Raydium's new rival

Pump.Fun’s DEX hits $2.5 billion volume, BTC price falls amid trade war, FTX major creditors repayments coming in May, California lawmakers look to protect “Bitcoin rights.”

Author

Adrian Zmudzinski
March 31, 2025

Hi! In today’s edition:

  • 👀 Raydium rival PumpSwap secures $2.5 billion in trading volume within days of launching

  • 🔻 Bitcoin’s price falls ahead of “Liberation Day”

  • 💵 Bankrupt exchange FTX will start payments to major creditors in May

  • ⚔️ California lawmakers look to protect “Bitcoin rights” in digital assets bill

It’s never been easier to get rewarded in crypto!

We’re inviting you to try RockWallet, a multi-currency wallet that’s easy, quick, and secure. New accounts that make $50 purchases of a supported coin can earn up to $250 in LTC.

By Tikta

Pump.fun’s New DEX PumpSwap Hits $2.5B in Trading Volume 

PumpSwap, the new decentralized exchange (DEX) launched by Pump.fun, has already processed $2.52 billion in trading volume just ten days after its launch.

Data from Dune, compiled by @adam_tehc, shows that the new platform has earned $5 million in total protocol fees and $1 million in liquidity provider fees. 

PumpSwap eliminates the previous 6 SOL fee, which is around $741, to migrate a token to decentralized exchange Raydium and instead allows instant, free migrations to PumpSwap for tokens completing their bonding curve.

PumpSwap directly challenges Raydium, which dominates Solana's DEX market. While Raydium still holds a 46% market share, according to the Dune dashboard, PumpSwap's rapid growth could potentially shake up the status quo.

Bitcoin Declines as Risk-Off Sentiment Builds Ahead of ‘Liberation Day’

Bitcoin dropped below $82,000 on Sunday amid heightened risk-off sentiment ahead of what the Trump administration is calling “Liberation Day,” an initiative to introduce reciprocal tariffs beginning April 2, which aims to address so-called trade imbalances from other countries.

Rising inflation expectations and tighter monetary policies have shifted investor sentiment away from risk assets such as bitcoin and global equities.

Bitcoin’s current cost basis distribution implies that its current levels of support sit between $80,900 and $84,000, according to blockchain data platform Glassnode.

“These levels now form Bitcoin’s near-term cushion. Meanwhile, a key resistance may be forming around $95K, where investor cost basis clusters have grown by 12K BTC since Mar 24,” noted the analysts at Glassnode.

Mantle is building the largest sustainable hub for on-chain finance. Launching three new core innovation pillars: Enhanced Index Fund, Mantle Banking and MantleX. 

FTX to Pay Major Creditors Starting May: Report

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX will start paying back its major creditors on May 30, according to a report from Bloomberg. 

The initial payments will be made to major creditors, including institutional investors and businesses with significant claims. The list of its creditors includes retail investors with sizable portfolios as well as institutions.

Smaller creditors with claims under $50,000 have already started receiving distributions.

While the start of repayments is a major step in the years-long bankruptcy process, it still appears to be far from conclusion. FTX faces “27 quintillion claims,” Andrew Dietderich, one of FTX’s bankruptcy attorneys, told Bloomberg, referring to the flawed claims that will have to be weeded out before payments are made to legitimate creditors. 

Dietderich also noted that the interest rate FTX is earning on the $11.4 billion, which is earmarked for distributions, is lower than the 9% rate creditors earn while waiting for their cash.

California Introduces ‘Bitcoin Rights’ in Bill to Protect Self Custody 

A lawmaker in California has introduced “Bitcoin rights” protections in digital asset bill AB-1052, a piece of legislation that aims to introduce a range of digital asset protections.

California assembly member Juan Carrillo Valencia amended the bill on March 28, stripping out the original title “Money Transmission Act” and renaming it “Digital Assets.”

Bitcoin advocacy group Satoshi Action Group commended Valencia for including the provisions in the bill, which recognizes self custody and prohibits government agencies from imposing taxes or restrictions solely based on the use of digital assets for payment. The bill also seeks to expand the scope of California’s 1974 Political Reform Act by barring public officials from issuing, sponsoring, or promoting digital assets to reduce political influence on emerging financial technologies.

While advocates believe this legislation could serve as a model for other states, critics argued the right to self custody crypto is a given regardless of government permission.

The bill is in the “desk process” stage and is awaiting its first reading in the California State Assembly.

🎧 Special LIVE edition of Bits + Bips this Wednesday

  • 🇰🇷 Over 16 million South Koreans — over 30% of the population —  hold crypto exchange accounts, a surge partly attributed to Donald Trump's U.S. election win with a spike of 600,000 new crypto investors since November 2024. Crypto investment participation is surpassing stock market participation in the country and public officials are also disclosing significant crypto holdings.

  • 🇯🇵 Japan’s financial regulator plans to reclassify cryptocurrencies as financial products under revised laws by 2026, potentially subjecting them to insider trading regulations and requiring companies to register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), as part of broader pro-crypto reforms.

  • 🧑‍💻 Ethereum-based DeFi protocol SIR.trading lost its entire total value locked (TVL) of $355,000 in a March 30 hack that exploited a vulnerability in its vault's callback function which makes use of Ethereum's new transient storage feature, raising concerns about its security.

  • 📱 Threat Fabric has identified a sophisticated new Android malware called Crocodilus that uses fake overlays and remote access to steal crypto wallet seed phrases and take full control of infected devices, primarily targeting users in Turkey and Spain.

  • 🤑 A crypto trader turned a $2,184 investment in the memecoin Pepe into over $10 million in profit, highlighting the speculative yet highly lucrative nature of memecoins despite their volatility and lack of fundamental value.

  • 💼 By 2030, around a quarter of S&P 500 companies are expected to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets as treasury managers increasingly view crypto adoption as a career safeguard, according to M&A advisory firm Architect Partners.

  • 🔁 Binance has introduced a new feature allowing users to trade directly from its centralized exchange to decentralized exchanges using their Binance wallets, streamlining the process and reducing technical barriers to crypto adoption.

  • 🛍 Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings plans to sell up to $2 billion in stock to buy more bitcoin, mirroring Michael Saylor’s strategy, as it strengthens its position as the second-largest corporate BTC holder.