Compiled by Luan Peng, ChainCatcher.
Important news:
Zhao Changpeng: No trend predictions, just doing my best to help more projects and observe their development.
Coinbase International's average daily trading volume increased from $200 million to $12.6 billion in 2024.
The Deng Chengbo family’s Yitong Communication sold a 6.8% stake in the Hong Kong virtual asset exchange for 15 million HKD.
Binance will conduct wallet maintenance on the Ethereum network.
Federal Reserve Daly: Cryptocurrencies should not be conflated with gold and are far from becoming a 'currency.'
Cardano founder responds to foundation governance controversy: the foundation has no direct association with IOHK and Emurgo.
Bitget has completed the merger and token swap of BGB and BWB.
Musk changed the avatar and nickname on the X platform to Kekius Maximus.
"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?"
Zhao Changpeng: No trend predictions, just doing my best to help more projects and observe their development.
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) stated on X that he is often asked what the next hotspot in the cryptocurrency field is. He admitted he does not know, but is doing his best to help more projects and observe their development. He emphasized that they do not predict trends but follow and strive to contribute. He also asked the community: "What do you think will be the next hotspot in the cryptocurrency field?"
Coinbase International's average daily trading volume increased from $200 million to $12.6 billion in 2024.
Coinbase International published on X to review the growth, innovation, and market expansion of 2024. The average daily trading volume of Coinbase International increased from $200 million to $12.6 billion in 2024, a growth of 6200%. On December 30, the nominal trading volume exceeded $380 billion. The exchange offers up to 20x leverage trading for 106 perpetual contracts.
The Deng Chengbo family’s Yitong Communication sold a 6.8% stake in the Hong Kong virtual asset exchange for 15 million HKD.
According to an announcement from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Deng Chengbo family’s Hong Kong-listed company Yitong Communication sold a 6.8% stake in the Hong Kong virtual asset exchange (HKVAX) for 15 million HKD, with buyers being Lean Group and businessman Liang Dehui, who purchased approximately 3.8% and 3% stakes in HKVAX for 8.4 million HKD and 6.6 million HKD, respectively.
According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, HKVAX was granted a virtual asset trading platform license on October 3 this year, allowing it to operate in Hong Kong or promote its services to Hong Kong investors.
Binance will conduct wallet maintenance on the Ethereum network.
Binance will conduct wallet maintenance on the Ethereum network (ETH) on January 2, 2025, at 14:00 (UTC+8). To support this maintenance, Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals on the Ethereum network (ETH) starting at 13:55 (UTC+8) on January 2, 2025. The maintenance is expected to take 1 hour, and deposits and withdrawals will automatically resume after the maintenance is completed.
Federal Reserve Daly: Cryptocurrencies should not be conflated with gold and are far from becoming a 'currency.'
According to Jin10 reports, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, believes that cryptocurrencies should be viewed as a distinct asset class, not typically mixed with gold.
Daly stated: "I think cryptocurrency is a complex thing, and the service we need to provide for everyone is to truly interpret what it means. Once we achieve this, we can define it; it can be a currency, a medium of exchange, or an asset that retains or sometimes loses value. We just need to define these terms."
Daly added: "So I don’t think it’s like gold; it sometimes has characteristics similar to gold, but I do not believe it is an asset like gold."
Cardano founder responds to foundation governance controversy: the foundation has no direct association with IOHK and Emurgo.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded to the controversy over the governance structure of the Cardano Foundation (CF), emphasizing the importance of decentralization principles and community oversight. The controversy originated from prominent figures in the Cardano community questioning the foundation's leadership and transparency, believing there is a lack of effective community oversight.
Charles Hoskinson pointed out that the foundation has no direct association with IOHK and Emurgo. The utilization of the Cardano Foundation's $600 million ADA treasury does not directly represent the community. In his view, the foundation's lack of enthusiasm in funding projects like Catalyst may hinder the development of the ecosystem. This approach could lead to future sustainability issues for the ecosystem, especially considering that major contributors like IOHK work without proper incentives.
Charles Hoskinson's response to McCracken's statements was that these comments were quite "offensive" and "disappointing." He noted that IOHK does face some issues, such as needing to lay off staff during the bear market, but consistently focuses on the ecosystem.
Bitget has completed the merger of BGB and BWB and the token swap.
According to official news, Bitget has completed the merger and token swap of Bitget Wallet Token (BWB) and Bitget Token (BGB). The allocation ratio for BGB is 1 BWB = 0.08563 BGB.
The merged BGB will become the only eco-token for the Bitget exchange and Bitget wallet and will expand its use cases in on-chain applications to further enhance the ecosystem's synergy and user experience.
Musk changed the avatar and nickname on the X platform to Kekius Maximus.
Musk changed the avatar and nickname on the X platform to Kekius Maximus.
According to Coingecko data, PEPE is currently priced at $0.00001848, with a 24-hour increase of 2.3%. Kekius Maximus token (KEKIUS) has a 24-hour increase of 107.0%, currently priced at $0.029.
Jordan has approved the 2025 Blockchain Technology Policy, aimed at strengthening government services, transparency, and digital security.
The Jordanian Council of Ministers approved the Jordan 2025 Blockchain Technology Policy, aimed at strengthening government services, transparency, and digital security.
The main objectives of this policy include increasing confidence in government performance, achieving complete security and privacy of citizen data. It also aims to reduce the time and cost associated with government transactions, as well as support startups, build capacity, and develop professional skills in blockchain technology.
This policy aligns with Jordan's vision for economic modernization, aiming for excellence in the service sector, supporting national development, and increasing service exports. By leveraging blockchain technology, Jordan seeks to enhance citizen confidence in government services, increase transparency, combat fraud, and reduce operational costs.
Binance Labs looks forward to 2025: major focus on cryptocurrency, AI, and biotechnology, optimistic about DeSci, RWA/stablecoins, and AI agent tracks.
Binance Labs stated on social media that as we transition to 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake, Binance Labs expects the cryptocurrency industry to enter a vibrant phase. The wood element symbolizes growth and creativity, heralding a mature year of innovation and development. The incoming Trump administration's support for cryptocurrency is expected to create a more favorable regulatory environment.
This shift may enhance institutional interest and investment in the cryptocurrency field, helping the industry mature and build a more solid foundation on a firm basis. Binance Labs' main focus areas for 2025 are cryptocurrency/blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, and they are also pleased to see innovations emerging at the intersection of these three fields.
It is expected that underperforming sectors such as gaming, ZK technology, and privacy solutions may make a comeback as they transition from development to production, thus supporting new use cases. Additionally, existing narratives such as DeSci, RWA/stablecoins, and AI agents should continue to perform well with strong momentum.
Binance Labs: Set to be renamed, having invested in a total of 46 projects this year.
According to official news, Binance Labs announced on social media that it is "about to be renamed" while continuing to focus on fundamentals to create a long-term impact. As we enter 2025 and beyond, the agency will continue to support founders with a shared long-term vision for construction.
Additionally, it was stated that this year, 46 projects were invested in, of which 14 were from the BNB chain-centered MVB program or unrelated laboratory incubation programs, and 32 came from direct investments. The distribution ratio between infrastructure and application trading is 50:50. Of the 46 transactions, 10 belonged to DeFi, 7 to AI, 7 to the BTC ecosystem, 4 to Restake, 3 to gaming, 2 to ZK, 2 to RWA, and 2 to consumer applications. The remaining investments cover infrastructure (from security to wallets and chain abstraction) as well as emerging fields like Move. About 20% of the investments came from BNB ecosystem projects (its MVB program).
Zhao Changpeng retweeted the view that altcoins are expected to perform well in Q1 2025, with a minimum target price of $1314 for BNB.
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng retweeted the view that Q1 2025 will be the most promising period for altcoins in the past 36 months, with targets similar to those of 2021 and 2017.
Errands Gotham predicts that the BNB chain will perform like Ethereum in Q1 2025, with a minimum target price of $1314 and a best target price of $1986.
Galaxy Ventures partner: Stablecoins remain a key focus area for 2025, not optimistic about the metaverse.
According to The Block, Galaxy Ventures remains optimistic about the growth potential of stablecoins and tokenization in 2025. The company's general partner Will Nuelle stated that stablecoins (especially in the payment sector) continue to demonstrate strong product-market fit and remain a key focus area for capital deployment.
Although tokenization is still lagging behind the adoption of stablecoins, Nuelle believes it has immense potential. Galaxy Ventures plans to further explore these opportunities. However, Nuelle is not very optimistic about metaverse-related projects, predicting that funding will lag in 2025 due to a lack of clear adoption signs.
Blockchain Capital partner: The scale of cryptocurrency financing in the market will rise in 2025, but will not return to the historical highs of 2021-2022.
According to The Block, Blockchain Capital general partner Kinjal Shah predicts that the scale of cryptocurrency financing in the market will rise with market strength in 2025, but it will not return to the historical highs influenced by macroeconomic factors in 2021-2022. The company will continue to seize market opportunities, focusing on stablecoin infrastructure, innovative distribution models, and DeFi platforms that connect institutions and retail users.
Multicoin co-founder: 2025 will continue to bet on the Solana ecosystem, while Ethereum may fall into a long-term decline.
According to The Block, Multicoin Capital co-founder and managing partner Kyle Samani stated in an interview with The Block that Multicoin Capital is actively expanding its investments in DeFi applications, particularly within the Solana ecosystem, which has outperformed Ethereum and second-layer ecosystems on key chain metrics this year. 'We expect this trend to continue as more users, capital, issuance, and activity migrate to the Solana ecosystem, with Solana-based applications and protocols becoming the big winners in the next cycle.'
Samani also pointed out that Ethereum will face ongoing challenges, potentially 'even falling into a long-term decline' due to intense competition from Solana and other faster, cheaper blockchains. He added: 'Unless Ethereum can enhance its competitiveness, developers, users, and capital will turn to other chains that better meet their needs.'
Additionally, Multicoin holds an optimistic view on stablecoins, with Samani seeing them as 'potentially one of the greatest technological and financial innovations of our lifetime.' He stated: 'Stablecoins have the opportunity to become giants in 2025; everyone in the world craves dollars, and stablecoins are the most effective way to obtain dollars. The design space is vast, and we are still in the early stages of the adoption curve.'
"What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?"
With a market capitalization approaching $2 billion within two months of launch, what AI Agent projects has ai16z participated in?
As of December 31, the market capitalization of ai16z has approached $2 billion, with a more than 40% increase in the past 24 hours. Notably, since the launch of the ai16z token on October 26, it has rapidly grown into a project nearing a market cap of $2 billion in less than two months, and its market popularity remains high, continuing to rise.
As the 'first AI-driven investment decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)', ai16z is indeed a killer project in the AI Agent wave, with its launched AI Agent framework Eliza successfully supporting the issuance of hundreds of AI Agent projects, including the popular AI Agent token project aiPool, and collaborating with Treasure DAO, Loot Realms to develop mini-games like Smolworl and Eternum.
According to GitHub data as of December 31, the self-governing agent framework Eliza developed by the ai16z team topped the GitHub trends chart for December.
With the dual driving force of 'investment + Eliza development framework technology', ai16z has become a center for incubating and producing AI Agent projects. So, what AI Agent projects has ai16z, as an incubator for AI Agents, participated in supporting?
A review of the major cryptocurrency events of 2024: Bitcoin shines, and the cryptocurrency market is a potential dragon in hiding.
2024 is a tumultuous year for the cryptocurrency industry. In this year, cryptocurrencies entered a mainstream upgrade path, with institutionalization, compliance, and politicization becoming core narratives. Bitcoin reaching $100,000 marked the end of the stigmatization of the crypto market, with digital gold shining as a new cycle slowly unfolds.
However, cryptocurrency is far more than just Bitcoin, and the market is not just about institutions. The shift in focus has recorded the changes of the year, with Bitcoin taking center stage but not always being the main character. Each month of this year, the cryptocurrency market has welcomed new topics and headlines, with technology, projects, communities, and personalities taking the stage, weaving through the turbulent 2024 and adding bold annotations to the arrival of 2025.
Looking back at the past year and welcoming the new year, the cryptocurrency market remains a potential dragon in hiding, with limitless future potential.
As 2025 approaches, let’s take a look at how crypto VCs view market developments and potential opportunities.
As the New Year's bell is about to ring, the cryptocurrency industry is welcoming a new development node. In the recently passed 2024, the market experienced recovery, innovation, and adjustments, with leading projects consolidating their positions and emerging tracks quietly rising, laying the foundation for the future. In this year's ups and downs, VCs have served as barometers of industry development, witnessing market changes while shaping the industry's direction at the intersection of capital, community, and technology.
At the starting point of 2025, PANews invited over ten top VCs to share their observations and thoughts on the cryptocurrency industry. They reviewed the highlights of the past year, analyzed the current market's opportunities and challenges, and made predictions about future development trends. In this rapidly changing field, which projects and tracks are becoming the focus of VCs? Let's delve into the VCs' perspectives and explore the 'yesterday, today, and tomorrow' of the cryptocurrency industry.
How to seize opportunities early in the AI Agent cycle?
What are the criteria for choosing an Agent? What narratives and practicality are currently valued most in CT?
ETF fund flows may foreshadow future market scenarios. Is ETH finally taking over from BTC?
On December 29, influential trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio in the cryptocurrency community released a forecast for the first quarter of 2025 on X, predicting that ETH will be the best-performing mainstream token in the next quarter.
Eugene first mentioned three reasons for being bullish on ETH: technical trends; Trump's favor (especially WLF's large purchases in the Ethereum ecosystem); the development status of the Base ecosystem. He then emphasized again that since Trump's election, the inflow of funds into the Ethereum spot ETF has undergone a 180-degree turn.
Meme Popularity Chart
According to data from the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN as of December 31 at 19:30:
The top five popular tokens in Ethereum over the past 24 hours were: KEKIUS, RAI, SEN, ULTPEPU, MYSTERY.
The top five popular tokens in Solana over the past 24 hours were: PLAY, SHIKOKU, CLKEKIUS, Y2K25, GATE.
The top five popular tokens in Base over the past 24 hours were: VIRTUAL, KS11, SHAKE, AGO, Stonks.
