Dogecoin holders have been withdrawing their funds from spot markets in April, with the leading meme coin facing mounting selling pressure.
The lack of new capital flowing into DOGE reflects a decline in investor confidence and adds downward pressure on the altcoin.
Sell-Off Worsens for DOGE as Outflows Outpace Inflows
Since the beginning of April, DOGE has seen a consistent stream of net outflows from its spot market, totaling over $120 million. Net inflows during the same period have been negligible, amounting to less than $5 million per Coinglass.
When an asset records spot outflows, more of its coins or tokens are being sold or withdrawn from the spot market than are being bought or deposited.
This indicates that DOGE investors are losing confidence and opting to liquidate their holdings due to increasingly bearish market conditions.
The persistent outflows from the meme coin over the past two weeks reflect the lack of new demand for the altcoin. If this trend continues, DOGE’s price could remain range-bound or face another decline cycle.
On the technical front, DOGE’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) has continued to trend downward on the daily chart, further confirming the bearish outlook.
At press time, this key momentum indicator, which measures an asset’s oversold and overbought market conditions, is below the 50-neutral line at 47.61.
DOGE RSI. Source: TradingView
When an asset’s RSI falls below the center line, bearish momentum strengthens. This suggests that DOGE selling pressure is beginning to outweigh buying interest, signaling a potential dip in the asset’s price.
DOGE Risks Retesting Yearly Lows
With the crypto market’s volatility heightened by Donald Trump’s ongoing trade wars and DOGE’s current struggles to attract fresh investment, the meme coin may test new lows in the near term. If selling pressure strengthens, DOGE could revisit its year-to-date low of $0.12.
DOGE Price Analysis. Source: TradingView
Conversely, a resurgence in new demand for the meme coin will invalidate this bearish outlook. In that scenario, DOGE’s price could break above $0.17 and climb to $0.20.
There has been a sharp decline in daily active addresses across Smart Contract Platforms (SCPs) in recent months, raising concerns among investors and developers.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade could be the turning point, with crypto analyst Jamie Coutts calling the current state a cleansing of the ecosystem.
SCPs See Sharp Decline in Active Users
Jamie Coutts, who built Bloomberg Intelligence’s crypto research product, says this is the worst decline ever recorded in the history of SCPs.
He also notes that it is far worse than the 2022-2023 bear market, with daily active addresses dropping 40.5% in just five months.
“This is the largest usage collapse in SCP history,” wrote Coutts.
Coutts’ analysis provides a deeper look at the broader crypto ecosystem, which is simultaneously witnessing an uptick in global liquidity and an all-time high in stablecoin market cap.
While the sector seems to be experiencing a shakeout, Coutts says this decline does not indicate the death of smart contract platforms. Rather, it is a necessary cleansing of the ecosystem.
The analyst attributes the drop in daily active addresses to several key factors, including the rise of artificial activity.
“Much of the past cycle’s growth was artificial: Usage inflated by bots and Sybil farms, Incentive programs created temporary traction without stickiness. The unwind reflects a cleansing of fake activity, not the death of the sector,” Coutts explains.
The rise of bots and Sybil attacks, where bad actors create multiple fake identities to manipulate a platform’s usage metrics, has artificially inflated the activity numbers across various smart contract platforms.
Now, as these fake users are being weeded out, the real growth potential of SCPs is becoming clearer.
Moreover, this trend suggests that SCPs with weak application ecosystems or limited use cases will face significant valuation compression. This is especially true without stablecoin integration or real-world asset (RWA) applications.
Coutts notes that many SCP tokens risk valuation compression if their platforms do not offer high throughput, low-cost, and real settlement capabilities.
The market will likely reward mature platforms capable of supporting real economic activity. These include stablecoin transactions, payments, and AI-native applications.
“…going forward, value will concentrate in platforms that enable high-throughput, low-cost, real settlement and agentic automation,” he added.
Ethereum Staking Surge Post-Pectra
Interestingly, these predictions align with the recent Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7, 2025.
The Pectra upgrade introduces key features that could help Ethereum, the largest smart contract platform, stay ahead in this playing field. Specifically, the upgrade improves Ethereum’s staking model and validator operations.
CryptoQuant recently indicated a notable spike in ETH staking around the Pectra Upgrade news. Specifically, before the Pectra upgrade news, ETH staking saw a net outflow of around 1.02 million ETH, reflecting uncertainty.
However, after the news, staking rebounded with a 627,000 ETH inflow, signaling renewed market confidence in the Ethereum staking ecosystem.
“Before Pectra News (Nov 16 – Feb 15): ETH staking dropped from ≈34.88M to 33.86M ETH, a net outflow of ~1.02M ETH. This period reflects market uncertainty and mild unwinding of staking positions ahead of the upgrade. After Pectra News (Feb 16 – May 16): Total ETH staked rose from 33.78M to 34.41M ETH — a net inflow of ~627K ETH. Indicates renewed confidence in the staking process following the upgrade,” wrote CryptoQuant analyst Kripto Mevsimi.
ETH Staking before and after Pectra Upgrade news. Source: CryptoQuant
In the same tone, Bohdan Opryshko, co-founder and COO at Everstake, told BeInCrypto that the Pectra upgrade may be Ethereum’s most institution-friendly update. He says the upgrade is the clearest signal that Ethereum is ready for conservative capital.
“For the first time, institutions can stake at scale with operational clarity and reduced complexity. It’s a green light for conservative capital to get involved in native Ethereum staking,” Opryshko told BeInCrypto.
Further, Pectra’s introduction of smart accounts allows Ethereum wallets to execute smart contract logic. This could drive stablecoin integration.
At the same time, it could enhance scalability. This would make Ethereum better suited to handle real economic activities such as payments and financial transactions.
Nevertheless, Coutts highlighted a divergence between price action and network activity, a common phenomenon in the crypto space. While markets stabilize, activity on many SCPs remains stagnant.
Coutts notes that this divergence will not last. More sophisticated capital will increasingly flow toward platforms that anchor real economic behavior, especially via stablecoin flows and payments.
“Markets may be stabilizing, but activity is not,” More sophisticated capital will increasingly rotate toward chains that anchor real economic behavior, especially via stablecoin flows, payments, and AI-native applications,” Coutts says.
Finally, Coutts predicts that a liquidity-driven rally will return, fueled by the significant liquidity expected to enter the system in the coming months.
However, he cautions that the value will likely accrue to a subset of SCPs that can deliver tangible value through real-world applications and stablecoin integration. This sentiment aligns with the structural upgrades brought by Ethereum’s Pectra fork.
Base, a Layer-2 (L2) blockchain developed by Coinbase, transitioned from a Stage 0 to Stage 1 rollup, effectively overtaking Arbitrum (ARB) as the largest Ethereum scaling solution.
Stages refer to a framework for assessing the maturity of L2 rollups, based on milestones proposed by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Base Becomes Largest Ethereum L2, Arbitrum Follows
Data on L2Beat shows Arbitrum One is no longer the largest optimistic rollup on Ethereum. L2Beat is an analytics and research website focused on Ethereum layer-2 scaling.
After a $557 million surge in TVL (Total Value Locked), Base has overtaken Arbitrum L2, with a margin of more than $710 million in total value secured (TVS).
Alongside overtaking Arbitrum One, Base has also matured from Stage 0, where the rollup is fully controlled by its operators (full training wheels).
It is now a Stage 1 rollup, featuring smart contract governance. However, because a security council remains in place to handle potential bugs, this stage features “limited training wheels.”
“Proud that Base is now stage 1 — and #1 by TVS but it’s still day one. Time to bring the world on-chain,” wrote Base creator Jesse Pollak.
“Welcome to the full-EVM stage 1 gang Base,” Buterin remarked.
The Ethereum executive said he would only recognize L2 networks that reach stage 1+ maturity. Buterin referred to his threshold for measuring different stages of L2s based on a decentralization scale.
“Stage 1 (75% threshold on the council to override the proof system, 26%+ of the council must be outside the rollup team) is a very reasonable moderate milestone. The multisigs I am in have not had a single liveness failure in years, let alone 26%. The era of rollups being glorified multisigs is ending. The era of cryptographic trust is upon us,” Buterin explained.
This ultimatum aligned with Buterin’s vision of advancing cryptographic trust. Recently, Buterin proposed a plan to scale Ethereum’s L1 and L2 protocols in 2025.
While this is the first time Base has overtaken Arbitrum, it is not the first time it has challenged its market position. In hindsight, Base TVL surpassed $2 billion in September after 400% growth, which saw it close in on Arbitrum’s $2.6 billion TVL.
Aerodrome remains the leading protocol on Base L2. It boasts up to $830 million in TVL, up 5% in the last week. Other leading protocols on Base include Morpho, Aave, and Uniswap.
As Base takes the lead, it is impossible to forget Arbitrum’s Achilles’ Heel. The network is still digging out of an 80% crash. Key interventions to recover include token buybacks and the recently rejected Nvidia accelerator program bid.
Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Europe’s flagship blockchain and Web3 event, wrapped up its sixth edition at the iconic Carrousel du Louvre, once again raising the bar for global industry gatherings. With over 9,600 attendees from 95 countries, including 67% C-suite executives, this year’s event underscored the growing influence of blockchain across the broader tech and financial sectors.
More than 500 speakers took the stage, including major names like Charles Hoskinson (IOHK), Monica Long (Ripple), Adam Back (Blockstream), and Clara Chappaz (France’s Minister Delegate for AI & Digital Affairs), reflecting the event’s global reach.
Spotlight: PSG × Matchain Side Event – A Landmark Moment in Sports & Web3
One of the standout moments of the week took place outside the main conference venue at the iconic Parc des Princes, where Paris Saint-Germain and Matchain hosted a special side event announcing the launch of their Joint Innovation Studio.
BeInCrypto joined as the official media partner for this exclusive gathering, which brought together sports executives, blockchain leaders, and technologists to explore the future of decentralized identity, fan engagement, and Web3 innovation in sports.
Petrix Barbosa, CEO of Matchain, announced the initiative and celebrated Matchain’s award for Innovation of the Year, spotlighting their pioneering work in tokenized identity solutions.
Pär Helgosson, Head of PSG Labs, emphasized PSG’s continued push to integrate Web3 technologies into fan experiences and digital strategy.
The atmosphere at the stadium matched the ambition of the project, merging cutting-edge blockchain use cases with the passion and scale of global sports. As media partner, BeInCrypto provided exclusive coverage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights from this milestone event.
Exclusive Interviews with Web3 Leaders at Paris Blockchain Week
Throughout the week, the BeInCrypto team conducted high-level interviews with thought leaders and executives shaping the future of blockchain:
Aimann Faizz, Head of Business Development at CoinGecko
Andrey Fedorov, Chief Marketing Officer and acting Chief Business Development Officer at STON.fi
Pierre Samaties, CEO of Dfinity Foundation
Alexis Yellow, Founder and Executive Chairman, Yellow
Robby Yung, CEO, Animoca Brands
Javier Rodriguez-Alarcon, COO, XBTO
David Prinçay, director, Binance France
Their insights touched on everything from decentralized finance and tokenized data to semantic identity and sports monetization via blockchain.
Industry Themes and Investor Highlights
A recurring message across the conference was the resilience of blockchain technologies amid economic uncertainty and regulatory transformation. Speakers like Charles Hoskinson and Monica Long emphasized blockchain’s foundational role in shaping future financial systems.
Regulatory spats between the USA and EU have sparked lively debates, with many nodding in agreement that MICA stands as a cornerstone for clearing up the crypto circus on one side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the tokenization of real-world assets has become the hot new trend on the block. Following the ETF bandwagon, it appears even the old-school financial giants are seeing tokenization as their golden ticket into the crypto world.
Meme coins, those oddballs of the crypto market, continue to hold their ground as a quirky yet surprisingly significant sector, even though the recent market dip has widened the rift between the staunchly “serious” Bitcoin advocates and the more colorful meme coin enthusiasts.
Beyond the buzz of tokenization, utility coins are tiptoeing back into the spotlight, though hitting a critical mass of users is proving to be a bit like herding cats – a major roadblock on their path to stardom.
As for the tech vanguards, security and scalability remain their pet peeves, with fresh solutions popping up left and right. The ongoing tug-of-war between achieving robust decentralization and actually making these solutions user-friendly continues to fuel fiery debates among the most tech-obsessed attendees at the event.
On the investor side, the “Start in Block” pitch competition attracted 1,000+ startups and 400+ investors, with €10 million in funding up for grabs. Meanwhile, side events like AgentX, Bitcoin Investors Day, and an exclusive VIP dinner under the Louvre Pyramid kept the conversations and deal-making going beyond the conference floor.
Global Coverage & Media Reach
With more than 400 journalists attending from top global outlets, media coverage of PBW 2025 reached unprecedented levels, reinforcing its role as a platform where narratives around innovation and regulation are actively shaped.
About Paris Blockchain Week
Held annually in Paris, PBW is one of the largest and most respected events in the blockchain calendar. The 2025 edition took place April 8–10 at Carrousel du Louvre, hosting over 400 speakers and creating more than 36,000 in-app meetings, making it a global epicenter for Web3 dialogue and partnerships.
