Crypto projects this week disclosed a wide range of updates, from layoffs and product rollouts to balance-sheet moves, security issues, bankruptcy restructuring, and stable asset stress events.
Pump.fun reported layoffs ahead of PUMP unlock
Pump.fun, a Solana meme coin issuance platform, was reported to have cut part of its workforce in early April, roughly two months before the first PUMP token unlock. At least one former employee allegedly lost token allocations worth more than $1 million at current prices as a result.
Co-founder Noah Tweedale said in an internal meeting that the company had previously “scaled too quickly.” Former employees also said the platform carried out another round of layoffs in mid-July, bringing the total number of dismissals to more than 40 over two months. That figure has not been independently verified, and Pump.fun’s co-founders did not respond to requests for comment.
Uniswap launches Launches and adds Earn with Morpho
Uniswap introduced a new beta feature called Launches, added as a tab within the Uniswap Web App. The feature is designed to aggregate and display leading token launches and launch platforms tied to Uniswap.
According to Uniswap, builders behind launchpads including Bankr, Pons, and Long have chosen Uniswap as their trading infrastructure. The feature is rolling out first on Robinhood Chain and initially supports discovery of token launches there, with additional networks planned later.
Uniswap also partnered with decentralized lending protocol Morpho to introduce Earn. The product lets users deposit USDC, USDT, and ETH directly from the Uniswap web app and wallet into three Morpho vaults managed by Gauntlet, generating yield by supplying funds into Morpho’s lending markets.
Uniswap said Earn is non-custodial, meaning users keep control of their assets and can deposit or withdraw at any time.
Aave folds in Zapper engineering team and teases Aave Pro
Aave founder Stani Kulechov posted on X that the protocol is welcoming the Zapper team and said users who liked Zapper would also like the upcoming Aave Pro. The disclosed move brings Zapper’s entire engineering team into Aave, with further work planned to improve related products and services.
Kulechov also said Aave will retire 50 low-adoption asset reserves, gradually shut down deployments on Sonic, Scroll, zkSync, Metis, Soneium, and Aptos, and delist 21 expired Pendle PT markets.
The changes affect about $98.10 million in deposits and $15.60 million in debt, and are intended to reduce economic and technical risk. Aave had already started to exit some low-activity networks.
Kulechov added that the recent removal of low-adoption assets and the reduction of some network deployments should not be overread as a statement on any L1 or L2. He said the goal is simply to cut Aave’s operational, technical, and economic risk surface so the protocol can focus on higher-impact priorities, including expanding existing high-value markets and building out securities finance.
He also said L2 networks remain central to delivering a strong Ethereum user experience. As one example, Aave App’s Stable Vaults uses L2 as the accounting layer to bring mainstream users into DeFi. He added that networks such as Avalanche also play an important role in bringing real-world assets on-chain through institutional business development.
1inch opens Aqua to all users
1inch said its self-custodial shared liquidity layer, Aqua, is now available to all users. The setup allows a single wallet balance to back multiple trading pairs and liquidity positions at the same time, without requiring users to preload assets into a pool. Tokens move from the wallet only when a trade is executed.
Aqua initially supports 13 EVM networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain, and BNB Chain. It also includes verified counterparties and protection against JIT fee sniping.
ARK Invest researcher says revenue concentration remains high
ARK Invest researcher Lorenzo Valente said the crypto industry is going through a deeper consolidation than in past bear markets, with capital concentrating into a smaller set of names while teams and trading platforms without real product-market fit continue to exit.
He said revenue concentration is elevated across applications, infrastructure, and L1 networks. Hyperliquid and PumpFun together account for 67% of total application revenue, and adding Ethena brings the top three close to 80%.
Valente said mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy filings, project shutdowns, and talent acquisitions are likely to increase over the coming months.
Researchers identify 31 unknown vulnerabilities across x402 payment providers
A study released on July 21 found 31 previously unknown vulnerabilities across 15 major x402 payment providers, covering 99% of related transactions during the study period.
The researchers confirmed two flaws that could enable “free shopping” and identified other high-risk paths involving asset theft, denial of service, and gas abuse. The report did not conclude that all x402 payments, or Coinbase itself, were vulnerable.
Coinbase, PayAI, and Mogami have confirmed some of the issues and started remediation. The study recommended that merchants deliver services only after on-chain settlement has been completed successfully.
Storj Labs files for Chapter 11 reorganization
Storj Labs, the parent company behind decentralized cloud storage project Storj, said it has voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to address historical debt while continuing operations.
The company said business will continue as usual during the restructuring process and customer service will not be interrupted. It also said the reorganized company is expected to be owned jointly by management, the community, STORJ token holders, and investors.
Storj was founded in 2014 as a decentralized storage network where users share spare hard drive space to provide cloud storage services to customers worldwide, with STORJ tokens used for incentives and payments.
Metronome’s msUSD briefly traded about 11% below peg
Blockchain security firm Blockaid said Metronome DAO’s synthetic dollar, msUSD, traded at one point about 11% below its peg across Ethereum, Base, and Optimism.
MetronomeDAO later said in a post-incident review that msETH and msUSD had become undercollateralized because the synthetic asset swap module had previously allowed circulation of uncollateralized assets, leaving part of the synthetic supply without full backing.
At the time of the review, the gap between circulating synthetic assets and the corresponding debt positions stood at about 6,367 msETH and 4.57 million msUSD. Metronome said the issue stemmed from delayed Chainlink oracle updates during synthetic asset swaps, causing transaction pricing discrepancies to accumulate into uncollateralized circulating amounts.
The team said it has established defensive positions using treasury funds, raised trading fees, and upgraded contract mechanisms. Liquidity providers were told no action was required.
Ondo Finance evaluates a potential acquisition
Ondo Finance is considering a possible acquisition valued between $250 million and $500 million, with wealth technology companies among the potential targets. The company has not hired formal advisers at this stage.
Ondo said it regularly evaluates market opportunities in the ordinary course of business and is not currently engaged in talks with any transaction counterparty.
Founded in 2021, Ondo focuses on on-chain financial products including tokenized U.S. Treasuries and equities. Its products now hold more than $2.5 billion in assets.
Nansen CEO says AI trading agents could outnumber humans within about two years
Nansen co-founder and CEO Alex Svanevik said the number of AI trading agents could exceed the number of human traders in about two years, as Nansen itself shifts from being a data analytics platform toward on-chain trade execution.
He said the company has processed more than $500 million in cumulative trading volume since launching direct trading. About 10 of the top 15 perpetual contracts by trading volume on the platform are tied to non-crypto assets such as SpaceX, the S&P 500, gold, and crude oil.
For now, those agents remain in backtesting and paper trading. In one test cited by Svanevik, the strategy generated only $23 in profit while incurring roughly $700 in inference costs.