Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a new Ethereum ETF with staking capabilities, allowing institutional investors to earn staking rewards.

Daily top performer — Pyth Network (PYTH)

The S&P 500 dropped 1.5% to 5,282.70 this week, down 5.9% in April and 10% year-to-date, led by tech losses. Real estate and energy outperformed, while political pressure on Fed Chair Powell and inflation concerns weighed on sentiment. Gold dipped 0.6% to $3,319 after a record high, as Powell’s stagflation warning tempered its rally. Despite the pullback, the uptrend remains intact. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, are up by 0.77%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising 0.64% and 0.72%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is PYTH, up 10.1%, following the launch of Pyth Entropy for secure on-chain random number generation by Soneium.

Pyth Network (PYTH),  is a blockchain oracle system that delivers real-time crypto price data to blockchains, enabling smart contracts to react to market changes. Soneium 

 Pyth Entropy, a tool for securely generating random numbers on-chain. Two apps, HandsNFT AI and 2p2e, are already utilizing Pyth Entropy to create unpredictable and engaging experiences.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a new Ethereum ETF with staking capabilities, allowing institutional investors to earn staking rewards. This approval follows recent changes to local laws, with China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) partnering with OSL Digital Securities to launch the ETF by May 15. The ETF will offer exposure to Ethereum staking, transforming it from a passive investment into an active participant in the Ethereum network. The staking process is powered by Kiln, with OSL providing custody and insurance services. The rewards will contribute to the ETF's net asset value, benefiting shareholders.

Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $25.9M in inflows, all from non-GBTC funds, while GBTC recorded no flow.

" and a points campaign called Drops, where users can earn points—potentially leading to an airdrop—by engaging with Linera content on X. To join, sign up on 

, complete tasks like joining Discord and interacting on X, then enter the campaign. Keep engaging to earn more points, but avoid spamming.

Beginner

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Hong Kong approves Ethereum ETF with staking rewards, boosting institutional participation

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events; the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume; and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

US president Donald Trump’s tariff policies are influencing both crypto and US equities. Last week, BTC and the S&P 500 rallied due to a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs (excluding China). Equities are slightly below their April 9 highs, while BTC is holding above $83K. Its implied volatility term structure has normalized, and the volatility skew has improved from last week’s bias toward out-of-the-money puts, though it hasn't fully shifted toward calls.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Tariff pause briefly brings back trading volume

Since our last report, open interest surged on Apr 9, 2025, as crypto spot prices rose after President Trump’s temporary tariff pause, accompanied by a nearly $10B increase in trade volumes. However, trade volumes have since returned to mid-March levels, and open interest has declined from the April 9 highs. The initial price spike indicates the tariff pause surprised the markets, but the subsequent pullback reflects concerns over remaining tariffs.

After being inverted for much of April due to trade policy shocks and macro headwinds, BTC’s term structure has disinverted, with front-end volatility dropping significantly this week. Call and put volumes have been balanced, with calls slightly exceeding puts most days. Apr 9, 2025, reflected mixed market sentiment, as both call and put volumes rose, but puts were higher overall. Open interest remains greater in calls, and has increased slightly since last week, reaching its highest level for the month (more than double from the beginning of April).

Despite a rally on Apr 9, 2025 that brought ETH close to $1.7K, traders sought downside protection, leading to higher volumes in put contracts as compared to calls. Since then, ETHUSDT options volumes have declined, but open interest remains strongly weighted toward calls with later expirations, which have increased since last week. After being inverted for much of April, ETH’s term structure of volatility has flattened, with volatility compressing around the 70% mark across tenors.

Advanced

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 16, 2025): Bitcoin put bias has moderated, but not yet shifted to calls

KiloEx (KILO) is a user-friendly DEX for perpetuals trading, offering high leverage, rewards, LSTfi integration and a robust multi-chain ecosystem.

 trading is one of the most lucrative areas for cryptocurrency enthusiasts if you know how to navigate the sometimes complex world of these contracts. Unlike standard futures, perpetual futures contracts have no expiration date, allowing traders to hold onto their positions as long as they prefer. You only exit a crypto perpetual (or “perp”) contract when you feel it’s the best time to execute your long or short trade. The lack of an expiration period makes these contracts attractive for traders.

Unfortunately, many crypto perpetual contract trading platforms are far from user-friendly. It seems like many perpetual crypto exchanges assume that only professional traders dabble in these contracts, and along with that assumption goes a second one — that these pros can navigate even the most complex user interfaces. As a result, finding a user-friendly perps platform is a challenge in the world of crypto trading.

 (DEX) that aims to change the status quo by providing a user-friendly environment for traders. Its platform also offers high leverage ratios, integration into the wider liquid staking token finance (LSTfi) ecosystem and generous reward programs for referrers and affiliates.

Thanks to its numerous benefits, this DEX caters to the needs of traders at all levels of expertise who are interested in crypto perpetuals. Operational since mid-2023, KiloEx launched its native token, KILO, in March 2025 to further enhance its platform's reward, staking and governance mechanisms.

 (BNB) that specializes in crypto perpetual futures trading.

 The platform prides itself on offering a user-friendly interface, high 

 ratios of up to 100x, multi-token vaults with generous APYs and a number of reward programs for referrers and affiliates.

Co-founded by Joey Ni (CEO) and Charles Gong (COO), KiloEx was originally launched on BNB Chain's mainnet in June 2023. As of mid-April 2025, the platform has additionally expanded its service coverage to five 

 (B2). This coverage allows KiloEx to access the ecosystems of three leading blockchain platforms — 

Manta, Base and Taiko are Ethereum-focused Layer 2 solutions, while opBNB is an efficient and low-cost optimistic rollup for the BNB Chain, while B

 is a platform linked to Bitcoin that acts as a major Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) enabler.

Because it’s a BNB-native platform, KiloEx's industry footprint is most notable within this blockchain's broader ecosystem. In fact, as Apr 17, 2025, KiloEx is the top DEX on the opBNB network by 

Using Layer 2 chains allows KiloEx to offer its users fast and low-cost transactions, which isn't always possible on a typical Layer 1 network. It's true that BNB Chain, the primary Layer 1 used by KiloEx, generally has much lower gas fees than Ethereum, the industry's leading 

 chain that’s notorious for its exorbitant costs. However, KiloEx's partner Layer 2 networks help drive costs and transaction times even lower. BNB Chain's current average gas fee is slightly over $0.10, while the opBNB Layer 2 rollup's comparable fee is only about $0.005.

In 2024, the platform introduced one of its most innovative features — the 

, which allows liquidity providers to stake multiple assets to earn high yields. That same year, KiloEx significantly expanded its partnership network, becoming an active player in the LSTFi ecosystem. LSTFi is a new stream within the DeFi industry that allows you to use 

 (LSTs) on various protocols for additional yield.

Having solidified its market presence in 2024, the project launched its native token, KILO, in March 2025. However, in mid-April 2025, KiloEx 

 and halted trading on April 15 as a risk management measure, pending investigation of the damage.

The Hybrid Vault is among the most innovative features offered by KiloEx. Essentially, it acts similarly to liquidity pools on other exchanges. Liquidity providers can contribute their crypto funds to the vault to support trading activity on the DEX and earn interest on their contributions, based on the fees earned by the protocol.

You can contribute a mix of coins to a KiloEx vault. Supported assets include 

Depending upon trading activity and the mix of coins contributed, you can earn APYs as high as 30%, making KiloEx one of the most lucrative choices for liquidity providers in this niche.

KiloEx uses a health factor calculation for this type of vault to keep your funds and the entire ecosystem safe. Based on the health factor score of your contribution to the vault, your funds could be liquidated if their value drops dangerously low.

Discounts are also offered for fixed-term deposits for established assets, such as USDT and USDC. Withdrawals for the fixed deposits are processed upon maturity, while all other withdrawals are processed within one to three "epochs," with each epoch on the platform lasting about three days. Thus, depending upon your contributed funds, you’ll wait anywhere from three to nine days to receive your crypto back.

The KiloEx platform also runs a generous referral program under which you can earn rewards for referring your friends to the platform. The amount you earn depends upon the trading volumes generated by the people whom you’ve referred. Additionally, your referees to the DEX can also benefit from fee rebates, again depending upon the volume of trade they generate.

There’s a tiered system, comprising nine levels, based on which you and your friends earn commissions and rebates. Under this system, even those referred traders whose monthly volume is at the lowest level (below $5,000) can still benefit from 5% rebates, while you also earn a 10% commission.

The table below shows the structure of this referral system with percentages for commission and rebates based on monthly trading volumes.

KiloEx offers an affiliate program for key opinion leaders (KOLs) with a certain level of social media following and influence in the crypto market. KOLs may apply to join the program by filling out an application, which is then considered by the project team within 48 hours.

To qualify for affiliate status, a KOL must have: 

Approved affiliates are provided a link to the platform, and are encouraged to invite their followers to trade on the KiloEx. If they invite at least five followers who trade at sufficient levels, the affiliates can start earning their commission. KOLs can earn up to 55% commission, depending upon the referred followers' trading activity.

KiloEx’s native utility token, KILO, is a 

 asset launched on BNB Chain. It’s used on the platform for governance, fee discounts on trades, rewards via 

, liquidity provision incentives and staking.

KILO is a supply-capped asset, with a maximum and total supply of 1 billion. The token’s supply allocation shares are shown in the chart below.

xKILO is an escrowed version of the KILO token. You can convert KILO to xKILO at a fixed rate of 1:1. The primary utility of xKILO is to provide boosted liquidity provision, which makes it possible to receive staking rewards. By locking xKILO on the platform, you can access special discounts and other benefits reserved for VIP-level users. Holding xKILO also grants you governance power to vote and influence the platform's future direction.

Unlike KILO, xKILO is nontransferable and isn’t tradable on the secondary market. The only ways to obtain xKILO are either to buy it with KILO or receive it via airdrops.

Platform users can earn points to qualify for KILO airdrops. Typically, you accumulate points by trading, depositing funds, referring others to the DEX, checking in to the platform and completing other specified eligible activities.

The project’s initial airdrop, Genesis Season, had an eligibility snapshot taken back in July 2024. Under the currently running airdrop campaign, Pioneer Season, users can earn points to receive KILO tokens for 180 days past the token generation event (TGE) in late March 2025 (i.e., until late September 2025).

Additionally, you can earn KILO tokens on Bybit simply by participating in the 

 event and holding BNB in your account. Every day at various random times, Bybit will take snapshots of your BNB holdings in your Funding and Unified Trading Accounts to calculate the number of KILO tokens you’re eligible for. The campaign will run through Apr 25, 2025, 11:59PM UTC, and you’ll have your share of KILO airdropped seven days after this date.

 market as a swap pair with USDT. If you don't have a Bybit account, you can easily 

, and access opportunities across hundreds of trading pairs and crypto products on the exchange's Spot and Derivatives markets.

As of Apr 17, 2025, the KILO token is trading at $0.039, which is 76.2% lower than its ATH of $0.1648 on Mar 27, 2025, and 17.3% higher than its ATL of $0.03344 on Apr 12, 2025.

Long-term price forecasts for KILO are mostly bullish. CoinCodex 

 at $0.0387 in 2027 and then rise to $0.135 in 2030 while PricePredictions 

When it comes to perpetuals trading, both traditional 

 (CEXs) and DEXs have often struggled to offer an intuitive trading experience. In contrast, KiloEx has made user-friendliness a cornerstone of its operations. With KiloEx, you can enjoy a streamlined trading process, access market trends info for thorough research, get an overview of the cryptocurrency market and conduct other activities via an interface that’s designed for anyone, irrespective of their familiarity with decentralized trading.

The platform also boasts a diverse range of other benefits not easily found in the world of perpetuals-based cryptocurrency trading — generous leveraged trading options, trading fee discounts, lightning-fast trades, low trading fees and an innovative Hybrid Vault system. Many of these benefits are thanks to KiloEx's collaboration with several Layer 2 decentralized platforms, which provide the technical infrastructure to enable low costs and fast order processing.

If you’re a crypto perpetuals enthusiast, KiloEx is definitely a platform to peruse.

Intermediate

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KiloEx (KILO): More than a DEX — a rewarding ecosystem

In this article, Bybit Learn breaks down how the RFC meme coin was launched by the 'ifindretard' community, what’s driving its popularity and how to trade the RFC meme coin on Bybit.  

RFC quickly became one of the most talked-about and actively traded meme coins in early April 2025. In this article, we’ll break down how the token started, what’s driving its popularity and show you how to trade RFC on Bybit.  

Meme coins have always relied on humor to capture a wide audience and RFC is no different. The coin is inspired by the 

 X account that posts right-leaning, political and social posts on the platform. The account quickly became popular and gained over 718,000 followers as of mid-April 2025. 

 the launch of RFC, a Solana-based meme coin with a core mission of becoming the definitive meme coin for their community. The project aims to counter the prevalence of rug pulls and scams and create a token that is fair and community-centric.

The RFC token was launched on Mar 24, 2025, on the 

 platform. Within a few hours of its launch, the token graduated from the bonding curve and was placed in the liquidity pool. The initial post from the @ifindretards account is likely the major cause of the parabolic rise in the price of the token on the pump.fun platform. 

In the following days, the popularity of RFC experienced a significant surge, largely fueled by an enthusiastic community that rallied around the project. The coin’s 

 on Solana and its allocation of 96% of the supply to the public attracted a lot of attention from the meme coin community. Such community-centric characteristics quickly boosted the coin’s profile. According to 

, over 216 KOLs have mentioned the coin, with 124 being bullish and only five being bearish. This positive momentum was soon reflected in the price surge of RFC.

Following the graduation from the bonding curve, the price momentum continued and the coin reached a peak market cap of around $8 million, but quickly retraced to $1.2 million the next day. Over the next few days, the coin consolidated in the $1 million to $5 million range. 

On Mar 31, 2025, the coin broke out of this range and witnessed a 2-week staggering rally that saw the market cap rise as high as $138 million on Apr 14, 2025. This is a 25x increase from the first day’s close of $5.5 million. The coin has since retraced slightly, and as of Apr 15, it’s currently trading at a valuation of around $91 million market cap. 

The total supply of RFC is fixed at 1 billion tokens. The distribution of these tokens is heavily weighted towards the public, with 96% allocated for a public fair launch. Notably, only 4% of the total supply was allocated to the developer wallet, and the project explicitly states that there were no airdrops or presales.

If you’re interested in riding the RFC wave, you can go long or short on the token with up to 20x leverage on Bybit through its 

 RFCUSDT perpetual contract. Whether you're bullish or bearish, you can dive into the action and start trading the 

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RFC: Trending meme coin with a strong community

Blockchain

Delegated proof of stake involves a voting and delegation mechanism to incentivize users to secure the network. But how is it different from PoS? Learn more.

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Delegated proof of stake is a type of blockchain consensus protocol that allows users to spend their coins to vote for various delegates. Once these delegates have been elected, they’re able to make critical decisions that apply to the whole network. For instance, the elected delegates can set protocol rules or validate transactions.

In general, delegated proof of stake has proven to be the most effective consensus mechanism available, which has helped to ensure that blockchain protocol remains sustainable and scalable. This stake consensus is able to eliminate the mining process that consumes so much energy with 

 protocols. The following guide takes a look at delegated proof of stake and the many benefits it provides as a consensus mechanism.

Before getting into the basics of stake-delegated proof and how it works, it’s important to take a look at what consensus algorithms are. Blockchain networks function because they’re decentralized. This means that every node within the network needs to verify transactions. A node is typically a computer or similar system.

 require separate transaction validation, the network itself must use some type of method to make sure each node agrees on the transactions that are valid and the ones that aren’t. The method the network uses to make sure that every node agrees is considered to be the blockchain consensus algorithm. Each type of blockchain uses a different algorithm. 

Delegated proof of stake works similarly to 

 (PoS) except it involves a voting and delegation mechanism to incentivize users to secure the network with their staked collateral. 

Users must stake their coins in order to participate in the both PoS and DPoS consensus mechanism. However, a successful block production involves network users elect witnesses, or delegates and only elected delegates and voters can validate transactions.

The elected delegates are oftentimes referred to as block producers or witnesses. When delegated proof of stake is used, it becomes possible to vote on delegates by pooling all of your coins into a centralized staking pool, after which you can link these coins to a specific delegate. It’s important to understand that your coins aren’t physically transferred from your wallet to any other when you link to a delegate.

When delegates are finally elected, it’s important that they’re able to agree upon which transactions should be rejected and which should be approved. 

Why Blockchain Needs Consensus Mechanisms

To understand just how beneficial stake-delegated proof can be, it’s first important to know why blockchain technology requires consensus. Blockchain is a kind of distributed ledger that’s able to record all of the transactions that occur across a network. 

 has proven to be an essential component of all blockchain technologies. This means that a single entity doesn’t keep track of every transaction that occurs. Instead, these transactions are distributed across numerous nodes in a network.

Even though transactions are spread across many different nodes, it’s possible to validate transactions with 

. These functions generate unique values for various unique inputs. It’s assumed that the record with the most nodes is less fallible than the others. In order for blockchain technology to function properly, it’s essential that it comes with consensus protocols. These protocols allow the different nodes within the network to properly validate legitimate transactions.

Looking specifically at Bitcoin, it uses the proof of work (PoW) consensus protocol, which delivers notable results but is considered to be time-intensive and energy-intensive. Because of this, the transaction speed is low when compared to standard networking protocols used by companies such as Visa and MasterCard.

Regardless of the protocols that different cryptocurrencies use, they’re necessary to ensure that all of the nodes within a server can come to an agreement about each transaction. With a consensus mechanism in place, the nodes are able to agree that a transaction should either be approved or declined. This technology also prevents users from spending a single coin on two separate transactions, known as double-spending.

There are many different components of delegated proof of stake that allow the technology to be effective and efficient at validating transactions. Even though proof of stake and proof of work is used by more blockchains at the moment, the stake-delegated proof is designed to solve most of the limitations that affect 

This particular consensus algorithm is maintained with a unique election system that selects nodes who are able to verify blocks. In most cases, delegates are voted in based on reputation. Every user who holds at least one coin with the DPoS blockchain can vote for the nodes who they want to validate transactions. Before using a DPoS blockchain, it’s highly recommended that you understand every facet of this system and how it works to achieve consensus.

Stake-delegated proof includes an all-important voting component. In order for nodes to be selected for the transaction verification process, different nodes must be voted in by users who would like to vote. Even though each DPoS network has its own voting system, most systems work by allowing DPoS consensus users to vote directly or provide their voting power to someone else who can vote on their behalf.

The nodes whom they vote in are referred to as witnesses. These witnesses are able to create blocks by validating transactions. In the event that all transactions in a single block are verified, the witnesses receive a special reward that can then be shared with every person who voted for that witness.

If the selected witness doesn’t validate every transaction within their allotted time, the block is missed, which means that none of the transactions is verified, and the witness earns no reward. In most cases, the reward that the witness would have earned is added to the one that the next witness receives, should they end up verifying all transactions. When this occurs, the block is considered stolen.

As mentioned above, witnesses are responsible for securing and validating the blockchain. While a user doesn’t need cryptocurrency in order to become a witness, they must be able to obtain enough votes to be elected. When a witness is able to confirm a transaction, it will officially be recorded in a ledger. The total number of witnesses in a single server can range from 21 to 101. Even though it’s possible for a witness to keep certain transactions out of a block, they’re unable to change the transaction’s information.

Keep in mind that the voting process is continual, which means that witnesses can be voted out if voters believe someone else is more trustworthy. If a large number of people are applying for the role of witness, there may be an ample amount of competition. In this case, reputation may be key to determining which people are voted in and which ones aren’t.

The stake-delegated proof transaction time refers to the amount of time it takes for the transaction to be processed. Because DPoS is designed to be a more efficient technology when compared to PoS and PoW, the transaction should process in a shorter period of time. However, transaction times differ with each stake-delegated proof network. For example, the TRON network uses DPoS and has an estimated transaction time of one minute.

With TRON, in order for a transaction to go through 20 confirmations are required. Two confirmations occur when one block is placed chronologically after another. TRON requires 20 separate confirmations to occur within one minute. In contrast, the estimated transaction speed for USD Coin, which uses a PoS consensus mechanism, is five minutes.

Delegates are users in a DPoS system who oversee governance within the blockchain. Delegates are voted in by other users. It’s possible for a delegate to propose altering the size of a single block, or changing how many witnesses are paid for validating blocks. When changes are proposed by a delegate, the users within the blockchain vote on adopting these changes.

 who are able to validate that blocks created by different witnesses adhere to the consensus rules. If a user becomes a block validator, all they’re required to do is run the validator and verify the network. Unlike being a witness, there’s no financial incentive to being a validator.

 between DPoS and PoS. In general, the stake-delegated proof is viewed as a more efficient and democratic version of PoS.

A PoS user builds blocks based on the exact stake they have in the currency and their time in the blockchain network. DPoS differs in that delegates and witnesses are voted in, with witnesses being able to create blocks.

Even though stake-delegated proof blockchains are highly beneficial for their inclusivity and for protecting users from double-spending, they do have a couple of limitations. For one, it’s possible for the network to become centralized in the event that only a limited number of users can act as witnesses. It’s also possible for weighted voting to occur, wherein users who don’t have a large stake in the currency decide not to vote.

While many popular blockchain networks use DPoS consensus, the primary ones are EOS, TRON and Cosmos.

When the EOS network, all delegates are referred to as block producers. An election occurs after a period of two minutes and six seconds. Once a user stakes some EOS coins, they can vote on as many as 30 candidates. Exactly 21 candidates are then elected. The minimum hardware requirements for each block producer include having at least 8GB of RAM.

This network refers to delegates as Super Representatives. When a user stakes TRON coins, they can vote for five SR candidates per election. These elections are held once every 24 hours. The top 27 candidates will be chosen as witnesses.

 network, delegates are called Validators. Around 100 of these Validators are able to verify the transactions that occur. Eventually, Cosmos intends to increase the Validator count to 300 to further decentralize their blockchain.

The stake-delegated proof technology known as DPoS is among the most effective consensus systems around. Along with using less energy than PoW systems, DPoS also takes less time than PoS systems. Consensus algorithms are at the heart of every blockchain network. Using the right algorithm ensures that transactions are validated quickly and securely. DPoS provides viable networking solutions at a time when faster transaction speeds, decreased energy consumption and network security are becoming top priorities for all blockchain protocols.

What Is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)?

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What Is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)?

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