Smart contract platform Rootstock, the home of decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin, saw a sharp increase in network security and mining engagement in the first quarter of 2025, even as activity cooled.

Merged mining participation surged to an all-time high of 81%, up from 56.4% in Q4 2024, driven by the integration of major mining pools Foundry and SpiderPool, according to Messari’s first “State of Rootstock” report for 2025, shared with Cointelegraph.

The heightened miner interest boosted Rootstock’s hash power to over 740 exahashes per second, surpassing the total Bitcoin network hashrate recorded in October 2024. As a result, the network is now considered to be in a “mature phase” of merged mining growth.

The increased security coincided with a 60% reduction in transaction fees, improving user experience and positioning Rootstock more competitively within the Bitcoin layer-2 ecosystem.

“As BTCFi continues to grow, Rootstock is well-positioned for broader adoption through core upgrades like a 60% reduction in transaction fees, alongside sustained investment in builder education and incentive programs,” Messari analyst Andrew Yang said.

Rootstock overview for Q1 2025. Source: Messari

Related: Is this the end of Bitcoin DeFi?

Rootstock’s DeFi TVL drops

Despite the mining milestone, Rootstock’s DeFi ecosystem experienced a decline in total value locked (TVL) during Q1 2025, with Bitcoin (BTC)-denominated TVL dropping 7.2% and US dollar-denominated TVL falling by 20% quarter-over-quarter to $179.9 million.

Although TVL briefly peaked at $244.6 million in January during a Bitcoin price rally, it trended downward from March, reflecting broader market cooling.

For perspective, Ethereum-based DeFi TVL also saw a sharp 27% decline in Q1, hit hard by macro uncertainty and the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit, according to a report by DappRadar.

The stablecoin market on Rootstock also underwent notable changes. USDt (USDT) remained the leading stablecoin by value, holding $3.8 million and a 27.5% market share. However, its dominance fell significantly from 41.3% in Q4 2024.

By the end of Q1, no single stablecoin commanded over 30% of Rootstock’s stablecoin market.

Active addresses dropped by 26.5%, and new addresses plunged by 54.7%, although daily transactions rose slightly by 4.3%, reaching an average of 11,524 per day.

Active addresses drop on Rootstock. Source: Messari

Related: Bitcoin yield demand booming as institutions seek liquidity — Solv CEO

Rootstock sees progress on development front

On the development front, the platform activated its Lovell 7.0.0 upgrade, enhancing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility and smart contract performance.

Rootstock also expanded its ecosystem through integrations with LayerZero and Meson Finance and launched developer-focused initiatives, including a new hackathon and enhancements to its governance platform, RootstockCollective.

On May 1, Alexei Zamyatin, the co-founder of the Bitcoin layer 2 Build on Bitcoin, said that the first DeFi company to launch a user-friendly suite of products on Bitcoin would “win the entire market” of the blockchain’s 300 million users.

Magazine: ZK-proofs unlock trillions in Bitcoin for DeFi — BitcoinOS and Starknet

Sweat, a move-to-earn platform that rewards users for physical activity, has launched a personalized AI agent and expanded its multichain infrastructure. The update is designed to improve user onboarding by offering interactive guidance and simplifying asset management across blockchains.

The AI agent, named Mia (short for Movement in Action), is powered by Near.AI — an open-source AI model platform with crosschain capabilities. Integrated into the Sweat wallet, Mia helps users to bridge, swap and manage their crypto rewards without needing deep crypto knowledge..

Sweat is rolling out support for Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum and BNB Chain. Within the app, users can now bridge assets and swap native tokens across networks, with the option to pay gas fees in Sweat (SWEAT) tokens.

Sweat co-founder Oleg Fomenko told Cointelegraph: “We’ve shifted to championing the Movement Economy — an expansive, multichain ecosystem where movement is not only rewarded but also unlocks access to financial tools, health experiences and self-sovereign identity.”

Mia in Sweat wallet Source: swe.at

Related: Near’s crosschain AI Assistant will soon book flights and order takeout for you

Personalized AI agents aim for a simpler interface

Move-to-Earn is an emerging model that rewards users for physical activity by combining movement with technology. Apps like StepN, Plena and Sweat are exploring ways to integrate AI to enhance their platforms. StepN, for example, employs AI to improve anti-cheating mechanisms, while Sweat focuses on using AI to streamline the user experience and enable multichain decentralized finance (DeFi) functionality.

Sweat uses the move-to-earn model, rewarding users for about every 7,600 steps taken. Users can exchange their token rewards for products, donate them or convert them into a currency of their choice.

Related: How 10,000 steps can earn you up to $6.20 a day

Fomenko told Cointelegraph that Mia is more like “a helpful friend” than a technical dashboard. It focuses on “guiding users through tracking how steps convert into Sweat tokens, earning staking rewards, or performing onchain actions like swapping or bridging tokens.”

According to Sweat, the wallet has 20 million users and over 19 million tokenholders. Mia will also personalize in-app recommendations based on each user’s behavior and preferences, including surfacing relevant offers, setting reminders, or explaining new wallet features.

Related: StepN Go app lets users share digital sneakers and split earnings

Privacy and security remain priorities

As AI-driven tools become more integrated with crypto wallets, concerns around data privacy and misuse have grown. Fomenko told Cointelegraph that the risks are addressed through “a combination of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)-compliant data handling practices, secure anonymization protocols and frequent external audits”.

“By aligning with the highest privacy standards and prioritizing user sovereignty, Sweat ensures that AI serves as a helpful, secure, and trustworthy assistant in the Web3 journey,” Fomenko added.

However, as AI agents scale, the risk of AI-driven phishing attacks increases, with bots sending personalized messages that closely mimic legitimate communications. To address these concerns, Fomenko said, “Mia operates transparently, providing clear, explainable prompts where users remain in control — they can accept, reject, or override suggestions at any time.”

Magazine: Crypto AI tokens surge 34%, why ChatGPT is such a kiss-ass: AI Eye

Key takeaways:

Ether breaks multimonth downtrend as traders target $3,000 ETH price.

Ethereum TVL surges 41% to $52.8 billion in 30 days, with a 22% rise in daily transactions to 1.34 million, signaling strong network recovery.

Technicals show ETH price faces major resistance at $2,100-$2,800.

Ether is setting up for a recovery toward the $3,000 psychological level, backed by recovering network activity, increasing TVL, and strong technicals. 

Ether price seeks a return to $3K

Ether (ETH) looks to end its downtrend that has been in play since mid-December after it turned away from its 10-month high of $4,100.

Crypto technical analyst Mikybull Crypto shared a chart showing the ETH price breaking above a six-month descending trendline, with $2,000 and $2,250 being key resistance levels to watch, saying:

“ETH breaking out.”

Ether’s price broke above the downtrend line at $1,600 on April 22 when cooling macroeconomic tensions sparked a marketwide recovery. 

Related: Pectra features already in use: Ethereum EIP-7702 wallets roll out

The 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $1,775 is now acting as immediate support for Ether’s price. 

The relative strength index has risen sharply, jumping from 56 to 66 over the last 24 hours, suggesting bullish momentum is picking up.

ETH/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Key levels to watch on the upside are the 100-day SMA at $2,100 and the supplier congestion zone between $2,500 and $2,800, where the 200-day SMA lies. Overcoming these barriers will likely push ETH prices higher, with $3,000 representing the short-term target for the bulls.

Crypto analyst Crypto Claws said the ETH/USD pair was “primed for a bullish reversal,” setting the upside target between $2,500 and $3,500. 

$ETHUSD 1D chart looking primed for a massive bullish reversal! Potential short-term dip to $1450, but that’s just fuel for the next leg up. Targets: $2500, then $3500! Get ready for a significant price surge! #Ethereum #Bullrun2025 #Crypto pic.twitter.com/MXLBOIRmYF

— Crypto Claws (@cryptoclaws_) May 7, 2025

Meanwhile, Crypto Salamanca told his X followers that with the latest Pectra upgrade-fueled momentum, “ETH could target $2,150–$2,700 in the coming weeks.”

Ethereum onchain metrics show strength

Ethereum remains the largest layer-1 blockchain based on the total value locked (TVL) and ranks second in DEX volumes. 

Ethereum’s TVL has risen from $44.5 billion on April 9 to $52.8 billion on May 8.

ETH TVL and transaction count. Source: DefiLlama

Additional positive signs include a 50% increase in deposits on BlackRock BUIDL, a digital liquidity fund application, a 33% increase in Spark and 25% growth in Ether.fi.

Ethereum’s daily transaction count has increased by 22% over the last month to 1.34 million transactions.  

However, the 95% drop in Ethereum fees year-to-date suggests that Ethereum’s rise to $3,000 might take longer than traders may wish.

Ethereum network’s daily fees. Source: DefiLlama

Low transaction activity on Ethereum reduces ETH burning, making it inflationary as new coins issued for staking rewards outpace the network’s burn mechanism.

In addition, US-listed spot Ether ETFs saw $39.7 million in net outflows between May 5 and May 7, while similar BTC instruments experienced net inflows of $482 million over the same period, adding to recovery concerns.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Space and Time, a blockchain project supported by Microsoft, has launched its public, permissionless mainnet to bring zero-knowledge (ZK)-proven data infrastructure to crypto applications.

Built by MakeInfinite Labs, Space and Time offers a decentralized, verifiable database for smart contracts to query historical, crosschain and offchain data, according to a news release shared with Cointelegraph.

The platform indexes data from major networks like Ethereum and makes it accessible through a decentralized network of validators. Developers can query this data using Space and Time’s Proof of SQL — a sub-second ZK coprocessor that delivers cryptographic proofs with every query.

“Prior to Space and Time, onchain applications had no way to query basic user data from a database of blockchain activity without introducing security risks and tampering,” said Scott Dykstra, co-founder at Space and Time.

He added that developers can now build onchain apps with built-in security, using cryptographic proofs to connect cloud databases to smart contracts.

Source: Space and Time

Related: How does zero-knowledge proof authentication help create a portable digital identity solution?

Major builders already on Space and Time

Dykstra said prominent financial institutions, major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Google BigQuery, and some of the biggest projects in crypto, including Chainlink, Sui and ZKsync, have either integrated or are building with tools or data services in the Space and Time ecosystem.

He also told Cointelegraph that SXT, the native utility token for Space and Time, is planned for release on May 8.

“Space and Time mainnet is permissionless, and we encourage the community to join the network as validators and delegated stakers,” Dykstra said.

He added that the testnet had more than 30 validators worldwide, including in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Related: Aptos launches keyless wallets that use ZK-proofs to verify identities

MakeInfinite Labs (previously Space and Time Labs), the original contributors to Space and Time, held a strategic round led by Microsoft in 2022. They also supported the follow-on Series A round in 2024.

MakeInfinite Labs has also contributed to other projects within the crypto space, including Blitzar and the Chainlink DeFi Yield Index.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

Doodles’ non-fungible token (NFTs) sales surged by 97% in the last 24 hours as digital collectible traders anticipate the project’s token generation event and airdrop. 

On May 8, data from CryptoSlam showed Doodles NFT sales topping $1.1 million, nearly doubling the previous day’s total. The spike placed Doodles in the third spot for daily NFT sales, following DMarket and Courtyard NFTs.

Over the past week, Doodles recorded $2.6 million in total sales volume, up 368% from the week prior and ranking fifth among all NFT collections, according to CryptoSlam.

The surge comes ahead of the launch of Doodles’ long-awaited DOOD token. The project announced on May 7 that the token generation event will take place on May 9.

Source: DoodlesDoodles to launch DOOD token and airdrop 

Doodles announced its memecoin launch on Feb. 13, saying it would mint 10 billion DOOD tokens on Solana. The project also said that it would bridge to the Base blockchain in the future. 

According to the team, 68% of the tokens will be allocated to community members: 30% to the Doodles community, 13% to the New Blood community and 25% as its ecosystem fund. 

Team members will receive 17% of the tokens, while the company gets 5% of the token supply. Doodles said these are subject to a one-year cliff unlock period and a three-year vesting period. The remaining 10% of the token supply is to be allocated to the project’s liquidity. 

Holders of Doodles NFTs are eligible to pre-register and receive an airdrop allocation of the tokens. Exchanges like Binance and Bybit announced that they would list the token on their trading platforms after the tokens are minted on May 9. 

Token allocation for the DOOD Solana memecoin. Source: Doodles

Related: Mattel to wind down its Hot Wheels Virtual Garage NFTs

NFT market hits $103 million in weekly sales

As Doodles and other top collections saw a surge in activity, total NFT market volume reached more than $103 million over the past seven days, a 7% increase from the previous week, according to CryptoSlam.

Ethereum-based NFTs still lead the charge with $26.5 million in sales in the last seven days. Polygon NFTs took the second spot with $19.1 million in sales, driven by real-world asset NFT platform Courtyard, which had over $17 million in sales alone, making it the top NFT collection for the week. 

Mythos Chain and Bitcoin-based NFTs also performed well for the week, having $16 million and $12 million in sales, respectively. 

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

Doodles’ non-fungible token (NFTs) sales surged by 97% in the last 24 hours as digital collectible traders anticipate the project’s token generation event and airdrop. 

On May 8, data from CryptoSlam showed Doodles NFT sales topping $1.1 million, nearly doubling the previous day’s total. The spike placed Doodles in the third spot for daily NFT sales, following DMarket and Courtyard NFTs.

Over the past week, Doodles recorded $2.6 million in total sales volume — up 368% from the week prior — ranking fifth among all NFT collections, according to CryptoSlam.

The surge comes ahead of the launch of Doodles’ long-awaited DOOD token. The project announced on May 7 that the token generation event will take place on May 9.

Source: DoodlesDoodles to launch DOOD token and airdrop 

Doodles announced its memecoin launch on Feb. 13, saying it would mint 10 billion DOOD tokens on Solana. The project said it would also have a future bridge to the Base blockchain. 

According ot the team, 68% of the tokens will be allocated to community members: 30% to the Doodles community, 13% to the New Blood community, and 25% as its ecosystem fund. 

Team members will receive 17% of the tokens, while the company gets 5% of the token supply. Doodles said these are subject to a one-year cliff unlock period and a three-year vesting period. The remaining 10% of the token supply is allocated to the project’s liquidity. 

Holders of Doodles NFTs are eligible to pre-register and receive an airdrop allocation of the tokens. Exchanges like Binance and Bybit announced that they would list the token on their trading platform after the tokens are minted on May 9. 

Token allocation for the DOOD Solana memecoin. Source: Doodles

Related: Mattel to wind down its Hot Wheels Virtual Garage NFTs

NFT market hits $103 million in weekly sales

As Doodles and other top collections saw a surge in activity, total NFT market volume reached more than $103 million over the past seven days, a 7% increase from the previous week, according to CryptoSlam.

Ethereum-based NFTs still lead the charge with $26.5 million in sales in the last seven days. Polygon NFTs took the second spot with $19.1 million in sales, driven by real-world asset NFT platform Courtyard, which had over $17 million in sales alone, making it the top NFT collection for the week. 

Mythos Chain and Bitcoin-based NFTs also performed well for the week, having $16 million and $12 million in sales, respectively. 

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

Almost 60,000 Bitcoin addresses tied to LockBit’s ransomware infrastructure were leaked after hackers breached the group’s dark web affiliate panel. 

The leak included a MySQL database dump shared publicly online. It contained crypto-related information that could help blockchain analysts trace the group’s illicit financial flows.

Ransomware is a type of malware used by malicious actors. It locks its target’s files or computer systems, making them inaccessible. The attackers typically demand a ransom payment, often in digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), in exchange for a decryption key to unlock the files.

LockBit is one of the most notorious crypto ransomware groups. In February 2024, 10 countries launched a joint operation to disrupt the group, saying that the organization had caused billions in damages to key infrastructure. 

Source: ReyXBFNo Bitcoin private keys leaked

While almost 60,000 Bitcoin wallets were leaked, no private keys were included. One X user shared a conversation with a LockBit operator, confirming the breach. However, the LockBit person said no private keys or data were lost. 

Despite this, analysts at Bleeping Computer said the database contained 20 tables, including a “builds” table. This included individual ransomware builds created by the organization’s affiliates. The data also identified some of the target companies for the builds. 

In addition, the leaked database also included a “chats” table. This table contained over 4,400 negotiation messages between victims and the ransomware organization. 

Related: Crypto crime in 2024 likely exceeded $51B, far higher than reported: Chainalysis

LockBit hack tied to Everest ransomware breach

It’s unclear who was behind the breach and how they got into LockBit’s operations, but Bleeping Computer analysts said the message used in the Everest ransomware site breach matched the one used in LockBit. The analysts suggested that there may be a link between the two incidents. 

The breach highlighted the role that crypto plays in the ransomware economy. Each victim is usually assigned an address to pay their ransom, allowing the affiliates to monitor payments while attempting to obscure ties to their main wallets. 

The exposure of the addresses allows law enforcement and blockchain investigators to track patterns and potentially link past ransom payments to known wallets. 

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

Almost 60,000 Bitcoin addresses tied to LockBit’s ransomware infrastructure were leaked after hackers breached the group’s dark web affiliate panel. 

The leak included a MySQL database dump shared publicly online. It contained crypto-related information that could help blockchain analysts trace the group’s illicit financial flows.

Ransomware is a type of malware used by malicious actors. It locks its target’s files or computer systems, making them inaccessible. The attackers typically demand a ransom payment, often in digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), in exchange for a decryption key to unlock the files.

LockBit is one of the most notorious crypto ransomware groups. In February 2024, 10 countries launched a joint operation to disrupt the group, saying that the organization had caused billions in damages to key infrastructure. 

Source: ReyXBFNo Bitcoin private keys leaked

While almost 60,000 Bitcoin wallets were leaked, no private keys were included. One X user shared a conversation with a LockBit operator, confirming the breach. However, the LockBit person said no private keys or data were lost. 

Despite this, analysts at Bleeping Computer said the database contained 20 tables, including a “builds” table. This included individual ransomware builds created by the organization’s affiliates. The data also identified some of the target companies for the builds. 

In addition, the leaked database also included a “chats” table. This table contained over 4,400 negotiation messages between victims and the ransomware organization. 

Related: Crypto crime in 2024 likely exceeded $51B, far higher than reported: Chainalysis

LockBit hack tied to Everest ransomware breach

It’s unclear who was behind the breach and how they got into LockBit’s operations, but Bleeping Computer analysts said the message used in the Everest ransomware site breach matched the one used in LockBit. The analysts suggested that there may be a link between the two incidents. 

The breach highlighted the role that crypto plays in the ransomware economy. Each victim is usually assigned an address to pay their ransom, allowing the affiliates to monitor payments while attempting to obscure ties to their main wallets. 

The exposure of the addresses allows law enforcement and blockchain investigators to track patterns and potentially link past ransom payments to known wallets. 

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K

David Bailey, CEO of crypto media company BTC Inc. and a close adviser to US President Donald Trump on digital assets, has reportedly raised $300 million to launch a new Bitcoin investment firm.

The venture, named Nakamoto after the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, aims to become a publicly traded company focused on acquiring and holding the cryptocurrency, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Information was first to cover the story.

The funding round, which has been quietly in motion since January, includes $200 million in equity and $100 million in convertible debt, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC.

While the firm has not officially announced the raise, an official reveal and merger with a Nasdaq-listed company is expected as early as next week. The combined entity is set to go public this summer, per the report.

“No comment,” Bailey wrote in a May 7 post on X, apparently in response to the news about the Bitcoin (BTC) investment firm.

Source: David Bailey

Related: Texas House committee passes Bitcoin reserve bill for full floor vote

New Bitcoin firms are launching

Nakamoto’s strategy is modeled on that of companies like Strategy, which transformed itself into a Bitcoin-holding powerhouse under Michael Saylor.

The firm will invest in and acquire businesses globally, in countries such as Brazil, Thailand and South Africa, while deploying Bitcoin as part of its capital structure.

The venture is reportedly backed by high-profile investors and includes an advisory board featuring several prominent figures from the financial and crypto sectors.

Bailey’s move comes amid renewed enthusiasm for institutional Bitcoin investment, following a series of major fundraising announcements from firms like Twenty One and Strive Asset Management.

Related: Trump-linked Strive files for ‘Bitcoin Bond’ ETF

On April 24, Twenty One Capital, led by Strike founder Jack Mallers with the support of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald, said it was looking to supplant Saylor’s Strategy to become the “superior vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.”

On May 7, Strive Asset Management, founded by entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, also revealed plans to transition into a Bitcoin treasury company.

Source: David Bailey

The firm is going public through a reverse merger and plans to use the combined company’s stock to accumulate Bitcoin. Once the deal closes, Strive plans to issue about $1 billion in equity and debt and use the proceeds to accumulate BTC. 

“The pace of these new BTC companies launching is accelerating,” crypto influencer TylerD said in a post on X.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s $100K push wakes taxman, Vitalik visits real Moo Deng: Asia Express

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has confirmed banks under its jurisdiction can trade crypto on behalf of customers and outsource some crypto activities to third parties. 

Acting comptroller Rodney Hood said in a May 7 letter that banks and federal savings associations can buy and sell crypto they hold in custody at customers’ direction.

The OCC added in a press release that financial institutions can also outsource bank-permissible crypto activities, including custody and execution services, to third parties in compliance with applicable law.

“Additionally, these banks may provide other custody services, including record keeping, tax or reporting services for their customers,” Hood said in a May 7 video posted to X. 

OCC-regulated banks may buy and sell assets held in custody and are permitted to outsource bank-permissible crypto-asset activities, including custody and execution services. https://t.co/0ScQdgNaS6 pic.twitter.com/J5dEkx4WUL

— OCC (@USOCC) May 7, 2025

“OCC banks may use a sub-custodian to provide the same services subject to appropriate third-party risk management practices, while a range of cryptocurrency and digital asset activities may be performed by banks and their third parties,” he added. 

Previously, the OCC eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto on March 7 by giving the green light for crypto-asset custody, some stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks such as distributed ledgers. 

“More than 50 million Americans hold some form of cryptocurrency. This digitalization of financial services is not a trend; it is a transformation,” Hood said. 

The OCC is an independent bureau within the US Department of the Treasury that regulates and supervises all national banks and also the federal branches of foreign banks.

Industry supports the OCC letters 

Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, general counsel at ZK-rollup developer StarkWare, said the letters signal a “shift in the OCC’s approach,” which now appears to favor a focus on integrating crypto within banking frameworks. 

“More guidance will give further clarity [and] will allow banks to re-enter crypto [without] the fear of existential regulatory risk,” she said. 

She added the OCC’s “explicit permission today allowing banks to outsource bank-permissible crypto-assets is a boon to regulated crypto native service providers.” 

Source: Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos

Chief policy officer at crypto exchange Coinbase, Faryar Shirzad, also applauded the move, saying in a May 7 post to X, Hood’s commitment to “regulatory clarity, as well as his adherence to supervisory best practices and the letter of the law,” is appreciated. 

The Trump administration has taken a friendlier attitude toward crypto since coming into power in January. 

Related: The lessons learned at Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Congressional hearings

In April, the US Federal Reserve announced it was withdrawing guidance that was created to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities.

US President Donald Trump also signed a joint congressional resolution on April 11, overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required decentralized finance protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered