The crypto market welcomes another pump as AI and the payment sector accelerate development.

This week, the crypto market experienced a significant rise, with the Ethereum ecosystem and AI zones leading with over 20%. At the same time, the market has once again fallen into turbulence. The Movement project caused a coin price crash due to its market-making protocol, involving multiple parties in the operation, raising concerns about industry ethics and regulation. Meanwhile, the AI and payment sectors are accelerating their development, with a certain public chain promoting new standards and several exchanges laying out a payment ecosystem. These trends indicate that the crypto market is facing a new round of reshuffling and opportunities.

The Movement event revealed issues with the market-making mechanism. The project has been accused of incentivizing price manipulation through agreements with market makers. The incident involves multiple parties, including the project side and market makers. The profit-sharing clauses in the protocol have been criticized for potentially leading to artificial price inflation followed by sell-offs. The incident exposed the lack of regulation in market-making mechanisms and the opacity of the legal framework, possibly just the tip of the iceberg in the industry's dark corners.

The AI field continues to heat up. A certain public chain has launched a new protocol and a series of AI support programs, providing developers with an AI integration framework. In 2024, AI company financing reached a record high, with nearly one-third of global venture capital flowing into AI-related fields. The United States dominates AI financing, with nearly $97 billion raised throughout the year. The industry expects explosive growth in Web3 AI projects this year.

The payment sector is also receiving attention. Multiple exchanges have launched payment products, focusing on stablecoin payments. A certain exchange has even partnered with Bhutan to launch a national-level crypto tourism payment system. These developments confirm the potential of the payment sector, especially against the backdrop of tightening regulations on stablecoins.

In terms of policy, New Hampshire has passed a Bitcoin reserve bill, allowing the state treasury to invest in Bitcoin. This marks the entry of the United States into the compliant investment field of cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has rejected the "Stablecoin Innovation and Security Act," temporarily hindering the establishment of a unified federal regulatory framework.

Overall, the crypto market continues to evolve amidst opportunities and challenges. All parties need to seek a balance between innovation and regulation to promote healthy industry development.