TL;DR

Market Outlook: Diversification and Institutional Surge

• Ethereum is decoupling from Bitcoin, with altcoins like BNB and Solana expected to follow.

• Institutional buying, such as a $200M Solana purchase, reflects growing crypto adoption.

• Market trends show increasing integration of cryptocurrencies with traditional finance.

  Merlin Chain Innovation: Bitcoin Layer 2 and AI-Driven Solutions

• Merlin Chain 2.0 advances BTC Fi and chain abstraction for enhanced Bitcoin utility.

• AI tools analyze on-chain data and social signals to support investment decisions.

• The platform enables Bitcoin as a currency for cross-chain investments with an average 16% yield.

  Market Expansion: Bridging Crypto and Traditional Finance

• Merlin Chain boosts Bitcoin liquidity through bridging and DeFi protocols.

• Collaborations with Nasdaq firms explore Bitcoin treasury yield opportunities.

• User-friendly AI tools lower entry barriers, enhancing Bitcoin’s market appeal and utility.

Market Outlook: Diversification and Institutional Surge

Ethereum is decoupling from Bitcoin, with altcoins like BNB and Solana expected to follow.

Jeff: I’m leaning toward believing that will happen. A couple of months ago, people weren’t that confident, but now projects are making big moves. You see Ethereum now, but next week it could be BNB, Tron, Solana, Sui, or Aptos catching the wind. We are even thinking about how to get on this boat with other projects.

Institutional buying, such as a $200M Solana purchase, reflects growing crypto adoption.

Jeff: Yeah, if you check, everything is bullish on altcoins. I just got a notification that another company bought $200 million worth of Solana. There’s been a lot of news about Nasdaq companies buying crypto assets—not just Bitcoin anymore, but also Solana, BNB, Ethereum, and even Tron, with one company going IPO two days later. Everything is good news for altcoins right now.

Market trends show increasing integration of cryptocurrencies with traditional finance.

Jeff: We’re actively talking to three different companies from Nasdaq about Bitcoin treasury yields. There’s a post today about Ethereum treasuries offering 4% yields, but imagine a Bitcoin treasury with more than 4%—that would be huge news. Over $150 billion worth of Bitcoin in treasuries currently has no use. We’re also working with companies interested in buying altcoins as treasury assets. Everyone is trying to catch up with this movement to combine crypto and the stock market.

Merlin Chain Innovation: Bitcoin Layer 2 and AI-Driven Solutions

Merlin Chain 2.0 advances BTC Fi and chain abstraction for enhanced Bitcoin utility.

Jeff: Yeah, it’s not just the AI aspect that’s cool with what they’re doing with the wizard, but it’s more about the innovative approach to kick things off with the Bitcoin Layer 2 movement. In early 2024, we started doing things with Bitcoin Layer 1 assets that were never possible before, and now we’re building on that with BTC Fi and chain abstraction. The AI component is coming in now, and I think what they have coming up with this new initiative is going to be huge. It’s perfect timing. For those who’ve been waiting for Merlin in terms of price appreciation, you have to appreciate the innovation. When innovation is strong, especially heading into Q4, the rest tends to follow. We’re rolling out the idea of Merlin Chain 2.0. We started about a year and a half ago, and we’ve pivoted a bit. We’re still focused on Bitcoin and delivering BTC Fi, but we’re also adding chain abstraction and AI so users can hold, earn, and invest. It’s a roadmap. We’ll be launching more products around the goal of helping users use Bitcoin in many ways.

AI tools analyze on-chain data and social signals to support investment decisions.

Jeff: Even with the market improving, many users are still confused. Even I saw NFT prices going up today but didn’t know which assets to buy. We’re building a signal-driven product to help users get insights. It’s like an enhanced ChatGPT for crypto. I posted on Twitter today about our new product. We asked the wizard about the Conflux token, and it provided three parts of information: first, the project’s background and narrative; second, on-chain movement, CEX price changes, open interest, and liquidation data explaining why it’s up 120%; third, a social media summary about who’s talking about the asset, whether they’re bullish or bearish, and if their points are grounded. This is much more than what ChatGPT or other AI agents offer. The product is in the testing phase to provide users with more signals.

The platform enables Bitcoin as a currency for cross-chain investments with an average 16% yield.

Jeff: We want users on Merlin Chain to hold Bitcoin but also provide easier ways to earn Bitcoin yields. That’s the “earn” part. We also emphasize the “invest” part, using Bitcoin as a currency—not just a slow, hard-to-use asset, but as a way to buy and invest across multiple chains, like Pump Fun on Solana or virtuals on other chains. We’re providing AI tools to help users make these investments, even riskier ones, with Bitcoin. You also have Babylon with a 1% yield, Solv with 2-4%, and Merlin Vault with 8-21%. This is a new product—if you go to MerlinChain.io and check the staking section, you can participate. It’s straight Bitcoin to earn more Bitcoin, averaging about a 16% yield, which is solid. When the chain launched, you could get 40-50% yield on your Bitcoin. It’s exciting to offer more products like this. First, look at the yield, of course. Second, consider the time. For example, Solv’s highest APY product is an off-chain strategy, where your Bitcoin is used as collateral to loan other assets like stablecoins or BNB for off-chain strategies. These have higher yields but are less transparent than on-chain strategies, like putting Bitcoin into liquidity pools for yields. It’s a matter of preference—some want transparency, others want higher yields.

Market Expansion: Bridging Crypto and Traditional Finance

Merlin Chain boosts Bitcoin liquidity through bridging and DeFi protocols.

Jeff: We’ve bridged a lot of Bitcoin to other chains to provide liquidity and built creative DeFi protocols like Bedrock, Solv, Avalon, and Babylon. That’s what we’ve done over the past 12 months.

Collaborations with Nasdaq firms explore Bitcoin treasury yield opportunities.

Jeff: We’re actively talking to three different companies from Nasdaq about Bitcoin treasury yields. There’s a post today about Ethereum treasuries offering 4% yields, but imagine a Bitcoin treasury with more than 4%—that would be huge news. Over $150 billion worth of Bitcoin in treasuries currently has no use. We’re also working with companies interested in buying altcoins as treasury assets.

User-friendly AI tools lower entry barriers, enhancing Bitcoin’s market appeal and utility.

Jeff: Exactly. My most exciting part is making Bitcoin a currency again. Right now, nobody sees Bitcoin as a currency. Before, people used it to inscribe things on-chain, but not anymore. If users can use Bitcoin to get new tokens from platforms like Pump Fun or virtuals, that’s a good way to help them understand this concept. I don’t think so yet. Merlin is still a very young project. I don’t want to be overly ambitious, but if everybody else is doing it, it’s just stupid for you not to try.