Bitcoin

Solana price projected to hit $250 as this new meme portfolio token presale heats up

The Solana price continues to capture the crypto community’s attention, recently closing at $245.87 after a steady 2.47% rise. As market dynamics shift toward speculative assets, Solana’s robust ecosystem is setting the stage for further growth. Simultaneously, the ongoing presale of the Vantard meme portfolio token dubbed VTARD is creating excitement. Together, these developments signal…

Simultaneously, the ongoing presale of the Vantard meme portfolio token dubbed VTARD is creating excitement.

Together, these developments signal a vibrant future for both Solana and the meme coin market.

Solana nears $250 as DEXs hit $$751.1B in volume

Solana (SOL) is experiencing a bullish wave as it approaches the critical $250 resistance level. This surge comes on the heels of a remarkable week for Solana’s decentralized exchanges (DEXs), which has recorded an unprecedented $751.138 billion in trading volume according to data from Dune.

This figure outpaced the combined weekly volumes of Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Base, signalling Solana’s rising dominance.

The Solana-based DEX Raydium added to the ecosystem’s momentum, generating $72.83 million in fees over seven days, surpassing Ethereum’s $67 million. Such efficiency highlights Solana’s appeal, especially to traders seeking cost-effective and fast transaction solutions.

Technically, Solana is showing strong signs of continued growth. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator has entered positive territory, suggesting that bullish momentum is building.

Analysts predict that if SOL can break past $250, the next target is $290, a potential 22% rise by the end of the month.

Adding to Solana’s appeal is its growing role in speculative markets, particularly in meme coin trading. This trend aligns with broader macroeconomic factors such as increasing global liquidity and interest in high-risk, high-reward assets.

Vantard: a meme coin revolution in the making

While Solana builds on its established strengths, the Vantard meme portfolio token, $VTARD, is creating a buzz in the speculative asset space. The token operates at the heart of the Vantard ecosystem, acting as a standalone tradable token on the open and free market. The token can also be exchanged for the underlying holdings within the Vantard meme portfolio.

Marketed as a “Meme Index Fund,” Vantard aims to simplify meme coin investing by offering a curated portfolio of top meme coins on Solana.

The Vantard presale is already making waves, raising $846,424.08 with a current stage price of $0.00014. As the next stage price rises to $0.00015, early investors are seizing the opportunity to gain exposure to the so-called “memecoin supercycle.”

The meme coin market has been one of the top-performing crypto sectors in 2024. Late-cycle trends typically accelerate, and Vantard positions itself as a low-effort, high-reward investment tool to capitalize on this momentum.

By periodically rebalancing its portfolio of Solana’s leading meme coins, Vantard ensures that investors stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing market.

With comparisons to ETFs revolutionizing traditional finance, Vantard brings a similar innovation to the meme coin space. Its ease of use and potential for exponential returns make it an attractive choice for both retail and institutional investors.

The intersection of Solana and meme coins

The synergy between Solana and Vantard underscores a broader trend in crypto markets: the rise of speculative assets fueled by robust blockchain ecosystems.

Solana’s cost efficiency and scalability make it an ideal platform for meme coin trading, while Vantard offers a streamlined gateway to participate in this high-octane market.

As Solana continues to attract institutional and retail investors, its growing dominance in decentralized finance (DeFi) and speculative trading will likely propel its price higher.

Meanwhile, the ongoing Vantard presale exemplifies the market’s appetite for innovative products that tap into trending narratives like the “memecoin supercycle.”

Investors looking to maximize their returns in this cycle would do well to keep a close eye on these two market leaders.

For those interested in Vantard, they can visit the official Vantard website to participate in the ongoing presale.

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Hyperliquid 50x whale a criminal – ZachXBT says

ZachXBT commented on this, revealing who the whale is and is not. He shared the investigative view via X:

“It’s funny watching CT speculate on the “Hyperliquid whale” when in reality it’s just a cybercriminal gambling with stolen funds.”

Replying to a user comment, ZachXBT noted that the criminal whale has no links to the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group. In February this year, the blockchain sleuth linked the $1.5 billion Bybit hack to the hacker group.

Some X users asked that ZachXBT names and shames the Hyperliquid whale. However, his response was:

“We’ll see, it’s just not enjoyable posting investigations on X/Twitter anymore.”

Crypto ‘hunted’ for the mysterious whale

For weeks, the crypto market has speculated on who the mysterious Hyperliquid whale may be. A hunt for their identity and efforts to drag them down surfaced.

This hunt for the trader who opened a short position worth about $450 million on Bitcoin (BTC) intensified on Tuesday.

Amid the rush to liquidate him, analysts pointed to the whale’s 40x and 50x shorting of BTC and ETH as massive. The reaction had most traders looking to wreck the whale’s position with a flurry of buying deals. In fact, according to Lookonchain, the whale had to deposit $5 million USDC “to increase margin and avoid liquidation.”

But the effort to wreck the whale ultimately failed.

This whale has closed all his positions and made a profit of $9.46M in just 8 days.https://t.co/EtI4kinRNE pic.twitter.com/TPxf6MIIqR

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 18, 2025

As well as th 50x short leveraged position on Ethereum (ETH), this whale also shorted Chainlink (LINK), opening a huge $31 million position with 10x leverage. The whale has also placed short bids on GMX.

While ZachXBT clarified this whale isn’t tied to North Korea, the incident highlights the challenge the crypto community faces amid bad actor incidents.

The issue of stolen funds making it back into circulation via decentralized finance protocols remains. It also points to the overall impact of massive leverage on the market, particularly when criminals tap into high-leverage trades to gamble stolen funds.

Although this particular whale’s identity may interest the broader ecosystem, the big question going forward is how does crypto reign in this potentially impactful scenario.

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Bitcoin

Paul Atkins SEC chair confirmation faces delay with Senate due to paperwork issues

A March 27 meeting is being considered for a committee hearing on the selection of incoming SEC chair Paul Atkins US President Donald Trump selected Atkins in December following his presidential election win Atkins previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 and 2008 under former President George W. Bush The confirmation of Paul Atkins…

Donald Trump selects pro-crypto Paul Atkins to the next US SEC chair

A March 27 meeting is being considered for a committee hearing on the selection of incoming SEC chair Paul Atkins
US President Donald Trump selected Atkins in December following his presidential election win
Atkins previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 and 2008 under former President George W. Bush

The confirmation of Paul Atkins as the next US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair is being delayed due to the submission of paperwork.

That’s according to Eleanor Mueller, Semafor’s Congress reporter, who posted on X. She wrote:

“Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott is eyeing March 27 for a committee hearing on Trump’s nominee to chair the SEC, Paul Atkins, I’m told. As I wrote earlier this month, the committee has been waiting for the White House to send over his paperwork.”

Scooplet: Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott is eyeing March 27 for a committee hearing on Trump’s nominee to chair the SEC, Paul Atkins, I’m told.

As I wrote earlier this month, the committee has been waiting for the White House to send over his paperwork: https://t.co/2sDebKDIAI

— Eleanor Mueller (@Eleanor_Mueller) March 17, 2025

US President Donald Trump selected Atkins to be the next SEC chair in December. This is a significant selection for Trump, as Atkins is considered a pro-crypto figure in the industry. During his election, Trump promised to reshape the regulatory landscape for digital finance and clarify cryptocurrency rules.

Mueller continued that the Senate banking committee is also planning to hold a bipartisan meeting on Friday, March 21, to discuss Atkins’ nomination.

Financial disclosure

This latest development follows from a March 3 report from Semafor. In it, Mueller detailed how the White House hadn’t produced the required paperwork to schedule a confirmation hearing for Atkins. This also included his financial disclosure given the fact that he married into a billionaire family.

In 1990, Atkins married Sarah Humphreys Atkins, whose family is linked to Tamko Building Products, a company that manufactures roofing shingles in the US. Last year, it made $1.2 billion in revenue, according to a December report from Forbes.

One former Senate Banking Committee member said: “It’s a lot to go through. But he got named so early on, so I think that’s why people are starting to be like, ‘What the hell’s taking so long?”

Atkins previously served as an SEC Commissioner between 2002 and 2008 under former President George W. Bush.

While the agency awaits the confirmation of Atkins, Mark Uyeda is the acting chair. In January, Uyeda created a new crypto task force designed to establish a clear regulatory framework for the industry.

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Bitcoin

Metaplanet Inc. (3350.T) Stocks: Soar 12% as Bitcoin Holdings Near 8,000 BTC Milestone

TLDR

Metaplanet shares jumped 12% after buying 1,004 BTC.
The company now holds 7,800 BTC worth $712.5 million.
Metaplanet’s BTC holdings are higher than El Salvador’s.
BTC Yield hit 47.8%, showing strong treasury growth.
Bond sales and share issuance funded Bitcoin purchases.

Metaplanet Inc. shares surged 12% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the firm confirmed a major Bitcoin acquisition. The company revealed it purchased 1,004 BTC, increasing its total holdings to 7,800 BTC. This move lifted investor sentiment and drove the stock to its highest since February 2025.

Metaplanet Inc. (3350.T)

Bitcoin Accumulation Lifts Investor Confidence

Metaplanet’s latest purchase amounted to $104 million, with each Bitcoin acquired at an average of $97,182. Consequently, the total value of its Bitcoin treasury has now reached approximately $712.5 million. The sharp price rise came as Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark amid growing optimism in global financial markets.

Besides the recent acquisition, Metaplanet had earlier surpassed El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings with a separate 1,241 BTC buy. The company bought those coins at $101,843 each, totaling nearly $129 million in value. This positioned the Tokyo-listed firm ahead of the Central American nation, which holds 6,714 BTC.

The company’s strategy to build its reserves appears deliberate and structured. CEO Simon Gerovich has stated the company’s target is to reach 10,000 BTC by year-end 2025. So far, Metaplanet has achieved 78% of this goal, indicating steady progress in line with its stated plans.

BTC Yield Growth Signals Positive Treasury Performance

The firm tracks its Bitcoin Treasury Operations using specific key indicators like BTC Yield and BTC Gain. BTC Yield reflects the percentage growth of Bitcoin held per fully diluted share over each quarter. The firm reported a BTC Yield of 47.8% from April 1 to May 19, 2025.

*Metaplanet Acquires Additional 1,004 $BTC pic.twitter.com/r86rLc7ngh

— Metaplanet Inc. (@Metaplanet_JP) May 19, 2025

Earlier, Metaplanet recorded a BTC Yield of 95.6% in Q1 2025 and 309.8% in Q4 2024. These gains help evaluate the growth in Bitcoin holdings independent of share dilution. Moreover, BTC ¥ Gain converts these results into local currency to show clearer financial impact for shareholders.

Metaplanet has used these metrics to show the effectiveness of its Bitcoin strategy. BTC Gain helps isolate real growth, while BTC ¥ Gain translates that into yen terms. This system supports transparency and aligns with U.S.-style capital market disclosures.

Capital Markets Activity Expands with New Share Issuance

To support its Bitcoin purchases, Metaplanet completed several capital market moves. On May 13, the firm issued $15 million in zero-coupon bonds to EVO FUND, maturing in November 2025. The proceeds funded early redemptions of prior bond series.

Additionally, the company completed early repayments for $25 million and $21.25 million bonds issued earlier in May. These redemptions were financed through exercised stock acquisition rights. The moves ensured that the firm maintained balance sheet flexibility while expanding its crypto reserves.

Between May 1 and May 16, the firm issued over 94 million new shares through exercised acquisition rights. The total number of issued shares stood at 593.2 million as of May 16. This expansion allowed the company to keep up with its aggressive Bitcoin treasury strategy.

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Yasmin Werner

Yasmin is a crypto content analyst and writer with over 2 years of experience. She has a strong understanding of the crypto market and blockchain technologies. As an avid trader who stays updated on the latest trends and news, Yasmin delivers insightful and informative content.