PancakeSwap, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on BNB Chain, has officially announced the implementation of CAKE Tokenomics 3.0. This marks a major shift toward a more sustainable and deflationary ecosystem.
According to the announcement, PancakeSwap will begin rolling out the new tokenomics model on April 23, 2025. The main goals are to curb CAKE inflation, optimize system efficiency, and deliver long-term value to the community. However, the CAKE 3.0 proposal has sparked considerable debate.
What Are the Key Changes in CAKE Tokenomics 3.0?
PancakeSwap has set three primary goals for Tokenomics 3.0: achieve an annual deflation rate of 4%, eliminate complex mechanisms such as veCAKE, and reduce CAKE emissions to improve sustainability.
Retirement of CAKE Staking, veCAKE, Gauges Voting, Revenue Sharing, and Farm Boosting: PancakeSwap will discontinue CAKE staking and the veCAKE mechanism, which required users to lock tokens in exchange for voting rights or benefits. All locked CAKE and veCAKE will be unlocked.
Burn Mechanism to Reduce Circulating Supply: PancakeSwap will burn tokens to reduce supply instead of sharing trading fees with users. The team expects to burn approximately 5.3 million CAKE annually, supporting the deflation target.
Phased Reduction in CAKE Emissions: Daily CAKE emissions will be reduced from 29,000 to 20,000, and later to 14,500 tokens.
Users will have six months from April 23, 2025, to withdraw their previously locked CAKE.
The Debate Around CAKE 3.0
Several developers and community members believe CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 will benefit the project in the long term.
“At its core, CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 defends true value and protects CAKE holders by strengthening long-term fundamentals—such as aggressively cutting emissions to accelerate deflation and sustainably grow value,” Chef Philip said.
However, not everyone agrees. Cakepie DAO—one of the largest veCAKE holders—voiced strong concerns on X. They criticized the decision to eliminate veCAKE, calling it non-transparent and potentially damaging to projects built around that model.
This reveals a divide in the community over how PancakeSwap is balancing deflation and stakeholder interests.
“Sunsetting veCAKE would be devastating for Cakepie and for every project built on long-term alignment with PancakeSwap. Our entire ecosystem is structured around veCAKE, with millions of CAKE locked for four years as a clear show of commitment. Removing veCAKE would erase that commitment overnight and undermine the trust and efforts of all builders who believed in PancakeSwap’s vision,” Cakepie stated.
In response, PancakeSwap proposed a $1.5 million compensation package in CAKE tokens. They offered this to CKP (Cakepie’s token) holders if Cakepie agreed to allow a 1:1 swap from mCAKE (Cakepie’s CAKE derivative) to CAKE.
However, Cakepie is currently voting on whether to accept the offer.
At the time of reporting, CAKE is trading around $1.97, up 17% since April 8, when PancakeSwap first proposed Tokenomics 3.0.
Additionally, data from DeFiLlama shows that PancakeSwap’s 24-hour trading volume has surpassed $1 billion, overtaking Uniswap.
Meanwhile, a report from BeInCrypto reveals that PancakeSwap controls over 90% of the DEX market share on BNB Chain. This highlights the strong relationship between BNB Chain and PancakeSwap.
Since the Pi Network mainnet launched on February 20, it has made headlines for its ambitious goals. Yet, it has also faced substantial criticism. The underwhelming price performance and lack of DApps, among other issues, have raised questions about Pi Network’s ability to meet the expectations of its reported 60 million users, referred to as Pioneers.
Below are five key areas of underperformance that emerged as focal points for observers in early 2025.
1. Pi Network’s Lack of Binance Listing
Pi Network’s community has been vocal in its push for a listing on major exchanges like Binance. In fact, 86% of participants voted to list Pi Coin (PI) in a February community vote.
Despite this show of support, Binance has not listed PI. On May 15, the exchange posted its logo on X (formerly Twitter) featuring several mathematical symbols, including π. The post sparked speculation among Pioneers, but no official listing announcement followed.
The absence of a listing has led to renewed scrutiny over Pi Network’s credibility. Notably, Binance applies a rigorous evaluation process before listing any asset.
The exchange considers user adoption, business model viability, relevance, tokenomics, technical security, team background, and compliance with regulatory standards. The decision not to list Pi Coin may indicate that the project has yet to meet one or more of these critical benchmarks.
“I now better understand why Pi is not listed on major exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. It is likely that the Pi Core Team has not been transparent enough about the locking and burning mechanism involving the billions of Pi coins currently owned by the PCT,” Pioneer Dr. Altcoin posted on March 22.
Coinbase, another top exchange, has also refrained from listing Pi. This has further fueled disappointment among Pioneers about the token’s potential for mainstream adoption. Nonetheless, Pi Coin remains available for trading on HTX, Bitget, MEXC, and OKX.
2. Pi Coin Price Fails to Meet Expectations
Pioneers have been actively mining Pi Coin for around six years, anticipating major gains. Yet, its price was a major letdown for many. At launch, Pi Coin was listed on OKX with a floor price of just $2. This was way below its IOU trading value.
The underwhelming debut worsened as PI dipped below the $1 mark shortly after listing. Although the token rebounded to an all-time high of $3 in late February, the rally was short-lived. PI soon resumed its downtrend, falling below $1 again by late March.
Last week, the level was briefly reclaimed as support. Yet once more, PI failed to hold above it. These declines came despite some bullish catalysts.
The launch of the Pi Ventures Fund was followed by a sharp price drop rather than a recovery. Additionally, Pi Network founder Nicolas Kokkalis made a rare public appearance at Consensus 2025 on May 16.
Many hoped it would restore investor confidence. Instead, the token plunged. BeInCrypto data showed that PI dipped 42.6% over the past week. At press time, Pi Coin’s price was $0.7, down 3.1% over the past day.
While the official announcement outlines a funding pool of up to $100 million, Pi Network Foundation retains full discretion over the deployment of these funds.
“The Pi Foundation is not obligated to invest the entire $100 million, based on the quality of applicants and number of startups accepted into the initiative,” the blog read.
The initiative also allows for phased investments over time. Additionally, the Foundation can discontinue funding at any stage. This condition has not been well received by some in the community, who expected more immediate and guaranteed support for ecosystem development.
“The $100M promise investment will discontinue from time to time if they don’t see any investors coming or having no impact at all LOL,” a user wrote.
4. Pi Network’s Missing Decentralized Apps (dApps)
The concerns extend beyond the fund’s stability. Dr. Altcoin alleged that the team is using the fund to build DApps that should have already been completed.
He explained that one of Pi Network’s mainnet launch conditions was deploying 100 live dApps. As of May 2025, this promise remains unfulfilled, with most dApps still missing from the ecosystem.
“After 6 years of waiting, why isnt anyone asking the real question: Where are the 100 Dapps we were promised?” the analyst stated.
The shortfall has left many in the community questioning the network’s readiness and ability to support a functional ecosystem.
5. Pi Network’s Roadmap Issues
Another major concern is the lack of transparency. Pi Network unveiled a three-phase roadmap for its mainnet migration in April 2025, but the absence of specific timelines has frustrated users.
A report from BeInCrypto highlighted the community’s backlash, emphasizing that the roadmap did not include estimated dates or an audit process to address discrepancies in historical mining data. This has further deepened distrust in the project’s leadership.
That’s not all. Other issues, such as delays in KYC and challenges in migrating tokens to the Pi Network mainnet, have also been prevalent.
Thus, Pi Network’s first three months post-launch have been marked by unmet expectations and growing disillusionment among its Pioneers. As the network navigates these setbacks, its ability to deliver on its ambitious vision will be critical to restoring confidence in the months ahead.
Since US President Donald Trump assumed office, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped, settled, or paused lawsuits against prominent crypto entities left and right. In stark contrast to the previous administration’s leadership under Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC seems to be parting from its previous crackdown on digital assets.
In an interview with BeInCrypto, Nick Puckrin, Founder of The Coin Bureau, and Hank Huang, Chief Executive Officer at Kronos Research, highlighted the substantial election influence the crypto industry had over Trump’s candidacy as a contributing factor to the SEC’s looser stance on crypto.
The SEC’s Approach Under Trump
The SEC has experienced a clear shift in its approach to crypto lawsuits under Trump’s presidency. Its move away from the aggressive enforcement tactics of its previous leadership has largely characterized this shift.
“When President Donald Trump won the US election, the crypto industry rejoiced. Finally, the ‘regulation by enforcement’ era, which the SEC under the leadership of Gary Gensler was so famous for, was about to come to an end. And the new administration didn’t disappoint. Within just a couple of weeks of Trump’s inauguration, the revamped SEC started dropping lawsuits against crypto firms left, right and center,” Puckrin said.
Two weeks ago, the SEC officially dropped its appeal and XRP lawsuit against Ripple Labs, ending a five-year legal battle. The Commission had originally accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion through XRP sales.
“After more than four years in limbo, the SEC has officially decided that XRP is not a security (though what it is instead remains to be seen). This case has been weighing heavily on XRP – the fourth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of roughly $130 billion– so its resolution is a major win,” Puckrin added.
The wider crypto community celebrated the outcome, with many arguing that it will set a precedent for how digital assets are classified in the US. This prediction is warranted, given that the SEC has been on a lawsuit-dropping spree.
The SEC has also dropped several ongoing investigations against OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, Kraken, and Gemini. It has also asked a federal court to issue a 60-day pause over its litigation against Binance. Meanwhile, the Commission settled its investigation into ConsenSys over its Ethereum software products.
These lawsuits surfaced in parallel to a series of crypto-friendly measures meant to foster greater innovation and curb potential regulatory suffocation that had existed during the Biden era.
Will New Leadership Define Clear Crypto Regulations?
A day after Trump assumed office, SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced the creation of a dedicated crypto task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The task force was reportedly designed to resolve long-standing ambiguities in the regulatory treatment of digital assets.
In all SEC crypto lawsuits, Commissioner Uyeda has implemented a strategy prioritizing industry engagement to develop regulatory frameworks that balance innovation and investor protection.
Meanwhile, Trump strategically nominated Paul Atkins, a crypto-curious, regulation-light candidate, to replace Gensler as head of the SEC. Just this week, the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Atkins’ nomination to the full Senate.
Now, only a stone’s throw away from becoming SEC Chair, Atkins is expected to loosen regulatory oversight on crypto.
“With the establishment of a new Task Force and key appointees like Paul Atkins fostering innovation, Trump’s strategic move to create a Bitcoin reserve within the government further underscores his commitment to supporting the industry. The future of crypto regulations will be focused on less oversight and the beginning of a delicate but promising thaw in the regulatory landscape,” Huang added.
Though some say Trump’s handling of crypto affairs has resulted in a never-before-seen triumph, others are weary that his increasing involvement in the industry has turned out to be a recipe for disaster.
The Impact of Crypto Donations on Regulations
Several industry leaders went to great lengths to ensure that Trump became America’s 47th president. Millions of dollars in donations from crypto firms throughout Trump’s campaign illustrated these efforts.
According to a Public Citizen report, over $119 million from crypto corporations went into influencing the 2024 federal elections, largely through Fairshake, a non-partisan super PAC backing pro-crypto candidates and opposing skeptics.
Crypto corporations donated over $119 million to the 2024 federal elections. Source: Public Citizen
Coinbase and Ripple, among others who stand to profit, directly provided over half of Fairshake’s funding. The remaining funds mostly came from billionaire crypto executives and venture capitalists. Notable contributions included $44 million from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
So far, big crypto’s spending strategy is paying off with a more favorable environment.
Without a clear framework to guide the crypto industry following these dropped lawsuits, this lax approach risks being short-lived. Ultimately, this could tarnish long-term crypto adoption.
“Somehow, all these victories feel somewhat hollow after the reputation of the crypto industry has been tarnished by the billions of dollars in combined losses from meme coin scams. Meanwhile, Hayden Davis, the mastermind behind LIBRA, continues to launch fraudulent meme tokens, despite being on the Interpol wanted list,” he said.
A 2024 report by Web3 intelligence platform Merkle Science revealed that meme coin rug pulls cost investors over $500 million. The February LIBRA incident showed how this trend was carried over to 2025. Nansen data revealed that 86% of investors lost $251 million, while insiders pocketed $180 million in profits.
Though crypto scammers may be charged with related crimes like wire fraud or money laundering, rug pulling is legal. Better said, it’s unaccounted for. No regulation holds crypto insiders responsible for meme coin scams.
“As crypto becomes an ever more mainstream asset class, consumers need to be protected against those who choose to use it for nefarious purposes. One way to do this is through education, and that’s our job as an industry. But deterring scams and extractive behavior is the job of the regulators. And it’s time they stepped up to the task,” Puckrin told BeInCrypto.
If the SEC doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity to curb the consequences that meme coin scams can produce, it will result in an enormous setback for the industry.
Comprehensive Regulation Beyond Dropped Lawsuits
Puckrin illustrated the need for heightened regulatory clarity in crypto by drawing attention to the way the SEC penalizes insider trading in the context of traditional investing.
“In traditional investing, insider trading is a serious crime. In the US, it’s punishable by fines of up to $5 million for individuals and prison sentences up to 20 years. Similarly, federal penalties for engaging with illegal gambling activities include up to five years in prison. Perpetrators of memecoin scams must be punished with the same level of severity, because the result is the same: manipulating markets and cheating unsuspecting investors out of their savings,” he said.
Puckrin clarified, however, that the issue isn’t solely about penalizing fraudsters. Just as the SEC’s past overregulation hindered the industry, the current lack of meme coin rules creates an environment where new scams and exploitative schemes can easily flourish.
“Yes, the removal of lawsuits is great news for blockchain innovation, but something needs to replace it. Indeed, serious cryptocurrency firms have never advocated for an unregulated Wild West. What they want is clarity and rules that are fit for the nascent blockchain industry – not just a copy-and-paste of existing financial regulations that simply don’t work for crypto,” he said.
Although the Trump administration has only been in place for four months, the clock is ticking, and meaningful change takes time.
Unanswered Questions Loom
Puckrin expressed concern over the current administration’s prioritization of lawsuit dismissals instead of working faster to implement transcendental crypto regulation.
“My concern is that regulators will keep kicking the can down the road with crypto regulation, having gained the approval of the industry for dropping the many lawsuits that were stifling its growth. And this is incredibly dangerous,” he told BeInCrypto.
Meanwhile, critical questions that only the SEC can define remain unanswered.
“What are memecoins and who will ensure another LIBRA fiasco doesn’t happen? Are utility altcoins now commodities and if so, will the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate them? And, importantly, what do we do about compensating investors who have lost billions to crypto fraud?” Puckrin concluded.
The SEC’s current direction promises a regulated renaissance or a breeding ground for future crises.
With billions lost and critical questions unanswered, the future of crypto hinges on whether the regulatory body will translate its recent shift into a lasting framework that fosters innovation without sacrificing investor protection.
With several impressive milestones, the TRON network continues to assert its dominance in the stablecoin payment sector. Recently, the amount of USDT (Tether) circulating on TRON reached a new all-time high.
Meanwhile, the number of long-term holders on TRON has exceeded 2.66 million addresses. This reflects retail investors’ strong confidence and long-term commitment to this layer-1 blockchain.
Can USDT Supply on TRON Surpass Ethereum?
Data from CryptoQuant shows that the USDT supply of TRON has grown steadily over recent years. Currently, the market cap of USDT on TRON has hit a record high, with over $71 billion USDT in circulation.
Meanwhile, Ethereum hosts $74.5 billion USDT in circulation. TRON is narrowing the gap with ETH in terms of traders’ USDT usage.
USDT Total Supply on TRON and Ethereum. Source: CryptoQuant
“This milestone cements TRON’s position as one of the major blockchains in the DeFi space, and it may even surpass the adoption of some major chain competitors in the future,” Analyst Darkfost commented.
For context, the total stablecoin market capitalization is $242 billion, and Tether (USDT) alone accounts for $149 billion. That means TRON facilitates smooth transactions for 29% of the stablecoin market cap and 47% of USDT’s market cap.
Additionally, data from Artemis shows that TRON accounts for 28% of all active stablecoin wallet addresses, more than any other blockchain tracked. This makes TRON the top chain in terms of fee revenue.
Stablecoin Active Address by Chain. Source: Artemis
A recent report from BeInCrypto reveals that experts predict stablecoins will attract strong VC interest in the future. The number of issuers could grow tenfold. New issuers may choose TRON, which would benefit a blockchain capable of handling $150 billion in weekly stablecoin transaction volume.
Tron (TRX) Backed by Loyal Long-Term Holders
CryptoQuant also reports that 2.66 million TRX addresses have held their tokens for over one year without spending them. These wallets maintain balances of at least 10 TRX. While 10 TRX is worth only a few dollars, many retail investors choose to hold TRON long-term, even with small amounts of capital.
Analyst Crazzyblockk believes this metric indicates strong user loyalty and sustained engagement, which can support TRX’s price in the long run.
Tron Long-term Holders (> 1 Year Holders). Source: CryptoQuant.
“Increased long-term holding is often linked to higher confidence in the underlying network and potential for liquidity resilience,” Crazzyblockk said.
However, some investors argue that TRON’s vitality relies too heavily on USDT transactions. Data from Dune shows over 3 million TRON wallets are active daily, but most only transact USDT. Therefore, any strategic changes in the TRON–Tether relationship could significantly impact the network and the price of TRX.
This dependency highlights TRON’s weak utility outside the USDT space. For example, TRON lags far behind Solana in meme coin deployment and is significantly behind other chains in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume. Moreover, TRON appears nearly absent from the real-world asset (RWA) market share.
Tron (TRX) Price Performance Chart. Source: BeInCrypto.
At the time of writing, TRX is trading around $0.25, showing little movement after falling from a high of $0.45 late last year.