🚀Weekly Recap: BTC Closes In On $100K
Happy weekend Defiers!
Crypto markets continue to rally, with Bitcoin flirting with $100,000 for the first time to post an all-time high of $99,645. The move coincided with the launch of spot Bitcoin ETF options, pushing the value of assets held by Bitcoin ETFs past $100 billion.
Bitcoin’s bullishness is flowing into other markets, with Microstrategy stock surging as the firm ups its BTC accumulation, the native tokens of Layer 1 networks staging a comeback, and AI tokens also enjoying a return to form.
SOL posted a new record high above $263, buoyed by the SEC reportedly entering talks with prospective Solana ETF issuers. Phantom, a Solana-focused wallet, stormed the iOS app store rankings amid the gains. However, some onlookers are warning that Solana’s activity spike could culminate in congestion.
The crypto community is celebrating Gary Gensler announcing his resignation for the same day as Trump’s January inauguration. The web3 sector also scored a regulatory victory when a Texas court struck down the SEC’s despised Dealer Rule, which the court found overstepped the agency’s jurisdiction in its attempt to target DeFi liquidity providers.
However, a Californian court dealt a blow to DeFi by ruling that Lido DAO governance participants may be liable for the actions of the decentralized autonomous organization.
Trump’s team appears determined to make good on its pro-crypto campaign promises. Reports also claim Trump is looking to create the first White House position dedicated to digital assets alongside a crypto advisory council.
Trump is also deepening his business interests in crypto, with the media company behind Truth Social rumored to be eying a Bakkt acquisition and exploring a digital asset payment service.
CHILLGUY is the latest memecoin to rocket to a multi-hundred-million market cap. The surge came in spite of the artist behind the meme that inspired the token threatening legal action against the project.
Ethena is edging towards activating a fee switch, with its Risk Council approving the proposed measure. The Ethena Foundation will now work with the council to establish parameters by the end of the month.
DYdX shipped its Unlimited upgrade, introducing permissionless market listings. The move follows a spate of major changes for the project, including laying off 35% of its core team and sunsetting its v3 iteration.
Plus, Binance teases stablecoin offering 19.5% annual returns, Magic Eden publishes ME tokenomics, activity on Starknet spikes, and Coinbase delists WBTC.
Also, don’t forget to check out our interviews with Gear Protocol, Plume Network, and Michael Casey.
Enjoy!
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PODCAST & INTERVIEWS
AI at a Crossroads: Michael Casey’s Mission to Decentralize the Future
Michael Casey shares his journey from journalist at The Wall Street Journal to blockchain advocate and decentralized AI proponent.
After witnessing Argentina's financial crises, he became intrigued by Bitcoin and later co-authored a book on cryptocurrency, which led him to MIT and deeper involvement in blockchain innovation. Currently, he leads the Decentralized AI Society, advocating for decentralized ownership, open-source models, and interoperability to counter the monopolistic dominance of centralized AI systems. Casey emphasizes the urgent need for collaboration, education, and policy reform to ensure decentralized AI becomes the standard, safeguarding individual autonomy and enabling inclusive economic growth.
DeFi Meets TradFi: Plume Network’s Approach to RWA Tokenization
Teddy Pornprinya, the co-founder of Plume Network, a modular EVM blockchain focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), discussed the project’s newly launched testnet.
With a background at Coinbase Ventures and Binance, he brings extensive experience in traditional and decentralized finance. Plume Network has already tokenized billions in assets and aims to launch its mainnet by Q4 2024.
Scaling Ethereum Without Trade-Offs: Nikolay Volf & Luis Ramirez on Gear’s Bold Vision
The Defiant was joined by Nikolay Volf, CEO and Founder of Gear Technologies, and Luis Ramirez, Head of Developer Relations at the Gear Foundation, to learn about Gear’s contributions to blockchain scalability and developer experience.
They provide insights into the Gear Protocol and GearX decentralized compute network, which leverages WebAssembly and the actor model to enhance parallelism, scalability, and integration with Ethereum. Luis outlines Gear's developer-focused initiatives, including Gear Academy, grant programs, and collaborations with universities to support web3 adoption. The conversation highlights Gear's approach to addressing key challenges such as fragmentation and scalability while advancing innovation within the Ethereum ecosystem and broader blockchain space.
Friday
- AI Agent Tokens Rebound to Fresh Highs Many AI tokens sold off as traders chased TikTok memecoins, but the winners have bounced back to new highs.
- Veteran Layer 1s Lead Rally as Bitcoin Hovers at $99,000 Stellar, Ripple, and Cardano are up more than 20% in the past 24 hours.
- Bitcoin’s Rally Sends Bitcoin Spot ETFs Soaring The asset class hits a new milestone and is edging closer to surpassing Gold ETFs.
- Trump Team Considers Creating First-Ever White House Crypto Role Bloomberg reported major crypto players are pushing for the role to have a direct line to the president himself.
- DAOs.Fun Launches V3 Upgrade The DAO fundraising platform has added staking to earn fees on its top products.
- Kraken’s DOGE and SOL Perps Volume Soars As BTC Nears $100K Kraken’s perps volume is projected to hit $27 billion this month.
- ‘Just a Chill Guy’ Sparks TikTok Memecoin Craze CHILLGUY has soared to a $420 million market capitalization despite legal threats from the meme’s original artist.
- Could Solana’s Surging Solana Fees Create A Congestion Crisis? Activity on Solana continues to soar.
- Crypto Community Celebrates Court Rejecting SEC Dealer Rule The despised Dealer Rule sought to expand the definition of a financial dealer to encompass DeFi liquidity providers.
Thursday
- SEC Reportedly in Talks Over Solana Spot ETF SOL tagged a new all-time high of $263 following the news.
- Bitcoin Inches Closer to $100,000 BTC soared to a fresh all-time high of $99,000 on Thursday.
- Gary Gensler Resigns as SEC Chair Crypto and DeFi communities rejoice as Gensler announces his departure in January.
- Bitwise Joins Race For Spot Solana ETF Approval VanEck and 21Shares are also vying to bring Solana ETFs to market.
- Phantom Tops iOS Rankings Amid Solana Surge Phantom overtook Google, TikTok, and Instagram by daily downloads.
- Solana Ecosystem Continues to Gain Market Share from Ethereum The Layer 1 blockchain’s on-chain metrics are growing at a parabolic rate.
- Litecoin Distances Itself from Lester Memecoin Litecoin became the subject of controversy after its new mascot was launched as a meme coin.
Wednesday
- Bitcoin Hits Another Record High of $94,900 Over the past 24 hours, $315 million of leveraged positions were liquidated.
- Elixir Teams Up With Securitize To Tap BUIDL Liquidity With DeFi Yields BUIDL holders can now access DeFi yields through Elixir’s deUSD stablecoin.
- Coinbase to Delist Wrapped Bitcoin In December Coinbase said Wrapped Bitcoin no longer meets its listing standards.
Tuesday
- Microstrategy Stock Soars After Buying $4.6 Billion Worth of Bitcoin The Michael Saylor-owned company sold approximately 13.6 million of its shares to fund the purchase.
- StarkNet Activity Hits Highest Level Since March Activity on the chain dropped significantly after its token launch, but has picked up in the last week.
- AI Tokens Rebound Amid Bitcoin Rally Near Protocol, Internet Computer, and Render are leading the AI token rally.
- Markets Rally as Bitcoin ETF Options Go Live Spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $255 million in net inflows on Nov. 18.
- Bitcoin Hits All-time High of $93,800 The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency continues its winning streak.
- Polter Finance’s Entire $12M TVL Wiped Out in Exploit The attacker used flash loans to manipulate token prices and drain the protocol.
- Brazil Taps Chainlink For Cross-Border CBDC Trade Finance Pilot The initiative comprises the second pilot involving the DLT platform of Brazil’s central bank.
- Trump’s Media Group Reportedly Eying Bakkt Acquisition The purchase would mark a significant increase in Trump’s exposure to the crypto industry.
- California Rules Governance Participants Are Liable For Lido DAO's Actions The ruling suggests ordinary DAO members could be liable for the actions of a web3 project.
- DYdX Launches Permissionless Listings With Unlimited Upgrade The protocol’s new permissionless markets are powered by an automated master liquidity vault.
- Magic Eden Unveils $ME Tokenomics The NFT marketplace is set to launch its token and airdrop “in a few weeks.”
Monday
- Pump Science Combines DeSci with Memecoins The platform's first two tokens, RIF and URO, are surging.
- Binance Announces New Stablecoin Offering 19.55% Yield The world’s largest crypto exchange is set to launch a high-yield stablecoin.
- Ethena Foundation Approves Fee Switch Ethana’s risk committee greenlit the activation of a fee switch.
- Spark Liquidity Layer To Unlock Multi-Chain Functionality For Sky’s USDS Stablecoin The liquidity layer will allow users to deposit or withdraw USDS via multiple networks.
- Crypto Markets Tumble As Week Starts Bearish For Stocks Bears appear in control of both the digital asset and mainstream markets.
- BONK Rallies As Burn Event Commences, But Supply Impact Will Be Minimal Bonk aims to burn 1 trillion tokens after roughly six weeks.
TRENDING
- Solana Ecosystem Continues to Gain Market Share from Ethereum
- Litecoin Distances Itself from Lester Memecoin
- Bitcoin Hits Another Record High of $94,900
- Elixir Teams Up With Securitize To Tap BUIDL Liquidity With DeFi Yields
- Coinbase to Delist Wrapped Bitcoin In December
- Microstrategy Stock Soars After Buying $4.6 Billion Worth of Bitcoin