Macro Trends

This article provides an in-depth look at the Ethereum Foundation, covering its organizational structure, operational framework, funding sources, expenditures, and its role in supporting the Ethereum ecosystem. We will also explore how the foundation differs from traditional corporations, the challenges and controversies it faces, and its potential future developments.

In 2025, with the positive shift in U.S. policies (including President Trump's support for the crypto industry), the launch of the Bitcoin ETF, and interest rate cuts by major economies, the crypto asset market is expected to continue its strong growth. This article explores how Bitcoin's perception is changing, the improvement of market conditions, and the advancement of tokenization technologies, all of which will create new growth opportunities for digital assets.

Gate Research (Feb 15-21, 2025): This report provides a comprehensive analysis of key developments in both the cryptocurrency market and the broader macroeconomic environment. On February 15, Federal Reserve’s Logan stated that even if inflation continues to cool, it may not necessarily trigger rate cuts. On February 18, a New York Fed survey revealed that U.S. manufacturing costs in February saw the largest increase in two years. On February 19, data from the U.S. Treasury showed that the top three foreign holders of U.S. debt reduced their holdings in December, while total foreign net inflows exceeded $87 billion. Also on February 19, U.S. January residential construction fell by 9.8% month-on-month, worse than the expected 7.3% decline, and far below the previous value of 15.8%.

This article delves into the capital control issues of Layer 2 scaling solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem, analyzing how venture capital (VC) influences the decentralized foundation through governance and economic means, and proposes potential solutions to provide new insights for Ethereum's future development.

These views offer policymakers important considerations for how to approach crypto regulation, ensuring that the U.S. leads this critical shift toward the next generation of the internet.

Circle is developing an open technology platform powered by USDC. Building on the U.S. dollar's strength and widespread adoption, the platform taps into the internet's scale, speed, and low cost to drive network effects and practical applications for financial services.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the past year's market performance and future development trends from four key perspectives: market overview, popular ecosystems, trending sectors, and future trend predictions. In 2024, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached an all-time high, with Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 for the first time. On-chain Real World Assets (RWA) and the artificial intelligence sector experienced rapid growth, becoming major drivers of market expansion. Additionally, the global regulatory landscape has gradually become clearer, laying a solid foundation for market development in 2025.

Currently, AI-related projects dominate the cryptocurrency market with over 70% of market interest, while the gaming sector follows with single-digit market share. This concentration of interest has led to an undervaluation of Web3 gaming's innovation and growth potential. This report aims to analyze in depth why many gaming companies entered the Web3 gaming market and why the sector has since lost momentum.

This article explores the evolution of blockchain interoperability, focusing on the current phase, Interop 3.0, which enables applications to implement customized cross-chain strategies. The article reviews the progression of interoperability from Interop 1.0 (Asset Transfer Era) to Interop 2.0 (Message Passing Era) and now to Interop 3.0, with an emphasis on full-chain application logic, interoperability owned by applications, and chain abstraction. As the blockchain ecosystem expands, applications need to develop multi-chain strategies to stay competitive and prepare the right scalability approach based on their specific business models.

As the global financial landscape continues to evolve, PayFi is emerging at the intersection of blockchain technology and payment systems, aiming to combine the efficiency of DeFi with the immediacy and convenience of modern payment solutions, transforming transaction methods. This article will delve into the reasons behind the rise of PayFi, provide an overview of the current state of its industry, highlight key cases, and explore its potential application scenarios.

Gate Research Daily Report: In the past 24 hours, BTC rose by 3.93%, showing signs of a bottoming rebound. ETH increased by 3.31%, maintaining an upward trend. The total value locked (TVL) of Real World Assets (RWA) surpassed $8.2 billion, setting a new all-time high. Decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume on the Solana blockchain once again exceeded $100 billion, continuing to lead the market. The Base Network's active addresses have surged over 40-fold year-to-date. Gate Group has officially entered the Japanese market by acquiring Coin Master. MicroStrategy plans a significant stock expansion to support its Bitcoin strategy, increasing Class A shares to 10.3 billion. Gasp has launched its Alpha version and first DEX while announcing a GASP token airdrop plan to attract community participation.

From the evolution of stablecoins as a financial backbone to advancements in scalable infrastructure and high-performance blockchains, the ecosystem is now ready to support real-world applications. After years of anticipation, we believe 2025 will mark the beginning of blockchain’s true adoption phase, with Asia at the forefront, catalyzing a fair and transparent global distributed ledger.

Explore Japan's leading role in the Web3 revolution with an in-depth analysis of the latest developments in Japan’s Web3 landscape for 2024. This article examines the evolution of Web3 from social-political, corporate challenges, and individual user needs perspectives. It highlights how Japan is driving Web3 technology adoption through legal frameworks, tax reforms, and regulatory changes, showcasing Web3 applications across finance, gaming, and real estate. Gain a comprehensive view of Japan's pivotal role on the global Web3 stage.

Gate Research Weekly Report: This week, BTC fluctuated between $99,000 and $92,600, repeatedly testing resistance levels in its upward movement. ETH displayed an ascending triangle convergence pattern, with significant resistance near $3,540. Gate.com's quantitative fund achieved a record-breaking annualized return in the industry. Runes' transaction share on the Bitcoin network fell to a new low. The BIO Protocol community proposed "Bridge BIO to Solana". Investors should monitor upcoming significant token unlocks for SUI, OP, and ZETA from public blockchains next week. Additionally, the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation will take effect on December 30.

This paper presents a pair of related arguments against the interpretation (and expansion) of Section 1960(b)(2) put forth by the government in the Tornado Cash prosecution.