Gate Research: Polygon Completes the Madhugiri Hard Fork Upgrade｜BTC Supply on Exchanges Declines Sharply

Crypto Market Overview

• BTC (+2.07% | Current Price: 92,005 USDT): BTC saw buying support after briefly pulling back toward the 92,000 USD region. Although it has retraced from the recent 94,500 USD high, the overall structure remains within a short-term bullish trend. The MA5 and MA10 have softened slightly but remain above the MA30, indicating the trend has not weakened and BTC is merely entering a short-term consolidation phase. MACD histogram bars are narrowing from elevated levels, signaling cooling momentum, but remain above the zero line, showing the market is in a post-strength moderation stage. If BTC can hold the 91,800–92,200 USD range, the recovery could continue; however, a breakdown below the MA30 may open the path toward testing support near 90,500 USD.
• ETH (+5.84% | Current Price: 3,290 USDT): ETH saw profit-taking after touching 3,397 USD and has pulled back to around 3,290 USD, entering a consolidation phase after a strong upswing. The moving-average structure remains bullish: although the MA5 and MA10 are bending downward and nearing the price, both remain above the MA30, indicating the short-term trend is intact. The MACD histogram has contracted noticeably as bullish momentum cools, but no reversal signal has appeared. If ETH can hold the 3,250–3,280 USD range, it remains in strong consolidation; a drop below 3,220 USD could lead to a retest of support near the MA30.
• Altcoins: The Fear & Greed Index remains at 26—slightly above yesterday’s “extreme fear” level—but overall market sentiment is still cautious, with investor risk appetite remaining subdued.
• Macro: On December 9, the S&P 500 fell 0.08% to 6,840.51; the Dow Jones dropped 0.38% to 47,560.29; and the Nasdaq gained 0.13% to 23,576.49. As of 10:15 AM on December 10 (UTC+8), spot gold trades at 4,214 USD per ounce, up 0.14% in the past 24 hours.

Trending Tokens

PIPPIN Pippin (+66.39%, Circulating Market Cap: $301M)

According to Gate market data, PIPPIN is trading at USD 0.29568, up approximately 66.39% in the past 24 hours. Pippin is an SVG unicorn character generated based on the latest ChatGPT-4o LLM benchmarks, created by AI innovator Yohei Nakajima. Yohei is a highly influential figure in the AI x VC field and is considered one of the key drivers behind the “AI for VC” movement. Known for his transparent building approach, he has released over 100 AI-powered prototypes, automation agents, and open-source tools.

Overall, the recent surge appears to be driven primarily by “narrative reinforcement + market sentiment + speculative flows,” rather than concrete product updates or technical breakthroughs. Social activity around Pippin has been relatively muted, and its official X account has not posted since August, indicating that the rally is not fueled by community engagement or event-driven catalysts. Nonetheless, the strong AI narrative associated with Yohei Nakajima has kept Pippin relevant during market sentiment rebounds, making it a favored target for momentum-driven capital.

WET HumidiFi (+37.01%, Circulating Market Cap: $40.58M)

Gate market data shows WET trading at USD 0.19182, up 37.01% in the past 24 hours. HumidiFi is a liquidity and trading infrastructure project built within the Solana ecosystem, designed to create composable DeFi product experiences using a distinctive “water element” visual and conceptual theme. Its core mission is to offer a fairer and more efficient trading environment, using the concept of “humidity” as the foundation for on-chain interactions and incentive expansion.

This price surge was likely driven by strong attention following the recent TGE launch. On December 9, the team officially announced its TGE and released the WaterWorld-themed video, reinforcing market understanding of the project’s positioning. The team subsequently published an analysis of DTF presale transaction fees, emphasizing the presale’s success in mitigating bot frontrunning and enabling fair distribution—boosting community confidence in the team’s technical and execution capabilities. Additionally, listings across multiple Solana ecosystem trading platforms improved accessibility and helped amplify early liquidity growth.

PENGU Pengu (+10.46%, Circulating Market Cap: $787M)

According to Gate market data, PENGU is trading at USD 0.012527, up around 10.46% in the past 24 hours. Pengu is a Web3 entertainment ecosystem built around a highly recognizable penguin-themed IP, leveraging lightweight content, community engagement, and cross-platform interaction to expand its cultural presence within the crypto community.

The latest price increase was likely supported by two recent developments from the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem:

• The mobile game Pudgy Party surpassed 1 million downloads on both the App Store and Google Play, significantly strengthening Pudgy’s reach in mainstream markets.
• Lil Pudgys announced the official release of AI-enabled interactive toys powered by Curio, with each physical toy featuring its own AI companion, further integrating real-world products with digital experiences.

These two updates enhance Pudgy’s cross-media footprint and bolster expectations for its combined strategy of “content + consumer products + on-chain ecosystem,” lifting sentiment around PENGU.

Alpha Insights

Polygon’s Madhugiri Upgrade: Performance Leap and Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure Improvements

Polygon has completed the Madhugiri hard fork upgrade, boosting network throughput by approximately 33% to nearly 1,400 TPS. A key enhancement is the introduction of adjustable block-time parameters, allowing future modifications to block-production speed to be configured on-chain rather than via hard forks—reducing upgrade costs and operational disruptions. The upgrade also standardizes the consensus cycle to one second and activates Ethereum’s Fusaka EIP series, implementing measures such as transaction gas caps to mitigate abnormal transaction loads and further strengthen network resilience.

Overall, the Madhugiri upgrade not only enhances performance and security but also improves predictability and operational control for enterprise-level users, especially in high-frequency and high-reliability scenarios involving Revolut, MasterCard, Stripe, and others. Enhanced throughput and parameter flexibility significantly increase Polygon’s enterprise expansion potential and set a stronger infrastructure standard within the competitive Rollup and Layer 2 landscape.

Decentralized AI Partners with On-Chain Liquidity Networks to Build CARiFIN, the Next-Generation Insurance Infrastructure

Decentralized AI model platform FLock.io announced a partnership with Deluthium, an AI-native liquidity infrastructure provider, and Aerodrome, Base’s core on-chain liquidity hub, to jointly develop CARiFIN—a next-generation on-chain inclusive finance platform designed to accelerate adoption under regulatory and governance frameworks. The initiative aims to address structural issues long plaguing the micro-insurance market—lack of trust, insufficient liquidity, and complex compliance requirements—providing underserved populations with transparent, efficient, and sustainable insurance support.

At the infrastructure level:

• FLock.io provides the AI decision-making engine for privacy-preserving risk modeling and automated claims assessment, reducing operational costs and improving efficiency.
• Deluthium supplies secure on-chain execution and stablecoin routing, enabling institution-grade settlement through dark-pool–style zero-slippage payouts.
• Aerodrome leverages the VerifiedERC20 modular standard to introduce identity verification and compliance mechanisms, ensuring payment processes remain auditable and traceable.

Together, the three components form a fully integrated end-to-end on-chain insurance system, enhancing trust, scalability, and applicability for inclusive finance.

BTC Supply on Exchanges Declines Sharply, Reducing Sell-Side Pressure and Strengthening Market Structure

According to Santiment, the amount of BTC held on exchanges has fallen by approximately 403,200 BTC over the past year, indicating a significant shift of coins toward self-custody or long-term holding addresses. Such flows typically suggest that investors prefer accumulating rather than actively trading, reducing active sell pressure and providing more stable support for spot prices. With fewer short-term liquid tokens available, the market becomes less sensitive to sudden sell-offs.

Structurally, the continued decline in exchange balances not only lowers the probability of large-scale sell events but also reinforces BTC’s supply-tightening dynamics, improving the supply-demand balance in favor of price performance. Amid macro uncertainty and volatile derivatives sentiment, reduced spot-side supply serves as an important stabilizing force, helping moderate volatility, strengthen confidence, and build a firmer foundation for future market trends.


References

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
• Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
• X, https://polygon.technology/blog/polygon-speeds-up-by-33-with-madhugiri-hardfork
• X, https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1998241268053233907?s=20

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