Previously, Ethereum ecosystem developer Max Resnick posted on X on May 27 criticizing that the crypto industry’s large number of on-chain “metrics” are a “scam,” aiming to keep risk capital flowing in. In his post, he directly criticized Restaking data, saying “the same ETH is counted at least ten times,” and stating that “each time I carefully examine how these sites calculate their metrics, I find that their calculations are either wrong or completely meaningless.”
Max Resnick’s specific criticisms: Restaking and lending segment data
Max Resnick criticized three specific areas in his post. Regarding Restaking, he wrote: “Restaking? What a joke! In this chart, the same ETH is counted at least ten times.” Regarding the way metrics are calculated, he said: “Each time I carefully check the definitions of these metrics on these websites, I find that their calculation methods are either incorrect or completely meaningless—there’s no way they can measure what they’re supposed to measure.” Regarding the lending segment, he pointed out that the data continues to deteriorate, and wrote in his post: “Unless this industry starts seriously reflecting on the current state of affairs, things will only get worse. The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that the problem exists.”
Confirmed crypto VC funding in April: 62 deals, total falls to $659 million
Based on the data cited in related reports for May 2026, April’s crypto VC funding fell to about $659 million, with 62 deals, down about 74% quarter over quarter, the lowest monthly total since July 2024. The number of deals in Q1 2026 fell nearly 49% year over year, while the average disclosed funding size increased by about 76% over the same period. According to reports from the same period, capital is currently concentrated in three areas: stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and on-chain derivatives.
Three rounds of confirmed Perp DEX funding already completed in 2026
Despite a soft overall VC environment, the Perp DEX track still completed three rounds of confirmed funding in 2026. On May 22, PopDEX announced it had completed a $30 million strategic seed round led by Foresight Ventures. The funds are planned for injecting initial liquidity and funding security audits. As of the time of the announcement, it remains in invitation-only testing; the audit results, full tokenomics model, and mainnet launch date had not been published. On May 20, Variational announced a $50 million A round led by Dragonfly Capital, with Bain Capital Crypto and Coinbase Ventures participating. The plan is to launch perpetual contracts for gold, silver, copper, and crude oil. Another non-custodial perpetual trading platform, Liquid, completed an $18 million A round in April, with investors including Haun Ventures, SV Angel, and Anti Fund. Across the three rounds combined, the total funding is close to $100 million.
Frequently asked questions
What specific issue does Max Resnick’s criticism of Restaking metrics target?
In his post, Resnick pointed out that in Restaking data, the same ETH is counted repeatedly at least ten times. He believes this method cannot truly reflect the network’s actual asset size, and views it as a specific example of the industry’s metrics inflation problem that he criticized.
What is Max Resnick’s current professional background?
Max Resnick previously served as an Ethereum ecosystem developer at Consensys. In December 2024, he announced that he was leaving and instead joined Solana development company Anza. He is currently active in industry discussions as a Solana ecosystem researcher.
Have the mainnet launch timelines for PopDEX and Variational been confirmed?
As of the time of their respective announcements, PopDEX’s mainnet launch date, full tokenomics model, and security audit results have not been published. Variational plans to launch over 100 perpetual contracts across traditional financial markets this summer, and it has already kicked off the first phase of RWA deployment as of May 20.
