In a sad occurrence, Eugene Shen, co-founder of the RWA project Plume, reportedly passed away this week. However, this announcement prompted a major PLUME token dump, splitting the community with acrimonious accusations.
Some skeptics wondered if Plume was a scam or if this death announcement was some sort of hoax. Others deplored these accusations and token dumps, professing support for the company. Regardless, it has been a bizarre market reaction to an unfortunate, tragic event.
The firm announced the death of Plume co-founder Eugene Shen, presumably establishing a reason for this price action:
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of a tragic loss within our company. Earlier this week, we lost our cofounder and dear friend, Eugene. We’re in shock. Eugene was brilliant, deeply curious, and brought so much talent and heart to everything he did. Our thoughts are…
— Plume – RWAfi Chain (@plumenetwork) May 29, 2025
Plume’s announcement didn’t specify a date or cause of Shen’s death, only that it took place last week. Still, this immediately clarified the PLUME token dump for some users, many of whom strongly condemned investors’ behavior.
Although PLUME had already been falling for several days, it experienced an additional 7.4% crash and a 145% increase in trading volume today. Presumably, Shen’s death caused today’s price actions.
PLUME Trading Volume and Price Performance. Source: CoinMarketCap
However, alternate narratives also began circulating, even if they remained a minority position. Why did the price drop begin days ago?
It appears that several token holders are calling PLUME a scam token and the co-founder’s death a hoax. Yet, these claims have no evidence and show a rather unsettling display of public empathy.
Sad story:
Bought $Plume 5 months ago at $0.13 with a 2B circulating supply Didn’t sell at x2 ATH
Now it’s dipping hard after a 433M token unlock and the death of a team member—right before mainnet launch
Even if this was not a popular position, this jarring cynicism still shocked the crypto community. Sure, crypto scams are rampant right now, but would PLUME really fake someone’s death to dump tokens?
Defenders immediately began noting all Plume’s major investors, claiming that the company has a clear history and market presence.
This bizarre incident only highlights a rather hidden ugliness in the crypto community. Perhaps MANTRA’s fall damaged investor confidence for the entire RWA market, or maybe users are just growing tired of scams.
It’s bad enough that PLUME users dumped their tokens after a team member’s death, but it’s far more concerning that some people think it’s all a scam.
In the midst of this altcoin winter, corporate crypto firms like Coinbase, Circle, and Robinhood are outperforming all the leading tokens. Even Bitcoin is performing worse than companies that routinely purchase it.
A few factors, like supply and demand, improving macro sentiment after today’s US-China trade deal, and institutional preference for BTC, are powering this trend.
Meanwhile, corporate crypto firms like Coinbase are reaching an all-time high, and some analysts wonder if this market is replacing altcoins altogether:
Crypto equities are looking like better investments than alt tokens this cycle.@circle, @coinbase and @RobinhoodApp have crushed $BTC, $ETH and $SOL over the past month.
This is happening because TradFi has a much better set-up:
This notion might seem discouraging, but convincing pieces of evidence from many industry sectors support the claim. There are only a few corporate crypto stocks to invest in, paired up against countless altcoins.
Further, institutional investors have much more capitalization and liquidity than retailers. These supply and demand issues funnel capital into a few stocks.
And today, Trump announced a trade deal with China, potentially ending the highly feared tariff war. As a result, Wall Street has been rallying, and US crypto stocks are a part of it.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 26, 2025
In other words, a handful of “crypto stocks” are essentially running on Bitcoin. A retail investor could now build a diversified portfolio of corporate BTC holders while totally abandoning the altcoin market. That wasn’t possible even a year ago.
Nonetheless, casting this issue in terms of corporate distaste for altcoins is an oversimplification. After all, Bitcoin itself has been extremely volatile lately.
All that is to say, this is a very worrying situation for several reasons. Obviously, this trend completely goes against the very concept of DeFi.
If corporate investors become the crypto industry’s primary market movers, why would anyone use altcoins? How will a decentralized economy function with this much centralization?
Moreover, it doesn’t look sustainable. Coinbase is ravenously investing in Bitcoin while simultaneously outperforming it. If crypto companies keep surpassing the actual industry, empty speculation will become a major engine of future growth.
After the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes and the digital asset summit on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, approximately $2.09 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) options expire today.
The expiration may influence market conditions, with investors monitoring potential shifts.
Over $2 Billion in Options Expiry Today
According to Deribit, $1.826 billion in Bitcoin options expire today. The maximum pain point of these contracts stands at $85,000.
These options include 21,596 contracts, slightly fewer than last week’s 35,176. Despite recent volatility, the put-to-call ratio of 0.83 indicates a general bullish sentiment.
Ethereum has $264.46 million in options expiring, involving 133,447 contracts. This figure is also lower than the previous week’s 223,395 contracts. The maximum pain point for these options is $2,000, and the put-to-call ratio is 0.62.
As the options contracts near expiration at 8:00 UTC today, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are expected to approach their respective maximum pain points. According to BeInCrypto data, BTC traded for $84,414, whereas ETH exchanged hands for $1,977.
This suggests a modest upside for Bitcoin and Ethereum towards the $85,000 and $2,000 strike prices, respectively. This surge is plausible given smart money’s Strategy in options trading, pushing prices toward the “max pain” level. Here, the highest number of contracts, both calls and puts, expire worthless.
“Will we see a volatility squeeze or a slow unwind?” Deribit posed in a post on X (Twitter).
Based on Bitcoin and Ethereum’s put-to-call ratios, both below 1, call options (purchases) have a higher prevalence than put options (sales).
Market Sentiment Ahead of Today’s Options Expiry
Analysts from crypto options trading tool Greeks.live provided insights on the current market sentiment, highlighting a divided trader community. On the one hand, some expect a price drop after the FOMC meeting, as policymakers rejected further interest rate cuts, effectively disappointing the crypto market.
On the other hand, some anticipate a temporary rise before choppy conditions. With this, the analysts note the range between $83,000 and $85,000 as the area of interest, with expected volatility around President Trump-related developments and potential MicroStrategy (now Strategy) purchases.
“Expect chop and drift lower before heading higher again on Monday, despite the current pump not being viewed as sustainable,” Greeks.live analysts observed.
Even as Bitget’s Chen remains optimistic, traders and investors should brace for short-term volatility. Historically, options expirations tend to cause temporary price movements. However, the market usually stabilizes shortly after.
Recently, XRP has seen a strong rise. According to CoinDesk, the trading volume of $3 XRP call options has surged, showing that the market is confident that XRP will break through in the short term. Many technical analysts predict that XRP is expected to hit $3 in the short term, and even have a chance to challenge the $5 to $6.5 range by the end of the year.
What is even more exciting is that Ripple has recently officially obtained a national banking license approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the United States, and has successfully applied for access to the Federal Reserve’s master account. This means that XRP’s compliance path in the United States has become clearer, and mainstream financial institutions will greatly increase their trust in it.Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said:
“We are moving towards a more compliant and transparent banking system, which will greatly enhance the credibility of XRP in global mainstream finance.” Boosted by the news, XRP prices rose by more than 4% on the day, and market sentiment continued to be high.
FINDMINING:The preferred cloud computing platform for global retail investors
At a time when XRP is at an unprecedented height of popularity, the leading cloud mining platform FINDMINING announced a major update on July 9: the official launch of a “zero threshold” free cloud mining service! New users can receive a $15-$100 bonus upon registration, and can start mining with a minimum of $100. It supports flexible switching between multiple currencies such as BTC, DOGE, and XRP, with daily settlement and withdrawals at any time.
Ibrahim Aydin, CEO of FINDMINING, said at the launch:
“FINDMINING is committed to providing the most profitable, secure and transparent cloud computing contracts for global retail and institutional investors. The strong performance of XRP and Bitcoin has attracted a large number of new users, but the high hardware investment and operation and maintenance costs often discourage retail investors. FINDMINING breaks down barriers through the “zero threshold” model, allowing global retail investors to easily share market dividends, and using bank-level custody to ensure the safety of funds throughout the process.”
FINDMINING claims users can receive daily rewards based on selected contracts.
AI computing power scheduling system: intelligently optimizes mining strategies in real time based on market difficulty and currency price fluctuations
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Referral reward mechanism: Invite friends to enjoy up to 4.5% extra rebate, multiple benefits
Transparent and traceable income – all mining income and dividends can be viewed in real time, withdrawn at any time, and viewed on the dashboard at any time
XRP users around the world — mining easily without leaving home
Real user feedback also further verifies the popularity and reputation of FINDMINING: A user from California shared: “The $15 free bonus allowed me to get started at zero cost. I only invested $100 and was able to withdraw stable profits every day. It was much less troublesome than setting up a mining machine myself.” Another new user from Europe said: “I just switched to XRP mining when XRP skyrocketed. Now I can earn passive income every day through FINDMINING. The withdrawal is fast and the customer service is very professional.”
To encourage users to invite friends, FINDMINING also provides generous referral rewards – direct referrals can earn 3% commission, and indirect referrals can enjoy an additional 1.5% commission, further broadening the income channels.
FINDMINING positions itself as a mining platform for XRP-focused users during this growth phase.
As XRP bullish sentiment continues to heat up, the official approval of Ripple’s banking license and the Federal Reserve’s main account has brought a clear compliance and mainstream path to XRP, greatly enhancing market confidence. FINDMINING has taken advantage of the trend and has become the first choice for countless retail investors around the world to mine XRP and easily earn passive income with its “zero threshold” model and transparent operation.
Register for FINDMINING now to receive a $15 new mining reward, use the mobile app to mine anytime, anywhere, and seize the next wealth of XRP!
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All claims are based on statements provided by the company.