Coinbase’s Base Network Allegedly Fueled a $16 Million Pump and Dump

Crypto inflows last week were modest at $6 million, as negative flows provoked by US economic indicators whitewashed significant gains made by mid-week.

Notwithstanding, the positive flows, though modest, suggest shifting sentiment in the market.

US Retail Sales Trigger $146 Million in Crypto Outflows

The latest CoinShares report indicates that crypto inflows came in at only $6 million last week, amid mixed investor sentiment. While the week started with minor inflows, stronger-than-expected US retail sales figures on Wednesday last week inspired outflows of $146 million.

“Digital asset investment products saw net inflows of US$6 million, with mid-week US retail data triggering US$146 million in outflows,” CoinShares’ head of research James Butterfill stated.

As it happened, US Retail Sales climbed in March on a jump in car purchases. Beyond adjusting for inflation, the value of retail purchases increased the most in over two years.

This economic indicator, which measures year-over-year consumer spending, also showed that households stepped up purchases of motor vehicles and a range of other goods. According to Reuters Business, the objective was to avoid higher prices from Trump tariffs.

“The US Commerce Department said retail sales increased 1.4% last month, up significantly from February’s 0.2% rise, the most in more than two years, as households stepped up purchases to avoid higher prices from President Trump’s tariffs,” read the report.

Against this backdrop, the US continued to see outflows, totaling $71 million last week. This effectively contravened what was seen in other markets, with Europe and Canada, among others, recording positive flows.

Meanwhile, Ethereum led the negative flows, recording nearly $27 million in outflows, followed by Bitcoin, which had $6 million in outflows.

Indeed, the data reflects mixed sentiment, with investors pivoting to altcoins such as XRP, Solana, and Cardano, the colloquial made in USA tokens.

XRP recording nearly $38 million in positive flows is unsurprising. Recent data shows increased network activity, nearing 70% towards the end of last week. As BeInCrypto reported, this was likely ascribed to hype over Coinbase launching XRP futures via its derivatives arm.

“XRP continues to break the mold with inflows of $37.7 million last week, making it the 3rd most successful this year with YTD inflows of $214 million,” Butterfill explained.

Institutions Treat Crypto as More Than Just a Risky Bet

Meanwhile, as Trump tariffs influence consumer spending, Wall Street appears to be stumbling harder than expected.

Nexo Dispatch editor Stella Zlatarev recently told BeInCrypto that Bitcoin’s relative steadiness and that of other blue-chip cryptos are signs that cryptocurrency may be entering a new market maturity phase.

“Bitcoin’s ability to weather macro turbulence without the wild swings of previous years suggests institutional investors are treating it less as a speculative punt and more as a strategic asset,” Zlatarev stated.

Instead, Bitcoin is emerging as a risk-dynamic asset that does not crumble like high-growth stocks but does not attract the same flight-to-safety flows as traditional safe havens.

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Virtual Protocol, a decentralized platform for creating and monetizing AI agents, has seen a sharp uptick in user activity over the past few days. This has fueled a surge in demand for its native token, VIRTUAL.

According to on-chain data, the number of unique wallets holding Virtual Protocol’s AI agent tokens has increased significantly across the Base and Solana networks. This has driven a rally in the VIRTUAL’s price, which has climbed 161% over the past week. 

VIRTUAL Token Rockets to 2-Month High

According to Dune Analytics, the number of unique active wallets holding Virtual Agents’ tokens across the Base and Solana blockchains has jumped by 95% in the past five days.  

 This spike in wallet activity highlights growing user engagement with the platform’s AI agent ecosystem, as more participants join to create, deploy, and interact with decentralized AI services.

Buying pressure on VIRTUAL has intensified as users seek to acquire Virtual Agents and participate more actively in the protocol. Over the past week, the token’s price has climbed by 161%, reflecting the heightened demand.

Today alone, VIRTUAL is up 18%, making it the top gainer across the cryptocurrency market. As of this writing, it trades at a two-month high of $1.46, with technical indicators pointing to further price rallies. 

Readings from VIRTUAL’s Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator, which tracks capital accumulation into an asset, confirm the high demand for the altcoin. At press time, this momentum indicator is above the zero line and in an upward trend at 0.23. 

When an asset’s CMF is above zero, buying pressure exceeds selling activity among market participants. This trend, coupled with VIRTUAL’s rising price, is a significantly bullish signal, hinting at an extended rally where the token could record new multi-month highs. 

Triple-Digit Rally Signals Possible Run to $2.25

VIRTUAL’s triple-digit spike over the past week has pushed its price above the key resistance of $1.44. If demand strengthens and the bulls retain market control, the altcoin could extend its current gains and climb toward $2.25, a high it last reached on January 31. 

However, caution may be warranted in the short term. Technical indicators such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) show that VIRTUAL currently trades in overbought territory. As of this writing, the momentum indicator is 83.92, indicating that the altcoin is significantly overbought and is due for correction.

If profit-taking activity commences, VIRTUAL could lose some gains, fall below $1.44, and target $0.96. 

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