Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

NVIDIA: Major Clients Have Begun Testing Vera Rubin Devices

According to Bloomberg, NVIDIA has announced that its key clients have started testing its Vera Rubin devices. The chipmaker added that its new Vera processor outperforms AMD’s Turin, and that the chips are being delivered on schedule for use in AI data centers.

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Iran's Revolutionary Guard hits U.S. military radar in Kuwait.

According to Iran's Press TV, Iran's Revolutionary Guard hit a U.S. military radar at Kuwait's Al Jaber Base.

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Liang Wenfeng’s Huanfang and Jiuzhang secure the largest share in Changxin Technology’s private placement new share offering, with 113 private equity firms receiving allocations.

The preliminary offline placement results for Changxin Technology show that a total of 2,459 products under 113 private equity firms secured offline placements in the company, with a total of 161 million shares allocated, amounting to 1.436 billion yuan. The announcement notes that offline institutional investors are divided into Category A (public funds, social security funds, pension funds, enterprise annuities, bank wealth management products, insurance companies, QFIIs) and Category B (private equity firms, broker-dealer proprietary trading, trusts, financial companies, etc.). Category A investors, dominated by public funds, received 1.978 billion shares, accounting for 91% of the total offline issuance; while Category B investors, led by private equity firms, secured 196 million shares, making up only 9% of the total offline issuance. Among the private equity placement list, the top ten by number of placement objects are all leading quantitative private equity firms. Shanghai Yanfu has a total of 282 placement objects allocated, ranking first among private equity firms; Century Front, Jiukun Investment, Shanghai Chengqi, and Huanfang Quant have 209, 194, 167, and 153 placement objects respectively; Lingjun Investment, Shanghai Jinde, and Minghong Investment also have over 100 allocated products each, at 107, 105, and 100 respectively. Notably, Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek and a prominent private equity figure, took the largest share among private equity placements. Public information shows that the actual controllers of two leading 100-billion-yuan private equity firms, Ningbo Huanfang Quant and Zhejiang Jiuzhang Asset Management, are both Liang Wenfeng. This means that through his two private equity firms, Liang Wenfeng has a total of 194 private equity products allocated, with a total of 20.2497 million shares secured, amounting to approximately 175 million yuan. (The Paper)

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Pump.fun launches BOOST mode, aiming to re-inject permanently locked liquidity into the token market.

Meme coin launch platform pump.fun has announced the launch of its new BOOST mode, set as the default launch mechanism for all new Pump.fun tokens moving forward. The feature is designed to address the long-standing "dead liquidity" problem during token migrations, using a buyback and burn mechanism to re-inject liquidity that was previously permanently locked back into the token market. Pump.fun noted that over $100 million in liquidity is permanently lost annually during token migrations, with these funds no longer available to support market liquidity. Historically, roughly 20% of liquidity remains stuck in liquidity pools (LPs) for every token that completes migration — even after all traders sell their positions, some funds stay locked in the pools permanently. BOOST mode will leverage this trapped liquidity to re-inject into the market via an automatic buyback mechanism within 5 minutes of each token migration completion. Specifically, BOOST will execute buybacks using a post-migration time-weighted average price (TWAP) and automatically burn the purchased tokens. For SOL trading pairs, 17.6 SOL will be injected, while USDC trading pairs will receive $2,516 in funds. The mechanism requires no manual activation from users: all new Pump.fun tokens that complete migration after 10:23 AM Eastern Time (ET) on July 21 will automatically enable the BOOST configuration. Tokens migrated prior to this date or issued via the Mayhem platform do not include the feature. The upgrade aims to improve trading experiences and enhance the long-term utilization efficiency of liquidity within the ecosystem.

3 minutes ago

Telegram Founder: Will Integrate a Native Non-Custodial Gram Wallet for All Users

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced in his personal channel that instant, zero-fee cryptocurrency transactions for its more than 1 billion users are set to become a reality. The platform is adding a native, non-custodial Gram wallet to every Telegram application.

3 minutes ago

GRAM surges past $1.5, gaining over 9% in 10 minutes.

According to HTX market data, GRAM has broken through $1.5, currently trading at $1.555, up over 9% in 10 minutes. Earlier reports stated that Telegram’s founder said the team is building native non-custodial Gram wallets into every Telegram application.

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Table of contents

The Ledger Nano X remains one of the best-selling hardware wallets on the market, and at $149 through Ledger’s official store it sits squarely between the entry-level Nano S Plus ($79) and the premium touchscreen Ledger Stax ($399). Launched in 2019 as a mobile-friendly upgrade to the original Nano S, it’s built around a CC EAL5+ certified Secure Element chip, pairs over Bluetooth with iOS and Android, and supports 5,500+ coins and tokens through Ledger Live and connected third-party wallets. Ledger Nano X reviews online tend to agree on the fundamentals but split on value for money — this hardware wallet review breaks down what the device actually gets you for the price, where it falls short, and who should buy the cheaper Nano S Plus instead.

Key Takeaways The Ledger Nano X costs $149 and is Ledger’s mid-range hardware wallet, positioned between the Nano S Plus ($79) and the Ledger Stax ($399). It’s the only Ledger device that combines Bluetooth connectivity with a built-in battery, letting it pair directly with iOS and Android through Ledger Live. Ledger advertises support for 5,500+ coins and tokens, though native Ledger Live app support is narrower — the larger figure includes coins reachable only through third-party wallets like MetaMask. Security is built around a CC EAL5+ certified Secure Element chip; the chip itself has never been compromised, though a 2020 customer-data leak and the optional 2023 Ledger Recover service remain points of criticism. The Nano S Plus is the better buy for anyone who doesn’t specifically need Bluetooth or mobile pairing. What Is the Ledger Nano X? The Ledger Nano X is a cold-storage hardware wallet — a small physical device, roughly the size of a USB stick, that stores the private keys controlling access to a user’s cryptocurrency. Those keys never leave the device: transactions are signed on the Nano X itself, so the wallet stays secure even when connected to a compromised computer or phone. Ledger launched the Nano X in 2019 as a premium successor to the original Nano S, and it has remained one of the company’s flagship models since, thanks to broad coin support and Bluetooth-based mobile use.

Key Specs at a Glance SpecDetailPrice$149Security chipCC EAL5+ certified Secure Element (ST33K1M5)Coin support5,500+ coins/tokens across 100+ chains via Ledger Live and connected walletsConnectivityBluetooth + USB-CBatteryUp to ~8 hours standbyApp storageUp to 100 apps (real-world capacity is smaller for larger apps like Bitcoin or Ethereum)DimensionsApprox. 72mm x 18.6mm x 11.75mm, 34g Security The Secure Element Chip The Nano X’s private keys are generated and stored on a CC EAL5+ certified Secure Element chip — the same class of certification used in passports and payment cards. This chip has not been compromised in Ledger’s history, and the design means keys never touch an internet-connected device during a transaction.

The Ledger Recover Controversy In 2023, Ledger introduced an optional subscription service called Ledger Recover, which allows users to split and back up an encrypted version of their recovery phrase across third-party custodians. It’s opt-in and disabled by default, but its existence changed the trust model some long-time users expected from a fully offline device, and it continues to draw criticism from parts of the Bitcoin community.

The 2020 Data Leak In July 2020, Ledger disclosed that roughly 270,000 customer records — names, emails, phone numbers, and shipping addresses — were exfiltrated from a marketing database. No funds or private keys were affected, but the leak fuels phishing campaigns against Ledger customers to this day. Anyone using a Ledger device should treat unsolicited emails or calls claiming to be from Ledger with default suspicion.

Setup and Ledger Live Setting up the Nano X follows Ledger’s standard flow: unbox the device, initialize it, set a PIN code, write down the 24-word recovery phrase on the included cards, then install the Ledger Live app on desktop or mobile to add coin apps. Ledger Live also supports buying, swapping, and staking assets directly, though swap fees through Ledger Live tend to run higher than going through a dedicated DEX aggregator.

Bluetooth and Mobile Use The standout feature separating the Nano X from the cheaper Nano S Plus is Bluetooth. The Nano X pairs with iOS and Android through Ledger Live, letting users check balances, sign transactions, and install apps without a cable. It’s genuinely useful for anyone who manages crypto primarily from a phone, though some users report occasional Bluetooth pairing issues — worth factoring in if wireless reliability matters more to you than the convenience itself.

Pros and Cons Pros:

Broad coin support across major chains and thousands of tokens Only Ledger device with both Bluetooth and a battery for mobile use Chip-level security with no history of compromise Works with major third-party wallets, including MetaMask, Phantom, and Rabby Cons:

Real-world app storage is smaller than the “100 apps” figure suggests once larger coin apps are installed $149 is a meaningful step up from the $79 Nano S Plus for buyers who don’t need Bluetooth Closed-source firmware Setup can feel clunky for first-time hardware wallet users Ledger Nano X vs. Nano S Plus vs. Trezor Model T Ledger Nano XLedger Nano S PlusTrezor Model TPrice$149$79$219BluetoothYesNoNoScreenSmall monochromeSmall monochromeColor touchscreenCoin support5,500+5,500+1,800+ The Nano S Plus supports essentially the same coin range as the Nano X for nearly half the price — the Nano X’s premium is almost entirely the Bluetooth and battery. The Trezor Model T costs more and adds a touchscreen but supports fewer coins natively.

Who Should Buy the Ledger Nano X? The Nano X makes the most sense for holders with diversified, multi-chain portfolios who want to manage crypto from a phone as often as a desktop. Active Solana, Ethereum, or multi-chain traders who pair a Ledger with software wallets like Phantom or MetaMask for daily use get the most value from the mobile flexibility. Anyone holding one or two coins long-term and rarely needing mobile access is better served by the cheaper Nano S Plus. For readers still deciding between cold storage and a software wallet, our Trust Wallet review breaks down the hot-wallet side of that trade-off.

Bottom line for this Ledger review: the Nano X earns its higher price through Bluetooth and mobile flexibility, not through better security or wider coin support than the Nano S Plus — both run the same certified chip.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always conduct independent research before purchasing hardware or managing your own crypto security.

Frequently Asked Questions Is the Ledger Nano X safe? Yes. Its CC EAL5+ certified Secure Element chip has never been compromised, and private keys are generated and stored on the device, never touching an internet-connected computer or phone during a transaction. The real risks are user-side rather than hardware-side — phishing attempts tied to Ledger's 2020 customer-data leak remain the most common threat, not any flaw in the device's chip security.

How many coins does the Ledger Nano X actually support? Ledger advertises support for 5,500+ coins and tokens, but that figure includes assets reachable only by connecting the device to third-party software wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, or Rabby. Native support inside the Ledger Live app alone is narrower, covering major chains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana directly, with broader altcoin access requiring an external wallet.

Ledger Nano X vs Nano S Plus — which should you buy? Both devices run the same certified Secure Element chip and support essentially the same range of coins, so security isn't the differentiator. The Nano X costs $70 more but adds Bluetooth connectivity and a built-in battery for managing crypto from a phone. If you mainly use a desktop and don't need mobile access, the $79 Nano S Plus offers the same protection for less.

Has the Ledger Nano X ever been hacked? The Secure Element chip itself has no history of being compromised, and no Ledger device has had funds stolen directly through a chip-level exploit. Ledger's one major security incident was a 2020 leak of customer contact information — names, emails, and addresses — from a marketing database, which did not expose private keys or wallet funds but has fueled ongoing phishing campaigns.

Is the Ledger Nano X worth $149? For users who hold a diversified, multi-chain portfolio and want to manage it from a phone as often as a desktop, the Bluetooth and mobile flexibility justify the price. For users who only need to secure one or two assets long-term and rarely need mobile access, the $79 Nano S Plus provides nearly identical security for significantly less money.

AUTHOR

Mushumir Butt is a seasoned crypto journalist with over three years of experience reporting on the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. At Blockchain Reporter, he delivers insightful news, in‐depth project reviews, and precise price analysis and predictions. With a strong background in SEO and digital marketing, Mushumir excels at breaking down complex trends into clear, accessible content, ensuring readers stay ahead in the fast‐paced crypto space.

In brief Nano Banana 2 Lite (gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image) generates images in four seconds at roughly $0.034 per image. This means it produces results at about half the cost of Nano Banana 2 at the same resolution and 2.7× faster. In head-to-head testing, the Lite model matched or beat Nano Banana 2 on many fields, but when details are important, the more expensive version may be the better option. Google last week launched Nano Banana 2 Lite—officially gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image—as the entry point in its image generation stack, sitting below Nano Banana 2 and well below Nano Banana Pro. It delivers text-to-image outputs in roughly four seconds, 2.7 times faster than Nano Banana 2, and is positioned as the direct replacement for the original Nano Banana (gemini-2.5-flash-image). The explicit pitch: same Google ecosystem, less money, less waiting.

The model is available through Google AI Studio, the Gemini API, and the Enterprise Agent Platform—and it's baked into consumer products including Search, the Gemini app, NotebookLM, and Google Photos. It works alongside Gemini Omni Flash, Google's new video generation model, through the Interactions API, which lets users stack up to three sequential edits within a single session. The Nano Banana family now reads as a clean three-tier structure: Lite for speed and cost, Nano Banana 2 for the quality-speed balance, Nano Banana Pro for complex professional work.

At roughly $0.034 per image at 1K resolution, Nano Banana 2 Lite is about half the price of Nano Banana 2, which runs $0.067 per image at the same resolution. That puts the Lite model in direct competition with Seedream 5.0 Lite, which comes in at $0.031–0.035 per image. Reve 2.0 undercuts both at around $0.0067 per image via API—though it lacks the deployment breadth that comes with Google's infrastructure. Qwen Image Edit is a good, free, open-source option for standard use cases.

So, is the quality drop from Nano Banana 2 concentrated enough to matter for your specific workflow? Is it distributed enough that most people won't notice?

We ran the same prompts through both models across five categories to find out. The answer is less predictable than you'd expect.

Realism

The realism test is where the gap between Nano Banana 2 and its Lite sibling is most visible. Both models received the same technically demanding portrait prompt: a cinematic image of a 32-year-old female architect on a rooftop at sunset, wearing a beige trench coat and round glasses, holding rolled blueprints specifically in her left hand, with a defocused city skyline behind her, golden hour lighting with a soft rim light, shallow depth of field simulating a 50mm lens, a vertical 4:5 aspect ratio, realistic skin texture, and subtle film grain.

The prompt explicitly frames each element as an independent constraint that can fail.

Nano Banana 2 Lite passed the basic test. The subject is correctly dressed and positioned, wears round glasses, holds blueprints, and stands on a rooftop with a blurred city behind her. But it is slightly, just slightly, less realistic in terms of details: The subject only has one hand, which is oversized in comparison to the rest of the body. The rim light is barely perceptible. Skin texture holds up at thumbnail scale but doesn't survive close inspection. The image, in the end, looks like a competent stock photo, not a cinematic portrait.

Nano Banana 2 produced something photographically different in kind. The subject stands against a fully realized New York City skyline at magic hour, bokeh city lights blooming across the background, a hint of a river visible in the distance. The depth of field is dramatic. The warm rim light clearly separates the subject from the background. The blueprints are in her left hand, not her right hand, as requested.

Both models struggle with symmetry. For example the holes for the buttons and some straps are not consistent, but again, those are details that are spotted upon closer inspection.

For social media content or rapid visual mockups, the Lite version is workable—it communicates the concept. For anything where the image is the final product—a hero image, a client deliverable, a portfolio piece—it will show its seams at any resolution above a thumbnail. Photographic quality is where the Lite model's architecture makes its largest single concession, and it makes it consistently.

Prompt Adherence

Prompt adherence testing used a different strategy: a dense, multi-element scene where each labeled detail functions as an independent failure point. The prompt described a steampunk cityscape viewed from a gargoyle's perch—complete with a hot air balloon labeled "Atlas & Sons Cartographers, Est. 1842," a cable car with a specific named route, a gear-driven clock tower, a gargoyle holding a document labeled "Sector 7 – Condemned," a foreground newspaper with a specific headline, and a detailed Victorian street scene below.

The logic: If a model can hold 10 specific simultaneous constraints, you can trust it on complex creative briefs.

Both models produced visually compelling steampunk scenes. Both correctly place the gargoyle in the foreground, the clock tower at center, the balloon in the sky, and a cable car crossing the frame. At a glance, the differences feel cosmetic—the Lite version is darker and moodier, the full model cleaner and brighter. But the specifics tell a different story. In the Lite version, the balloon reads "Est. 1942" instead of 1842—mostly due to AI grappling to properly render text. The cable car route label is partially garbled. The foreground newspaper headline blurs at the edges, losing legibility on the details that were specifically requested.

Overall, it focused more on visuals than text, which is ok for most use cases.

Nano Banana 2 gets almost everything right. The balloon clearly reads "Atlas & Sons Cartographers Est. 1842." The cable car sign says "Upper Vantis – 4 Stops." The gargoyle holds a document, but the text is illegible. The foreground newspaper reads "Clocktower Falls Silent – City Mourns" in clean, readable type. Every named element appears where it should, with the correct label, in legible form. The compositional decision to use brighter, more editorial lighting also pays off here—it keeps the labeled details readable rather than swallowed by atmosphere.

Casual prompt users won't catch a one-digit transposition on a fictional establishment date. But concept artists, worldbuilders, and narrative illustrators—the people using these models to communicate specific creative logic to clients or collaborators—will notice immediately.

The Lite model's tendency to blur or transpose specific in-image text labels isn't a catastrophic failure, but it introduces a manual correction step that compounds badly at scale.

Spatial Awareness

Spatial awareness testing evaluated how each model handles multi-depth scene composition: multiple objects at close range, a human subject in the middle distance, and atmospheric elements receding into background darkness.

The scene—a medieval alchemist at a cluttered wooden desk, surrounded by an armillary sphere, a lit candle, an hourglass, a skull, star charts, and a glowing green jar, with a black cat silhouetted in an arched window behind him—requires convincing three-dimensional layering to read as coherent rather than assembled.

Both models understood the basic spatial grammar of the scene. Foreground objects are rendered at appropriate scale and shadow detail, the scholar occupies the mid-ground with correct occlusion relationships to the objects around him, and the arched window with the moonlit night sky creates a convincing sense of recession behind the scene. Neither model misplaces objects, collapses depth planes, or introduces spatial contradictions. The scene architecture—front, middle, back—is correctly established in both outputs.

The differences are subtle and real. Nano Banana 2's version has a richer atmospheric depth gradient: The candlelight fades naturally as it reaches the stone walls, the background haziness reads as genuine atmospheric depth rather than digital softening, and the overall scene has a painterly warmth that suggests volumetric space. The Lite version's depth is structurally correct but slightly compressed—the background reads marginally more like a stage flat than a receding room with actual air in it.

At least in this text, the Nano Banana 2 image feels like the same Nano Banana 2 Lite image with a detailed LoRA (a sort of specialized fine tuning layer) applied during sampling.

This is the smallest gap across all five tests. For storyboards, game asset concepts, and most editorial illustration contexts, both models demonstrate adequate spatial reasoning. The Lite model's slightly flatter depth rendering becomes meaningful only in high-resolution output or detailed compositional analysis—and even then, the gap is arguable.

For this category, the Lite model is a viable substitute in the vast majority of practical workflows.

Text Generation

Text generation is where this review produces its most counterintuitive result.

The test prompt described a gritty nighttime hardware store with dozens of simultaneous text elements at different scales and styles: a hand-painted main sign with the store name, founding date, and product categories; a graffiti tag on the façade; window decals with hours and services; a concert poster with band name, venue, date, doors time, and specific ticket prices; a city council meeting notice; a lost cat notice with a phone number; political stickers on a phone booth; and a street parking restriction on the curb.

Text generation at this complexity is difficult because each element has to be correctly rendered while the overall image still reads as a coherent photograph.

Nano Banana 2 Lite actually delivered something genuinely impressive for how fast it is. "KELLERMAN'S HARDWARE & SUPPLY CO. – SINCE 1931 – TOOLS, ROPE, PAINT," graffiti reading "STILL HERE," window signs for "OPEN 7 DAYS / WE BUY SCRAP – ASK FOR RAY / CLOSED," a concert poster for "THE DREDGE PALE MOUTH / SUNDAY JUNE 4 / DOORS 9PM / THE ANCHOR CLUB / $12 ADV – $15 DOOR," stickers reading "THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS" and "JESUS SAVES," a lost cat notice with a specific and legible phone number—every single text element in the prompt is correctly rendered and readable simultaneously in one image.

If there’s something to note, it’s that the image is less realistic. Some posters seem rendered by an editor with poor photoshop skills rather than genuine elements of the scene. One example could be the posters pasted on the phone booth. To be more realistic they should have some natural imperfections, and even deterioration signs. That said, this is a legitimately strong result for any image model, let alone the cheaper, faster one.

Nano Banana 2's version is also strong. Most text is correctly placed and legible, and the overall image reads as a convincing nighttime scene. But the full model's darker, moodier atmospheric rendering—generally one of its assets—works against it here. Several smaller sticker texts fall into shadow and lose legibility. The Lite model's brighter, more neutral lighting, a quality that reads as a weakness in portrait work, becomes a clear advantage when the evaluation criterion is whether all the text in the scene is actually readable.

For text-heavy generation—signage mockups, editorial graphics, product concepts with labeled elements, infographic-style composed images—Nano Banana 2 Lite performs below Nano Banana 2. The model seems to either focus too much on visuals that text becomes garble, or focus so much on text that its placement in scene becomes unrealistic.

ConclusionsNano Banana 2 Lite is not a straight downgrade from Nano Banana 2. It's a focused tool with a specific ceiling, and that ceiling drops hardest in exactly the scenarios where photographic quality is the deliverable, and holds surprisingly steady everywhere else.

Cinematic portrait work, sophisticated lighting physics, fine material texture, close-inspection-quality skin rendering—all of these expose a clear difference between the two models. Style transfer also takes a meaningful hit, not in rendering quality but in contextual comprehension: the Lite model can execute a subject, but it struggles to capture the visual environment in which that subject lives. Prompt adherence degrades specifically on in-image labeled text accuracy—a narrow failure mode, but one that matters badly in worldbuilding, concept art, and any pipeline where specific in-image language carries meaning.

What holds up well—and in some cases holds up better—is specificity: if you require a lot of focus on something, it will make sure everything is there.

Spatial scene architecture, and basic compositional competence are also good. The text generation result warrants specific emphasis: If your workflow involves signage mockups, branded graphics, editorial composites with text-heavy elements, or any pipeline where multiple readable text strings need to coexist in a single image, the Lite model is worth reaching for first. Its brighter rendering defaults, a liability in portrait work, are an advantage when legibility is the metric. Spatially, it handles multi-depth scenes adequately for the vast majority of professional contexts.

On the cost math: at $0.034 per image, Nano Banana 2 Lite runs at roughly half the cost of Nano Banana 2 at 1K resolution ($0.067) and trades almost blow-for-blow with Seedream 5.0 Lite ($0.031–0.035). Reve 2.0 undercuts both dramatically at approximately $0.0067 per image via API, but doesn’t offer the deployment footprint that comes with the Nano Banana ecosystem: Search, NotebookLM, Google Photos, and the Gemini app running off the same model simultaneously.

For teams already inside Google's infrastructure, that integration removes a platform-switching cost that pure-API alternatives can't account for. If you know which use cases you're in—and you're not in the photographic quality bucket—Nano Banana 2 Lite earns its spot in the lineup, and might even be a better option than its more powerful brother.

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Google DeepMind just dropped a new family of image generation models with a name that sounds like it was coined during a late-night brainstorming session fueled by actual bananas. The Nano Banana 2 Lite, officially branded as Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image, has landed at the fifth spot on text-to-image leaderboards with an Elo score of 1,255 in evaluations from Artificial Analysis.

It also placed ninth in Multi-Image Edit rankings. For a model designed to be the budget-friendly option in the lineup, that’s a surprisingly strong showing.

What the Nano Banana 2 series actually does The Nano Banana 2 family launched around February 26, 2026, and it comes in multiple variants. The Lite version is positioned as the fastest and most affordable option, aimed squarely at developers and businesses running high-volume image generation tasks.

The feature set across the series is genuinely comprehensive. Conversational multi-turn editing lets users refine images through back-and-forth dialogue rather than starting from scratch each time. Variable aspect ratios mean you’re not locked into square outputs. And upscaling goes all the way to 4K resolution, which puts it in the range of production-quality visual content.

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Text rendering, historically one of the weakest points for AI image generators, is listed among the supported capabilities. Anyone who has watched an AI model butcher the word “restaurant” on a storefront sign knows why this matters.

Every generated image gets an invisible SynthID watermark baked in. This is Google’s approach to the growing concern around AI-generated content being passed off as authentic photography or artwork.

On the pricing front, the main variant uses a token-based system. Generating a standard 1K output image requires approximately 1,120 tokens.

The competitive landscape in AI image generation The Pro version of Nano Banana 2 has also been appearing in the top five to seven positions on these same benchmarks, suggesting Google has managed to build a lineup where even the economy option punches above its weight.

The series also integrates real-world knowledge through web search functionalities, allowing the model to pull in contextual information from the web to improve how accurately it represents real-world subjects, landmarks, or concepts.

Subject consistency and instruction adherence were explicitly targeted for improvement in this generation.

And before anyone gets confused: no, this has nothing to do with the meme token called Nano-Banana (NANOBANANA) on the Solana blockchain. The naming overlap is purely coincidental.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

TLDR Arizona advanced Senate Bill 1649 to a full House floor vote after clearing the House Rules Committee. The bill would allow the state to create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund. The proposal permits Arizona to retain seized cryptocurrencies instead of auctioning them. The legislation names XRP, Bitcoin, Monero, NEAR Protocol, and Nano as eligible assets. Lawmakers set criteria to assess adoption levels and transaction activity for reserve assets. Arizona lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 1649 to a full House vote after clearing the House Rules Committee. The proposal would allow Arizona to retain seized digital assets in a state-managed fund. The measure names XRP, Bitcoin, and Monero as eligible assets under defined standards.

Arizona Crypto Reserve Plan Names XRP as Eligible Asset The House Rules Committee approved SB1649 with eight votes in favor. As a result, the bill now heads to the full House for consideration. Lawmakers introduced the measure to create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund. The proposal allows the state to keep digital assets obtained through forfeiture or surrender. Currently, agencies auction most seized cryptocurrencies.

State Senator Mark Finchem introduced SB1649 earlier this session. The Senate Finance Committee passed the bill with a 4–2–1 vote. Lawmakers set criteria to determine which assets qualify for the reserve. The criteria review adoption rates, annual transaction volume, and ecosystem development. The bill lists XRP, Bitcoin, Monero, NEAR Protocol, and Nano as eligible assets.

The proposal authorizes the State Treasurer to manage the reserve fund. The Treasurer may invest holdings to generate returns for the state. However, the bill requires that investment actions do not increase financial risk. Lawmakers included this provision to guide fund management practices.

If the House approves SB1649, the bill will move to the governor’s desk. The governor may sign the measure into law or veto it. Lawmakers placed the bill on the House calendar following the committee vote.

Bitcoin and Monero Included in Arizona Reserve Framework SB1649 identifies Bitcoin as a primary digital asset for the reserve. Lawmakers also included Monero under the eligibility framework. The bill groups these assets with XRP under a defined fair value threshold. This threshold evaluates economic strength and technical performance.

Under the measure, Arizona may retain cryptocurrencies received through legal processes. Agencies would transfer those assets to the reserve fund instead of auctioning them. The Treasurer would then oversee storage and management of the holdings. Lawmakers structured the bill to formalize how the state handles digital assets.

The legislation forms part of broader digital asset discussions in Arizona. Lawmakers are also considering Senate Bill 1042. That proposal would allow the state to invest up to 10% of public funds in cryptocurrencies. SB1042 remains under review in the state legislature.

At the federal level, digital asset reserves have also entered policy debates. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The order also created a broader digital asset stockpile framework. Lawmakers referenced these developments during state discussions.

The House will now determine the fate of SB1649 in a floor vote. If members approve the measure, it will proceed to final executive consideration. The legislative process continues as scheduled in the current session.

PANews reported on April 17th, citing Cointelegraph, that a Brazilian security researcher warned that a Ledger Nano S Plus device he purchased from a Chinese e-commerce platform was a sophisticated counterfeit designed to steal users' crypto assets. The device was priced the same as the official store, and the packaging and product page appeared legitimate, but it failed the "authentication verification" when connected to the official Ledger Live app. Disassembly revealed that the device's hardware and firmware had been tampered with, including embedded WiFi and Bluetooth antennas, and the chip markings had been scratched off. Researcher analysis of the firmware showed that the device, upon startup, displayed the manufacturer as Shanghai-listed Espressif Systems.

Researchers are advising users to only download LedgerLive from ledger.com and to only purchase hardware from ledger.com. If a device fails to pass authenticity verification, users should immediately stop using it. Earlier this month, more than 50 victims suffered losses totaling $9.5 million due to the leakage of mnemonic phrases from fake Ledger Live apps listed on the Apple App Store.

This article has been updated with comments from a Ledger spokesperson.

A Brazilian security researcher has uncovered a sophisticated counterfeit Ledger device operation after discovering modified hardware designed to siphon cryptocurrency from unsuspecting users.

Summary

A Brazilian security researcher identified a sophisticated hardware compromise in a counterfeit Ledger Nano S Plus that utilized modified firmware to capture user recovery phrases. Physical inspections of the fraudulent device revealed the addition of unauthorized WiFi and Bluetooth components alongside a secondary manufacturer’s chip hidden beneath scraped markings. The operation relies on a deceptive QR code included in the packaging to lure users into downloading a malicious application designed to bypass official security checks. The security researcher, known online as “Past_Computer2901,” shared findings on Reddit after purchasing what appeared to be a standard Ledger Nano S Plus from a Chinese marketplace. 

Despite the packaging and price point matching official retail standards, the unit failed a “Genuine Check” when connected to the authentic Ledger Live desktop application. 

This red flag led to a physical teardown of the device, revealing that the internal circuitry had been altered to include WiFi and Bluetooth antennas—features entirely absent from the legitimate model.

Hardware manipulation and malicious redirects Scammers are utilizing these tampered devices to exploit first-time buyers through a deceptive setup process. 

A QR code included in the packaging directs users to a fraudulent version of the Ledger Live app, which is programmed to bypass security warnings and issue a fake verification of the hardware’s authenticity. 

Once a user follows the prompts to generate or enter a seed phrase, the compromised firmware captures the data, allowing the attackers to drain the wallet at will.

“This isn’t meant to cause panic, but rather to serve as a serious warning — I’m honestly still a bit shaken by the sheer scale of this operation,” the researcher noted.

Internal analysis of the unit showed that the scammers went to great lengths to hide the fraud, including scraping off original chip markings.

Counterfeit Ledger device. Source: Reddit. 

While the device initially identified itself as a Nano S Plus 7704 during the boot phase, the final sequence revealed the manufacturer as Espressif Systems, a Shanghai-based semiconductor firm. 

These modifications fundamentally break the security premise of Ledger products, which are built to keep private keys in a strictly offline environment.

“When purchasing from a marketplace, Ledger strongly encourages users to verify the identity of the seller. Users should ensure they only download the official Ledger Wallet apps on desktop and mobile. The situation involved counterfeit hardware, paired with a fake companion app flow designed to simulate the onboarding process, distributed through unofficial channels,” a Ledger spokesperson told crypto.news.

“Ledger will never ask users for their 24 words. If anyone claiming to be Ledger, or any app that purports to be a Ledger app, asks for your 24 words, you should immediately assume it is a scam,” they added.

The discovery follows a separate incident earlier this month where a fraudulent app bypassed Apple App Store security via a bait-and-switch tactic. The malicious software successfully tricked over 50 people into revealing their recovery phrases, resulting in the theft of $9.5 million before the platform removed the listing. The app has since been removed for malicious bait-and-switch functionality, according to Apple.

“Stay safe out there. Only download Ledger Live from ledger.com. Only buy hardware from ledger.com. If your device fails the Genuine Check — stop using it immediately,” the researcher cautioned.

DA Davidson Raises Micron’s Price Target to $2,000, Retains Buy Rating

U.S. investment bank DA Davidson released a research note stating that Micron Technology has entered a new phase with one of the best performance visibility in the semiconductor industry, a stark contrast to its past standing in the sector. Driven by another quarter of results that handily exceeded expectations and positive forward guidance, Micron’s stock price surged sharply. These signals indicate that the current memory chip boom cycle is far from over. While the company is ramping up capacity investments (with capital expenditure (CAPEX) projected to hit $10 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which will bring additional supply), management expects the memory market to remain tight on supply and demand at least through 2027. Against this backdrop, DA Davidson reiterated its "Buy" rating on Micron and raised its price target from $1,500 to $2,000, equivalent to a 20x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio based on the company’s 2026 calendar year expected earnings per share (EPS).

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Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.

Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.

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US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.

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CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.

According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.

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Multiple high-performing domestic public mutual fund products have tightened their purchase restrictions.

E Fund Management announced in its latest filing that the E Fund Information Industry Select Fund, managed by Zheng Xi, has cut its purchase limit to 10,000 yuan. The same purchase limit reduction to 10,000 yuan applies to another fund under his management, E Fund Information Industry Fund, while E Fund Global Growth Select Hybrid Fund (QDII) has lowered its purchase limit to 10 yuan. In addition, Guolianan Preferred Industry Fund, Harvest Tech Innovation Fund, and Principal Performance-Driven Fund have also announced purchase limits or adjustments to their limits recently. Jin Zicai, a fund manager closely watched by the market, imposed additional purchase limits on multiple public offering funds under his management, with the four funds involved cutting their purchase limits to 500 yuan starting June 23. Purchase limits on high-performing funds likely stem from multiple considerations: they can avoid return dilution caused by short-term concentrated subscriptions, and proactive limits during overheated market conditions also send risk warning signals to the market. As the first half of the year draws to a close, such moves have become increasingly frequent. Overall, Wind data shows that since June alone, 19 funds with year-to-date net asset value returns exceeding 90% have suspended large subscriptions or adjusted their purchase caps. (Source: Cailian Press)

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The US stock market's optical communication sector rises across the board in pre-market trading, with Corning up 9.28%.

According to Bitget market data, the U.S. stock market's optical communication sector saw broad pre-market gains, with MRVL rising 4.99%, LITE up 3.24%, Nokia up 3.11%, Corning up 9.28%, and AXTI up 6.69%.

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PANews reported on May 6th that, according to Tom's Hardware, security researcher Alexander Hanff pointed out that Google Chrome silently downloads approximately 4GB of local AI model file "weights.bin" to compatible devices without explicitly informing or obtaining user consent. This file, based on the Gemini Nano, is used for local AI functions within the browser. Hanff stated that even if the user manually deletes it, the file will still be re-downloaded in the background unless the experimental feature is disabled or Chrome is uninstalled. He believes this behavior may violate the EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR requirements regarding data storage and transparency on user devices, and will incur additional bandwidth costs and significant energy consumption globally.

Google Chrome has been silently installing a 4GB AI model called Gemini Nano on users’ devices without consent, a researcher found.

Summary

Researcher Alexander Hanff documented Chrome secretly downloading a 4GB AI model called Gemini Nano to eligible devices without user notification or consent. The model reinstalls itself automatically if users delete it, and Chrome does not offer an opt-out prompt during installation. Hanff argues the practice likely violates the EU’s ePrivacy Directive and GDPR, raising legal questions that have not yet been tested in court. Google Chrome is silently installing a 4GB AI model on users’ devices without consent, a researcher found. Privacy researcher and computer scientist Alexander Hanff documented the installation after discovering that a Chrome profile he created for automated privacy audits had accumulated 4GB of model files called weights.bin inside a folder named OptGuideOnDeviceModel, despite receiving zero human input at any point.

The model is Google’s Gemini Nano, a lightweight on-device large language model. Hanff’s evidence chain shows Chrome downloading the 4GB file in 14 minutes and 28 seconds on April 24, 2026, without a consent prompt, without a settings notification, and without a checkbox.

The file reinstalls automatically when restarted after deletion, according to multiple independent reports across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What Chrome does with the model Chrome 147 displays an “AI Mode” pill in the address bar, which users might reasonably assume routes queries to the local on-device model. According to Hanff’s investigation, that assumption is wrong.

The AI Mode pill is a cloud-backed Search Generative Experience that sends every query to Google’s servers. The on-device Gemini Nano powers right-click menu features that most users never access.

Snopes verified the claim as mostly true, finding the weights.bin file on the devices of three of six staffers checked, spanning both macOS and Windows machines. Google told Snopes it began rolling out an opt-out option in Chrome settings in February 2026, though this setting was not available to all users.

As crypto.news reported, unsolicited data collection and silent software behavior from major tech platforms have become a growing concern in 2026, with CZ and others warning that transparency failures across digital systems are eroding user trust at scale.

Legal and environmental risks Hanff argues the practice likely violates the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, which governs storage of data on user devices, and GDPR transparency requirements.

Those claims have not been tested in court. He also calculated that at Chrome’s approximately one-billion-device scale, distributing the 4GB file generates between 6,000 and 60,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.

The Malwarebytes security blog noted that a similar pattern emerged weeks earlier when Hanff documented Anthropic’s Claude Desktop silently installing browser integration files across multiple Chromium browsers without meaningful user disclosure, also arguing those installs likely violated EU law.

As crypto.news tracked, AI-driven security and privacy risks are accelerating in 2026, with CertiK warning that AI tools are making attacks faster and harder to detect across the digital ecosystem.

PANews reported on June 1st that, according to Bits.media, at 08:27 Beijing time on May 31st, an independent Bitcoin miner successfully mined block 951771, earning a block reward of 3.14 BTC, worth approximately $230,000. This miner used home-use equipment consisting of 12 Canaan Avalon Nano 3S processors and 2 Avalon Mini 3 processors, with a total hashrate of approximately 147 TH/s, representing about 0.000000001% of the global hashrate, and a probability of finding the block of approximately 1 in 6.7 million. The miner mined through the Braiins Solo platform, which is based on the CKPool software and allows individual miners to mine independently without running a full Bitcoin node.

In brief Microsoft said its new MAI-Thinking-1 model outperformed Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 in blind evaluations and matched Claude Opus 4.6 on a leading coding benchmark. The company said its MAI-Image-2.5 models surpassed Google's Nano Banana 2 on image-editing leaderboards. The launch marks Microsoft's most ambitious effort yet to develop proprietary frontier AI models alongside its partnership with OpenAI. On the first day of the annual Microsoft Build event on Tuesday, the Windows developer unveiled seven new AI models, claiming they outperformed Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Google's Nano Banana 2 in blind testing and image-editing benchmarks.

The claim comes as Microsoft attempts to establish itself as a frontier AI developer rather than solely OpenAI's largest backer and infrastructure provider.

"Super excited to announce seven new world-class MAI models today," Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman wrote on X. "They represent what we consider a new era in AI designed to keep you in control and on the frontier."

At the center of the release is MAI-Thinking-1, a reasoning model that Microsoft describes as its flagship text foundation model.

Seven new models launching at Build: let’s go!
Reasoning. Code. Image. Transcribe. Voice.

Built from scratch on a clean data lineage, designed for efficiency, working seamlessly as a family of models

Thread 🧵 #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/g3WQIcIQ24

— Microsoft AI (@MicrosoftAI) June 2, 2026

According to Suleyman, MAI-Thinking-1 was preferred over Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 in blind tests conducted by independent evaluators. He added that the model scored 97% on AIME 2025, a benchmark that measures advanced problem-solving and reasoning skills.

Suleyman said the SWE Bench Pro result places the model "right alongside Opus 4.6 on one of the toughest coding benchmarks."

The company also introduced MAI-Code-1-Flash, a lightweight coding model built for GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code; MAI-Image-2.5 and its Flash variant, which Microsoft says outperform Google's Nano Banana Pro on image-editing tasks; MAI Transcribe-1.5, a transcription model that supports 43 languages; and MAI-Voice-2, a speech-generation model capable of producing natural-sounding voices in 15 languages and adapting to a speaker from a short audio sample.

“This is an extraordinary time in technology. The compute used to train frontier models has increased by a factor of one trillion,” Suleyman said in a separate blog post announcing the new models. “Now we expect another thousand-fold increase over the next three years, which in turn means more advanced capabilities, and the continued rollout of ever more effective AI.”

The announcement comes as competition among leading AI developers continues to intensify.

Last week, Anthropic announced the launch of its latest flagship model, Opus 4.8, which the company said is faster and smarter on benchmark tests and comes with a suite of new features. On Tuesday, Anthropic announced an expansion of its Project Glasswing, giving 150 companies access to its new cybersecurity-focused Mythos model.

Meanwhile, at Google I/O in May, Google unveiled Gemini Omni, a multimodal AI model that combines Gemini with the company's Veo, Nano Banana, and Genie media-generation models, alongside Gemini Spark, a cloud-based AI agent designed to manage tasks across apps and workflows on a user's behalf.

Microsoft’s new model launch suggests a broader effort to build proprietary AI systems as it expands beyond its longstanding reliance on OpenAI technology, saying that MAI “delivered the highest win rate, outperforming GPT-5.5 on quality, while being 10x lower on cost.”

“Developers and businesses have been crying out for AI that delivers on their terms and under their say,” Suleyman wrote. “We see this as a major step towards delivering that.”

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China’s Center for Information Industry Developed Research Institute’s monthly crypto rankings have always been viewed as an oddity, given that the CCID is controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in a country notoriously scathing toward cryptocurrency.

But since President Xi Jinping’s recent address at the Politburo claiming that “We must take blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies. Clarify the main directions, increase investment, focus on a number of key technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain and industrial innovation,” the rankings potentially warrant more respect. 

With the Chinese government announcing its intention to be at the epicenter of blockchain technology development, cryptocurrency markets went into overdrive, with Bitcoin seeing over 30 percent gains within ten hours.

Whether the Chinese government actually warms to the decentralized cryptocurrencies its citizens have long been enamored of remains to be seen. In the meantime, the news was widely viewed as a positive sign for the markets.

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Are the CCID Research Institute Rankings Suddenly Relevant Again? The newfound enthusiasm for blockchain in the CCP, also indicated in recent news of a pending state-run digital currency, drags the CCID’s rankings back into view. Its latest edition has just been released.

Assessed in terms of technology, applicability (capability of being applied to solve problems), and creativity (how unique the blockchain is in its approach to solving problems), EOS has consistently ranked first since the organization began publishing its rankings in May of 2018.

The 14th index shows some notable movements since its last report. TRON overtook Ethereum in second place, though only by the skin of its teeth. Lisk is up seven places to seventh and Qtum surged ten places to eighth. 

Ontology is down seven places to fourteenth and Cosmos fell twelve places, from tenth to 22nd. GXChain fell precipitously, falling out of the top five in favor of BitShares. The top five now reads EOS, TRON, Ethereum, NULS, BitShares.

NANO on the Rise NANO enjoyed a rise from 22 to 13, finding a place back in the spotlight it lost during the early 2018 BitGrail debacle, from which it has since struggled to recover. As reported recently by Crypto Briefing, NANO is playing a substantial role in the ecosystem of Softbank-backed payments processor Wirex, an FCA-licensed company based in the U.K. 

At a recent NANO meetup in London, Wirex’s CEO Pavel Matveev said the company was keen to continue its relationship with the crypto formerly known as RaiBlocks. A Wirex blog post also spared no compliments in describing Nano, calling it “a next-generation cryptocurrency with great potential.”

With an opaque ranking system, the CCID results will likely remain a curiosity for some time. However, the CCP’s apparent newfound fondness for blockchain technology means it is warranted for the community to put blatant skepticism over their rankings on hold for at least an interim period.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Paul de Havilland. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Bitcoin Stays on Top for 8 Years: Most Cryptos Vanished

Two Popular Altcoins Still Recording Over 140% Gains in 2020 So Far

Posted: February 5, 2020

Bitcoin finally pushed past its $9k resistance this past week and the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $9,277, at press time. However, there is growing evidence that Bitcoin is reacting to geopolitical events, according to the Coin Metrics’ latest report. The report added,

“Adjusted transfer value increased by at least 20% for all five cryptoassets in our sample, outpacing the increases in market cap. Bitcoin Cash’s (BCH) adjusted transfer value is relatively even with Ethereum’s (ETH) — over the past week, BCH had a daily average of $217M adjusted transfer value while ETH had $234M.”

Further, Bitcoin‘s transfer value dwarfed Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash’s with a daily average of $11.9 billion.

The market ended the week on a strong note, however, the growth of the CMBI Bitcoin Index was the weakest of all other indexes. According to the aforementioned report, the Bitcoin index reported returns of 9%. However, small-cap assets are leading to the growth of the entire market.

The report also noted that Bletchley 40 assets noted a 16% surge, while MonaCoin, ZCoin, and BitShares posted returns of over 50%. Additionally, Siacoin, Zilliqa, and Nano registered returns of 20% to its users too.

The week was, in fact, an extension of an eventful month the crypto-market has had. Crypto-assets have been largely positive and the Bletchley 20 [mid-cap assets] were reported to be the best performers. The mid-cap assets returned 70% in a month, while large-cap and small-cap assets were tied with ~35% returns over the month.

Source: Coin Metrics

XRP’s active addresses noted a whopping rise of 178.2% over the week, followed by Litecoin’s minuscule 15.4%. XRP transfers also saw a 32.6% surge, with Bitcoin cash [BCH] noting a 13.8% increase.

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In 2025, the ecosystems that thrive aren’t the loudest — they’re the most strategic, the most focused, and the ones building lasting value. Ecosystem health today is increasingly measured by the depth of developer engagement, not the size of token airdrops or surface-level metrics. Marketing has evolved too: AI tools, grassroots community operations, and hybrid content strategies are replacing short-lived, high-gloss campaigns.

As crypto becomes a fixture in national policy and economic frameworks, credibility and trust within ecosystems have emerged as the new currencies of growth.

There’s no one-size-fits-all playbook anymore. To uncover what’s actually working today, we spoke with growth leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Network, and others. 

This report helps to shed some light on the ongoing trends in the crypto-related marketing and find out which of them are setting the pace for the next wave of sustainable growth.

TL;DR: In 2025, the ecosystems thriving aren’t the loudest. They’re the most strategic, most focused and most aligned with long-term value. Ecosystem health is increasingly tied to the depth of developer engagement, not the size of token airdrops or vanity metrics. Marketing has evolved. AI tools, grassroots community ops, and hybrid content strategies are replacing high-gloss, short-cycle campaigns. With crypto entering national policy agendas and economic frameworks, credibility and ecosystem trust are new growth currencies. There’s no one-size-fits-all. We spoke with growth leaders from Sui, Avalanche, Syscoin, Manta Network and others to uncover what’s actually working. Back in 2024, crypto felt like it was everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Timelines were flooded with debates, L1 vs. L2, monolithic vs. modular, liquidity this, fragmentation that. Almost everyone had a hot take and every project was scrambling for a flash of attention that barely lasted longer than a tweet.

You could launch a project, nail the narrative, get your retweets and podcast mentions and still wake up the next day with no real momentum.

It wasn’t sustainable and deep down, most teams knew it.

And yet, behind the scenes, something foundational shifted.

For the first time, crypto became a serious topic in policy rooms.

The U.S. government announced a strategic crypto reserve. The SEC greenlit Bitcoin and Ether ETPs, signaling a long-awaited shift in regulatory posture. Lawmakers started treating blockchain not as a niche asset class, but as infrastructure and a core component of national strategy. Suddenly, crypto had a seat at the big table.
That was the moment the growth playbook started to change.

Fast-forward to 2025, ecosystems that had been optimizing for virality started asking tougher questions:

What does long-term credibility look like? How do we show up to policymakers and enterprises, not just degens and influencers? Can we measure our health beyond just wallet counts and discord headcounts? To find answers, we spoke with ecosystem leaders across 10 blockchain networks, from early-stage innovators to mature platforms. Despite technical and strategic diversity, they shared one common mindset: They’re building like they plan to be here in five, ten, twenty years.

This is post-hype crypto and the rules have changed.

Key highlights and critical findings

Marketing budgets are all over the place: Some teams are grinding with less than $100K a year while others are spending $10 million and up. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but the gap speaks volumes.  Hybrid teams are the new normal: The smartest teams are optimizing for speed, adaptability, and high-context execution. They’re ruthlessly prioritizing talent that moves the needle, not just fills roles. Builders are the flywheel: Growth teams are channeling most of their energy into developer outreach such as grants, hackathons, ambassador programs, and local language support are common plays.  Audience alignment: In an oversaturated, narrative-heavy market, cutting through the noise to reach the right set of audience is still one of the biggest hurdles. Tactics are getting sharper:  AI-powered marketing, community-based onboarding, and incentive models like “watch-to-earn” are emerging as key differentiators in creating sticky, engaging experiences. Research Methodology To understand what’s driving ecosystem growth in 2025, we went straight to the source in conversations with ten executives across active, forward-thinking blockchain networks including Sui, Avalanche, Manta Network, Syscoin, eCash, and CrossFi Chain.

Our findings are structured across five critical themes:

→ Strategic Priorities

→ Growth Challenges

→ Team Structures

→ Marketing Tactics

→ Budget Allocation

These are the pressure points where ecosystems are being tested, where they’re iterating and where the shift from hype to health is most visible.

The answers weren’t surface-level. 

They were honest, revealing, and at times, surprisingly candid.

Section 1: The Evolving Landscape of Crypto Ecosystems 1.1 From Noise to Nuance Not long ago, crypto felt like a winner-takes-all race.

Ethereum and Bitcoin dominated headlines, while new chains clawed for attention with a flashy feature or a viral announcement.

But that playbook has changed.

Today, the landscape is more fragmented and more alive than ever.

Upstart chains can gain real traction in months. Niche ecosystems are finding staying power by serving focused communities with precision: real dev support, localized outreach, unique tooling, and use cases that resonate with people who actually build.

It’s no longer about being the biggest. 

It’s about being the most relevant to the audience that matters.

Source: Market share distribution among top ecosystems.

The momentum has shifted from mass appeal to mission-driven growth.

The ecosystems making progress are the ones listening, serving and playing the long game.

1.2 Key growth metrics and benchmarks Among surveyed ecosystems, developer adoption has become the north star metric.

While TVL remains a benchmark, leading teams are shifting toward engagement depth over vanity counts. Grants, hackathons, and local campaigns outperform short-term airdrops in both onboarding and retention.

1.3 Critical Challenges Facing Ecosystem Growth Source: Top Barriers to Ecosystem Adoption Identified by Executives

Based on direct feedback, the top challenges for ecosystems today are:

Difficulty reaching the right audience  Oversaturation of the crypto landscape Budget constraints and limited runway for experimentation While blockchain infrastructure is improving,especially with L2 scalability and better dev tooling, the biggest challenges aren’t technical anymore.

They’re strategic.

Most teams aren’t struggling with what to build but with how to position, differentiate, and communicate.

“It’s no longer enough to be technically sound. Ecosystem success depends on whether you can communicate value to developers, users and partners in the clearest, most compelling way possible.” – — Matthew Schmenk, Ecosystem Growth Lead, Avalanche

Section 2: Marketing & Growth Strategies “Marketing in crypto used to be noise. Now it’s systems thinking – who you reach, how you reach them, and why they stay.”- The Lunar Strategy Team

Ecosystem marketing in 2025 isn’t about dropping a flashy campaign, running a paid KOL loop, and hoping it sticks. Today, marketing is infrastructure.

It’s the connective tissue between ecosystem layers: builders, users, tokenholders, institutions driving onboarding, retention, and legitimacy. 

Let’s break it down:

2.1 Choosing the Right Growth Model Source: Percentage of Ecosystems Using External Agencies vs. In-House Teams

According to our survey:

60% use a hybrid model (in-house + agency) 40% operate with fully internal teams 2.2 Analysing the Pros and Cons Hybrid models allow for speed and flexibility while maintaining institutional knowledge. Fully in-house teams prioritize cohesion but may lack bandwidth or breadth of expertise.

2.3 Marketing Budget Allocation Across Ecosystems

Annual budgets vary widely:

<$500K: Primarily in-house with lean teams $500K–$1M: Hybrid setups with agency retained for campaigns $5M+: Full-stack growth teams covering PR, events, KOLs, paid media, SEO and more What’s changing in 2025 isn’t just how much teams spend, it’s how precisely they deploy capital:

Early-stage: lean, localized execution Mid-tier: AI tooling, content ops, ambassador focus Mature: brand systems, KOL pipelines, segmentation
“In 2024, we spent $2M and didn’t know what moved the needle. In 2025, we’re spending half that – with 3x the return – because we track the full funnel.” — Ecosystem CMO

Section 3: Driving Ecosystem Adoption As ecosystems compete for market share, one truth is becoming increasingly clear: developers are the new power users. 

Ecosystem health is now largely measured by the number and quality of developers actively building, contributing, and shipping.

3.1 Developer Acquisition & Retention Across the board, developer evangelism and hackathons ranked as the most effective levers for attracting high-quality builders. In 2025, 9 out of 10 ecosystem leaders called them “critical” or “highly effective.”

But incentives alone aren’t enough. 

The modern developer is motivated by clear value exchange and personal growth, not just payouts.

Here’s what’s working now:

Hackathons with real-world utility On-chain recognition (e.g., badges, NFTs) IRL builder meetups with funded follow-through In short, developer outreach is all about frictionless onboarding, compelling challenges, and a clear value exchange.

Also, programs that combine monetary reward + mentorship + visibility are far outperforming “spray-and-pray” grants.

Case Highlights:

eCash: Turned its internal engineers into public-facing magnets for talent. Builders engage because they trust the humans behind the chain. Syscoin: Hosts regionally targeted AMAs → feeds directly into localized hackathons → devs connect directly to mentors. Sui: “Watch-to-Earn” onboarding that rewards learning with gas fee discounts, NFTs, and access to future funding rounds. Takeaway: Attracting developers is about storytelling. The ecosystems seeing long-term success are those building not just incentives but infrastructure, identity and upward mobility.

While developer acquisition drives infrastructure growth, community engagement fuels longevity. Every successful ecosystem in 2025 has one thing in common: a loyal, activated community with a clear identity.

Source: The Most effective community growth tactics

While growth tactics vary, one truth stands out: the most resilient ecosystems pair online engagement with offline connection.

Top tactics driving community growth:

Strategic partnerships and cross-promotion Ambassador programs built around values, not vanity Hybrid content strategies that blend memes, education, and culture Gated experiences (e.g., token-holders-only Discord channels, NFT access passes for IRL events) But community size alone isn’t a success metric. 

In fact, ecosystems like Sui and Syscoin consistently outperform larger chains on key ecosystem health metrics not because they’re bigger, but because they’re tighter:

Higher TVL per wallet Greater contributor-to-user ratio More active builders per community member Case Study: Syscoin’s grassroots events across APAC led to a 30% increase in wallet retention among new users, with ongoing community-led workshops in 5+ cities.

3.3 The Role of Kaito in Ecosystem Brand Building In 2025, brand strategy has moved beyond logos and Twitter handles.

The Kaito framework, designed to optimize ecosystem mindshare is fast becoming a differentiator for projects seeking credibility and cohesion.

Source: Kaito mindshare metrics across top ecosystems

Adoption Snapshot:

Only 10% of surveyed ecosystems are currently using a structured Kaito strategy However, 40% are actively exploring adoption in the next cycle Projects like Berachain that adopted early Kaito brand structuring reports increased developer trust, faster community onboarding and stronger alignment between technical and community narratives.

Strategic Approaches to Kaito Optimization:

Clear “voice pillars” that reflect ecosystem values Unified messaging across technical, enterprise, and community verticals Scalable content kits and assets to empower contributors to amplify the brand Resource: The Ultimate Brand Playbook for Dominating Kaito Mindshare

Section 4: Marketing Channels & Tactics Today, ecosystems aren’t asking “How do we go viral?”

Instead, they’re asking “How do we show up with the right message, in the right format and to the right audience consistently?”

The new growth stack includes:

Influencer alignment by audience layer PR as a funnel driver, not a vanity boost Social media as ecosystem UX AI and segmentation to fine-tune delivery Let’s break down the mechanics behind the ecosystems getting it right.

4.1 Influencer Marketing Effectiveness Influencer marketing remains effective, only if you get the tier right.

Source: ROI comparison across influencer tiers

Key Takeaway: 

Nano Influencers (1K–10K): ~4.2x ROI Micro Influencers (10K–50K): ~3.9x ROI Macro/Mega Influencers: Significantly lower returns due to saturation and high CPM Nano and Micro influencers (1K–50K followers) outperform all others in ROI due to stronger niche focus, higher engagement, and lower cost-per-activation.

Though, the Top-performing influencer strategies in 2025 blend:

Nano creators for authenticity (Twitter threads, walkthroughs) Mid-tier educators for onboarding and explanation (YouTube, LinkedIn) Selective mega partnerships for major announcements or enterprise plays Best for:

Early-stage projects Ecosystems entering new regions or subcultures Campaigns focused on developer credibility over hype The Lunar Amplification Method

Used by select top-tier ecosystems, the Lunar Amplification Method is a multi-tiered distribution system that combines:

AI-driven influencer matching Creator content kits (assets, talking points, tone guides) Performance-based tiers (creators earn more by driving on-chain action) It’s a system where the creator voice becomes a scalable growth vector backed by data, incentives, and trust.

4.2 Public Relations & Media Coverage Too many ecosystems view PR as a vanity move.

 The most effective teams treat it as distribution infrastructure.

This dual-axis chart illustrates how media coverage intensity correlates with:

Average Developer Sign-ups Total Value Locked (TVL) Growth
Investing in PR campaigns and consistent media exposure can significantly accelerate ecosystem adoption both in developer participation and capital inflow (TVL).

Key Takeaways:

Developer sign-ups scale from ~50 (Low coverage) to ~400 (Very High coverage). TVL growth jumps from 5% under low coverage to an impressive 45% with very high media presence. Higher media coverage directly correlates with a sharp rise in both developer sign-ups and TVL growth. Example: Manta Network launched its dev-focused ZK SDK and timed the announcement with coordinated earned media + regional hackathons = 3.2x increase in sign-ups over 14 days.

In 2025, ecosystems aren’t asking “should we be on [platform]?”

They’re asking how do we show up with the right content, for the right moment, on each platform?

This bar chart displays how frequently various social media platforms are mentioned as part of crypto ecosystem growth strategies.

Platform Highlights: Twitter dominates as the most commonly used platform  Telegram and Discord follow closely, suggesting strong emphasis on community interaction and support hubs. Lesser-used platforms like Reddit, YouTube and Facebook play a niche role in ecosystem marketing. However, crypto ecosystems should create platform-specific content:

Twitter: Memes, threads, real-time updates Telegram/Discord: Community health, AMAs, governance LinkedIn: Strategic partnerships, talent recruitment, ecosystem vision Section 5: Tokenomics & Incentive Design Ecosystems are moving beyond flat airdrops and short-term incentives, and instead architecting behaviorally intelligent tokenomics that reward commitment, skill and genuine contribution.

The question is no longer “What do we give?” but “What are we reinforcing?”

5.1 Effective Incentive Structures Incentives were once a shortcut for growth.

 Now, they’re shaping everything from user retention to governance alignment to ecosystem stickiness.

Source: This bar chart compares the perceived effectiveness of two major types of incentive mechanisms used in crypto ecosystems.

On-chain Incentives (e.g., token rewards, staking bonuses) Off-chain Incentives (e.g., swag, events, community grants) Key Takeaways: On-chain incentives clearly outperform off-chain methods in driving sustained ecosystem engagement. These often tie directly to network growth metrics such as TVL, active wallets, and user retention. Off-chain rewards can still be useful for short-term engagement, brand visibility, and community culture. Projects that tie incentives to measurable contributions and future value (e.g., governance power, access tiers) retain users longer than those offering flat token grants.

Case Examples:

Syscoin offers tiered rewards for contributor milestones Manta Network combines token drops with future airdrop eligibility tied to participation 5.2 Local Developer Hubs Ecosystem growth is global by default and regional by design.

Local developer hubs are now a critical piece of post-hype strategy.

Source: Geographic distribution of developer hubs

This chart highlights the regional presence of developer hubs across the globe, indicating where ecosystems are establishing a physical or community-driven footprint to support builders.

Regional presence is shaping ecosystem strength:

Asia-Pacific leads in number of hubs, driven by fast-growing developer ecosystems North America/Europe hold steady with mature infrastructure and funding access Latin America, MENA, and Africa show rapid interest but remain early-stage Why Local Hubs Work Lower onboarding friction (language, culture, regulation) Higher event turnout and contributor conversion More consistent retention through community anchoring Best Practices:

Launch hybrid events (online + local) Create language-specific docs and support Offer region-based grant programs tied to local needs Conclusion  Crypto in 2025 is quieter, deeper, and more intentional.

The ecosystems winning today are building context, culture, and trust, rooted in purpose where meaningful value, thoughtful execution, and trusted communities are taking center stage.

Our deep-dive conversations with builders, marketers and ecosystem leaders across ten blockchain networks uncovered three core principles that are setting the pace for the next wave of sustainable growth:

Developer-First, Always: The thriving ecosystems treat developers with genuine support, visibility, and growth paths. They’ve recognized that every successful builder brings ten more, creating a powerful flywheel effect and it’s the foundation everything else builds upon. Communities Over Crowds: The most dynamic ecosystems are building tight-knit, purpose-driven communities where members feel ownership and identity. They’re creating spaces where online connections lead to offline relationships and where shared values matter more than token price. Strategic Over Tactical: Leading teams build comprehensive growth systems where every channel, message, and touchpoint works together. They’re tracking full-funnel metrics and optimizing for lasting engagement, not just initial attention. We’re past the era of chasing “what’s working.”

The real question is: What’s worth building and who’s staying to build it with you?

So, focus on creating real value for the people who matter most to your ecosystem. Build with intention, authenticity and remember that in a market still finding its footing and the strongest position isn’t being the loudest voice but the most trusted one.

Because ecosystems aren’t websites.

They’re living systems.

About Lunar Strategy’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator Lunar Strategy’s Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator combines deep expertise in go-to-market strategy, ecosystem growth, and strategic advisory to help innovative Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects capitalize on the historic crypto market shift.

With 25+ years of combined experience across top ecosystems like Solana, Cardano, Mantle, Polkadot, and ICP, our team brings proven frameworks for:

Strategic developer acquisition & retention Localized builder communities & developer hubs Full-funnel growth campaigns (on-chain & off-chain) IRL activations that forge meaningful relationships Access to 1,000+ crypto-native KOLs & partners Media exposure that drives credibility and visibility Tailored roadmaps focused on sustainable TVL growth Apply for the Ecosystem Launchpad Accelerator

This is a rare window to redefine what successful ecosystem growth looks like. 

Let’s build something real, together.