Finance

Backpack Token is a utility crypto asset issued within the Backpack ecosystem and built on the Solana blockchain. It is designed to provide a unified incentive and governance mechanism across Backpack’s trading platform, non-custodial wallet, and NFT community. Unlike many traditional platform tokens, the Backpack tokenomics model emphasizes a user-first distribution structure and explores a staking mechanism that may connect token participation with the potential equity value of the company.

Gate Research Weekly Report: This week, BTC and ETH continued to trade with weak volatility, and market sentiment stayed in the fear range. Rising tensions in the Middle East drove up oil prices and simultaneously increased demand for stablecoins, with USDC demand surging in the Dubai market. Pump.fun may pursue multi-chain expansion, while popular tokens like ACX, Lobster, and PIXEL posted strong gains. Capital activity in the Solana ecosystem remains robust.

In February, BTC declined by approximately 15.5%, while ETH also corrected in tandem. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell into the Extreme Fear zone, reflecting a significant rise in market risk-off sentiment. Despite the volatile market environment, the fund portfolio maintained relatively stable overall performance, though short-term returns showed some divergence. Among the strategies, Stellar Core Smart-Invest (USDT) delivered the highest one-year return of 9.5%. Meanwhile, Interstellar Hedge (USDT) and Orbital Arbitrage (USDT) recorded cumulative returns of 18.0% and 17.2%, respectively. Notably, Interstellar Hedge (USDT) achieved positive returns in all 20 cycles during the observation period, resulting in a 100% win rate. Gravity Hedge (USDT) also performed strongly, with a 95% overall win rate.

The article opens by analyzing the structural conflict between the risk-free rate and the integration of US Treasury bonds on-chain. It traces the development of stablecoins such as USDT/USDC, DAI, UST, and USDe, highlighting the reasons behind the breakdown of DeFi token economics and DAO governance, and exploring how these mechanisms are being restructured within RWA and Vault frameworks.

Gate Card is a crypto payment card introduced by Gate, designed to function as a crypto credit card that allows users to spend digital assets in real-world scenarios. When a user makes a payment, the system automatically converts crypto assets in the account into fiat currency, enabling transactions through the Visa network across global merchants and ATMs. The core function of Gate Card lies in bridging digital assets and traditional payment systems. Instead of manually converting crypto into fiat before spending, users can directly use their crypto balances for everyday payments, cross-border transactions, and cash withdrawals. This integration reduces friction between Web3 assets and real-world financial infrastructure, making crypto more accessible for daily use.

A crypto card is a payment card that enables users to spend cryptocurrency by converting it into fiat currency at the point of transaction. As digital assets become more integrated into financial systems, crypto cards serve as a practical bridge between blockchain-based value and traditional payment infrastructure. They simplify real-world usage of cryptocurrencies while maintaining compatibility with global payment networks. Understanding their structure and limitations helps explain their role in modern financial ecosystems.

The core difference between Polymarket and Kalshi lies in their design. Polymarket is a blockchain-based decentralized prediction market that allows global users to trade 24/7 using stablecoins. Kalshi, in contrast, is a regulated centralized event contracts exchange that uses fiat settlement and serves compliant US users. Together, they represent two models of prediction markets: on-chain openness and regulated finance.

Polymarket is a decentralized prediction market platform whose core function is to turn future events into tradable probability-based assets. Users express their views by buying and selling “yes” or “no” outcome shares, with prices reflecting market consensus expectations. The platform has been applied in areas such as political elections, macroeconomic forecasting, crypto markets, and information trading, and is increasingly seen as a practical example of InfoFi.

Plasma is a blockchain network designed specifically for stablecoin payments. Through PlasmaBFT consensus, a Paymaster gas sponsorship mechanism, and a native Bitcoin bridge, it enables zero-fee transfers and high-performance settlement. Unlike general-purpose blockchains, Plasma treats stablecoins as core assets and optimizes execution and settlement at the protocol level, allowing users to complete on-chain payments with an experience close to Web2. It is suited for cross-border remittance, merchant payments, and high-frequency settlement scenarios.

The sharp correction in gold prices results from the interplay of a stronger US dollar, changing interest rate expectations, and leveraged liquidations. This article offers an in-depth examination of the factors driving the recent slump in gold, shifts in capital structure, and projections for future market movements.

Plasma (XPL) is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed for global stablecoin settlement. It focuses on zero-fee USDT transfers, high throughput, and native Bitcoin bridging to support high-frequency use cases such as payments and cross-border settlement.

Plasma (XPL) is a blockchain infrastructure designed for stablecoin payments. Its native token, XPL, performs core functions across the network, including gas fees, validator incentives, governance participation, and value capture. Built around the central use case of high-frequency payments, the XPL tokenomics model combines inflationary distribution with fee burning in an attempt to balance network growth with long-term asset scarcity.

Polymarket is a blockchain-based decentralized prediction market platform that uses a central limit order book (CLOB) to match buy and sell orders between users. It also encourages market makers to place two-sided limit orders near the midpoint price through daily liquidity rewards. Event outcomes are determined by UMA’s Optimistic Oracle, where anyone can propose a result and challenge it during a dispute window. Once finalized on-chain, smart contracts automatically settle all positions and distribute funds.

Plasma (XPL) differs from traditional payment systems across several core dimensions. In terms of settlement, Plasma enables direct on-chain asset transfers, while traditional systems rely on account-based ledgers and intermediary clearing. In efficiency and cost, Plasma offers near real-time and low-cost transactions, whereas traditional systems often involve delays and layered fees. For liquidity management, Plasma uses stablecoins for on-demand capital allocation, while traditional systems depend on pre-funded accounts. In programmability and accessibility, Plasma supports smart contracts and operates on an open global network, while traditional systems remain constrained by legacy banking infrastructure.

Polymarket is a blockchain-based decentralized prediction market platform where users express views on future events by trading “yes” or “no” outcome shares, with prices commonly interpreted as implied market probabilities. Through smart contracts and stablecoin settlement, Polymarket enables a permissionless, non-custodial, and transparent mechanism for trading information, and is widely regarded as an important part of the emerging InfoFi landscape.