Market on pause, TurboFlow raises $6 million, and former Ethereum Foundation employees launch Ethlabs — digest for June 23
The morning of June 23 finds the cryptocurrency market in a state of sideways movement. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around the $63,982 mark, showing minimal activity within the range of $63,759 – $65,544 over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) also shows no volatility, settling near $1,726. In the absence of a pronounced trend, investor attention is shifting to fundamental news and the development of infrastructure projects.
Among the top-10 by market capitalization, Tron stands out, showing the best performance both daily (+1.53%) and weekly (+4.80%). At the opposite pole are Solana, which lost 2.80% in a day, and XRP, which declined by 7.91% over seven days. In the broader top-100, DeXe shows explosive growth (+67.02% in 24 hours), while Aerodrome Finance gains 36.22% over the week. However, corrections are also present: Humanity loses 36.23% in a day, and Audiera drops 57.65% over the week, highlighting the ongoing market fragmentation and high risks in altcoins.
TurboFlow: Asia's answer to Kalshi
Hong Kong-based prediction market and perpetual futures platform TurboFlow has raised $6 million in a seed round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Susquehanna Crypto and Digital Currency Group. The project, founded by former Amber Group co-founder Tony He, positions itself as "Asia's Kalshi." Over more than six months of beta testing, the platform processed over $19 billion in trading volume and attracted more than 15,000 users. Notably, according to He, the fastest-growing segment turned out to be prediction markets, rather than the usual perpetual futures. This signals growing interest in alternative derivatives in the Asia-Pacific region, which the team believes remains undervalued.
Ethlabs: A new chapter for Ethereum
Five former senior researchers from the Ethereum Foundation, together with companies Bitmine, Sharplink, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, have announced the launch of the non-profit organization Ethlabs. Its mission is to prepare the Ethereum ecosystem for mass institutional adoption, especially in areas such as stablecoins, tokenized assets, and autonomous AI commerce. The launch of Ethlabs comes amid a personnel and financial crisis within the Ethereum Foundation itself: the foundation holds only 0.16% of all ether, continues to sell off assets, and its executive director left last week. One former employee warned of a "slowly brewing funding crisis." The creation of Ethlabs appears to be an attempt to seize the initiative and ensure the strategic development of the network independently of the parent organization's current problems.
Enso opens access to 500+ tokenized assets
Swiss Web3 platform Enso has launched an application providing access to more than 500 tokenized assets, including shares of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and SpaceX, as well as ETFs, government bonds, commodities, and stablecoins. Integration with xStocks, Ondo Finance, and Porto by Anchorage Digital allows users to trade these instruments 24/7. Enso CEO Connor Howe notes that demand for tokenized US stocks is particularly high among European investors, attracted by the possibility of round-the-clock trading unavailable on traditional exchanges. This move strengthens the trend toward the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi, making institutional assets accessible to retail users worldwide.
Cryptalist analytical commentary: The market is frozen in anticipation of a catalyst, but infrastructure projects continue to actively develop. The launch of Ethlabs and TurboFlow's capital raise indicate that institutional players are making long-term bets, regardless of short-term price consolidation. Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is becoming mainstream, and platforms like Enso are just the tip of the iceberg. Investors should closely monitor these trends, as they, rather than daily price fluctuations, will determine the next growth cycle.