The Daily: Kekius Maximus memecoin plunges after Elon Musk's profile change, Ethereum ETFs see record $2 billion monthly inflows and more

Happy Thursday, and welcome back to our regular programming! In today's newsletter, Kekius Maximus tumbles after Elon Musk changed his X profile back from the memecoin namesake, spot Ethereum ETFs attract a record $2 billion worth of monthly inflows, the IRS delays crypto cost-basis reporting rules and more.

Meanwhile, The Block Research team set out their 2025 crypto predictions . 

Let's get started.

Kekius Maximus memecoin plunges after Elon Musk profile change

Elon Musk's reversion of his X profile from Kekius Maximus triggered a 75% price plunge for the Ethereum-based memecoin namesake in just over an hour on New Year's Day.

• The KEKIUS token skyrocketed from $0.01 to $0.39 after Musk adopted Kekius Maximus as his profile name and picture on New Year's Eve, reaching a peak market cap of $380 million.
• The Pepe the Frog meme combines "kek," a slang term associated with humor and absurdity, with "Maximus," referencing Russell Crowe's Maximus Decimus Meridius character from the 2000 film Gladiator.
• Musk didn't explain the change but teased it in an earlier post, stating, "Kekius Maximus will soon reach level 80 in hardcore PoE," referencing a video game Musk is known to play.
• One KEKIUS trader turned $66 into a $3 million paper profit, according to Lookonchain, but missed out on cashing in fully before the price drop.
• However, another lucky trader was quicker to respond, realizing a gain of $2.3 million, according to analytics platform GMGN.
• The reversion came as Musk's attention was drawn toward more serious matters as a rented Cybertruck containing fireworks exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, the Tesla CEO said.

Spot Ethereum ETFs attract a record $2 billion worth of monthly inflows

Spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. generated record inflows exceeding $2 billion in December , nearly doubling November's figure.

• BlackRock's ETHA led the monthly surge with over $1.4 billion in net inflows alone, followed by Fidelity's FETH with $752 million, while Grayscale's converted ETHE fund faced $274 million in net outflows.
• December's numbers pushed cumulative net inflows for the Ethereum ETFs to more than $2.6 billion, with assets under management of around $12 billion, accounting for over 3% of ether's market cap.
• Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of more than $4.5 billion in December, lower than November's all-time high of over $6.6 billion.

IRS delays implementing crypto cost-basis reporting rules

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service delayed implementing new crypto cost-basis reporting rules until Jan. 1, 2026, giving brokers more time to adapt.

• The rules, finalized in July, require taxpayers to determine the cost basis for multiple cryptocurrency units in brokerage accounts, such as centralized exchanges, defaulting to First-In, First-Out (FIFO) if no method is chosen.
• Tax experts warned that most centralized finance brokers were not prepared to support specific accounting methods, meaning the FIFO default could have led to higher capital gains for investors by selling the earliest and often cheapest acquired assets first.
• Meanwhile, the Blockchain Association, the DeFi Education Fund and the Texas Blockchain Council filed a lawsuit last week to challenge another IRS rule requiring DeFi brokers to report user data starting in 2027.

Bitcoin futures funding rate suggests cautious optimism to start 2025

Bitcoin recovered from a post-Christmas slump to trade back above $97,000 on Thursday, as traders weigh key events like Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

• Bitcoin perpetual futures' funding rates remain neutral at 0.01%, according to CoinGlass data, signaling cautious optimism among traders, Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan told The Block.
• Meanwhile, over $140 million in crypto short liquidations across major centralized exchanges in the past 24 hours, including $35 million from bitcoin shorts, combined with declining trading volumes, also highlights an apparent reluctance to bet against bitcoin in the current market.
• Altcoins have also shown significant recovery after a challenging close to 2024, with recent projections from Steno Research suggesting that ether could outperform bitcoin this year.

Long-running Ethereum newsletter shuts down citing lack of EF funding

The long-running "Week in Ethereum" newsletter, which dates back to August 2016, is winding down , citing diminished financial support from the Ethereum Foundation as the primary reason.

• Creator Evan Van Ness stated that the newsletter struggled to find a sustainable business model, with ads and sponsorships being "a tough sell as marketing directors do not value devs."
• The Ethereum community criticized the Foundation’s decision, calling it "bizarre" amid concerns over the blockchain losing developer talent.

In the next 24 hours

U.S. FOMC member Thomas Barkin will speak at 11 a.m. ET on Friday.

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