This Week in Review | Base Protocol Ecosystem Sees AI-Related Meme Frenzy; Sanctions Against Tornado Cash Ruled Unlawful
ZKasino team misappropriated user funds to leverage long ETH, realizing a floating profit of $3.22 million; Pump.fun disabled the live streaming feature, and the community plans to release guidelines to make the usage rules more transparent.
BlockBeats will compile industry key news from the week of 11.25-11.29 in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and stay informed of industry trends.
Key News Review
Base Ecosystem AI-related Meme Frenzy, Virtual Protocol Ecosystem Token Continues to Rise, Base Mainnet Cumulative Bridge Storage TVL Surpasses $4.1 Billion
On November 26, the Base Ecosystem AI tokens collectively surged, with VIRTUAL and CLANKER both hitting new all-time highs. On November 28, Base Network TVL surpassed $11 billion, reaching a new high. On November 29, according to Dune data, the Base mainnet's cumulative bridge storage TVL surpassed $4.1 billion. Bithumb listed the VIRTUAL-KRW trading pair, and influenced by the news, the Virtual Protocol ecosystem token continued to rise, with the VIRTUAL market cap hitting a new high. Popular tokens in the Virtual ecosystem such as GAME by Virtuals (GAME), VaderAI by Virtuals (VADER), Bark Ruffalo by Virtuals (PAWSY), and The Css God by Virtuals (WEBSIM) saw significant gains. Related Readings: "AI Coin Launch Mistake but Hundredfold in Three Hours, Hot Money Flowing into Base", "Decoding Clanker: A Multi-Million Dollar Meme Factory on Base", "Rise of AI Agent New Power, Taking Stock of Potential Tokens in the Virtuals Ecosystem"
Binance Lists Thena (THE), Price Continues to Rise After Trading Begins
On November 27, according to the official announcement, Binance launched Thena (THE) U perpetual contract on November 27. THE continued to rise after trading began, with the current price at $3.01. Related Reading: "Wealth Effect Erupts, What Other Projects and MEMEs on the BNB Chain Are Worth Watching?"
Price Plunge After Binance Lists WYH and CHEEMS Contracts, Community Suspects Insider Trading
On November 25, Binance listed the 1000WHYUSDT and 1000CHEEMSUSDT perpetual contracts, which then triggered a short-term crash in both WHY and CHEEMS prices. WHY experienced a short-term drop of over 30%, while CHEEMS plummeted over 57%, sparking intense community discussion and suspicion of Binance engaging in insider trading. Subsequently, Formula News released an article stating, "To the insider traders participating in Binance perpetual contract listings, please slow down next time you sell your chips. The crash of WHY and CHEEMS caused by you this time has resulted in a 100% loss for everyone involved in trading, and you are undermining the trading sentiment."
ZKasino Team Misappropriates User Funds to Continuously Leverage Long ETH, Currently Profiting $3.22 Million
On November 23, according to on-chain data analyst Ember Monitor, the ZKasino address began misappropriating "funds ready to be returned to users" to leverage long ETH on-chain. They deposited 5,270 ETH into Aave as collateral and borrowed 11.589 million DAI, subsequently increasing their position with 3,500 ETH. On November 28, the ZKasino team borrowed 9.36 million DAI to purchase 2,603 ETH. After depositing users' 10,535 ETH into Aave as collateral, they have borrowed a total of 53.77 million DAI to buy 15,645 ETH to leverage long ETH. The ETH purchased through leverage has an average price of $3,437, and with the significant rise in ETH price, the ZKasino team's misappropriation of user ETH as collateral for leveraged long positions has yielded over $3 million in profits.
Previously reported in April this year, ZKasino was already embroiled in a "exit scam" controversy. After the project's staking activity ended, they delayed refunding ETH and unlawfully transferred user funds to Lido for staking. Even by August, ZKasino had yet to issue refunds. Additional reading: "ZKasino Refuses Refunds, Misappropriates Customer Funds for Coin Speculation Profits of Over $3 Million"
Pump.fun Disables Live Stream Feature, Community Plans to Release Guidelines for More Transparent Usage Rules
On November 26, Pump.fun disabled its live stream feature. Pump.fun issued a community announcement explaining the previous live streaming events, asserting a strong stance on curbing improper activities, including actively removing non-compliant token images, names, descriptions, comments, and flagging any NSFW content. To ensure absolute user safety, the website will indefinitely suspend the live stream feature until the audit infrastructure is ready to handle high-level activities. Furthermore, Pump.fun will subsequently release guidelines to make website usage rules and regulations more transparent. Additional reading: "Suicide, Dogging, Child Abuse: Pump.Fun Live Stream Gradually Out of Control"
Pump.science Wallet Key Pair Leak, Fake Tokens Issued in Attack on URO and RIF Wallet Associated with pump.fun
On November 26, Pump Science announced on social media that due to an oversight in its GitHub repository, its wallet starting with T5j2UB was compromised. The attacker found the private key in the website's source code; the key was initially used in GitHub for testing purposes and deemed unimportant by the development team. However, this wallet was actually associated with the creation of off-chain tokens marked as URO and RIF on pump.fun. The attacker utilized this wallet to issue fraudulent tokens. Despite this, the official Pump.science team did not take any remedial or compensatory measures for those who mistakenly believed and bought the scam URO tokens, sparking widespread community concern and discussion. This incident led to a drop in some DeSci concept coins, with both URO and RIF plummeting over 30% in 24 hours. Related reading: "Pump.science Private Key Breach: The Full Story of Fake Coin Launch and Collapse"
Binance Labs Announces Investment in Astherus and Kernel for Staking Infrastructure on BNB Chain
On November 25, according to official sources, Binance Labs announced an investment in Kernel, the staking infrastructure on the BNB Chain, with the investment amount undisclosed. On November 28, Binance Labs announced an investment in Astherus, a multi-asset liquidity hub. Astherus aims to address inefficiencies in DeFi by focusing on maximizing real yields and providing sustainable and substantial returns while enhancing the utility and liquidity of digital assets within the ecosystem.
Justin Sun Appointed as Advisor to Trump-Backed Crypto Project WLFI
On November 27, the Trump-backed crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) announced the hiring of Tron founder and HTX Global Advisory Board member Justin Sun as an advisor. Previously reported by BlockBeats, Justin Sun announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), becoming its largest investor.
Movement Co-founder Publicly Accuses Scroll Team of Misconduct, Damaging L2 Ecosystem Reputation
On November 28, Movement Labs co-founder Rushi Manche publicly accused the Scroll team on X platform of various issues, including: benefiting from years of community effort but launching a predatory incentive scheme that ultimately shifted the burden to retail investors; the team consistently selling secondary market shares in the years leading up to the launch; other team members being forced to buy in at an $18 billion valuation while senior leadership was selling off; the Scroll team directly allocating airdrops to their wallets and then cashing out; designing the most predatory tokenomic model with the aim of harming every community member. Manche accused the Scroll team's behavior of damaging the EVM L2 ecosystem's reputation and called for improvements to avoid making it "look like an outright scam." Related Reading: "Two Major 'VC Coins' Engage in Public Quarrel, Who Should Stand By?"
Ethereum Co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke Transfers 20,000 ETH to Kraken on November 28, Holding 106,006 ETH
On November 28, according to Spot On Chain monitoring, Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke deposited 20,000 ETH (worth $72.5 million) into Kraken, marking his fourth ETH sale in 2024, totaling 44,300 ETH ($148 million). He currently holds 106,006 ETH ($384 million).
Vitalik Interviewed by Tencent: Crypto+DeAI Could Save the World
On November 25, in an interview with Tencent's "DeepHorizon," Ethereum co-founder Vitalik shared his views on the intersection of the Crypto and AI industries, stating: "If you want to see how Crypto can save the world? It can't just be Crypto; it's Crypto + some other thing. The first one might be Crypto + Decentralized AI; the second one might be Crypto + some technology that can replace AI. AI reacts very quickly. For one person to do this, you need to be on the computer 24 hours a day, seeing all the news every minute, every second. And an LLM, you make it run, it can do it by itself. I think there will be more examples in the future. Crypto is a secure base, and through Crypto, you can make a game ensuring the rules of the game are fair. The role of AI is to participate." Related Reading: "Tencent Talks with Vitalik: The World Shouldn't Fall into an AI-Only Empire"
Zhongan Bank in Hong Kong Becomes First in Asia to Offer Cryptocurrency Trading for Retail Customers
On November 25, Zhongan Bank (ZA Bank) in Hong Kong announced that it has become the first bank in Asia to offer cryptocurrency trading services to retail users, allowing the buying and selling of Bitcoin and Ethereum in Hong Kong dollars and US dollars through its app. Hong Kong residents can buy and sell the two digital currencies on the app after opening an investment account with Zhongan Bank and completing processes such as risk assessment. The entry fee is $70 USD or 600 HKD for each currency, with a transaction commission fee of $1.99 USD or 15 HKD per transaction and a platform fee of 1.5% of the transaction amount (with a minimum fee of $1.99 USD or 15 HKD per transaction). The bank will waive commissions and reduce platform fees to 0.8% of the transaction amount by the end of June next year.
Market News: U.S. Court Rules Sanctions Against Tornado Cash Smart Contract Unlawful
On November 27, according to market news, a U.S. court ruled that sanctions against the Tornado Cash smart contract were unlawful. For more information, read: "Landmark Ruling: Sanctions Against Tornado Cash Deemed Illegal, TORN Soars Over 10x Before Retracing"
Trump Nominates 5 "Crypto Players" as New Government Cabinet Picks
On November 28, U.S. President-elect Trump announced the nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. With this nomination, all cabinet picks for Trump's new administration have been finalized. In addition, Trump has nominated several high-profile officials over the past few weeks. Looking at the list of the new government, in addition to names well-known in the crypto market such as Musk and Howard Lutnick, many cabinet officials are staunch supporters of cryptocurrency and have publicly disclosed their crypto holdings, including the nominees for Vice President, Treasury Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretary, National Intelligence Director, and others.
Musk: xAI to Establish AI Game Studio to Make Games Great Again
On November 28, Musk posted on X stating that too many game studios are owned by big companies. xAI will establish an AI game studio to make games great again.
Movement Network Foundation Reveals MOVE Tokenomics, 60% of Total Supply Allocated to Community
On November 26, the Movement Network Foundation announced the tokenomics of its MOVE token. The total supply of MOVE tokens is 10 billion, with an initial circulating supply of approximately 22%. 60% of the total supply will be allocated to the community, including ecosystem and community, foundation, and initial claims. MOVE tokens will be gradually unlocked over 60 months, with the team and investors unable to participate in staking at the outset. The Movement Network Foundation stated that MOVE tokens will undergo a TGE on the Ethereum mainnet. Once the mainnet is live (coming soon), MOVE holders can cross-chain migrate to the Movement Network. Gas fees on the Movement Network will be settled in MOVE, and use cases for the MOVE token include economic security staking, gas fees, governance and decentralization, and Movement Network's native assets.
Hyperliquid Airdrop to Go Live on November 29, with a Total Supply of 1 Billion HYPE
On January 28, the genesis event of the decentralized derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid's native token HYPE went live on November 29 at 15:30 Beijing time. The maximum supply of HYPE is 1 billion tokens. 38.888% is allocated for future emissions and community rewards; 31.0% is allocated to genesis allocation; 23.8% is allocated to current and future core contributors; 6.0% is for the Super Foundation budget; 0.3% is for community grants; 0.012% is allocated to HIP-2. The tokens will be issued over time, with 76.2% going to the community. Eligible participants in the genesis event will receive 310 million tokens, which will fully unlock. Undistributed tokens will be moved to future emissions and community rewards.
Integrated Public Chain Supra Launches Mainnet and Initiates TGE; Solv Protocol Introduces SOLV Token, TGE Coming Soon
On November 27, according to official sources, the vertically integrated public chain Supra announced the launch of its mainnet and the initiation of TGE, offering MultiVM support, native oracles, on-chain randomness, cross-chain communication, and automation features. The SUPRA token was listed on ByBit, Kucoin, Gate, and MEXC on November 27. Supra has raised $38 million, with investment institutions including Coinbase, HashKey, and Animoca. Since Supra's testnet launched in August 2024, it has processed over 9 million transactions. On November 28, according to official sources, the Bitcoin staking protocol Solv Protocol announced the introduction of the SOLV token and an upcoming TGE.
Research: 76% of Crypto KOLs Have Promoted Now-Defunct Meme Coins, High-Follower Accounts Perform the Worst
On November 25, according to a Coinwire report, 76% of cryptocurrency Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on Platform X have promoted now-defunct meme coins, with two-thirds of the promoted tokens completely losing their value. The data shows that out of 377 surveyed KOLs, only 1% of the promoted meme coins achieved a tenfold increase. The research found that 80% of the promoted meme coins experienced a 70% crash within one week, dropped by 80% in value one month later, and more than a 90% crash three months later. KOLs with over 200k followers had the worst promotional effect, with their promoted projects on average losing 39% in value after one week, increasing to an 89% loss three months later. In contrast, small accounts with fewer than 50k followers saw an average gain of 141% three months after promoting projects. Related Read: "True Data: Over 65% of KOLs Recommend Meme Coins that Are Now Worthless, Only 1% Saw a 10x Increase"
Wintermute Market Making Meme Coin: 64% of Tokens in Top 25 Holdings Now Listed on Binance
On November 26, according to @ai_9684xtpa monitoring, currently 64% of the tokens in Wintermute Market Making Meme Coin's top 25 holdings are listed on Binance, with only 6 of them simultaneously listed on spot and futures, while the rest are only listed on futures. For projects newly added to market making or with a high holding percentage, the ratio may be even higher. Tokens not yet listed on Binance include: PEPECOIN, APU, SPX, COQ, MANEKI, michi, MOTHER, REKT (a market making project added three days ago), BENJI (the lowest market capitalization project in the TOP 25 holdings). Commonalities of projects listed on Binance: Sufficiently high community popularity; Market cap greater than $10 million and less than $500 million before listing on Binance; Wintermute's initial holding percentage is not less than 1%.
Pantera Bitcoin Fund Achieves Over 1000x Return, Currently at 131,165% ROI
On November 26, according to official sources, the Pantera Bitcoin Fund recently reached a remarkable milestone - a return of over 1000 times. The post-election market rebound further drove the fund's increase by 30%. The fund's cumulative return currently stands at 131,165% - net of fees and expenses. Catalysts have emerged: Regulatory clarity in the United States. Large institutional managers like BlackRock and Fidelity now provide a low-cost, efficient way for anyone with a brokerage account to invest in Bitcoin. This new convenient channel will finally allow tens of millions of investors and individuals to access this important new asset class. Related reading: "Pantera Founder Looks Back: 10 Years Ago, We Bought 2% of BTC Globally, Now Achieved Thousandfold Return"
DEXX Theft Incident Update: Founder States "If Hacker Does Not Contact Us Within 48 Hours, We Will Investigate to the End"
On November 16, user assets of the on-chain trading terminal DEXX were stolen, resulting in losses in the tens of millions. On November 25, DEXX founder Roy posted on social media, stating, "DEXX has not laid off any team members to this day. This week, we have incurred significant financial costs in pursuing the hacker's funds. We are fully investigating and tracking down the hacker with law enforcement and multiple security companies, determined to recover the stolen funds. The team is currently formulating a compensation plan. If the hacker proactively contacts us within 48 hours, we are willing to communicate with a resolution-oriented approach; otherwise, we will definitely investigate to the end." From November 26 to 29, the DEXX attack continued to swap a large amount of tokens on Solana addresses for SOL. On November 28, SlowMist released a list of DEXX attacker addresses, with 8612 addresses currently identified on the Solana chain.
Top Articles of the Week
The guest of this interview is Benjels, co-founder of pump.science, who gained a lot of attention for desci with the support of CZ and Vitalik at an event in Bangkok. The interview discussed the innovations brought by DeSci and its future development direction, mentioning the practical significance of raising experimental funds for medical and longevity technology through token trading. Benjels also shared new Alpha information, stating that pump.science will launch nearly 20 new experimental tokens around Christmas.
"Suicide, Dogging, Child Abuse: Pump.Fun Livestream Gradually Out of Control"
In May of this year, Pump.fun first launched its livestream feature, but did not receive the expected attention. In November, the official platform heavily promoted the feature again, leading to a trend of "livestream with memes." However, in less than a week, Pump's livestream gradually began to spiral out of control. Due to weak content moderation on the platform, hosts went to extreme lengths to attract attention, even resorting to direct threats against others, putting this killer app of the Solana ecosystem at legal and regulatory risk. On November 26, Pump.fun announced the suspension of the livestream feature.
"Tencent Dialogues with Vitalik: The World Should Not Fall into an AI-Driven Power Kingdom"
Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik had an interview with Tencent News's "The Lookout." When discussing the differences between artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptographic technology (Crypto), Vitalik pointed out that the two represent different technological philosophies. AI emphasizes centralization, power, and data concentration, and may become the mainstream global force in the future, while Crypto advocates decentralization and equality, more suitable for addressing trust issues. Vitalik believes that AI's development may exacerbate centralization trends, especially as technology advances, privacy and security issues become more prominent. Despite this, he remains hopeful for decentralized AI, stating that distributed AI can prevent overreliance on centralization by big corporations. He also mentioned that although AI is a powerful tool, Crypto technology still has unique advantages in addressing trust issues and achieving globalized applications.
The BNB Chain has recently attracted market attention, especially after launching multiple new MEME tokens and DeFi projects. Binance introduced the 1000WHYUSDT and 1000CHEEMSUSDT perpetual contracts and further invested in the DeFi infrastructure Kernel of the BNB Chain. With the rise of representative DeFi projects like Thena, the trading volume and market capitalization of the BNB Chain have significantly increased, and the market's focus on its ecosystem continues to grow. At the same time, the AI MEME concept has also begun to gain attention on the BNB Chain, with projects like $AICELL and $NMT performing well. Additionally, multiple MEME tokens like $COOKIE and $BOB have also attracted investors' attention, bringing more liquidity and market heat to the BNB Chain.
The Pantera Bitcoin Fund has achieved significant returns since its launch in 2013, with a current return rate of 131,165%. The fund's success began with the decision to buy 2% of the global Bitcoin supply when the price was low. Despite Bitcoin's price experiencing drastic fluctuations, the fund manager believes that Bitcoin is still in its early stages and has enormous growth potential in the future. Especially as the regulatory environment in the United States becomes clearer and large financial institutions participate, the Bitcoin market is expected to continue expanding. The author is confident that Bitcoin will become part of the global monetary system and could experience dozens of times growth, becoming a global payment and store of value tool, surpassing traditional financial assets.
Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, known as the "Bitcoin Jesus," shared his personal and company's successful transformation experience and delved into the uniqueness of Bitcoin and its investment value. He believes that in times of economic uncertainty, concentrating investment in Bitcoin is wiser than risk diversification because Bitcoin is the only digital commodity with global liquidity and scarcity. He recounted his journey from skepticism to strong belief in Bitcoin and emphasized that Bitcoin is not just an investment tool but also a means of empowering global wealth. Saylor also explained how MicroStrategy, through innovative methods like issuing convertible bonds, leverages Bitcoin's high volatility and liquidity to create higher returns for investors. He predicts that Bitcoin will become the primary global wealth storage tool in the future, estimating that by 2045, the price of each Bitcoin will reach $13 million.
Recently, Clanker has repeatedly hit all-time highs, bringing Farcaster back into the spotlight once again. In this podcast interview, we see how a crypto industry veteran who emerged from Coinbase is leading Farcaster from its startup stage to become a pioneering platform exploring decentralized social networks. From expectations for Frames V2, to collaboration with Base, to a foresight into a Bitcoin strategic reserve, Dan not only shares his vision but also confronts the ups and downs of a decade in the industry, admitting, "The peak is not as high as you imagine, and the low is not as low as you imagine."
"Decoding Clanker: The Multi-Million-Dollar Meme Factory on Base"
Clanker is a Web3 project that combines AI agents, a social meme platform, and a token issuance tool, dedicated to automating meme token issuance. Since November 2024, Clanker has rapidly risen within the Base ecosystem, successfully issuing multiple meme coins with market caps exceeding tens of millions of dollars, such as LUM and ANON, and has attracted the attention of Ethereum's founder Vitalik through its integration with zk anonymity technology. Unlike other platforms like Solana's pump.fun, Clanker emphasizes the integration with AI technology and adopts a more transparent model in terms of transaction fees and revenue sharing. It represents the rise of "application-based memes" in the Base ecosystem and may become a significant breakthrough for the Ethereum ecosystem in the meme race.
"Missed the First Crab Leg, These AI Agents Coins Are Still Booming"
Recently, the MEME sector continues to evolve based on existing AI agents and meme patterns, refining and innovating gameplay. On the BASE chain, several emerging projects have performed well, even siphoning off some of Solana's on-chain funds. This article summarizes the latest hot and potential AI agents coins.
"The Clash of the Two Major 'VC Coins': Whose Side Should You Be On?"
In a recent development, a heated debate erupted between the Scroll and Movement teams, stemming from accusations regarding technology and the tokenomics model. Former Scroll team member Toghrul criticized Movement for merely renaming existing concepts with their "postconfirmations" term, accusing them of code plagiarism and immature technology. In response, Movement criticized Scroll for over-reliance on the community, implementing unfair incentive policies, and having unreasonable token distribution, leading to community backlash. The dispute between the two parties not only involves technical details but also delves into issues such as team management, community relations, and tokenomics, sparking widespread discussions and criticisms. Public opinion seems to favor Movement, with many believing that Scroll's management and public relations strategies have serious flaws, undermining the fairness and transparency of the blockchain ecosystem.
"Amidst Abundant 100x Opportunities, What's Happening in the Most Degen Crypto Narrative?"
This article points out that as cryptocurrency technology is gradually embraced by the mainstream tech sector, with the relaxation of crypto regulations, the growing DeFi bubble, and the continuous emergence of iconic crypto-driven use cases, early trends in DePin, DeSci, and AI fervor indicate potential trends and opportunities. In the future, more innovators will leverage crypto + tech for project funding and development, hinting that the next four years might be the breakout period for the real-world application of crypto technology.
"Data Revealed: Over 65% of KOL-Endorsed Meme Coins Have Gone to Zero, Only 1% Have 10x Gains"
A study has uncovered that with the rise of Memecoins, many social media influencers have packaged them as get-rich-quick investment opportunities. However, the reality is that most Memecoins have already "died," leaving investors facing significant losses. Analysis shows that 76% of influencers have promoted "dead" Memecoins, with the majority of these tokens swiftly losing their value, plummeting by 90% within three months. Only 1% of Memecoins have achieved 10x growth, and the more followers an influencer has, the worse the performance of the Memecoins they endorse. Despite this, influencers can still earn substantial income by promoting these tokens, indicating that their primary motivation is financial gain rather than seeking gains for investors. Investors should be wary of the risks associated with influencer endorsements and rationally assess the true value of these tokens.
The bull market in 2024 is very different from 2021, lacking new narratives and new retail investors joining, and there is no massive influx of funds into high FDV projects. However, Trump's policy favorability has brought new opportunities for Bitcoin and meme coins, especially for BTC breaking through several key levels with his support, and meme coins like Dogecoin and Pepe performing well under the push of Western capital. BTC and meme coins have attracted a large amount of capital. Although there is no traditional "altcoin season," funds have flowed into crypto-related U.S. stock targets such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy. With Trump potentially pushing for the approval of a crypto ETF, the dominant logic of this bull market has become clear: investing in assets related to Trump and Western capital will be the most cost-effective choice.
"Net Inflows Overtake Solana, Is the 'Base Era' Approaching?"
The future of Base chains is widely optimistic, primarily based on Coinbase's strong support, Ethereum's network effect, and rapidly decreasing usage friction. Coinbase, as a global leading crypto exchange, actively promotes the development of Base chains and attracts a large number of users. At the same time, Base is gradually catering to emerging trends such as AI and memecoins, and the integration of virtual agents and Farcaster is also a highlight of its ecosystem development. Despite facing high risks and bubble issues, Base, with the professionalism of its team, the growth of inflows, and outstanding community performance, has demonstrated the potential to become a key platform in the next phase of the crypto field.
In a recent interview, Arthur Hayes boldly predicted that if Trump comes to power in the U.S., his loose monetary policy may lead to a depreciation of the U.S. dollar, thereby driving up the prices of Bitcoin and other crypto assets. He believes that global inflation and changes in currency policies worldwide will benefit fixed-supply assets like Bitcoin. He also mentioned that meme coins and other crypto assets will also benefit from Bitcoin's rally and warned investors to stay vigilant during the bull market, avoiding overlooking market risks due to greed. In addition, Hayes predicted that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 by 2025 and emphasized the importance of timely cashing out.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) recently submitted applications for four Solana ETFs, reflecting the potential of the cryptocurrency ETF market. Despite Solana's challenge of lacking a mature futures market, the approval outlook for a Solana ETF has become more optimistic with the changing U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory environment. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is set to resign in January 2025, which may lead to a shift in regulatory strategy from enforcement-based to a disclosure-based model, presenting new opportunities for the approval of a Solana ETF. Solana has shown strong growth momentum, and while there are still legal and market challenges, its progress in decentralization and recognition of its commodity attributes have laid the foundation for its ETF applications. It is expected that if approved, a Solana ETF will ignite significant demand in the cryptocurrency market.
"Ethereum Spot ETF Welcomes Staking Expectations, Which Coins Will Benefit?"
In July, the U.S. SEC approved the trading of an Ethereum spot ETF, but four months later, the traditional financial markets' enthusiasm for ETH is far less than that for BTC. The main reason is that ETH struggles to attract the traditional market, and the selling pressure from Grayscale's ETHE and the SEC's prohibition of staking functionality have weakened its appeal. However, with the expectation of regulatory improvements post-Trump's election and the introduction of staking function to ETH spot ETFs, the investment attractiveness of ETH is expected to strengthen. Bitwise has acquired Ethereum staking service provider Attestant, and 21 Shares has added staking functionality to its Ethereum ETP product, which could drive growth in ETH and the staking sector. Nevertheless, the rebound of the staking and re-staking sector is still primarily driven by market sentiment in the short term, and actual business opportunities remain limited.
"Wall Street Veterans Are Also Starting to Play with Altcoins"
This week, as Bitcoin experienced a pullback, the altcoin market saw a rebound, especially as Ethereum broke $3,600, with various sectors such as DeFi and Layer2 witnessing a general rise. Wall Street's cryptocurrency ETF applications were a significant driver of this recovery, particularly the ETF applications for altcoins such as Solana and XRP, which garnered widespread attention. Changes in the regulatory environment, especially the cryptocurrency-friendly policies of the Trump administration, have increased market confidence in the approval of altcoin ETFs. Despite regulatory challenges, traditional institutions are actively exploring cryptocurrency investment products, and it is expected that the future derivatives market for cryptocurrency assets will experience a surge. These factors have injected new vitality into the altcoin market.
"Why Has RWA Recently Exploded in Popularity and Taken on a Rampant Trend?"
Recently, RWA has been gaining more attention in the blockchain and crypto market, especially becoming a hot topic in FinTech activities in Hong Kong and Singapore. The compliant RWA market in Hong Kong is gradually developing, but currently mainly focuses on private equity funds and tokenization issuance, with the primary and secondary markets yet to be perfected. The RWA projects promoted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission still face some challenges. Meanwhile, some top exchanges have also started to pay attention to RWA and launched related products. With the growing interest in RWA in the mainland market, Hong Kong may become a bridge connecting mainland assets with global capital. However, the RWA market still needs to address issues such as liquidity, trading platform development, and regulatory framework improvement, which may lead to the emergence of specialized RWA exchange platforms in the future.
In this roundtable discussion, several leading figures in the crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) fields shared their views on intelligent agent technology and Web3. The guests discussed the rise of AI agents in social media and how crypto tokens are driving the advancement of this technology. They analyzed the pros and cons of decentralized and centralized AI platforms and discussed the future direction of agent autonomy and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Additionally, how agents integrate with DeFi and social platforms was also a significant topic. By sharing their project progress and innovative practices, the guests showcased the immense potential of AI agents combined with cryptocurrency and predicted that this field will continue to rapidly evolve in the future, especially in applications on social platforms and games.
More and more global public companies are including Bitcoin in their reserve assets to optimize their financial structure and boost stock prices. This week, Chinese concept stock SOS Ltd. announced a $50 million investment in Bitcoin and plans to achieve steady returns through quantitative trading strategies, leading to a significant stock price surge. Besides SOS, other public companies in the US and Hong Kong are actively incorporating Bitcoin into their portfolio, such as Meitu and Boyaa Interactive. Meitu holds 941 Bitcoins with an unrealized gain of over $40 million, but its stock price has not seen a significant increase. Boyaa Interactive holds 2641 Bitcoins, and its stock price has risen by over 750% this year. Furthermore, some companies like NetDragon and Coolpad have also gained considerable profits through Bitcoin investments, despite significant stock price fluctuations.
"Following MicroStrategy, How Long Can the 'Hodl' Craze in the U.S. Stock Market Last?"
As the price of Bitcoin continues to soar, an increasing number of non-crypto companies are following MicroStrategy's lead and purchasing Bitcoin as a reserve asset. This strategy has temporarily boosted the stock prices of these companies, but its long-term effects remain uncertain. Optimists believe this will help drive mainstream adoption of Bitcoin, while skeptics see it as merely a ploy by small companies for short-term speculation. Despite MicroStrategy's success enabling these companies to access funding, market experts warn that this behavior may be unsustainable hype and could result in a significant pullback as Bitcoin's price fluctuates.
DeSci has become a hot topic in the crypto space since November, drawing the attention of heavyweights like CZ and Vitalik. DeSci aims to use Web3 technology to address issues in traditional research such as funding difficulties and lack of data sharing, promoting fairer and more transparent scientific research. Currently, entrepreneurs in this field can be classified into different tiers, with first-tier founders often having a highly vertical research background, like Tyler Golato of Molecule and VitaDAO and Alok Tayi of Vibe Bio. Second-tier entrepreneurs, while having a broader resume, also show significant influence, with figures like Coinbase's founder Brian Armstrong making moves in the DeSci space. With the rapid development of DeSci, more experienced elites in the field are entering this race, forming a competitive "snobbery chain," and investors tend to support entrepreneurs with deep backgrounds.
October's crypto market funding activities have shown a clear lag effect, with many deals closing after founders' months-long efforts, and caution is advised when interpreting signs of market improvement. Although October saw a record-high funding amount, this growth predominantly reflects investor confidence from months prior. Projects like Praxis, Kiva AI, and Azra Games making appearances across various funding stages demonstrate the potential of the Web3 ecosystem in overcoming technological and application bottlenecks. Overall, while funding activity has increased, it is expected that transaction activity will remain subdued in November and December, with investors possibly delaying decisions and opting to assess the situation in the new year.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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Bitget has launched PENGUUSDT for futures trading with a maximum leverage of 75, along with support for futures trading bots, on December 18, 2024 (UTC+8). Welcome to try futures trading via our official website (www.bitget.com) or Bitget APP. PENGUUSDT-M perpetual futures: Parameters Details Listi
Musk says Warren's allegations of conflict of interest in DOGE were driven by SBF parents