Paradex rollback criticized, HIP-3 competition heats up, what happened in the mainstream ecosystem?

Title: Paradex Rollback Sparks Controversy, HIP-3 Competition Heats Up, What Major Events Are Happening in the Mainstream Ecosystem?

Author: Rhythm BlockBeats

Source:

Repost: Mars Finance

In the past 24 hours, the crypto market has shown a complex development trend across multiple dimensions. Mainstream topics focus on the NYSE’s promotion of on-chain securities trading platforms, which sparks imaginations around RWA (Real World Assets), and the backlash behind Trove’s “farce” regarding ICO models and KOL promotion chaos. In terms of ecosystem development, WalletConnect is attempting to penetrate on-chain payments through POS terminals, while the market continues discussions on the evolution of trading and clearing mechanisms, as well as channel and incentive structure battles.

1. Mainstream Topics

2. NYSE Launches On-Chain Securities Trading Platform Sparks Discussion

The NYSE announced the launch of an on-chain securities trading platform, integrating Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems, providing trading and settlement capabilities for tokenized securities, and introducing 24/7 operation, real-time settlement, and stablecoin fund channels. The platform supports swaps between tokenized shares and traditional securities, and is compatible with multi-chain custody. ICE, the NYSE’s parent company, is also advancing a 24/7 clearing system, emphasizing “native on-chain issuance” rather than packaging existing assets. The market generally views this as a significant step forward in the RWA (Real World Asset) track, potentially accelerating blockchain infrastructure’s penetration into capital markets.

The community’s overall reaction is optimistic, believing this could bring a structural impact to traditional finance. However, controversy also centers on technical details (such as underlying chain selection) and mechanism risks (liquidation, risk control, and liquidity pressure under 24/7 trading). Discussions extend to its impact on DeFi and crypto-native L1/L2: some see it as an influx of capital and new scene entry points, while others worry that traditional finance’s “entry” might squeeze or reshape the existing ecosystem. Infrastructure projects like Chainlink are considered potential beneficiaries, whereas DEXs represented by perpetual contracts like Hyperliquid are viewed by some users as potential negatives. Overall, positive views dominate, but long-term variables such as regulatory adaptation and quantum security are repeatedly mentioned.

2. “Trove Farce” Continues to Escalate, KOL Promotion Exposed

TroveMarkets’ ICO project was suspected of rug-pulling: originally raising $2.5 million, but ultimately oversubscribed to $12 million, with only $100,000 refunded; the rest of the funds were used by the team for “shifting” to new products rather than executing the original roadmap. Meanwhile, multiple KOLs were accused of receiving $8,000 promotional fees without disclosure, causing community users to suffer losses. Ethos Network then launched a “slash” action, penalizing related accounts with reputation damage, affecting about 792 users and 16,000 reputation points. The incident exposes old issues of ICO models: lack of transparency, incentive misalignment, and trust deficits in promotion chains.

Community sentiment is strong and focused, with controversy mainly on two points: one, accountability for KOL promotion behavior; two, legal responsibility for project fund misappropriation and fraud. Many users demand full refunds and push for judicial intervention. Ethos’s slash mechanism is seen by some as a “community self-cleaning tool,” but concerns also arise: can reputation penalties truly enforce constraints, and will tokenized reputation systems introduce new governance and misjudgment risks? A few involved KOLs claim they did not receive money or lacked research, but the overall consensus is a warning: the market is clearing out “lazy promotion,” and due diligence and transparency remain bottom lines.

3. WalletConnect Launches POS Payment Product Sparks Payment Track Discussion

WalletConnect released a POS payment product supporting integration into Android app stores, attempting to bypass traditional banking systems on the merchant side to realize on-chain payments and stablecoin settlements. The product targets offline merchant terminals, but real challenges remain in distribution: POS terminals are often controlled by acquirers (like Worldpay), which may lack motivation due to potential revenue loss from interchange fees. The team emphasizes that “open terminals” and merchant fee reduction demands could be breakthrough points, but to leverage existing infrastructure, long-term inertia and chain battles remain obstacles.

Market generally recognizes the product’s direction, believing it theoretically offers cost reduction and could provide a more realistic entry point for on-chain payments. However, discussions are pragmatic: the real bottleneck is not technology but channel control and economic incentive structures. Some suggest using QR codes, on-chain credit, and other transitional methods, while also paying attention to external variables like antitrust lawsuits that might open new channel opportunities. Overall, the product is seen as a positive signal for payment reform, but most acknowledge that achieving large-scale deployment in Europe and the US remains very difficult, ultimately dependent on regulatory support and industry collaboration.

2. Mainstream Ecosystem Dynamics

3. Solana

Magic Eden announced that starting February 1, 2026, 15% of all platform revenue will be directly injected into the $ME token ecosystem. This fund will be evenly distributed at a fixed ratio: 50% used for $ME buybacks, and 50% rewarded to $ME stakers in USDC. Rewards will be calculated based on “staking power,” which considers staking amount and duration, with monthly distribution. The first phase is in February, with rewards expected to be claimable in March, and must be claimed within 90 days.

Unlike the previous buyback scheme limited to the market, this plan upgrades to a long-term mechanism covering the entire ecosystem, including all Magic Eden products (NFT, prediction markets, Pack, etc.), aiming to more directly link platform growth with token value, aligning “platform success and ecosystem benefits.”

Community response is generally positive. Many users believe this mechanism will generate “seven-figure” buybacks and reward pools, significantly strengthening $ME ’s value support and narrative shift. Some also note that long-term effects depend on the stability and sustainability of platform revenue, but overall sentiment is excited, with few negative voices.

2. Ethereum

MegaETH will launch a global stress test on January 22, aiming to process 11 billion transactions within 7 days, with throughput expected between 15,000–35,000 TPS. More latency-sensitive applications will be enabled during this period, and the mainnet is expected to go live a few days after the test. Users show strong interest, believing this could be the most symbolic transaction volume verification in EVM chain history, but also cautioning to focus on failure and stability performance.

Meanwhile, Coinbase and Circle announced cooperation with the Bermuda government to provide digital asset infrastructure, enterprise tools, and educational support, helping Bermuda build the “world’s first fully on-chain national economy.” The community is optimistic, seeing it as a potential model for global compliant adoption, but some warn to be cautious of Coinbase’s past business controversies.

On community building, Hong Kong’s Ethereum Community Center plans to open in spring, with a kickoff event on January 24 focusing on offline交流, co-creation, and event hosting. Many users see it as an important node connecting East Asian ecosystems and look forward to its landing.

Additionally, ENS officially launched a Google Cloud BigQuery dataset, enabling anyone to analyze on-chain ENS activities via SQL within seconds, including core tables like registration, resolvers, reverse records, with daily updates. The dataset integrates Google’s Gemini AI for drafting and optimizing SQL queries, seen as a tool to greatly lower research and data analysis barriers. Overall positive feedback, though some discussions extend to L2 incentive mechanisms and regulatory uncertainties.

3. Perp DEX

Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 competition continues to heat up. Known deployers include @felixprotocol, @markets_xyz, @ventuals, @tradexyz, @hyenatrade, @Dreamcash, @SeliniCapital, among others. The expected auction price for deployment rights has risen to 3000–4000 HYPE. Discussions generally believe that within 6 months, over 20 deployers may emerge, but only a few will establish long-term advantages, resembling a “winner-takes-all” pattern.

Many users judge that smaller teams are likely to be eliminated during the bidding phase; the final outcome depends not only on product capability but also on access to unique distribution channels and trading flow.

Meanwhile, Markets.xyz’s analysis of perpetual flow structures shows that 91% of trading volume comes from algorithmic trading, with 86% being non-directional (more akin to “mining” logic), and only 14% from retail traders. This data reveals that current Perp DEX growth heavily relies on incentives rather than genuine demand, further fueling community doubts about “traffic authenticity.”

At the same time, HyperLend announced the upcoming launch of the HPL token (TGE approaching), with 30.14% allocated for ecosystem incentives, and disclosed raising $1.7 million, with staking and locking mechanisms soon to open. Community generally views this positively, believing it helps align Hyperliquid ecosystem interests, but also warns of risks like fake tokens and information confusion.

Additionally, Trade.xyz’s XYZ100 will switch to isolated margin mode starting January 20, allowing users to withdraw unrealized P&L from open positions, seen as a key upgrade to improve capital efficiency and strategy flexibility. Overall, discussions focus on increased competition and the deep impact of incentive structures on market behavior.

4. Others: Paradex Rollback Sparks Controversy, On-Chain DEX Reliability Questioned

Starknet ecosystem’s Perp DEX Paradex announced a chain rollback to block 1,604,710 due to a database migration error causing BTC price to temporarily show zero, triggering mass liquidations. The event quickly sparked ridicule and skepticism, with many viewing the rollback as exposing the fragility of on-chain DEXs and the gap between “decentralization” narratives and actual control.

A frequently mentioned comparison: some users emphasize Solana has never experienced a rollback or fork, attributing this to its more decentralized validator structure (community mentions 800+ validators), believing this makes it superior in security and availability compared to some L2 architectures. Others are more pessimistic, suggesting that perp DEXs might be inherently “misconceived products,” as in extreme scenarios, centralized control could re-emerge under the guise of “system repair.”

Overall, public opinion is overwhelmingly negative, with core concerns focused on reliability and centralization risks, and little positive feedback.