Aethir, a leading Decentralized Public Infrastructure Network (DePIN) firm, is making a bold move in the AI and gaming sectors with the launch of its $100 million Aethir Ecosystem Fund. The initiative, backed by the Aethir Foundation, is set to provide crucial financial support to artificial intelligence (AI) and gaming projects, offering developers the resources they need to scale and innovate.
The fund comes with a grant program called Aethir Catalyst, aimed at accelerating the adoption of Aethir’s decentralized compute platform. A total of 336,000,000 ATH tokens will be distributed over the next year, split equally between AI and gaming initiatives. With this massive funding effort, Aethir seeks to empower startups and established enterprises alike to grow without the limitations imposed by compute-intensive tasks.
Aethir Catalyst – $20M Grant Program for AI and Gaming
At the core of Aethir’s new ecosystem fund is the Aethir Catalyst, a $20 million grant program that will form the backbone of Aethir’s mission to democratize access to compute power. The program will support over 100 AI and gaming projects, providing financial aid through grants or subsidies for companies that rely heavily on GPU compute power.
Mark Rydon, Aethir’s co-founder, emphasized the significance of the Catalyst program, stating, “Aethir Catalyst represents a significant commitment to democratizing access to GPU compute for AI and gaming innovators. By allocating $20 million to this fund, we are ensuring that the most promising companies have the resources they need to thrive, reducing the barriers to compute power for all.”
Accelerating Growth for AI and Gaming Industries
The launch of the Aethir Ecosystem Fund comes at a pivotal moment for the AI and gaming industries. Both sectors are rapidly becoming more compute-intensive, with the demand for high-performance infrastructure continuing to grow. Aethir’s decentralized cloud computing platform offers a unique solution, allowing data centers, cloud providers, and crypto mining firms to contribute idle GPU resources to its network.
This innovative approach is positioning Aethir as a crucial infrastructure provider, enabling developers to focus on creativity and innovation without being hampered by the limitations of traditional cloud services. Aethir’s platform, launched on the Ethereum mainnet in June, leverages blockchain-based protocols to decentralize and optimize the operation of physical hardware infrastructure.
Partnerships and Strategic Grants
In addition to the Aethir Catalyst, the ecosystem fund includes two other $10 million grant programs in collaboration with XAI and XPLA, which are designed to further accelerate advancements in AI and gaming. These strategic partnerships reflect Aethir’s ambition to support a broad range of projects, from early-stage startups to large-scale enterprises.
By nurturing these industries, Aethir aims to foster long-term innovation and growth, establishing itself as a key player in both the AI and gaming spaces.
Aethir’s $100 million ecosystem fund underscores its commitment to powering the next generation of AI and gaming technologies. As these industries continue to evolve and expand, Aethir’s decentralized compute platform offers a scalable, cost-effective solution for developers in need of robust infrastructure.
The firm’s grant programs, including the Aethir Catalyst, represent a significant investment in the future of AI and gaming, democratizing access to compute power and supporting the innovators who will shape the future of these sectors.
As geopolitical tensions intensify and investor sentiment deteriorates, bearish pressure has continued spreading across Bitcoin’s spot and derivatives markets.
The uncertainty surrounding global macroeconomic stability has led many market participants to take a risk-off approach, with the coin showing signs of vulnerability as the second quarter draws to a close.
Bitcoin Futures Turn Bearish
With the coin struggling to rally momentum around the $103,000 price mark, Bitcoin futures traders have increasingly positioned against the coin.
According to Coinglass, the coin’s long/short ratio — a key measure of trader sentiment — has tilted heavily toward shorts since June 17, indicating a growing belief that BTC’s recent rally may be losing momentum. At press time, the ratio is 0.95, indicating more traders are betting against the altcoin.
This ratio compares the number of long and short positions in a market. When an asset’s long/short ratio is above 1, there are more long than short positions, indicating that traders are predominantly betting on a price increase.
Conversely, as seen with BTC, a ratio below one indicates that most traders are positioning for a price drop. This reflects heightened bearish sentiment and growing expectations of continued downside movements in the short term.
Moreover, daily chart readings from BTC’s BBTrend indicator reinforce the bearish outlook. As BTC’s price momentum weakens, the green histogram bars on the indicator have steadily fallen in size, signaling a decline in buying pressure and a loss of bullish strength.
The BBTrend is used to gauge the strength and direction of price trends. It appears as histogram bars — green when the trend is bullish and red when bearish.
When the BBTrend turns negative or the green bars shrink, upward momentum is fading, and the asset may be entering a consolidation phase or facing a reversal.
A consistently negative BBTrend suggests that selling pressure is dominating, increasing the likelihood of an extended price correction for BTC.
BTC Slips to Two-Week Low: Will Support at $102,000 Hold?
Yesterday, BTC’s price fell to a 15-day low of $102,345. Although it rebounded and closed at $103,297, bearish pressure remains, with the coin still down 2% over the past 24 hours.
If new demand continues to be limited, BTC’s price could extend its dip toward $101,520. Should the bulls fail to defend this critical support level, the asset could plunge further to $97,658.
Bitcoin Price Analysis. Source: TradingView
On the other hand, if buying pressure strengthens, BTC could rebound and attempt a break above $103,952. A successful move past this level may open the door for a rally toward $106,295.
Hedera (HBAR) has recently seen a shift in momentum after enduring a tough seven-week downtrend. The price of the altcoin dropped from $0.265 to as low as $0.130, signaling a significant decline.
However, there is optimism now, as HBAR seems poised to recover its losses. While this may signal a positive turn for investors, some traders could face significant liquidations.
Hedera Investors Are Gunning For Gains
The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator is showing signs of improvement, recently entering the positive zone above the zero line. This indicates that inflows are significantly outpacing outflows, suggesting a bullish outlook for HBAR.
Investors seem to have regained confidence in the token, entering at lower price levels in anticipation of price gains. The CMF is at its highest since the beginning of 2025, further reinforcing this positive sentiment and signaling that the altcoin’s prospects are improving.
The liquidation map indicates a significant event for short traders. As HBAR price approaches $0.178, shorts are at risk of facing $20 million in liquidations. This resistance level is crucial, and if HBAR breaches it, it could shift traders’ sentiment from bearish to bullish.
The looming liquidations would likely fuel more buying pressure, pushing the price upward. The recent market conditions hint at a potential breakout, which could drive HBAR into new territory, benefiting those who’ve entered the market at a low point.
HBAR is currently trading at $0.171, marking a 3.3% gain today. While this increase may seem modest, the price action is more significant in the context of breaking a seven-week downtrend. This shift is creating optimism among investors, and it suggests that the altcoin is poised for further recovery.
The immediate next resistance lies at $0.177. Given the rising optimism and improving market conditions, there is a strong possibility that HBAR will break through this level. A successful breach could see HBAR pushing towards $0.197 and even reaching $0.200, which would confirm a bullish trend reversal.
However, if HBAR fails to break through $0.177, the altcoin could experience a pullback. This would result in the price falling to $0.154, with further decline potentially bringing HBAR down to $0.143. Any drop below $0.154 would invalidate the bullish outlook and may continue the downtrend.
BeInCrypto sat down with members of the LBank team to analyze the possible resurgence of the meme coin market as a leading crypto narrative and what their fusion with artificial intelligence (AI) can have on their reach.
LBank also discussed the impact of the four-month-old Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation on its operations across Europe. They described a fundamental change in investor confidence in light of greater regulatory clarity and simplified accessibility.
Have Meme Coin Highs Given Way to Devastating Lows?
In recent years, the meme coin market has largely been characterized by overwhelming highs and devastating lows. The first few months of 2025 have further confirmed the volatile nature of these tokens, to the point that a vocal part of the crypto community believes that their recent lows have marked the end of the meme coin lifecycle.
These claims are not unfounded, especially now that the US President has become a meme coin player. When Trump launched his meme coin in mid-January, TRUMP reached a market capitalization of nearly $8.8 billion, a number never before seen by a meme coin launch.
When insider traders capitalized on the surge to sell off their holdings and retain millions of dollars in gains, retail investors bore the brunt of the massive sell-off, suffering hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
“The decline in meme coin market cap since January can be attributed to a combination of market dynamics and sentiment shifts. A key driver was the rapid rise and subsequent crash of the TRUMP token, which drew significant market capital due to its viral appeal but collapsed sharply, eroding investor confidence and triggering a broader risk-off sentiment,” Eric He, Community Angel Officer and Risk Control Adviser at LBank told BeInCrypto.
After similar experiences with the MELANIA token and the LIBRA launch, some of these retail investors realized that meme coins —as unregulated and unpredictable as they are— may not be the best investments.
Is the Meme Coin Frenzy Coming to a Halt?
Given the devastating effects that these episodes have had on the meme coin market, trading has reduced significantly. The crypto community seems to have become saturated with news of pump-and-dump schemes and rug pulls, likely contributing to a halt in the meme coin frenzy.
The total meme coin market capitalization has been free-falling since January’s peak following the presidential token launches. Now, its levels resemble those of September 2024. The greater economic downturn that traditional and crypto markets experienced over the past several weeks has only worsened prospects.
Yet, despite this downward pressure, the market still experiences a high level of activity. It has a $14.5 billion trading volume and a $57 billion market capitalization.
Total meme coin market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko.
According to the LBank team, the meme coin industry is due for a revival.
LBank’s Belief in the Revival of the Meme Coin Market
Though the decline in meme coin performance has been significant, the LBank team expressed that these circumstances are far from unexpected. Meme coins are inherently tied to community support and social momentum.
The sustained trading volumes and large market capitalization serve as tangible indicators that, even in a downturn, the market is seeing active community engagement and liquidity. Investors still see value in the tokens’ cultural and speculative appeal.
“We see it as a healthy market correction rather than a fundamental shift. Meme coins have always been volatile, but the fact that trading volumes remain high shows continued interest. What’s happening now is not the end of the trend—it’s just a recalibration before the next wave,” Mario Iemma, Head of Spanish Markets at LBank, told BeInCrypto.
In fact, Iemma believes that meme coins will not be dying out anytime soon.
AI agents represented the first significant shift in the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry. These autonomous systems proved that they could make decisions and perform tasks independently. This technology enhances intelligence, adaptability, and fairness in financial mechanisms.
Now, developers have unlocked artificial intelligence’s potential on tokens. Systems like Grok have already made news by using AI to automatically and independently design and launch tokens.
However, with a nascent technology like AI, the LBank team emphasized the need for responsible and thorough deployment for the long-lasting success of AI-generated tokens. This success hinges on two particular factors: accessibility and security.
Security and Accessibility Challenges for AI-Generated Tokens
The concept of security is frequently associated with any emerging technology. Artificial intelligence is no exception, especially in a particularly unregulated industry like crypto.
According to He, AI-generated token projects’ degree of security and transparency will determine their success.
Iemma agreed, adding that if AI-generative tokens become widely accessible, this development will also require additional layers of oversight.
“That same accessibility demands better filters, vetting, and AI-based security audits—areas where exchanges like LBank are already investing resources,” he said.
While reflecting on the security risks associated with artificial intelligence and the breaches in consumer trust that meme coins have had on the crypto community, the LBank team also emphasized the need for greater regulation in the industry.
The development of cryptocurrency regulations varies significantly across the globe. Notably, the European Union implemented comprehensive rules almost five months ago, while key markets such as the United States are still establishing adequate frameworks.
MiCA’s Effect on the European Crypto Market
Last December, with the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the European Union became the first jurisdiction to establish a comprehensive and unified regulatory framework for crypto-assets across all its member states, marking a significant milestone.
According to the LBank team, MiCA gives users and institutions a trustworthy framework. This development has proven critical for industry growth across the region.
“MiCA has forced firms to become more transparent and compliant, which is a good thing for long-term trust. We’ve seen exchanges accelerate their legal and operational upgrades. For users, it creates a safer, more predictable environment,” Iemma said, adding, “With clearer rules, banks and investment firms are more willing to explore crypto partnerships, custody solutions, and even tokenized assets. Regulation reduces reputational risk, and MiCA is helping bridge that gap.”
However, this experience can be largely attributed to established firms in the industry and investors with access to substantial resources. Other players, however, have struggled to gather the requirements to apply for a MiCA license.
Future Accommodation for Smaller Crypto Businesses
In discussing the impact of MiCA since its enactment last December, He highlighted how different industry players have responded to the landmark regulation. He noted that startups struggle the most to obtain an operational license.
When evaluating the cost-effectiveness of an operational license, He’s conclusions make sense.
MiCA is an expensive regulation. It mandates minimum capital requirements based on the crypto services offered. These requirements range from €50,000 for advisory and order-related services to €125,000 for exchange and trading platforms and up to €150,000 for custody services. Businesses must maintain this capital as a financial safeguard.
Beyond minimum capital requirements, companies must factor in government and legal fees, local presence costs, bank setups, and ongoing operational costs. But for prominent exchanges like LBank, the benefits outweigh the costs.
Future MiCA updates could address the high compliance costs for smaller businesses. Meanwhile, other regions developing their crypto regulations should consider this aspect to avoid creating similar barriers.
