GM, and welcome to another edition of The Castle Chronicle.

The deployment of Berachain ($BERA) and Story ($IP) has officially inaugurated launch season.

Monad has also teased the reveal of their testnet launch, and MegaETH has conducted their NFT mint.

The level of development seen in the trenches is de-correlated from the price action, making everyone wish for greener times.

Nonetheless, there is still uncertainty on the direction of the next move, considering the general macroeconomic situation and Trump’s diplomatic antics.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• 📈 Price Action – Focus on Bitcoin

• 🗳️ Arbitrum Corner – An Ecosystem Update

• 🔍 Market Watch - Big Liquidations, Tariffs, $SUI unlocks

📈 PRICE ACTION

Gm frens!

It was another boring week in terms of BTC price action. I’m still waiting for a decisive break out of this range, but how long could that take?

Well, if we look at the previous sideways range, which happened not that long ago, it lasted around 240 days. Compared to that our current range is lasting for about 60 days. I’m not saying they’re gonna last the same amount of time, just pointing out that the chop can go on for quite some time.

• Healthy uptrend

• Active momentum cycle (on the 1W chart)

• Sideways price action

So what is there to do? In past cycles, when BTC started going sideways, it meant that other cryptos had time to catch up, and we saw our beloved “alt season”. The tide was rising and it carried pretty much all the cryptos with it.

But these days, it’s different. Granted, I’m not in the trenches as much as I used to be, but just looking at the overall state of the market it’s nothing too exciting for me. Narratives last a very short time, and rotations happen quickly! And unless you have a crystal ball that tells you exactly how to rotate, you probably get caught up in the ever so annoying jeeting shenanigans.

So, when it comes to putting risk, I am seeking opportunities in other markets right now. I’m interested in trending markets such as the DAX and gold. And once BTC breaks out again, I’ll definitely look to follow that.

Trade responsibly and I’ll see y’all next time!

Not following what I’m talking about? Check out my quick cheatsheet to briefly explain how I approach a chart.

Courtesy of 0x_Vlad - trend-based trader and MentFX student

💙 ECOSYSTEM UPDATE

There seems to be an overall shift of vibes within the Arbitrum DAO, with the Arbitrum Foundations becoming more active.

We want and need more of this.

You can find this and much more in our weekly ecosystem overview:

1⃣ Uniswap v4 Live on Arbitrum

One of the most awaited DeFi updates is now live on Arbitrum.

If you need a refresher on the importance of this update, don’t worry we've got you covered with our piece from last week:

Uniswap V4 has already accrued over $5.5m in TVL.

The Arbitrum Defi ecosystem is sophisticated and highly composable: hooks are the perfect tool to bring even more use cases and customizability to Arbitrum.

We’re looking forward to seeing what comes out of this.

Is your team building a Uniswap V4 hook on Arbitrum? Let us know!

2⃣ BOLD is live on Arbitrum!

This week saw the launch of BOLD, one of the most critical updates in Arbitrum’s roadmap. The importance of this update cannot be overstated. 

Here’s everything you need to know on BOLD:

• Intro to BOLD:

• Arbitrum Devs on BOLD:

• Ultra on BOLD:

With the launch of BOLD Arbitrum moves one step closer to being a Stage 2 Rollup. 

3⃣ USDT0 and The Legacy Mesh

Arbitrum is already a leader in stablecoins supply on-chain across L2s.

The development of USDT0 is poised to contribute to this by making USDT natively interoperable.

USDT0 solves the traditional issues associated with moving native stablecoins between chains with a bridging layer that works as follows: all USDT is locked in a smart contract on Ethereum, and an equivalent amount is minted across all blockchains supported.

USDT0 is powered by The Legacy Mesh, which uses Arbitrum for USDT and USDT0 transfers between different blockchains. This is another testament to Arbitrum’s leadership in stablecoins across other L2s as well as one of the most credible and neutral blockchain networks:

4⃣ Deeper Liquidity on GMX

The GMX DAO is planning to put its funds at work: a new proposal is planning to collect and deploy the fees collected from the GMX/ETH Uniswap LP position.

These amount to 994.70 ETH (3.2M)and 69,132.83GMX (1.6M)

The funds will be deployed for stronger liquidity on $GMX and GLV.

5⃣ Camelot Hiring an AI agent for a community Airdrop

6⃣ New Launches: Clutch Markets is live on Arbitrum!

Clutch is a decentralized parlay token that allows users to bet on sports, polymarket pools, and any other real-world event.

For governance, we highlight how the OpCo proposal, a highly discussed one, has finally reached the quorum on Tally:

In other news, Offchain Labs just released their roadmap on the future of interoperability between Arbitrum and other EVM chains.

The change in the air is palpable, and we are excited to see what will come out of it.

Arbitrum truly deserves more credit for its commitment to advancing L2 solutions with a focus on tech-driven adoption and decentralization.

Are you an Arbitrum Bull?

Courtesy of Francesco - Co-Founder at Castle

🔍️ MARKET WATCH

The recent tariff announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump contributed to market instability 🇺🇸

His decision to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods triggered sharp sell-offs in both traditional and crypto markets. Investors reacted by offloading riskier assets, leading to an 8% drop in total crypto market capitalization within 24 hours 📉

Bitcoin briefly fell to $91,281, and Ethereum dropped as low as $2,143 before rebounding after news that tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be delayed for a month. XRP, which initially lost over -25%, recovered +6% following the announcement.

JP Morgan believes tariffs could indirectly impact crypto by fueling inflation and discouraging global trade, leading investors to reduce exposure to volatile assets. While institutional sentiment remains cautious, macroeconomic shifts could define the next trend for digital assets.

The broader market showed sector-based fluctuations, with:

1. Layer 1s averaging -1.49%, led by losses in AVAX (-3.07%), while FTM gained +6.75%.

2. Gaming tokens remained mostly flat (-0.03%), with RON posting a +13.88% gain but TOPIA dropping -10.29%.

3. Modular blockchains fell -3.82%, as MNT declined -10.94%, while TIA rose +4.4%.

4. ETH DeFi and SOL DeFi averaged -1.09% and -2.88%, respectively, with PENDLE at +15.62%.

5. Meanwhile, AI & DePIN tokens gained +0.0%, with HNT up +16.71% but AR dropping -10.19%.

Solana Tokens Performance:

The market saw $2 billion in liquidations, worse than Covid and FTX crashes:

The crypto market has faced a massive blow, with liquidations totaling $2.29 billion, marking a crash even more severe than the infamous COVID-era sell-offs and the collapse of FTX. This latest downturn has been fueled by fears of a global trade war, which triggered widespread sell-offs across major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins

Ethereum took the Hardest Hit

Ethereum bore the brunt of the liquidations, with $614.34 million wiped out. Notably, 77.07% of these liquidations were long positions, reflecting the over-leveraged optimism of traders. Long positions accounted for $473.49 million of the losses, while short positions saw $140.85 million liquidated.

$SUI unlocks bullish or bearish?

last week, SUI experienced $260 million worth of token unlocks. Before these unlocks, the price of SUI dropped by 25%, but it has since rebounded and returned to breakeven, recovering all its losses. As noted in last week's plot analysis, SUI unlocks initially lead to a sell-off, resulting in a significant pullback throughout 15 to 30 days. It appears that a similar pattern is occurring again. The pressure from the unlocks has been absorbed, and prices are currently back to normal.

TVL Update

The performance of blockchain chains remains mixed this week. Among the top 50 chains, those with at least a 20% increase in Total Value Locked (TVL) over the past week include Core and Bob.

Protocols also showed varied movements, with notable weekly TVL growth among Stargate, Hyperliquid, and Dolomite, all rising by at least 20%.

Bitcoin ETF’S Update

Goldman Sachs Expands Bitcoin ETF Stake to Over $1.5 Billion. Additionally, the firm reported an impressive 1,793% growth in Ethereum ETF holdings, signaling heightened institutional interest in digital assets.

According to recent data, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net outflow of $56.76 million on February 11, reflecting ongoing shifts in investor sentiment. Grayscale’s GBTC recorded no net outflows, keeping its total historical net outflow at $21.95 billion, while Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF maintained a $1.24 billion net inflow.

BlackRock’s IBIT ETF led the market in daily net inflows, adding $23.80 million, bringing its total historical net inflow to $40.87 billion.

As of today, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $111.78 billion, and the ETF net asset ratio is 5.92%.

$BERA Airdrop Stats

• 1.5K–3K active wallets per day

• 1.5K–6K transactions per day

• Bong Bears floor price: 27 ETH

• $BERA is down by approximately 80% from its all-time high.

• 56% of airdrops have been claimed so far

  

CPI Estimates

Analysts anticipate a slight slowdown in core inflation to 3.1%, with the headline rate remaining at 2.9%.

We hope you are getting some benefits from launch season or from being a Yapper! Keep it up and be patient.

In our newsletter, we may discuss projects or tokens in which we hold positions. While we aim to provide informative content, our views are not financial advice. Please conduct your research and consult professionals before making investment decisions. Crypto markets are volatile, and past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Invest responsibly, and be aware of the risks. Your capital is at risk, and we do not accept liability for any losses.