Daily Report | Musk tweeted this morning with frog elements; at least 60 billionaires worldwide have invested in Bitcoin; ten regions in Russia have全

Organizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher

Important News:

• Musk tweeted this morning with frog elements
• Cryptocurrency market cap surpasses the US high-yield bond market in Q4 2024
• OKX plans to conduct TON network upgrade maintenance on January 2 and suspend deposits and withdrawals
• Shanghai police dismantled a virtual currency scam gang, earning high fees through a fake trading platform
• Data: At least 60 billionaires worldwide have invested in Bitcoin
• IRS releases temporary relief measures for cryptocurrency taxes, benefiting CeFi exchange users in 2025
• Syria proposes legalizing Bitcoin to promote economic recovery
• Ten regions in Russia have fully banned cryptocurrency mining starting today

"What important events happened in the past 24 hours"

Musk tweeted this morning with frog elements

Musk tweeted again at 5 AM Beijing time with "Brothers in Arms," accompanied by an image of Pepe as a Roman general.

It is reported that Musk is currently playing the hardcore mode of "Path of Exile 2," at level 85. The core mechanism of hardcore mode is permanent death, meaning that once a character dies, all progress and equipment are permanently deleted. This mechanism provides players with a high level of challenge and a sense of achievement.

Cryptocurrency market cap surpasses the US high-yield bond market in Q4 2024

According to a report by Grayscale Research, in the last quarter of 2024, the cryptocurrency market cap skyrocketed from $1 trillion to over $3 trillion, surpassing the total value of global inflation-linked bond markets. At certain moments, the cryptocurrency market cap was even twice that of the US high-yield bond market.

OKX plans to conduct TON network upgrade maintenance on January 2 and suspend deposits and withdrawals

According to an official announcement, OKX will conduct TON network upgrade maintenance on January 2, 2025, at 10:00 AM (UTC+8). During the upgrade maintenance, deposits and withdrawals will be suspended, expected to be:

• Upgrade maintenance completed and withdrawals opened on January 3 at 6:00 PM (UTC+8);
• Upgrade maintenance completed and deposits opened on January 3 at 6:00 PM (UTC+8).

Shanghai police dismantled a virtual currency scam gang, earning high fees through a fake trading platform

Recently, the Yangpu police in Shanghai successfully cracked a virtual currency contract trading scam case after meticulous investigation, dismantling a scam gang of 16 people, with an involved amount of over 300,000 yuan.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed to their criminal activities. Based on prior investigation, the special investigation team fully grasped the gang's modus operandi, where Yang and others posed as "investment masters" infiltrating various virtual currency investment group chats, directing interested individuals to a fake trading platform they set up. They exploited victims' psychology of "making quick money" by inducing them to conduct multiple trades to earn high fees. Subsequently, they manipulated victims to increase their investment "profit and loss ratio," misleading them into believing that their investment failures were due to misjudgment of the market, thus defrauding them of money.

Currently, Yang and the other 15 suspects have been criminally detained by the Yangpu police for suspected fraud, and the case is under further investigation. (Xinmin Evening News)

Data: At least 60 billionaires worldwide have invested in Bitcoin

HODL15Capital stated that at least 60 billionaires worldwide have invested in Bitcoin, indicating that the confidence of global wealthy individuals is continuously increasing.

IRS releases temporary relief measures for cryptocurrency taxes, benefiting CeFi exchange users in 2025

According to Bitcoin.com, the IRS has released a temporary relief measure expected to benefit CeFi exchange users in 2025. This relief measure addresses concerns raised by the final version of the Section 6045 regulations for custodial brokers, which will take effect on January 1, 2025, requiring digital assets to adopt a first-in, first-out (FIFO) accounting method unless a preferred method such as highest-in, first-out (HIFO) or Spec ID is chosen.

Cointracker's tax strategy director Shehan Chandrasekera explained the issue, emphasizing that "as of January 1, 2025, almost all CeFi brokers will not be prepared to support Spec ID." This lack of preparation will force many cryptocurrency holders to default to FIFO accounting, potentially leading to higher tax burdens during asset sales. He described, "In a bull market environment, this could be disastrous for many taxpayers, as you may inadvertently sell the assets you purchased first (often with the lowest cost basis) while unknowingly maximizing your capital gains."

The IRS's temporary relief allows taxpayers to continue using their own records or tax software to identify specific units being sold. The relief period only applies to CeFi transactions from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. After this date, taxpayers will need to formally choose an accounting method with their brokers. Chandrasekera also emphasized the importance of synchronizing tax software with broker settings.

Syria proposes legalizing Bitcoin to promote economic recovery

According to Cryptopolitan, the Syrian Economic Research Center has proposed a plan urging the transitional government to adopt Bitcoin and other digital assets to combat inflation, stabilize the economy, and attract global investment. This plan comes at a time when the country faces significant reconstruction challenges after decades of war and financial disaster. The proposal emphasizes Bitcoin as a lifeline for Syrian citizens and their struggling financial system. It suggests establishing a regulatory framework to legalize the use of Bitcoin in trading, mining, and financial transactions.

Ten regions in Russia have fully banned cryptocurrency mining starting today

Ten regions in Russia have fully banned cryptocurrency mining starting January 1, with three other regions implementing partial bans. The government decree was passed on December 23, stipulating a complete ban on mining from January 2025 to March 2031. In the other three regions, mining will be partially restricted during each heating season (from November 15 to March 15 of the following year, excluding the first year after the ban takes effect on January 1, 2025).

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated at the end of December that the number of regions banning cryptocurrency mining could increase if requests are received from governors. Authorities in the Republic of Khakassia have already requested the Ministry of Energy to limit mining activities in the region.

Vitalik questions Musk over free speech and "banhammer" threats

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called on Musk to "cool down," as his platform sparked new free speech controversies amid heated debates about foreign tech workers.

Musk publicly supported top US companies hiring foreign tech workers, which angered conservatives on X, who believe that hiring conditions in the US are increasingly unfavorable for domestic citizens.

Vitalik stated that while he admires Musk's willingness to fight for free speech, he urged Musk to "cool down," tone down the "rhetoric," and stop using the "social media banhammer" to shut down X accounts.

Vitalik said, "It's easy to respect free speech when we agree with the speech, but it's hard when we find the speech appalling. But the reasons for respecting free speech never change: today the ban is in one party's hands, and tomorrow it could be in another's."

RootData: Total funding in the Web3 industry reached $10.112 billion in 2024, with Animoca Brands being the most active investor with 95 investments

According to statistics from the Web3 asset data platform RootData, the total funding amount in the crypto market reached $10.112 billion in 2024, an 8.3% increase from $9.337 billion in 2023. A total of 1,548 funding events occurred throughout the year, with 102 mergers and acquisitions, a 34.2% increase from 76 in 2023, setting a historical high. The average funding amount was $9.1352 million, with a median funding amount of $4.1 million. In terms of funding scale, projects in the $1-3 million range were the most numerous, totaling 408, followed by 244 in the $5-10 million range and 219 in the $3-5 million range; in terms of funding rounds, seed rounds dominated, totaling 426.

From the perspective of sector distribution, the infrastructure sector attracted the most capital, with total funding of $3.995 billion in 2024, an 18.2% increase from $3.379 billion in 2023; the DeFi sector ranked second with $1.493 billion, nearly doubling from $759 million in 2023; funding in the gaming sector increased from $669 million in 2023 to $813 million. Notably, funding in the CeFi sector decreased from $990 million in 2023 to $679 million in 2024. The largest funding event of the year was Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of the stablecoin platform Bridge, followed by $413 million in financing for Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy, and $250 million in OTC financing completed by Avalanche.

In terms of investment institution activity, Animoca Brands topped the list with 95 investments, followed by OKX Ventures with 72 and MH Ventures with 56. In terms of leading investments, Polychain was the most active, completing 30 leading investments throughout the year, followed by Hack VC with 24, and both Lemniscap and Animoca Brands completed 17 leading investments, ranking third.

Usual: Yesterday, USD0 briefly dropped to $0.99 due to a large-scale sell-off by a whale, but the peg has returned to normal

Usual stated on social media that at 5 PM Beijing time yesterday, the Usual protocol experienced a large-scale sell-off of USD0 triggered by a whale trading in the secondary market. This event raised doubts about USD0's ability to maintain its $1 peg. USD0 briefly dropped to $0.99 but quickly returned to the $1 peg within seconds, although there was a deviation of several basis points (bps) due to continuous selling initially, it fully restored the peg after a few hours.

USD0 can always be redeemed at a 1:1 ratio for its underlying collateral assets, ensuring the solvency of the Usual protocol. Currently, all USD0 can be redeemed on a T+0 basis and is supported by highly liquid short-term money market instruments.

The peg has returned to normal. This event was the first significant stress test of USD0's pegging ability, with the redemption volume exceeding the entire TVL (Total Value Locked) of GHO within a few hours, but the protocol continued to operate as usual. They will continue to optimize processes and improve efficiency, with many exciting updates to be released soon.

Andrew Kang: 2025 will be the year of AI agents

Mechanism Capital partner Andrew Kang stated on X, "2025 will be the year of AI agents, 2026 will be the year of humanoid robots, and 2027 will be the year of human-AI integration."

"What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours"

RootData December crypto market data summary: BTC surged strongly at year-end to set new highs, investment and financing market shows signs of recovery

The MicroStrategy model has gained market recognition, with most Bitcoin mining companies issuing convertible bonds to raise funds while the market is hot.

The concluding remarks of 50 crypto KOLs for 2024 and the password for 2025

The new year is just around the corner.

The crypto world of 2024 has been full of peaks, with Bitcoin reaching new highs, new narrative melodies sweeping the industry, some seizing wealth opportunities to reach the peak, while others lead trends and pluck the strings of the future.

An obvious trend is that in the rapidly changing pace of the industry, amidst the rise of memes, crypto KOLs are becoming increasingly crucial in discovering new valuable targets, bridging information dissemination gaps, and supervising industry issues.

Therefore, at the turn of the year, Odaily Planet Daily specially invited 50 leading KOLs in the crypto field to review their experiences in 2024, look forward to opportunities in 2025, send messages, and wish readers to accurately capture Alpha in the new year, with wealth rolling in and everything going smoothly!

Grayscale Q1 2025 Selection: 20 tokens with high growth potential

• The crypto market surged significantly in Q4 2024, with the FTSE / Grayscale Crypto Sectors Index showing strong market performance. The increase largely reflects the market's positive response to the results of the US elections.

• Competition in the smart contract platform sector remains fierce. The leading player, Ethereum, has underperformed compared to its second-largest competitor, Solana, and investors are increasingly focusing on other Layer 1 networks, such as Sui and The Open Network (TON).

• Grayscale Research updated the Top 20 token list. This list represents a diversified set of assets in the cryptocurrency industry that may have high potential in the upcoming quarter. New assets added in Q1 2025 include HYPE, ENA, VIRTUAL, JUP, JTO, and GRASS. All assets on the Top 20 list exhibit high price volatility and should be considered high-risk.

MegaETH ecosystem overview: What projects does MegaMafia cover?

Currently, MegaMafia covers 13 projects, along with 15 projects that are built on MegaETH or plan to integrate MegaETH but do not yet belong to MegaMafia.

Review of the performance of 22 mainstream public chains in 2024: Half of the data declined, Hyperliquid ranked first in multiple metrics

From a data perspective, which public chains truly rose in 2024? Which public chains' decline may not be underestimated but rather a genuine fall?

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN , as of January 1, 19:30:

In the past 24 hours, the top five popular tokens on Ethereum are: KEKIUS, TRUMPIUS, BABYKEKIUS, RAI, PEPE

In the past 24 hours, the top five popular tokens on Solana are: DAD, EM, SHIKOKU, KEKIUS, TRUMPUS

In the past 24 hours, the top five popular tokens on Base are: VIRTUAL, AKUMA, BBRETT, MOXIE, Evo