BlockBeats will organize the key industry news content of the week (12.16-12.22) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and learn about industry trends.

Important News Review

Hawkish Fed cuts interest rates by 25 basis points; crypto markets cool, Bitcoin falls below $95,000 several times this week

On December 19, the Federal Reserve concluded its 2024 annual interest rate decision, lowering the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.25%-4.50%, the third consecutive rate cut, in line with expectations. When asked about Bitcoin reserves, Fed Chairman Powell replied, "We are not allowed to have Bitcoin, and we do not want to change the law." At the same time, the Fed added the wording "magnitude and timing" to its policy statement, suggesting that the pace of interest rate cuts will be slowed to modify potential adjustments. The crypto market fell in response, with Bitcoin falling below $95,000, Ethereum falling below $3,200, and multiple altcoins falling by more than 30%.

Binance Wallet has launched a new platform, Binance Alpha, and has announced the first four batches of project lists.

On December 17, Binance Wallet announced the launch of Binance Alpha, a new platform within Binance Wallet focusing on early crypto projects with growth potential. On December 18, Binance Alpha announced the first and second batches of project lists; the first batch includes: KOMA, Cheems, APX, ai16z, and AIXBT. The second batch includes: CKP, GEAR, SD, SYRUP, and FARTCOIN. On December 19, Binance Alpha announced the third batch of projects, including: FROG, AICell, CGPT, MONKY, TERMINUS, GRIFFAIN, RIF, URO, CLANKER, and LUNAI. On December 20, Binance Alpha announced the fourth batch of projects, including: BANANA, KOGE, BOB, MGP, PSTAKE, GNON, Shoggoth, LUCE, and ODOS. On the day the projects were announced, various cryptocurrencies experienced mixed gains and losses.

In the market downturn, HYPE rose to $35, setting a new historical high; Hyperliquid's market value ranks among the top 20 cryptocurrencies.

On December 21, HYPE rose to $35, with a 24-hour increase of 39.62%, setting a new historical high. According to official disclosed data, Hyperliquid's 24-hour trading volume exceeded $15 billion, setting a historical high. On that day, Hyperliquid (HYPE) reached a market value of $11.13 billion, ranking 19th in the cryptocurrency market cap list.

Pudgy Penguins has airdropped approximately 25% of the PENGU token to the Solana ecosystem, with about 7 million wallets eligible to claim.

On December 17, the NFT project Pudgy Penguins airdropped approximately 25% of the PENGU token supply to the Solana ecosystem. Active users in the Solana ecosystem, using decentralized applications like Phantom and Jupiter, have the opportunity to receive PENGU tokens even without holding Pudgy. On that day, Pudgy Penguins announced in its official Discord community that about 7 million wallets outside the Pudgy Penguins community are eligible to claim PENGU tokens, including users interacting with various protocols and members of different communities. Currently, both Binance and OKX have listed PENGU for spot trading.

Trump's crypto project WLFI has reached a cooperation agreement with Ethena Labs.

On December 19, the Trump family DeFi project World Liberty Financial announced a partnership with Ethena Labs, with both sides seeking 'long-term cooperation' starting with Ethena's yield token sUSDe. If sUSDe is not approved as collateral, WLFI and Ethena will continue to explore cooperation opportunities, fully searching for integration points. This news may have caused ENA to rise about 8% briefly.

The total assets of users in South Korea's top five CEXs have exceeded $86.5 billion, setting a new historical high, with a monthly growth of about $34.8 billion.

On December 16, according to Korean media reports, by the end of November 2024, the total user assets of South Korea's top five cryptocurrency CEXs (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, GoPax) have first surpassed 115.7 trillion won (approximately $86.5 billion), a month-on-month increase of about 50 trillion won, setting a new historical high. In November, the monthly trading volume of stablecoins reached 16 trillion won, growing more than six times compared to the beginning of the year, showing a trend of large amounts of funds flowing to overseas markets. South Korean financial regulators have intensified oversight of unusual trading and issued warnings about tokens with large price differences between exchanges.

The heat of the AI Agent track continues: this week VIRTUAL's market capitalization exceeded $3.1 billion, setting a new historical high.

On December 16, the market capitalization of the AI agent token VIRTUAL on the Base chain exceeded $3.1 billion, setting a new historical high with a 24-hour increase of 26.8%. On that day, the Virtuals Protocol ecosystem tokens generally rose, with SAINT, NFTXBT, GUAN, and other tokens increasing by over 40% in 24 hours.

The NFT market has significantly warmed up, with this week's trading volume reaching $302.2 million, a month-on-month increase of 32.93%.

On December 22, according to relevant reports, the NFT market has significantly warmed up recently, with the total NFT trading volume this week reaching $302.2 million, compared to $224 million last week, a month-on-month increase of 32.93%. The number of NFT buyers increased by 92.39%, reaching 349,972; the number of NFT sellers increased significantly by 77.18%, reaching 207,672. NFT trading volume on the Ethereum network soared to $199.99 million, increasing by 73.56% over the past seven days. The Bitcoin network ranked second in NFT trading volume, which decreased by 23% to $39.7 million, but the number of user participation grew well, with the number of buyers reaching 38,987. The Solana network consolidated its third position with a trading volume of $29.9 million, a month-on-month increase of 5.14%, with 104,958 buyers, a month-on-month increase of 108.45%.

BIO Protocol co-founder: BIO token will launch on Solana; the new BIO Protocol proposal 'Enable Transferability of BIO Token' has begun voting.

On December 18, BIO Protocol co-founder and CEO Paul Kohlhaas stated on social media that besides launching on Ethereum, the BIO token will also launch on Solana in a few days. At the same time, Paul Kohlhaas also stated that he would propose airdropping to communities like Big Pharmai (DRUGS). On December 20, the new proposal 'Enable Transferability of BIO Token' has begun voting, with a voting period of 3 days (until December 23). If passed, BIO will become a liquid asset within 14 days, with initial liquidity on the ETH mainnet, and support for more chains will follow.

Coinbase has suspended wBTC trading.

On December 19, U.S. Federal Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled to deny the request for a temporary restraining order filed by Hong Kong company BiT Global, allowing Coinbase to continue its plan to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) from its platform. The judge found that BiT Global failed to prove that Coinbase's actions would cause it 'immediate and irreparable harm.' The next day, Coinbase announced it had suspended wBTC trading. Users can still withdraw funds from Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime at any time.

PNUT origin event breeder claims to have sued Binance for infringement of intellectual property, while shouting for the new token.

On December 16, the breeder of the origin event of the squirrel Peanut, Mark Longo, stated that his legal team has filed a lawsuit against Binance, accusing Binance of unauthorized use of his intellectual property, including images and stories featuring his beloved animal. He and the team will continue to work hard to demand that Binance cease this infringement.

However, Mark Longo also shouted for another squirrel meme - JUSTICE FOR PEANUT (JFT), leading to a rapid rise in (or caused) JFP's price. Notably, as a new meme coin born on December 8, JFP previously showed a trend of a decline to 'zero' after being listed — soaring after暴涨, then declining back to 'zero' again. Several investors have accused Mark Longo's actions of being merely a means to pump a new meme for 'cutting leeks.'

Chinese Beijing prosecutors have penetratively cracked the money laundering path involving virtual currency, recovering over 89 million yuan of stolen funds.

On December 20, according to reports from Workers' Daily, in a case of embezzlement, the defendant defrauded the company of over 140 million yuan, and prosecutors are tracking virtual currency to recover losses. Between 2020 and 2021, Feng, taking advantage of his position, colluded with Tang and Yang to defraud the company of service provider rewards totaling over 140 million yuan. Subsequently, Feng directed Tang and Yang to use 8 overseas virtual currency trading platforms to convert the funds involved from RMB into virtual currency, obfuscating the source and nature of the funds through overseas 'mixing' platforms, transferring them through multiple levels in virtual currency form, with some of the funds involved flowing into accounts controlled by Feng and others in RMB form, and some being concealed in virtual currency form.

Prosecutors tracked down the situation where the defendant used virtual currencies to distribute spoils and obfuscated the flow of funds through overseas 'mixing' platforms, conducting a line-by-line comparison and two-way review of virtual currencies and fiat currencies, accurately identifying the flow of funds, ultimately prompting Feng to return 92 bitcoins, recovering over 89 million yuan of stolen funds, maximizing the recovery of economic losses for the victim units. On September 14, 2024, the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court issued a judgment, sentencing defendant Feng and 6 others for embezzlement, with prison terms ranging from 14 years and 6 months to 3 years, along with corresponding fines. The judgment has taken effect.

Chinese Siping police have cracked a money laundering gang utilizing USDT, and the case is under further investigation.

On December 18, according to reports from China’s Jilin Province, the Economic Investigation Unit of the Public Security Bureau in Siping successfully cracked a money laundering case involving virtual currency USDT (referred to as 'U coin') aiding financial fraud criminals in transferring illicit funds. It was found that suspects Liu, Zhao, and Wang conspired to help a financial fraud gang launder money through centralized exchanges by low buying and high selling of 'U coin', profiting from it. The gang has laundered profits exceeding 100,000 yuan. Currently, members of this money laundering gang have been subjected to criminal coercive measures by the public security organ, and the case is under further investigation.

GoPlus hinted that a TGE may be coming soon.

On December 20, the Web3 user security network GoPlus released three emoji animals on social media, corresponding to 'tiger goat eagle', possibly hinting at an upcoming TGE.

This week's popular articles.

(HYPE's bulldozer-like rise, how does its 'crowdfunding' platform Hypurr Fun work?)

Last Saturday, the token Farm, born from Hypurr Fun, surged to a market value of $20 million after being listed on the Hyperliquid spot market. As HYPE maintains a 'bulldozer' style rise, Farm's success has attracted many users to pay attention to the Hypurr Fun ecosystem. As an order book DEX, Hyperliquid's listing differs from the permissionless forms of platforms like Raydium; how does Hypurr combine with it? What are the specific rules and trading processes behind it?

(60 billion dollars flow into 'new cycle FTX', Hyperliquid bull market gold mining guide)

On December 17, HYPE broke through $28. Since opening at $6 on November 29, HYPE has shown almost no pullback, smoothly surpassing Layer1s like Fantom and Aptos, reaching a circulating market value of about $9 billion and an FDV of $27 billion, directly entering the top 30 of crypto asset market values. HYPE’s epic airdrop is the biggest turning point for the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Before the TGE, although Hyperliquid also had a strong wealth creation effect, there was little discussion about the Hyper ecosystem in the Chinese community. After the airdrop, the market was attracted by the rise of HYPE as a 'single token,' realizing Hyperliquid's transformation from PerpDEX to a high-performance trading public chain in public view.

(With EVM not yet launched, how to evaluate the future of Hyperliquid?)

Hyperliquid attracts users through low fees and strong incentives, expecting nearly $1 billion in incentives in the first year with an inflation rate of 11.65%. After the launch of EVM, it may become an important platform for new DeFi protocols driving HYPE demand growth. The platform profits through trading fees and token auctions, with fee distribution automatically executed, supporting staking rewards, platform operations, and token destruction. Increased capital inflow, especially through Kucoin, will drive up HYPE prices if it can attract more market funds. However, the risks of centralization and EVM transition may impact user experience, and investors should proceed with caution and do their research.

(Latest interview with Pudgy Penguin CEO: a16z could have cheaply bottomed out Pudgy equity, but they chose to write a sky-high check for Moonbirds | In-depth dialogue)

This issue of the dialogue mainly discusses how LucaNetz and his team experienced tough challenges in the early days of Pudgy Penguins, including financial difficulties, investor rejections, and community distrust. It discusses the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, tokens, and their future development. It also touches on why Pudgy Penguins chose Solana over other chains and states that they will change the Solana ecosystem by promoting cultural phenomena.

(Overview of PENGU token economics in the 5th phase of Binance HODLer airdrop)

On December 16, Binance announced that the Binance HODLer airdrop has launched its 5th project, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), a collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) built on Ethereum. This article will introduce details of the PENGU HODLer airdrop, what PENGU is, and the uniqueness of the Pudgy Penguins token.

(Pudgy Penguins issuing tokens boosts NFT market recovery, how can PENGU, Abstract, and OpenSea achieve 'three wins'?)

On December 17, as the issuance of PENGU approached, the floor price of Pudgy Penguins NFTs also rose steadily. Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins' parent company Igloo announced that the L2 network Abstract Chain would be launching its mainnet in January next year, while there are also separate market expectations for token issuance; it was also revealed that OpenSea recently registered the OpenSea Foundation in the Cayman Islands. Thus, whether PENGU, Abstract, and OpenSea can achieve 'three wins' due to the issuance of Pudgy Penguins has become a focus of the market.

(Top 10 AI+Crypto trends to watch in 2025)

This article discusses multiple innovative areas of the combination of crypto and AI to watch in 2025, including interactions between agents, decentralized agent organizations, AI-driven entertainment, generative content marketing, data markets, decentralized computing, etc. The article explores how blockchain and AI technologies can create new opportunities across multiple industries, promote privacy protection, AI hardware development, and the application of decentralized technologies, while also focusing on how intelligent agents can bring breakthroughs in trading, artistic creation, and other fields.

(A comprehensive comparison of the eight strongest AI Agent frameworks: who is the true leader of the track?)

In the fierce fluctuations of the crypto bull market, opportunities and risks coexist. As the market adjusts, it is those projects standing at the forefront of technology and possessing strong innovation that showcase their unique value. This article reveals eight of the most exciting and promising tokens currently in the market trough: AI16z, ZEREBRO, ARC, AIXBT, GRIFFAIN, GRIFT, ZODS, and ALCH. These projects not only create new possibilities in their respective fields but also possess unique advantages that transcend cycles, accumulating power for future market waves.

(Comprehensive review of the development history of the AI Agent track, how to catch the next 100x in the ever-evolving hype logic?)

Since the birth of the AI meme coin GOAT, Crypto+AI seems to have welcomed its 'ChatGPT moment,' with the industry leader Coinbase, Silicon Valley giant A16Z, and academic benchmark Stanford all gradually falling into the rabbit hole of imagination with the endless emergence of AI Bots on social media. Even Marc Andreessen did not expect that the $50,000 he funded Truth Terminal at the beginning of the year would ignite a $10 billion market in less than a year. From AI meme to AI Agent issuance platform and then to AI Agent framework, investors are surprised by the ultra-high innovation space and acceleration shown by Crypto+AI Agent, which seems to be evolving daily. From any dimension, it is very similar to DeFi and the Metaverse at the end of 2020.

(The market value of VIRTUAL reached $3 billion this week; what stories are AI projects within the ecosystem telling?)

On December 17, the Virtuals Protocol token VIRTUAL broke through $3, with a market value reaching $3 billion. This article interprets the token data and underlying project business of tokens with market values ranging from $10 million to $100 million within the Virtuals ecosystem.

(The market value of 'Virtuals version ELIZA' exceeds 100M, is G.A.M.E's explosive growth of 2000% just the beginning?)

This article discusses the growth potential of the Virtuals ecosystem, focusing on the revolutionary role of the GAME framework. Through buybacks and destruction and activating royalties, Virtuals is expected to significantly increase token demand and price. The article also mentions that Virtuals is building an 'agent society' centered on AI agents, continuously evolving. Although facing risks like team fatigue, competition from the Eliza Framework, and market saturation, the future of Virtuals remains promising, especially with the potential for listings on Binance and Coinbase.

(Ethereum returns to $4000, has the ecological fundamentals really changed?)

After a few days of bull market adjustment, on December 16, the price of ETH stood again above $3900. Looking back at Ethereum's development over the past year, there are many complex factors and emotions; on the one hand, the Cancun upgrade was successfully completed, and the spot ETF was officially approved, bringing a new face to the bull market in terms of technology and fundamentals; on the other hand, as Bitcoin, SOL, and BNB successively broke historical highs, ETH's price still hovered around the $4000 mark.

(Federal Reserve's hawkish rate cut: BTC loses 100,000 points, total crypto market value plummets by 7.5%)

On December 18, at the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, the benchmark policy interest rate was lowered by 25 basis points to a range of 4.25%-4.5%. Although this result met market expectations, the hawkish wording in the statement and the adjustment of economic forecasts had a profound impact on market sentiment, leading to a significant retracement in the cryptocurrency market. Prices of mainstream and altcoins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Solana all experienced noticeable declines.

(Using on-chain data timestamps to judge when this round of bull market cycle peaks?)

In on-chain data analysis of BTC, there are two core concepts: 'timestamp' and 'price stamp.' The transparency of blockchain allows us to observe each on-chain transaction and identify two key details: 1. The time when the chip movement occurs: timestamp; 2. The price at which the transaction occurs: price stamp. When analyzing the process of phase trend changes, data such as turnover cost, profit realization, demand inflow, and hot supply are mainly based on the 'price stamp.' If we want to observe and analyze the timing of the BTC macro cycle, we need to use the 'timestamp' more.

(Grayscale Report: Currently in the mid-term of a crypto bull market, rises may continue until after 2025)

Cryptocurrency is an increasingly mature asset class: the new spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have broadened market access, and the incoming Trump administration may bring greater regulatory transparency to the crypto industry. For these reasons, the valuation of the cryptocurrency market is likely to break historical highs. Grayscale Research believes the current market is in the mid-term phase of a new crypto cycle. As long as the fundamentals are reliable, the bull market may extend to 2025 or even longer. The price trend of Bitcoin shows characteristics of statistical momentum: rises often follow rises, and declines often follow declines. Although Bitcoin may rise or fall in the short term, its price shows a significant upward cyclical trend in the long run.

(Fuel Genesis Airdrop: Over 200,000 independent addresses receive 1 billion FUEL, who benefited the most?)

Following the Pudgy Penguins airdrop, Fuel also opened its airdrop query window. 20% of Fuel's total supply will be allocated to the Fuel community, with 10% for the Genesis Drop; 5% for community partner platforms; and 5% for undisclosed incentives, plans, activities, and activations. The Fuel Genesis Drop has allocated 1 billion FUEL (10% of total supply) to over 200,000 independent addresses and will open for claims from December 19, 2024, until January 19, 2025.

(The 500-fold wealth creation myth of DRUGS ignites a hot trend for daos.fun's IPO)

The DeSci project Big Pharmai (DRUGS) continues to write the wealth creation myth of daos.fun. Based on a fundraising limit of 420 SOL (about $92,000) during the fundraising phase (and an additional 42 SOL raised to build initial liquidity), DRUGS has increased nearly 500 times since it broke out from the 'internal market,' becoming the most outstanding daos.fun system token after ai16z.

(Spending $45 million to buy coins: Who is the mastermind behind Trump's project WLFI?)

Trump's DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) made significant purchases of crypto assets in December, accumulating nearly $45 million in expenditures, including ETH, cbBTC, LINK, AAVE, ENA, and the latest ONDO. The project claims to be a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform since its launch in September. On December 13, the World Liberty Financial community passed its first proposal to deploy an Aave v3 instance. Although the project has made initial progress, most of the leadership team consists of newcomers, and the project's practicality and innovation still face some uncertainty.

(Understanding the rising logic of USUAL, which has risen over 40% against the trend?)

The stablecoin sector has seen an increasing number of competitors emerging. Since early December, with the launch on Binance and the announcement of cooperation with BlackRock, Usual's innovative economic model and high return potential have been evident in the market. On December 19, USUAL broke through $1.2, setting a new historical high. This article analyzes the token economics, yield mechanisms, and potential risks of $USUAL in-depth, aiming to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding to help them make informed decisions in the rapidly developing crypto market. Whether considering investment or observing market trends, understanding its core mechanisms is key.

(VanEck's top 10 predictions for 2025: U.S. to adopt BTC as a strategic reserve, bull market to reach new highs by the end of next year)

VanEck's top 10 predictions for 2025 include: The crypto bull market will reach a mid-term peak in Q1 and set new highs by year-end; the U.S. will further embrace Bitcoin through strategic reserves and policy support; the total value of tokenized securities will exceed $50 billion; the daily trading settlement volume of stablecoins will reach $300 billion; on-chain activity of AI agents will exceed 1 million; the total locked value (TVL) of Bitcoin second layer networks will reach 100,000 BTC; Ethereum Blob space fee income will reach $1 billion; DeFi trading volume will hit a new high of $4 trillion with a total locked value of $200 billion; the NFT market will recover with annual trading volume reaching $30 billion; the performance of decentralized application (DApp) tokens will gradually catch up with mainstream public chain tokens. Next, we will delve into the background and logic of some of these key predictions.

(Full text of the 'U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' draft: manage BTC as a permanent national asset)

On December 17, the Bitcoin Policy Institute drafted an executive order proposing the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve under the U.S. Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) in the Trump administration, which needs to be signed after Trump takes office to take effect.

(Polygon's ecological dilemma: 'Borrowing chicken to lay eggs' proposal raises concerns, AAVE and Lido collectively withdraw)

As an important promoter of multi-chain interoperability, zero-knowledge proof applications, as well as DeFi and NFT ecosystems, Polygon shone brightly in the last bull market cycle. However, over the past year, many public chain projects like Polygon have failed to achieve new breakthroughs and have gradually been overshadowed by new competitors like Solana, Sui, or Base. When Polygon returns to discussions on social media, it is not due to any significant updates, but rather due to the exit of ecological partners like AAVE and Lido.

(The first airdrop project of the Ethena ecosystem, Ethereal: Mainnet launch in Q1 next year; plans to airdrop 15% of tokens to ENA stakers)

Ethena (ENA) may be one of the most outstanding tokens in recent times. Market data shows that since hitting a low of $0.194 USDT in early September, it rebounded to $1.33 USDT yesterday, achieving nearly a 600% increase in just over two months. Ethereal officials held a community conference outlining Ethereal's roadmap, functions, advantages, and airdrop situation. Notably, Ethereal's developers have clearly noticed the stunning performance of another strong project, Hyperliquid, recently and mentioned that Ethereal hopes to build a 'one-stop trading service' similar to Hyperliquid.

(Unveiling the South Korean cryptocurrency market: 70-year-old grandmas queue up to open accounts in the trading coin powerhouse)

Recently, with the surge of 'antique coins' like XRP, the news of 'Korean grandmas rushing into the crypto market' has spread again in the community. Meanwhile, trading volumes of related tokens like XRP and APT on Korean platforms like Upbit and Bithumb have even exceeded Binance at times. This means that for these tokens, the trading volume from just the South Korean market could rival the total trading volumes of the rest of the world combined. For a long time, the crypto community has viewed listing on Upbit as a significant positive for projects, often leading to rapid price increases shortly after a token is listed on these Korean exchanges. This strong purchasing power has sparked curiosity about the 'kimchi premium.' How does the South Korean cryptocurrency market operate? What kind of trading logic do investors here have?

(Overview of twelve Solana AI hackathon ideas)

On December 11, Solana announced the launch of the first Solana AI hackathon, aimed at building AI agents and tools on Solana, with prizes ranging from $5,000 to $30,000, aimed at encouraging serious Crypto x AI projects that can attract venture capital or launch their own tokens. This article presents twelve entrepreneurial directions related to AI proposed by SEND AI, an AI project in the Solana ecosystem.