BlockBeats will organize the key industry news content of the week (12.30-1.5) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and learn about industry trends.
Important News Review
Bitcoin turns 16
On January 3, it was 16 years since Satoshi Nakamoto mined the Bitcoin genesis block Block#0on a small server in Helsinki, Finland on January 3, 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto recorded the headline of the Times on the same day in the CoinBase data of the genesis block: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks (The chancellor is on the brink of a second round of bailout for the banking industry.)" There was only one transaction in the block, and the block reward was 50 bitcoins. The current price of Bitcoin is over $97,000, and the market value is over $1.92 trillion. Related reading: (16 years since the advent of Bitcoin: From zero to $100,000, looking back at the evolution of BTC), (16th anniversary of the founding block, what did the former Bitcoin News Center report?)
Musk changed his X avatar and nickname this week and then changed it back, and the related tokens fluctuated greatly
On December 31, Musk changed his X profile photo to pepe and his nickname to Kekius Maximus. "Kek" is a term in the Internet meme culture. It originated from the communication between (World of Warcraft) players. Later, it was closely related to meme images such as pepe frog and became a symbol of an Internet subculture. "Maximus" is Latin, meaning "biggest" or "greatest", and is often used as a title for ancient Roman generals or heroes. Affected by the news that "Musk changed his pepe avatar", PEPE rose by 8% in a short time. Affected by Musk's change of X nickname, the market value of the Meme coin Kekius Maximus (KM) on the Solana chain rose by more than 12,600%, breaking through 45 million US dollars in a short time.
On January 2, Musk changed his nickname from X to "Elon Musk" and changed his profile picture back to his personal photo. Affected by this news, the Ethereum network Meme coin KEKIUS fell nearly 80% in a short period of time. At the same time, the concept Meme coins related to the Solana network all experienced a sharp drop in the market, with KM falling more than 80% in 24 hours and its market value falling to 2.3 million US dollars. Related reading: (Musk changed his name and profile picture, what is Kekius Maximus who looks like Pepe?)
Do Kwon pleads not guilty to U.S. fraud charges at a hearing in Manhattan federal court
On January 3, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon pleaded not guilty to U.S. fraud charges at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. Do Kwon submitted his request before Judge Robert Lehrburger of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon local time. After that, the defense and prosecution will hold a status conference on January 8, 2024 to share evidence and discuss pre-trial motions. Previously, Do Kwon faced nine charges for his role in the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022, including securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering charges, and commodity fraud charges. Related reading: (Do Kwon refused to plead guilty in the United States and may be sentenced to 130 years in prison)
Solv Protocol announces SOLV token economics; Sonic SVM announces SONIC token economics
On December 30, Solv Protocol announced the SOLV token economics: maximum token supply: 9,660,000,000 SOLV (will be increased by the BTC reserve fundraising plan decided by governance vote); total genesis token supply: 8,400,000,000 SOLV (86.96% of the maximum token supply); Megadrop token reward: 588,000,000 SOLV (7% of the total genesis token supply, 6.09% of the maximum token supply); initial circulation when Binance lists the coin: 1,482,600,000 SOLV (17.65% of the total genesis token supply, 15.35% of the maximum token supply).
On December 31, Sonic SVM, the first SVM blockchain on Solana, announced the token economics of its native token SONIC. SONIC will serve as the native token of the Sonic SVM and Multi-SVM ecosystems to drive long-term growth and development. The total supply of SONIC is 2.4 billion, of which 57% is allocated to the community, including community and ecosystem development (30%), initial claims (7%), and HyperGrid rewards (20%). TGE is scheduled for January 7, 2025, with an initial circulation of 15% of the total. In addition, the token airdrop snapshot has been completed, and the qualification check tool for the initial claim program will be launched on January 3. At the same time, the SonicX TikTok airdrop event will continue to be open until January 6.
Multiple institutions predict that Bitcoin will rise to as high as $200,000 next year
On December 31, based on recent research reports from several crypto institutions, most institutions predict that Bitcoin will rise to $200,000 next year:
Matrixport: Bitcoin could reach $160,000 by 2025
Galaxy Digital: Bitcoin will break $150,000 in the first half of the year and reach $185,000 in the fourth quarter
Maple Finance: Bitcoin price will be between $180,000 and $200,000
Standard Chartered Bank: Bitcoin price will double, Bitcoin is expected to reach $200,000 by the end of 2025
Binance Labs Outlook 2025: Focus on encryption, AI and biotechnology, optimistic about DeSci, RWA/stablecoin and AI agent tracks
On December 31, Binance Labs posted on social media that it expects the crypto industry to enter a dynamic phase as it transitions to 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake. The wood element symbolizes growth and creativity, heralding a mature year of innovation and development. The incoming Trump administration's pro-cryptocurrency stance is expected to create a more favorable regulatory environment. This shift is likely to increase institutional interest and investment in the crypto space, help the industry mature, and build a more solid foundation on a solid foundation.
Binance Labs' main focus areas for 2025 are crypto/blockchain, AI, and biotech, and we are also excited to see innovations emerging at the intersection of these three areas. We expect that underperforming sectors such as gaming, ZK technology, and privacy solutions may make a comeback as they transition from development to production, supporting new use cases. In addition, existing narratives such as DeSci, RWA/stablecoins, and AI agents should continue to perform well with strong momentum.
Binance Labs announces name change; CZ returns eager to meet founders of outstanding new projects and participate in projects as an individual
On December 31, according to official news, Binance Labs officially posted on social media that it was "about to change its name" when looking forward to 2025, but it still focused on fundamentals and aimed to have a long-term impact. Entering 2025 and beyond, the agency will continue to support founders who have a common long-term vision for construction. At the same time, Binance Labs also mentioned that as CZ returns and spends most of his time investing in the industry, he is eager to connect with existing and new founders and participate in projects on a personal level. In addition, Binance Labs is expanding its investment scope from primary market transactions to any type of transactions, including secondary market liquidity, over-the-counter transactions, etc.
Binance Labs announces investment in THENA
On December 31, Binance Labs announced an investment in THENA (THE) to drive mass adoption of decentralized finance.
ai16z is considering adjusting its token economic model and may launch an L1 blockchain
On December 30, The Block reported that AI agent platform ai16z is exploring adjustments to its token economic model and may launch an L1 blockchain. The team has held preliminary discussions with contributors to improve the value accumulation of its tokens. These discussions include staking mechanisms provided to token holders, which bring, for example, early access to new features and sharing platform fees. In addition, according to a document shared by contributors, ai16z may consider launching a Layer 1 blockchain specifically for AI applications. Ai16z's latest governance considerations also include a phased reform of its token economics. In the first quarter of 2025, it plans to launch a token Launchpad similar to pump.fun. Related reading: (3-hour in-depth interview with Shaw: How did ai16z go from zero to a market value of $1.9 billion?), (Ecological consensus has broken out in an all-round way. What projects are related to the ai16z concept?)
The total market value of AI tokens exceeded US$48.7 billion; the total market value of AI Agent exceeded US$16.9 billion
On January 2, according to CoinGecko data, the total market value of AI sector tokens exceeded US$48.7 billion, a 24-hour increase of 13.3%, and the 24-hour trading volume reached US$3.93 billion. The total market value of AI Agent sector tokens exceeded US$16.9 billion, a 24-hour increase of 22.7%. Currently, 21 AI Agent tokens have exceeded $100 million in market value. The top tokens are: VIRTUAL, with a market value of $4.99 billion, a 24-hour increase of 22.4% and a 7-day increase of 60.4%; ai16Z, with a market value of $2.58 billion, a 24-hour increase of 22.5% and a 7-day increase of 179.1%; AIXBT, with a market value of $636 million, a 24-hour increase of 1.3% and a 7-day increase of 78.1%; FAI, with a market value of $370 million, a 24-hour increase of 22.9% and a 7-day increase of 107.5%. Related reading: (How to seize the 100-fold opportunity of the new narrative in this AI agent cycle?), (Briefly list the mainstream AI Agents in the market, how will they develop next?)
8 years ago, a well-known foreign Ethereum media announced that it would close down due to EF’s termination of funding
On January 2, Evan Van Ness, founder of Week in Ethereum News (WiE), posted on social media, “Due to a conversation with the leadership of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) earlier this year, I announced that this newsletter will cease operations because the communication shows that they believe there is no value in continuing to operate (Ethereum News Weekly).” Lukas Schor, co-founder of Safe, said in this regard, “Today I learned that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) spent $135 million in 2023, but became stingy when funding the best technical newsletter in the ecosystem (there may be other background reasons that I don’t understand). In any case, thank you Evan Van Ness, your work has been the highlight of my every Saturday over the past few years.”
Shanghai police smashed a virtual currency fraud gang that earned high fees through fake trading platforms
On January 1, recently, the Yangpu police in Shanghai successfully cracked a virtual currency contract trading fraud case and smashed a 16-member fraud gang, involving more than 300,000 yuan. After interrogation, the suspects all confessed to their crimes. Combined with the previous investigation, the task force fully grasped the modus operandi of the criminal gang, that is, Yang, Yu and other 3 people sneaked into various virtual currency investment chat groups as "investment masters" and diverted people with investment intentions in the group to the fake trading platform they built. Taking advantage of the victim's "making quick money" mentality, they induced them to make multiple transactions to earn high fees. Subsequently, by inducing the victim to increase the "profit and loss rate" of the investment, they mistakenly believed that the investment failed due to their own misjudgment of the market, in order to defraud the victim's money. At present, Yang, Yu and other 16 criminal suspects have been taken criminal compulsory measures by the Yangpu police in accordance with the law for suspected fraud, and the case is under further investigation.
A man in Xiamen, China, was prosecuted for stealing virtual currency from others
On January 3, Xiamen Evening News reported that a man stole virtual currency from others and cashed in more than 1.6 million yuan because he helped his friend invest in futures and lost money. Recently, the Huli District Procuratorate of Xiamen, China, reviewed and prosecuted this theft case. In September 2021, the defendant Chen met the victim Hong through a friend's introduction. Hong entrusted Chen to help operate virtual currency investment and also provided his account number and login password. At the end of September 2022, Chen fabricated a lie that the account was offline to defraud Hong of various verification codes, and then successfully changed the account login password. After that, Chen repeatedly used the account offline as an excuse to defraud Hong of real-time verification codes, and continued to transfer the virtual currency in Hong's account to his own account and sold it for a profit of more than 1.6 million yuan, all of which was used to repay personal debts. In May 2024, Chen took the initiative to surrender to the Public Security Bureau and confessed his crimes truthfully. The Huli District Procuratorate prosecuted Chen for the crime of theft in accordance with the law.
Hong Kong-listed company Yuxing Technology bought 78.2 bitcoins in 2024 at an average price of $80,960
On January 1, Yuxing Technology, a Hong Kong-listed company, announced that it had conducted a series of transactions on the open market between July 25, 2024 and December 31, 2024, including "the purchase of approximately 78.2 bitcoins at an average price of US$80,960, with a total token value of approximately US$6.3 million."
The central bank report focuses on global cryptocurrency regulatory trends and Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency licensing system
Recently, the People's Bank of China released the "China Financial Stability Report (2024)", which focuses on global efforts to regulate cryptocurrency-related activities and outlines Hong Kong's cryptocurrency licensing system. The report states that regulators in various countries continue to increase their supervision of crypto assets. In view of the possible spillover risks of crypto assets to the stability of the financial system, regulators in various countries continue to increase their supervision of crypto assets. Currently, 51 countries and regions in the world have issued prohibition regulations on crypto assets, and some economies have adjusted their original laws or re-legislated regulations.
Hong Kong, China, divides virtual assets into two categories for supervision, namely, securitized financial assets and non-securitized financial assets, and implements a special "dual license" system for operators of virtual asset trading platforms, that is, "security tokens" are subject to the (Securities and Futures Ordinance) supervision and licensing system, and "non-security tokens" are subject to the (Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance) supervision and licensing system. Institutions engaged in virtual asset business must apply for registration licenses from relevant regulatory authorities before they can operate. At the same time, large financial institutions such as HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are required to include crypto asset exchanges in the scope of daily customer supervision.
This week's hot articles
(3-hour in-depth interview with Shaw: How did ai16z grow from zero to a market value of $1.9 billion?)
This interview starts with Shaw's trip to China. Shaw reviewed his early experiences and the turning point of his fate, shared the story behind the birth of "Eliza" and the secret of ai16z's success, discussed in depth the application of AI alignment and intelligent agents in the field of encryption, and interpreted the impact of the "Eliza Drama" and Skelly controversy. Shaw envisioned the concept of "DAO Town" in Wyoming, talked frankly about the challenges of public figures, and provided profound insights into the future of DeFi intelligent agents and Crypto AI ecosystem in 2025, bringing inspiring thinking.
(Ecological consensus has fully erupted. What projects are related to the ai16z concept?)
On the last day of 2024, ai16z continued to lead the AI track to break through the market value ceiling. After Shaw announced plans to make ai16z a Layer1, ai16z rose 37% in 24 hours. In addition to ai16z itself, multiple concept coins around ai16z are also skyrocketing. BlockBeats will quickly sort out the projects in the ai16z ecosystem for everyone. (The market value soared to over 70 million US dollars. Why can Swarms withstand the FUD from ai16z?)
On December 30, the rise of swarms was eye-catching again. The whole community was excited about two topics: the rumor of "anxiety" of Shaw, the founder of AI16Z, and the rumor that OpenAI's Sama was suspected of infringing the Swarm multi-agent framework. Some people speculated that the driving force behind this wave of stimulus pull may be the emergence of an AI agent based on Mcs. This agent can not only answer medical common sense questions, but is also known as the most popular and practical delivery product in the Swarms architecture. Its founder Kye Gomez, a "genius boy" who dropped out of high school at the age of 20, spent three years to complete the multi-agent coordination framework Swarms, running 45 million agents, serving the fields of finance, insurance, and medical care, and is a hard-core powerhouse.
(AI version of Chainlink, why did COOKIE surge 300%?)
AIXBT has already reached a market cap of $600 million just a few months after its deployment. This podcast will provide an in-depth analysis of why AIXBT has been able to outperform other brokers and why its data aggregation technology is a core competitive advantage. In addition, the podcast explores the performance of CookieDAO and its token $COOKIE as a market-leading data aggregation and packaging infrastructure provider. As demand for cookie.fun increases from both human and AI users, the value of accessing aggregated data will further increase.
(The increase of more than 50% for 3 consecutive days, where does the growth potential of $ALCH come from?)
This article introduces some of the features and uses of the Alchemist AI platform, and discusses the key role of network effects in the success of digital markets, especially in the development of the alchemistAI app (ALCH). By attracting developers and users, the platform can form a self-reinforcing growth flywheel. At the same time, ALCH has the characteristics of a two-sided market and a social network.
(From developer ecology to supply chain, Solana’s “AI ecology conspiracy”)
As the AI market exploded, Griffain's market value reached its all-time high on January 2, exceeding $480 million. SendAI's token Send also returned to a market value of $100 million. As the AI Agent ecosystem evolves at an ultra-high speed, what advantages and progress do Griffain and Send have?
(How to seize the hundredfold opportunity of new narratives in this AI agent cycle?) The article introduces 25 years of investment opportunities in AI agents, including investment in DAOs (daosdotworld, Vader AI), on-chain transactions (Gekko Agent, BigTonyXBT), privacy and confidentiality (TEE agents have great potential), developer tools (soleng agent, etc.). In addition, the article predicts new trends in the future such as DeFi agents, NSFW agents, and swarm intelligence, emphasizing the practical value behind early layout and flexible response to narratives, which is expected to achieve a hundredfold return.
(Briefly list the mainstream AI Agents in the market, how will they develop next?)
The development of AI Agent is currently divided into 5 stages. The first stage is the emergence of meme. Under the seemingly nonsensical narrative, it actually provides soil for the growth of AI Agent. Gradually, people realize that AI Agent can not only interact simply on Twitter, but can be extended to more valuable scenarios. When AI Agent applications are flourishing, which track should entrepreneurs choose to seize this wave? The answer is Launchpad. After AI Agent begins to realize more practical functions, it begins to explore collaboration between projects and build a stronger ecosystem. Finally, from the product level, AI Agent may play more of a simple tool role, such as giving investment advice and generating reports.
(Perhaps this is the real reason why COW surged 162% in one month)
CowSwap is the DeFi coin with the most recent surge, one of Vitalik’s favorite DEXs, a dedicated on-chain platform for large-scale shipments, and even the exclusive DEX of the King of Understanding team. But what many people don’t know is that behind CowSwap is an underestimated top incubator in the Ethereum faction - Gnosis. I think this is the real reason for the surge in $COW.
(Musk changed his name and profile picture, what is Kekius Maximus who looks like Pepe?)
The morning of December 31st was a carnival day for AI Meme on the Solana chain. Around 2 pm, Musk changed his Twitter avatar to a meme image similar to Pepe the frog, and directly changed his name to Kekius Maximus. What is special is that this is the first time Musk has changed his Twitter name. What exactly is Kekius Maximus?
(BUZZ market value quickly passes 40M, is "DeFi Agent" firing the first shot?) One of the main driving forces behind Buzz's surge is that DeFi agent, as the focus of market attention, is attracting more and more investors and users. Especially in the current context of a sharp increase in demand for DeFi convenience, Buzz's value has been quickly recognized.
(Grayscale 2025 Q1 Selection: 20 Tokens with High Growth Potential)
Grayscale Research has updated its Top 20 tokens list. The list represents diversified assets in the cryptocurrency industry that could have high potential in the coming quarter. Newly added assets in Q1 2025 include HYPE, ENA, VIRTUAL, JUP, JTO, and GRASS. All assets in the Top 20 list have high price volatility and should be considered high risk.
(Five charts tell you what happened in the crypto industry in 2024?)
When Bitcoin reaches $1 million, everyone will recall 2024, a year that will go down in history for the cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin was officially approved by the U.S. SEC for ETFs, and like gold and silver, it has become one of the world's assets that cannot be reduced to zero. The price of a single coin of $100,000 also makes the market full of imagination about the future of cryptocurrency. BlockBeats has sorted out 5 data, hoping that these data can help everyone understand what happened to Crypto this year? I also hope to help everyone look forward to what will happen in the future?
(2024 cryptocurrency news released)
The annual stupid news in the cryptocurrency world is here again (there was no such news in 2022 because it was too terrible). In 2024, there are still many exciting moments that will make everyone stand up.
(A collection of 15 airdrop opportunities in 2025)
This article specially selects and summarizes 15 token airdrop opportunities for those friends who are a little tired of frequent first-time airdrops.
(Counting 30 crypto meme moments in 2024, which one do you remember?) Crypto KOL @100xgemfinder released 30 meme events in the crypto field in 2024. Which of these events impressed you? And which memes made you earn 100 times or 100 times more.
(Galaxy Research 2025 Forecast: Bitcoin hits $185,000, Ethereum breaks through $5,500)
Galaxy Research has made predictions for the crypto market in 2025, covering areas such as Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends, ETHBTC ratio, Dogecoin and D.O.G.E., stablecoins, DeFi, L2 solutions, policies, venture capital, etc.
(Evaluation from on-chain data: When will the new round of altcoin season start?)
The gap between the total inflow of stablecoins into exchanges and the dollar value of BTC withdrawn, that is, the remaining potential purchasing power and the volatility of altcoins, may have a direct relationship. Can this logic be used to see when altcoins will start? The author observed the data of the potential conditions for "capital overflow" and found that it corresponds to the start time of some large-cap altcoins, so he re-conceived a set of visual indicators that can effectively judge the "altcoin season".
(How much money can you make in a year by using 10 BNB to compound interest on Binance?)
In the bull market, there seem to be thousands of ways to make money. Some people use MEME to find angles, some people open contracts all night, and some people work hard to get airdrops. In addition to these methods, is there any way to make a profit without "liver", gambling, or heartbeat? Some smart money has targeted platform activities such as Binance's Launchpool or Megadrop to achieve the goal of compound interest. This article reviews various activities on Binance in the past year and simulates how much income can be obtained by holding 10 BNBs by the end of the year.
