid is introducing Staking Tiers.

• f(x) Protocol is launching wBTC markets.

• Nillion unveils tokenomics of their native token $NIL.

• Ethena is expanding USDe, USDtb, and iUSDe issuance.

• Uniswap announced that Coinbase is building on Uniswap v4.

QUICK BITES

• Celo finalizes Ethereum L2 transition.

• USDC hits all-time high supply of $60B.

• SEC drops investigation into Immutable.

• Circle to launch USDC stablecoin in Japan.

• Polymarket suffers UMA governance attack.

• Fidelity prepares to unveil its own stablecoin.

• Nikita Bier joins Solana as advisor for mobile push.

• GameStop to add Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset.

• Polymarket launches on Solana to enable SOL deposits.

• World Liberty Financial debuts plan for USD1 stablecoin.

• Binance identifies alleged MOVE-dumping market maker.

• BlackRock expands BUIDL to Solana as AUM surges past $1.7B.

• Bitwise CIO says Trump’s SBR removes last existential risk for BTC.

• Arbitrum considers proposal to defund 'GCP' backed by 225M ARB.

• SEC Crypto Task Force to discuss DeFi, tokenization at roundtables.

• Binance suspends employee for allegedly profiting from insider information.

• SEC Chair nominee Paul Atkins held shares in Securitize & Anchorage Digital.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Kain’s read on market makers.

• Rui’s read on Yield Basis: real yield on Bitcoin.

• MegaETH’s read on eliminating block gas limits.

If you enjoy reading this issue, please consider subscribing. It takes 1 minute of your time but it would mean the world to us 🙇

Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.