Author: TechFlow
Yesterday's market dynamics
Framework Ventures releases 2025 forecast: Gaming and AI will become the largest verticals
On December 19, the co-founder of Framework Ventures released his predictions for 2025, including:
Ethereum and Bitcoin ETF inflows flattened out, driven by the combined ETF launch, averaging $1 billion per day each in the second half of the year
The continuous copycat season appears
Gaming x AI becomes the largest vertical by MAUs/DAUs
Energy DeFi led by Glow and Daylight are on par with blue-chip DeFi in terms of fees
Meme coins evolve into different categories (ephemeral, AI-driven, factory-produced, high-market-cap), creating more fragmentation
Total DeFi Fees to Reach $10 Billion Per Year
Big banks begin tokenizing, paving the way to eliminate massive waste in the U.S. financial system
Crypto ETFs other than BTC/ETH delayed until 2026
MicroStrategy may turn to fixed income securities to raise funds to buy Bitcoin in the future
According to Bloomberg, MicroStrategy co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor said the company will focus more on fixed-income securities to raise funds to buy cryptocurrencies once its current fundraising plans are exhausted.
When asked about where future cryptocurrency purchases will be funded, Saylor said MicroStrategy has so far used a mix of new equity and the sale of convertible bonds to fund purchases, with holders of the convertible bonds receiving returns as the company’s stock price moves back toward the price of the convertible bonds.
Kelp DAO Announces KERNEL Token Economics, 20% of Total Supply for Airdrops
Kelp DAO, the Ethereum liquidity re-staking platform, announced the KERNEL token economics. 55% will be allocated to community rewards and airdrops (20% for airdrops, 35% for future community rewards), 5% will be allocated to the ecosystem and partners, 20% will be used for private sales, and 20% will be allocated to the team and advisors.
In addition, 20% of the token airdrops will be distributed in 3 airdrop seasons. The first airdrop season (airdrops account for 10% of the total supply) snapshot date is December 31, 2024; the second airdrop season (airdrops account for 5% of the total supply) time period is January 1, 2025 to April 30, 2025, and staking before January 15, 2025 will receive an additional 15% loyalty reward; the remaining 5% airdrop plan is to be determined.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, and Powell said the Federal Reserve is not allowed to hold Bitcoin
On December 19, the Federal Reserve announced its latest interest rate decision, cutting interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, and the target range of the federal funds rate fell to 4.25%-4.5%. The Federal Reserve announced the interest rate decision (upper limit) of 4.50%, expected to be 4.50%, and the previous value was 4.75%. According to the Federal Reserve statement, recent data showed that economic activity has grown steadily, the labor market has eased, the unemployment rate has risen but is still low, and inflation is close to the target but slightly higher. The committee will continue to reduce its balance sheet. The resolution was supported by the majority of members, and Beth Hammack opposed it and advocated maintaining the interest rate at 4.5%-4.75%.
Powell said at a press conference that we are not allowed to hold Bitcoin and we do not want to change the law.
U.S. stocks closed: Nasdaq fell 3.5%, Dow Jones hit the longest one-day losing streak in 50 years
On December 19, the U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average initially closed down 2.58%, setting a record for the longest single-day decline since 1974 (the 10th consecutive trading day of decline); the S&P 500 closed down 2.95%, and the Nasdaq closed down 3.6%. Tesla (TSLA.O) fell 8.28%, and Nvidia (NVDA.O) fell 1.14%. The VIX index rose as much as 78.0% during the day, and was temporarily reported at 28.32 after the U.S. stock market closed.
Trump family crypto project WLFI announced a strategic partnership with Ethena Labs to integrate sUSDe into its protocol
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi platform supported by the Trump family, announced a long-term strategic partnership with Ethena Labs. As the first project of the cooperation, WLFI plans to integrate Ethena's yield token sUSDe into its protocol, and the relevant proposal will be submitted for governance voting this week.
Zak Folkman, co-founder of WLFI, said that the cooperation with Ethena Labs will help the platform further achieve its inclusive financial goals. It is reported that WLFI has purchased $600,000 worth of ENA tokens, demonstrating its long-term confidence in the Ethena network. The two parties plan to use sUSDe as WLFI's first collateral asset in the Aave protocol. Even if the governance vote is not passed, the two companies will continue to explore other cooperation opportunities.
Bitwise: RWA tokenization will be the main driving force for Ethereum's recovery in 2025
Juan Leon, senior investment strategist at Bitwise, released the latest weekly report, pointing out that Ethereum will have a strong rebound in 2025, with the biggest driving force coming from the tokenization of physical assets (RWA). Data shows that Ethereum currently dominates the tokenized asset market by 81%.
The report emphasizes that the global physical asset market is about $100 trillion, and with the active deployment of institutions such as BlackRock and UBS, tokenized fund assets are expected to triple by 2025. Currently, Ethereum's total annual fee income is $2.4 billion, and physical asset-related fees may exceed $100 billion in the future. Although Ethereum has risen 66% this year, lower than Bitcoin's 130% and Solana's 106%, spot ETFs have attracted $2 billion in net inflows in the past 10 days.
Sonic Labs announces the official launch of the mainnet
Layer1 blockchain project Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) announced the official launch of its mainnet. The network is EVM-compatible, can process 10,000 transactions per second, has sub-second confirmations, and provides a native decentralized gateway to Ethereum. FTM holders can now upgrade their tokens to Sonic Network Token S at a 1:1 ratio through the upgrade portal. The upgrade channel will be open for two-way exchange within 90 days after the mainnet launch, and will only support one-way upgrades from FTM to S thereafter.
Grayscale updates DeFi fund holdings data: UNI accounts for 55.84%, AAVE accounts for 24.54%
Grayscale’s latest disclosed data shows that as of December 17, the specific configuration of the five tokens managed by its DeFi Fund (DEFG) is:
DEX leader Uniswap (UNI) holds 55.84% of the total;
Lending protocol Aave (AAVE) holds 24.54% of the total;
Liquidity staking protocol Lido DAO (LDO) holds 8.43% of the total;
The decentralized stablecoin protocol Maker (MKR) holds 7.17% of the total;
The synthetic asset protocol Synthetix (SNX) holds 4.02% of the total.
As one of the first pure DeFi investment securities, the fund circumvents the challenges of users directly purchasing, storing and keeping crypto assets through securitization. The value of fund shares is calculated based on the digital asset reference exchange rate and weight of the DFX index component assets, minus fund expenses and liabilities. Investors can trade in the over-the-counter market through traditional brokerage accounts.
Market dynamics
Recommended Reading
GPU Involution in the AI Wave: How Can Spheron, With Its Mainnet Coming Soon, Break Through with Its Efficiency and Flexibility?
Spheron focuses on the decentralized computing market. By integrating global GPU resources and achieving efficient matching of supply and demand, it supports various AI, games, and DeFi products that rely on GPUs to bring about a wave of decentralized innovation. Spheron has made breakthrough progress in ecological development and technological implementation, and has a promising future growth prospect.
Arthur Hayes' new article: The best way to invest under Trump's policies is to hold Bitcoin, and the bull market should buy at low prices to seize opportunities
This article explores the far-reaching impact that Trump's election may have on the global monetary system and political landscape. The author believes that Trump will take a number of measures after taking office, such as weakening the US dollar, supporting the reindustrialization of manufacturing, and reshaping the United States' geopolitical dominance. These changes may trigger a significant increase in the supply of legal currency and intensify financial repression policies, thereby driving up the prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. At the same time, major economies such as China, the European Union, and Japan will also take corresponding countermeasures. The article also analyzes the impact of these policy changes on global investors.
IOSG founder: How did Usual survive the tough times?
The IOSG team conducted a detailed due diligence on the Usual project and was attracted by the vision and execution of its founders, and ultimately decided to make a large investment.
During the financing process, Usual encountered "disapproval" from many investment institutions, but IOSG still insisted on supporting it and finally completed the financing with other like-minded investors.
After the investment, the Usual team's execution exceeded IOSG's expectations, and they also actively helped Usual expand its community and ecosystem.
How to plan the Abstract airdrop that is closely related to the Fat Penguin?
Fat Penguin's parent company launched the consumer-oriented L2 public chain Abstract, which will be launched on the mainnet and airdropped in January next year.
Abstract aims to become the leading consumer crypto chain by focusing on culture, community, and supporting builders. It will also improve the user onboarding experience by unifying the wallet.
Users can earn Abstract points in a variety of ways, including connecting wallets, social tasks, minting NFTs, and more.
Placeholder talks about the dilemma of crypto entrepreneurs: stick to purism or go with the flow?
This article explores the dilemma facing the cryptocurrency industry: finding a balance between preserving the revolutionary principles of blockchain technology and promoting regulatory compliance.
