Paradex Rollback Roasted, HIP-3 Competition Heats Up, What's New in the Mainstream Ecosystem?

Publication Date: January 20, 2025
Author: BlockBeats Editorial Team

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has shown a complex development in multiple dimensions. The mainstream discussion has focused on the NYSE's advancement of an on-chain securities trading platform triggering RWA speculation, and the central backlash behind the Trove "drama" exposing the chaos of the ICO model and KOL promotion. In terms of ecosystem development, WalletConnect is attempting to enter on-chain payments with POS terminals, while the market continues to discuss the evolution of trading and clearing mechanisms, as well as the game theory around channels and incentive structures.

I. Mainstream Topics

1. NYSE Launches On-Chain Securities Trading Platform Sparking Discussion

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced the launch of an on-chain securities trading platform, integrating the Pillar matching engine with a blockchain-based trading system, providing trading and settlement capabilities for tokenized securities, and introducing 24/7 operation, instant settlement, and stablecoin funding channels. The platform supports the interchangeability between tokenized shares and traditional securities, and is compatible with multi-chain custody. NYSE's parent company ICE is also advancing a 24/7 clearing system, emphasizing "on-chain native issuance" rather than wrapping existing assets. The market generally views this as a significant development in the RWA (Real World Asset) race or as an accelerator for blockchain infrastructure penetration into the capital markets.

The community's overall response is somewhat optimistic, believing that this may bring structural disruption to traditional finance. However, controversy also focuses on technical details (such as underlying chain selection) and mechanism risks (clearing, risk control, and liquidity pressures under 24/7 trading). Discussions further extend to its impact on DeFi and the crypto-native L1/L2: some see it as incremental funding and a new entry point for scenarios, while others are concerned that traditional finance "entry" may squeeze or even reshape the existing ecosystem landscape. Infrastructure projects like Chainlink are seen as potential beneficiaries, while DEXs represented by equity perpetual contracts (such as Hyperliquid) are seen by some users as potential downside risks. Overall, the positive view still prevails, but regulatory adaptation, as well as long-term variables like quantum security, are repeatedly mentioned.

2. "Trove Drama" Continues to Ferment, KOL Promotion Exposed

TroveMarkets' ICO project was exposed as a suspected rug pull: originally planning to raise $2.5 million, it ended up raising $12 million, only refunding $100,000, with the rest of the funds used by the team for a so-called "pivot" to a new product instead of following the initial roadmap. At the same time, several KOLs were accused of receiving an $8,000 promotion fee without disclosure, leading to community members bearing losses. The Ethos Network then initiated a "slash" action, imposing reputation penalties on relevant accounts, affecting approximately 792 users and 16,000 reputation points. The event starkly exposed the longstanding issues of the ICO model: lack of transparency, misaligned incentives, and a trust deficit in the promotion chain.

The community sentiment is strong and focused, with controversy mainly centered around two issues: first, questioning the responsibility of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in their promotional activities, and second, calling for legal accountability for fund misappropriation and fraud by project teams. Many users are demanding full refunds and advocating for judicial intervention. The slash mechanism of Ethos is seen by some as a "community self-cleaning tool," but it has also raised concerns: whether reputational penalties can truly serve as a constraint, and whether a tokenized reputation system will bring about new governance and collateral damage risks. A few implicated KOLs claim they were not paid or did not conduct sufficient research, but the overall consensus is closer to a warning: the market is holding to account for "lazy promotion," emphasizing that due diligence and transparency in disclosure remain fundamental.

3. WalletConnect Launches POS Payment Product, Sparking Payment Race Discussion

WalletConnect has released a POS payment product, supporting integration into Android terminal app stores, aiming to bypass the traditional banking system on the merchant side to achieve on-chain payments and stablecoin settlements. This product targets offline merchant terminal scenarios, but the real-world challenges are still mostly focused on the distribution layer: POS terminals are often controlled by acquiring institutions (such as Worldpay), which may lack the incentive to drive adoption due to potential loss of interchange fee revenue. The team emphasizes that an "open terminal" and merchant fee reduction demands could be a breakthrough, but leveraging existing infrastructure still faces long-standing inertia and a game of chain.

The market generally acknowledges the product's direction, believing it theoretically offers fee reduction space and may provide a more realistic entry point for on-chain payments. However, more discussions are pragmatic, with a widespread view that the real bottleneck lies not in technology but in channel control and economic incentive structures. Some suggestions have been made to use QR codes, on-chain credit, and other transitional solutions, while also considering whether external variables such as antitrust litigation could unlock new channel opportunities. Overall, the product is seen as a positive signal for payment innovation, but most people also recognize that achieving large-scale implementation in the European and American markets remains extremely challenging, ultimately requiring regulatory advancement and industry coordination.

II. Mainstream Ecosystem Updates

1. Solana

Magic Eden has announced that starting from February 1, 2026, 15% of the platform's total revenue will be directly injected into the $ME token ecosystem. These funds will be evenly distributed according to a fixed ratio: 50% for $ME buyback and 50% as USDC rewards for $ME stakers. Reward distribution will be based on staking amount and duration to calculate "staking power," using a monthly claiming mechanism. The first phase of the activity will be in February, with claiming expected to open in March and must be completed within 90 days.

In contrast to the previous market-only $ME buyback, this upgraded plan has evolved into a long-term mechanism covering the entire ecosystem. The scope includes all of Magic Eden's product line (NFTs, prediction markets, and Packs), with the intention of more directly linking platform growth to token value, achieving "platform success and ecosystem rewards alignment."

The overall community reaction has been positive. Many users believe that this mechanism will bring "seven-figure level" buybacks and reward pools, significantly strengthening $ME's value support and narrative shift. There were also discussions pointing out that the long-term effects still need to observe the platform's revenue stability and sustainability, but the overall sentiment tended towards excitement, with almost no clear negative voices.

2.Ethereum

MegaETH is set to launch a global stress test on January 22nd, aiming to process 11 billion transactions within 7 days, with the test throughput expected to be in the range of 15,000–35,000 TPS. More latency-sensitive application scenarios will be opened during this period, with the mainnet expected to go live a few days after the stress test ends. Users have shown a strong interest in this test, believing it could become the most symbolically significant transaction volume validation in EVM cross-chain history, but also reminded to focus on fault tolerance and stability performance.

Meanwhile, Coinbase and Circle have announced a partnership with the government of Bermuda to provide digital asset infrastructure, enterprise tools, and educational system support, helping Bermuda create the "world's first fully on-chain national-level economic body." This collaboration has sparked optimistic discussions in the community, with many believing it could become a significant model for driving global compliant adoption, but there are also voices cautioning against Coinbase's historical baggage in past business controversies.

On the community development front, the Hong Kong Ethereum Community Center is scheduled to open in the spring and will hold a kickoff meeting on January 24th, focusing on offline communication, co-creation, and event hosting. Many users see it as an important node in connecting the East Asian ecosystem and are looking forward to its launch.

Furthermore, ENS has officially launched a Google Cloud BigQuery dataset, allowing anyone to analyze ENS on-chain activities through SQL in seconds, providing core tables including registration, resolver, reverse record, etc., with daily updates supported. The dataset natively integrates with Google's Gemini AI, which can be used to draft and optimize SQL queries, seen by many users as a tool that significantly lowers the barrier to research and data analysis. The overall evaluation is positive, but some discussions have extended to the uncertainty of L2 incentive mechanisms and regulatory variables.

3.Perp DEX

The competition for Hyperliquid's HIP-3 is heating up. Known deployers include @felixprotocol, @markets_xyz, @ventuals, @tradexyz, @hyenatrade, @Dreamcash, @SeliniCapital, and several other teams and institutions. The market's expectation for the deployment qualification auction price has also been pushed up to 3000–4000 HYPE. Discussions generally believe that there may be 20+ deployers in the next 6 months, but the number of players who can truly establish a long-term advantage will be very limited, with the situation closer to a "winner takes all" scenario.

Many users speculate that small teams are likely to be directly eliminated in the bidding stage, and the ultimate decision of victory or defeat will depend not only on product capabilities but also on whether they can obtain unique distribution channels and trading flow entries.

On the other hand, attention has been drawn to the Equity Perpetual Flow Structure Analysis released by Markets.xyz: 91% of its trading volume comes from algorithmic trading, with 86% being non-directional trades (more skewed towards "mining" logic), and only 14% belonging to retail trading. This data is considered to reveal the current Perp DEX's growth heavily relying on incentives rather than real demand, further strengthening the community's skepticism about the "authenticity of the traffic."

Meanwhile, HyperLend has announced the launch of the HPL token (TGE approaching), with 30.14% of the token distribution allocated to ecosystem incentives. It has been disclosed that $1.7 million has been raised, and the staking and locking mechanism is expected to be launched soon. The overall community feedback is mostly positive, believing it will help align the interests of the Hyperliquid ecosystem, but the market is also cautioned to be aware of risks of counterfeit tokens and information confusion.

In addition, Trade.xyz's XYZ100 will switch to isolated margin mode starting January 20, allowing users to withdraw unrealized profits and losses from open positions. Many see this as a key upgrade that can significantly improve capital efficiency and strategic flexibility. Overall, the discussion focuses on the increased intensity of competition and the deep impact of incentive structures on market behavior.

4. Others: Paradex Rollback Sparks Controversy, Casting Doubt on On-Chain DEX "Reliability"

Starknet's ecosystem Perp DEX Paradex announced a chain rollback to block 1,604,710 due to a database migration error that briefly showed the BTC price as zero, triggering large-scale liquidations. The event quickly sparked ridicule and questioning, with many believing that the rollback exposed the vulnerability of on-chain DEXs and the gap between the "decentralization" narrative and actual control.

During the discussion, a comparison was frequently brought up: Some users emphasized that Solana has never experienced a rollback or fork, attributing this to a more decentralized validator structure (the community mentions 800+ validators), believing this makes it superior in security and availability compared to some L2 architectures. Others went further to pessimistically point out that the perp DEX might have been a "wrong product-market fit" from the start because, in extreme scenarios, centralized control often reemerges under the guise of "fixing the system."

The overall sentiment was overwhelmingly negative, with the core focus on reliability and centralization risks, with virtually no positive feedback.