TLDR
- PumpFun will add USDC pairs for new tokens, while older SOL pairs remain active unchanged.
- Sui now supports gas-free stablecoin transfers, removing SUI balance needs for supported payment users mainnet.
- BNB Chain tested post-quantum signatures, but larger data sizes still limit production use at scale.
- Solana’s Chain GDP reached $342.2 million, while RWA value rose above $2.01 billion in Q1.
- BENJI passed BUIDL on Ethereum, as tokenized money market funds kept growing on-chain last month.
Crypto projects saw a busy week as PumpFun added USDC pairs, Sui launched gas-free stablecoin transfers, and BNB Chain tested post-quantum security. Solana also reported strong on-chain revenue, while tokenized funds, L2 exits, and project shutdowns drew attention. These updates show how networks are changing payments, security, liquidity, and user access across the wider crypto market.
Solana revenue grows as PumpFun shifts to USDC
Messari reported that Solana’s on-chain application revenue reached $342.2 million in Q1 2026. PumpFun led applications with $124.7 million in revenue. The report called this metric Chain GDP.
Solana’s Real Economic Value fell 1% to $89.5 million. Messari said Solana ranked second only to Hyperliquid by this measure. Its DeFi TVL dropped 22% to $6.16 billion.
The report said the TVL fall came mainly from a 33% SOL price drop. It did not point to a clear user exit. At the same time, Solana-based RWA market value rose 43% to $2.01 billion.
BlackRock BUIDL held $525.4 million in Solana-based RWA value. PRIME reached $361.2 million, and ONyc stood at $145.4 million. Solana also plans the Alpenglow upgrade through Agave 4.1.
PumpFun will support USDC pairs for new tokens from May 21. Existing SOL-paired tokens will remain unchanged. Solana Foundation President Lily Liu recently said, “memecoins do not define Solana.”
Sui launches gas-free transfers as BNB Chain tests new security
Sui has launched gas-free stablecoin transfers on mainnet. Users and firms can send supported stablecoins without holding SUI. The feature supports USDsui, SuiUSDe, AUSD, FDUSD, USDB, USDC, and USDY.
Fireblocks supports the rollout, according to the announcement. The change lowers stablecoin transfer fees on Sui to $0. It targets simple peer-to-peer payments and business transfers.
BNB Chain released its BSC Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration Report. The report said testing showed post-quantum schemes can work on BSC. It uses ML-DSA-44 for signatures and pqSTARK for vote aggregation.
However, the report noted several limits. Signature size rose from 65 bytes to 2,420 bytes. At 2,000 TPS, block size increased from about 130 KB to about 2 MB.
BNB Chain said cross-region TPS fell by about 40%. It also said data growth remains the main barrier. Network and data layer scaling need more work before full production use.
L2 exits, tokenized funds, and project closures draw attention
L2Beat said it rebuilt all ZK circuits used by Lighter’s perpetuals DEX L2. The work covers the Lighter verifier and Lighter Desert verifier. It allows users to create proofs and withdraw through L1.
The feature supports a trustless emergency exit if the sequencer fails. It also works if the sequencer acts badly. Anatoly Yakovenko had called Lighter “another form of CEX.”
On Ethereum, Franklin Templeton’s BENJI became the largest tokenized money market fund. Its on-chain value rose 50% over one month to $1.4 billion. BENJI passed BUIDL, which held $1.1 billion.
Echo Protocol confirmed a compromised admin key caused unauthorized eBTC minting on Monad. The team regained the key and burned 955 stolen eBTC. It said the real loss was about $816,000.
Zero Network will shut down and stop producing blocks after July 31, 2026. Users must bridge out NFTs, ETH, and other tokens before then. Syndicate also announced closure after five years of work.
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