Balkan Startup Village is turning the Split Technology Park into a full-blown playground for founders, builders, and Web3 misfits who are actually here to get things done. Less talk, more coworking. Less hype, more pitch decks.
You’ll find everything from hands-on workshops and panels (think DePIN, AI, infra, gaming, Web3 marketing: you know, the stuff we all keep saying we need to “double down on”) to casual fireside chats, a solid Demo Day, and yes – a couple of airsoft battles and city tours to balance it out.
No ticket fees. No velvet ropes. Just open space to build, learn, and meet people who are actually building cool stuff, like the folks from Solana ID, Metaplex, Solflare, dReader, Ceres, Kamino Finance, Limechain and a bunch more.
Come early to claim your coworking corner, drop into a few panels, or stick around for Demo Day and catch some of the region’s sharpest startups pitching live. There’s even a podcast zone, career speed dating (still cooking), and a founder’s dinner if you’re lucky enough to score an invite.
They’re tagging along as a media partner, so expect interviews, daily recaps, and behind-the-scenes coverage straight from Split. But honestly, you kind of have to be there.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission are having a public dispute over MiCA and stablecoin regulation. The ECB believes that restrictions aren’t harsh enough, fearing US firms dominating the market.
The Commission disputed the ECB’s fears, alleging that it’s building up stablecoin-related fears to promote a controversial digital euro program. There are already signs of European irrelevance to Web3, and more restrictions likely wouldn’t help.
As one commentator, Mikko Ohtamaa, put it, it has good reasons to worry about the future:
“The EU had the first mover advantage with the regulation and they screwed it up. No EU stablecoin is internationally competitive because the inherited business unfriendliness that was baked into the MiCA by the lobbying efforts of banks and other legacy financial institutions,” he claimed via social media.
Most recently, Ethena Labs, too, pulled out of Europe after failing to get MiCA approval. These firms had no such problems in the US.
In an interesting twist, the ECB’s concern is not that MiCA is too harsh, thereby preventing innovation. As Politico claimed, it instead worries that existing regulations aren’t strong enough.
Instead, it acknowledged President Trump’s stated goal to use stablecoins to promote dollar dominance and fears that US assets could flood European markets. It wants to fight back head-on.
This is at the heart of the controversy between these EU institutions. The European Commission reacted with hostility to the ECB’s proposed MiCA changes.
That is, it seems that most EU institutions are satisfied with existing stablecoin regulations. Besides, if the ECB gets its proposed MiCA reforms, would that even matter?
The crypto markets reacted with shocking ambivalence to its recent rate cuts. Europe is in danger of falling behind in the global Web3 economy, and more restrictions aren’t likely to help.
AI coins like HOLLY, PROMPT, and DSYNC have seen notable Smart Money accumulation in recent weeks. Over the past few weeks, these three projects have stood out in on-chain activity.
Specifically, HOLLY brings visual storytelling to blockchain, PROMPT powers AI interactions across chains, and DSYNC focuses on AI and DePIN infrastructure. Despite contract risks flagged by GoPlus Security, these AI coins show rising adoption, strong trading activity, and expanding holder bases.
h011yw00d by Virtuals (HOLLY)
HOLLY, short for h011yw00d, is an AI-powered cinematic agent that turns internet conversations into short visual films. Unlike traditional formats, it tells stories without dialogue or captions, using only visuals to express emotion and narrative. As a result, the project offers a new way to interpret online interactions through AI filmmaking.
The team launched HOLLY four days ago on the Base chain. Since then, it has reached a market cap of $1.2 million and gathered over 48,000 holders.
Smart Money Holders and Total Balance for HOLLY. Source: Nansen.
According to Nansen, the number of Smart Money wallets holding HOLLY increased from 5 to 10 since April 18. Together, these wallets now hold around 13.4 million tokens. Additionally, the team launched the token via the Virtuals Protocol platform, one of the biggest players in the crypto AI agents space.
One of HOLLY’s top holders uses a wallet that Nansen, an on-chain analytics platform, labeled as linked to LongHash Ventures. Meanwhile, GoPlus Security, a crypto security firm, points out two key risks: the team can modify HOLLY’s tax, and they didn’t renounce ownership—both important factors for traders to monitor.
PROMPT
PROMPT is the native token of Wayfinder, an omni-chain tool designed to enable AI systems to operate across blockchain environments.
Wayfinder aims to create new methods for machine intelligence to interact with decentralized networks, facilitating more advanced on-chain AI integrations. PROMPT serves as the core asset within this ecosystem, supporting the platform’s operations and functionality.
Smart Money Holders and Total Balance for PROMPT. Source: Nansen.
Between April 9 and April 14, Smart Money wallets holding PROMPT jumped from zero to 20. That number has stayed the same for the past eight days.
PROMPT runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It has around 5,600 holders, a market cap of $53 million, and a daily trading volume of $706,000.
GoPlus Security flagged two risks. The team didn’t renounce ownership, and the contract allows new tokens to be minted. That could increase supply and push the price down.
Destra Network (DSYNC)
Among emerging AI coins, Destra Network positions itself as a decentralized solution for DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) and AI computing, aiming to streamline access to these technologies through a unified platform.
Currently, DSYNC has a market cap of $140 million and is held by over 48,000 wallets.
Smart Money Holders and Total Balance for DSYNC. Source: Nansen.
Since April 1, the number of Smart Money wallets holding DSYNC has grown from 41 to 44, and the token has seen a price increase of more than 13% in the past 24 hours. Over the same period, its trading volume reached $455,000.
According to GoPlus Security, DSYNC has two points of caution: the contract’s tax settings can be modified, and the token’s ownership has not been renounced—factors that could pose risks depending on future changes to the contract.
Ethereum (ETH) is under pressure as it attempts to recover from one of its worst-performing years among major cryptocurrencies, down nearly 50% in 2025. Despite signs of improving momentum, with RSI climbing and EMA lines hinting at a potential breakout, ETH continues to lag behind competitors like Solana in multiple metrics.
The ETH/BTC ratio has plunged to multi-year lows amid heavy institutional sell-offs. As ETH approaches key resistance, the market remains divided, with bulls eyeing a breakout and skeptics questioning the chain’s long-term relevance.
Ethereum Becomes 2025’s Worst Performer Among Top 5 Cryptos
Ethereum is currently the worst-performing major crypto asset in 2025, with its price down nearly 51% year-to-date, significantly underperforming Bitcoin (-5 %), Solana (-25.5 %), BNB (-13.5 %), and even XRP, which is up 1%.
This steep underperformance has sparked growing concerns about Ethereum’s future, especially as alternative chains like Solana and Base continue to gain momentum.
Solana is now leading the sector in key on-chain metrics such as DEX volume, apps revenue, and user activity, while Base is quickly capturing developer interest.
As these competitors rise, Ethereum’s dominance is being increasingly challenged across both narrative and usage, with some analysts even suggesting that XRP’s market cap could soon surpass Ethereum’s.
Biggest Cryptos Performance in 2025. Source: Messari.
The ETH/BTC ratio has collapsed to 0.01791 — its lowest point since 2020 — highlighting the scale of Ethereum’s decline relative to Bitcoin.
Compounding the issue are Ethereum’s low staking rates and Bitcoin’s growing dominance, both of which are shifting market sentiment and capital away from ETH.
As a result, Ethereum’s position as the leading smart contract platform is being questioned more seriously than ever before.
Ethereum Shows Signs of Recovery, But Momentum Remains Capped
Ethereum’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) has climbed to 57.26, up from 42.43 just a day ago, signaling a notable uptick in short-term momentum.
The RSI is a technical indicator that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to evaluate whether an asset is overbought or oversold. It ranges from 0 to 100, with values above 70 typically indicating overbought conditions and values below 30 pointing to oversold levels.
Readings between 50 and 70 usually suggest moderate bullish momentum, while those between 30 and 50 lean bearish or neutral.
With ETH’s RSI now at 57.26, the asset is in bullish-neutral territory. It shows improving momentum but is not yet strong enough to indicate overheating.
Importantly, Ethereum hasn’t seen an RSI reading above 70 since March 24 — nearly a month ago — which signals that despite the recent bounce, it hasn’t entered overbought territory or shown signs of a sustained breakout.
This suggests cautious optimism: while buyers are regaining control, Ethereum still lacks the aggressive momentum that typically drives significant price rallies. If the RSI continues to rise and breaks above 70, it could point to stronger bullish sentiment returning.
Ethereum Battles Resistance as Market Questions Its Future
Ethereum’s EMA lines are starting to show signs of a potential bullish reversal. The price is now approaching a key resistance level at $1,669. If that level breaks, Ethereum price could target $1,749 next.
With strong momentum, it may even reach $1,954 — its first time above $1,900 since April 2. Short-term EMAs are moving closer to longer-term ones, a setup that supports this bullish outlook. Rising trading volume would further strengthen the case.
A successful breakout could help restore some investor confidence amid a challenging year for ETH.
If ETH fails to maintain upward momentum, it could retest the $1,535 support zone. A breakdown below that level would shift the structure back to bearish, opening downside targets at $1,412 and potentially $1,385.
In that scenario, Ethereum’s inability to reclaim key levels could further fuel doubts about its competitive edge, especially in light of rising activity on faster and cheaper alternatives.
