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BTC $96,420 +2.34% ETH $3,280 +1.82% SOL $185.40 -0.92% BNB $642.50 +0.45% XRP $2.18 +3.12% DOGE $0.082 -1.50% ADA $1.05 +0.80% AVAX $42.10 +1.15%
BTC $96,420 +2.34% ETH $3,280 +1.82% SOL $185.40 -0.92% BNB $642.50 +0.45% XRP $2.18 +3.12% DOGE $0.082 -1.50% ADA $1.05 +0.80% AVAX $42.10 +1.15%
06/28/2025

Web3 Last Week: From Middle East Tensions to a DAO Shock — 5 Stories You Can't Miss

Last week, the Web3 market saw a wave of major developments spanning geopolitics, regulatory shifts, and internal scandals inside well-known projects. Here are 5 stories that anyone following crypto and Web3 should know about. 1. Geopolitics and Bitcoin: Iran, Trump, and the $100K battle The U.S. "Midnight Hammer" airstrike on three of Iran's major nuclear facilities sent shockwaves not just through global politics but across the Bitcoin network.

Web3 Last Week: From Middle East Tensions to a DAO Shock — 5 Stories You Can't Miss

Last week, the Web3 market saw a wave of major developments spanning geopolitics, regulatory shifts, and internal scandals inside well-known projects. Here are 5 stories that anyone following crypto and Web3 should know about.

1. Geopolitics and Bitcoin: Iran, Trump, and the $100K Battle

The U.S. "Midnight Hammer" airstrike on three of Iran's major nuclear facilities sent shockwaves not just through global politics but across the Bitcoin network. The BTC network's hash rate cratered from 1,000 EH/s to below 650 EH/s — fueling speculation that Iran had been running mining operations underneath those nuclear sites.

Tensions peaked when an Iranian official raised the possibility of closing the Strait of Hormuz, sending BTC immediately below $100,000, ETH below $2,100, and a broad swath of altcoins deep into the red.

However, as soon as Donald Trump announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, the market snapped back. BTC rallied to $106,000 before Iran denied the deal, pulling prices back to around $105,000.

2. Global Regulation: Crypto's "Separating the Signal from the Noise" Moment

Last week, the crypto community received the Global Digital Asset Regulatory Map — a comprehensive overview categorizing jurisdictions as "friendly," "neutral," or "hostile" toward digital assets. The report evaluates each region across three criteria: legal status, regulatory framework, and exchange acceptance.

Notably, the Hong Kong government released its "Digital Asset Policy 2.0", formally establishing a new licensing framework for exchanges and custody service providers. Stablecoins will come under oversight starting August 1, 2025, reinforcing Hong Kong's bid to become Asia's digital asset hub.

Meanwhile, a piece from the Variant Capital team revisited the "token vs. equity" question: if a token represents on-chain value and equity represents off-chain value, where should you actually invest? A new framework for thinking about digital ownership is taking shape.

3. DAO Drama: Across Protocol Accused of Manipulating a Vote to Seize $23M

In a stunning move, the founder of Glue publicly accused Across Protocol of manipulating a DAO governance vote to funnel $23 million into the founding team's private company.

The incident reignited questions about transparency in DAO governance — one of Web3's foundational promises. It also highlighted that no matter how decentralized the technology, bad actors can still game the system without robust checks and balances in place.

4. IPOs, Pump & Dumps, and GameStop's Bitcoin Bet

Solana company Upexi shed more than 60% of its share price in a single day after it was revealed the company had registered millions of shares for resale. Many observers viewed this as a new flavor of "buy the hype, dump the shares" playing out on Wall Street.

At the same time, OKX is rumored to be preparing a U.S. IPO, stoking investor hopes of a "second Coinbase" — even as OKX continues to face transparency and compliance headwinds in the American market.

In a notable headline, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen — the man who pulled the company back from the brink of bankruptcy — quietly put more than $500 million into Bitcoin, repositioning the company's treasury with a bold bet on the digital future.

5. Alpha Tools: How to Find the Next DeFi Unicorn

With the market flooded by new projects but starved for real breakthroughs, YZi Labs published a piece compiling 7 tools for filtering high-potential projects based on factors such as:

  • Mindshare (community recognition and buzz)
  • On-chain adoption (real usage rates on-chain)
  • Smart Account compatibility (smart wallet support)

This is being treated as a playbook for degens who want to hunt for quality investment opportunities rather than chasing short-term trends out of FOMO.

Conclusion

From the risk of Middle East conflict and regulatory progress in Hong Kong, to industry-internal scandals and the return of big-money investors — this week showed that Web3 is entering a major inflection point: from chaos toward standardization, from pure decentralization toward accountable governance. Investors should keep a close eye on both macro and micro signals to stay in sync with the rhythm of this new cycle.