Weekly trending project updates: TrumpMeme team will host a lunch for holders, Backpack announces TGE, Across Protocol transforms into a US company, and more (0308–0314)

1. Hyperliquid’s recent perpetual crude oil contract trading volume soars to approximately $7.3 billion link

The trading volume of crude oil perpetual contracts on the crypto trading platform Hyperliquid has surged recently. According to Kaiko data, the platform’s cumulative trading volume for crude oil perpetual contracts has skyrocketed from about $339 million on February 28 to approximately $7.3 billion. Since perpetual contracts support 24/7 trading, some traders are placing bets on oil prices ahead of traditional futures markets’ weekend closures.

The top ten decentralized perpetual contract exchanges (Perps DEX) by monthly trading volume have been announced. Hyperliquid leads significantly with a monthly trading volume of $178.23 billion, ranking first. Aster ($77.77 billion), EdgeX ($70.83 billion), and Lighter ($65.47 billion) follow in second to fourth place. Data indicates that the decentralized derivatives sector continues to attract market attention and capital inflows.

2. TrumpMeme team to host lunch for TRUMP token holders on April 25 link

According to TrumpMeme’s official website, a crypto and business-themed conference will be held on April 25, 2026, at Mar-a-Lago, with Donald Trump as one of the speakers. The event is limited to 297 attendees, with participation eligibility based on the TRUMP token holder ranking. The top 297 holders can attend, with the top 29 eligible for additional VIP reception.

3. Backpack announces TGE on March 23, with 25% of tokens unlocked at TGE link

Backpack states that its TGE will occur on March 23. According to the token distribution plan, 25% (about 250 million tokens) will be unlocked at TGE, including 24% (about 240 million) Points airdrops and 1% (about 10 million) Mad Lads. 37.5% (625 million tokens) will be unlocked upon reaching growth milestones before IPO; another 37.5% (375 million tokens) will be stored in the company’s treasury after IPO and remain fully locked for one year post-IPO as long-term strategic digital assets. The pre-IPO phase accounts for 37.5% (625 million tokens), which will be unlocked as growth milestones are achieved; the post-IPO phase also accounts for 37.5% (375 million tokens), stored in the company’s treasury and fully locked for one year after IPO.

4. Sonic Labs announces the launch of the native USD stablecoin USSD link

Sonic Labs has announced the launch of USSD (US Sonic Dollar), a network-native USD stablecoin positioned as the liquidity layer for the Sonic ecosystem. USSD is built on Frax Finance infrastructure and is backed 1:1 by U.S. Treasury assets issued by BlackRock, Superstate, and WisdomTree.

5. Polkadot announces the official launch of its upgrade to the issuance model, setting a cap of 2.1 billion DOT tokens link

Polkadot’s official announcement states that its issuance model upgrade officially launched on March 14 (Pi Day). The main changes include: first, establishing a maximum supply cap of 2.1 billion DOT (currently about 80% issued); second, reducing the emission rate of DOT by approximately 53% from March 14, with plans for further reductions in the future. The changes were proposed by the community and approved via OpenGov, aiming to limit long-term issuance, maintain incentives, and provide a transparent, predictable issuance schedule.

Previously, asset management firm 21Shares launched the U.S.'s first spot Polkadot (DOT) ETF, ticker TDOT, listed on Nasdaq. The ETF is physically backed, directly holding DOT tokens to track their price, with a management fee of about 0.30%, allowing investors to gain exposure to Polkadot through traditional brokerage accounts.

6. Uniswap V2 daily trading volume on Base chain plummets, backtesting shows over 95% activity from scams link

Since Uniswap introduced fees, trading volume on Uniswap V2 on the Base network has sharply declined from an average of $55 million to $100 million daily to between $24 million and $35 million. Moreover, about 90% of this volume does not pay protocol fees, as most transactions originate from rug pull projects. Backtesting reveals that over 95% of Uniswap V2 activity on Base is from scams.

7. OP Labs CEO: Funds are sufficient; layoffs of 20 staff unrelated to finances link

OP Labs CEO Jing Wang states that the company will lay off 20 team members, with affected employees to be informed within hours. The layoffs are unrelated to financial health, as the company has ample funds and several years of operational reserves. The main reasons are to narrow business focus, improve decision-making efficiency, and reduce collaboration costs. Severance includes a base salary for at least three months, plus an additional month per year of employment up to five months. Laid-off employees will receive six months of continued health insurance and keep their laptops. Jing Wang also plans to personally assist with external job recommendations.

8. Across Protocol proposes: ACX holders can exchange tokens 1:1 for company equity link

Paradigm-supported cross-chain bridge protocol Across Protocol has proposed a sentiment check to explore transforming its DAO structure into a U.S. C-corp. If approved by the community, ACX holders can choose to exchange their tokens 1:1 for company equity or redeem them at a rate of 0.04375 USDC per token.

Earlier, on March 4, 2025, Across Protocol raised $41 million by selling ACX tokens to investors, with Paradigm leading the round, and Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital participating. This brought total funding to $51 million, following a previous $10 million token sale in November 2022.

9. Pump fun has registered subdomains on Base, BSC, Monad, and Ethereum, removing the “Solana” location tag link

Pump fun has registered subdomains on Base, BSC, Monad, and Ethereum, indicating potential plans to expand beyond Solana into other blockchains. Additionally, Pumpfun removed the “Solana” location tag from its X profile.

Previously, Pump Fun founder Alon stated on X that despite a tough market environment, the team will continue rapid and aggressive expansion, providing cross-chain trading infrastructure and other technical support. The team plans to continue investing resources to grow Pump fun’s core platform, mobile app, and Terminal.

10. Starknet launches STRK20 privacy token standard: providing default privacy for ERC-20 link

Starknet announced the launch of the STRK20 privacy token standard, designed to give ERC-20 tokens default privacy features. Based on Starknet Privacy Pool and zero-knowledge proof technology, it makes sender and recipient addresses and transaction amounts invisible on-chain, while supporting DEX trading and staking in DeFi. Developers say this architecture offers privacy while enabling encrypted viewing keys to meet compliance and auditing requirements.