Compiled by: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (12.30-1.5)"
1. Hamster Kombat to Build L2 Blockchain on TON Chain
Hamster Kombat announced on X that its DAO community has completed voting on the second proposal, deciding to build the Hamster L2 blockchain on the TON blockchain.
Hamster Kombat stated that development work will commence immediately.
2. Former U.S. President Carter Passes Away, National Funeral to be Held
According to China News Service, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.
CNN reported that President Biden stated on the same day that he would order a national funeral for Carter in Washington, D.C. Biden said in a statement, "To honor this great American, I will order a formal national funeral in Washington, D.C."
The People's Bank of China recently released the "China Financial Stability Report (2024)," which mentions global cryptocurrency regulatory dynamics, including Hong Kong's cryptocurrency compliance progress.
The report points out that due to the potential spillover risks of crypto assets on financial system stability, regulatory authorities in various countries are intensifying their oversight of crypto assets. Currently, 51 countries and regions worldwide have implemented prohibitions on crypto assets, and some economies have adjusted existing laws or re-legislated regulations.
Among them, Hong Kong is actively exploring the management of cryptocurrency licenses, categorizing virtual assets into two types for regulation: securitized financial assets and non-securitized financial assets. It implements a distinctive "dual license" system for virtual asset trading platform operators, applicable to the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, requiring institutions engaged in virtual asset business to apply for registration licenses from relevant regulatory authorities. Additionally, Hong Kong requires major financial institutions like HSBC and Standard Chartered to include cryptocurrency exchanges in their daily customer oversight.
According to Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong legislator and chairman of the Web3 Virtual Asset Development Committee Wu Jiezhuang stated in an interview that Hong Kong needs to study how to maintain national financial security amid U.S. interference with Bitcoin and its impact on traditional asset markets.
He suggested that Hong Kong should leverage the advantages of "one country, two systems" to pilot the inclusion of Bitcoin in the foreign exchange fund assets and explore ways to utilize Bitcoin effectively. Regarding whether holding Bitcoin would help the Special Administrative Region government combat fiscal deficits, Wu Jiezhuang believes that while the government can use Bitcoin as a tool for asset appreciation, significant holdings are necessary for noticeable effects. Currently, the government's fiscal deficit has exceeded 100 billion, so only holding a small amount would not significantly help reduce the deficit, and the value-preserving function of holding Bitcoin would outweigh its appreciation potential.
5. Malaysian Regulators Require Bybit to Cease Local Operations and Advertising
Bybit Technology Limited and its CEO Ben Zhou have been warned by the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC) for operating a digital asset exchange (DAX) without registration.
The Securities Commission stated that Bybit and Ben Zhou have been on the regulator's investor warning list since July 2021.
The SC has instructed Bybit to close all its websites and applications within Malaysia and cease advertising to Malaysian investors within 14 working days starting from December 11, 2024. Additionally, Bybit must terminate its Telegram support group for Malaysian users.
6. Solana Co-Founder: Virtual Machines Are Not Important Until They Slow Down System Speed
Solana co-founder Toly stated that virtual machines (VM) are not important until they start to slow down system speed.
He pointed out that there are only about six main programs in crypto projects: tokens, NFTs, oracles, AMMs (automated market makers), bonding curves, and order books (CLOB). He further emphasized that due to the complexity of these programs, the interface is essentially a net burden.
7. Coinbase International's Daily Trading Volume Grew from $200 Million to $12.6 Billion in 2024
Coinbase International posted on X reflecting on its growth, innovation, and market expansion in 2024. The daily trading volume of Coinbase International grew from $200 million to $12.6 billion, a 6200% increase. On December 30, nominal trading volume exceeded $380 billion. The exchange offers up to 20x leverage trading on 106 perpetual contracts.
8. Musk Changes X Platform Avatar and Nickname to Kekius Maximus
Musk changed his 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%. The Kekius Maximus token (KEKIUS) has seen a 24-hour increase of 107.0%, currently priced at $0.029.
9. Binance Labs: Rebranding Soon, Invested in 46 Projects This Year
According to official news, Binance Labs announced on social media that it is "about to rebrand" while still focusing on fundamentals aimed at creating long-term impact. Entering 2025 and beyond, the organization will continue to support founders with a shared long-term vision.
Additionally, it stated that it invested in 46 projects this year, with 14 from the BNB chain-centered MVB program or unrelated lab incubation programs, and 32 from direct investments. The distribution ratio between infrastructure and application transactions is 50:50. Among these 46 transactions, 10 belong 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 come from BNB ecosystem projects (its MVB program).
Binance Labs posted on social media that as it transitions to 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake, it 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 supportive stance on cryptocurrency is expected to create a more favorable regulatory environment.
This shift may enhance institutional interest and investment in the crypto space, aiding the industry's maturation and building a stronger foundation on solid ground. Binance Labs' main focus areas for 2025 are crypto/blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, and it is excited to see innovations emerging at the intersection of these three fields.
It is anticipated that underperforming sectors such as gaming, ZK technology, and privacy solutions may rebound as they transition from development to production, thereby supporting new use cases. Additionally, existing narratives like DeSci, RWA/stablecoins, and AI agents are expected to continue performing well with strong momentum.
11. Balaji Srinivasan: BTC's Growth Rate on the Path to Mass Adoption May Be Faster Than the Internet
Former a16z partner and Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan stated on the X platform that cryptocurrency represents international capitalism, and currently, both BTC and AI have entered a vertical phase of the adoption curve. He shared performance result charts of OpenAI's large language model and the net asset management scale of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF, noting that in terms of mass adoption trajectory, Bitcoin's growth rate may be faster than that of the internet.
12. Vitalik Questions Musk Over Free Speech and "Banhammer" Threats
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called on Musk to "cool down" as his platform sparked a new free speech controversy amid a heated debate about foreign tech workers.
Musk publicly supported U.S. top companies hiring foreign tech workers, which angered conservatives on X, who believe that employment conditions in the U.S. are becoming increasingly unfavorable for domestic citizens.
Vitalik stated that while he admires Musk's willingness to fight for free speech, he urged Musk to "cool down," moderate the "tone of discourse," and stop using the "social media banhammer" to shut down X accounts.
Vitalik said, "It's easy to respect free speech when we agree with the speech, but it's hard when we find the speech terrible. But the reasons for respecting free speech never change: today the ban is in one party's hands, and tomorrow it may be in another's."
13. Syria Proposes Legalizing Bitcoin to Promote Economic Recovery
According to Cryptopolitan, the Syrian Economic Research Center has proposed a plan urging the transitional government to adopt Bitcoin and other digital assets to combat inflation, stabilize the economy, and attract global investment. This plan comes at a time when the country faces significant reconstruction challenges after decades of war and financial disaster. The proposal emphasizes Bitcoin as a lifeline for Syrian citizens and their faltering financial system. It suggests establishing a regulatory framework to legalize the use of Bitcoin in transactions, mining, and financial dealings.
According to Bloomberg, the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world surpassed $10 trillion in 2024, with the wealth of tech billionaires seeing the most significant growth. Tech leaders like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jensen Huang topped the list, collectively increasing their wealth by $903 billion.
The article mentions that Trump's victory triggered a historic surge in digital assets, with Bitcoin breaking the $100,000 mark for the first time. This wave of growth significantly boosted the wealth of billionaires in the cryptocurrency sector: Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) saw his wealth increase by 60% to $55 billion; Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong's wealth rose by over 50% to $11.1 billion.
15. Binance User Count Surpasses 250 Million
Binance announced that 1 billion users is the benchmark for mass adoption, and its user count has surpassed 250 million, achieving a quarter of that goal.
16. Binance Adjusts Monitoring and Seed Labels
According to an official announcement, Binance will adjust its monitoring and seed labels on January 2, 2025. New additions to the monitoring label include StormX (STMX) and TROY (TROY), while ConvexFinance (CVX) and Sun (SUN) will be removed. The seed labels being removed include Arkham (ARKM), Blur (BLUR), Jito (JTO), and Celestia (TIA).
17. Binance Alpha Adds Swarms, TAOCAT, Degenai
Binance Alpha announced a new batch of projects, including: Swarms, TAOCAT, and Degenai.
18. Binance Becomes Licensed Brokerage in Brazil
Binance CEO Richard Teng stated on social media, "2024 is an extraordinary year for the crypto industry and Binance, and it is fitting to start 2025 with our 21st global regulatory milestone. Binance is now a licensed brokerage in Brazil, marking a significant achievement in this important market."
19. Do Kwon Faces Additional Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges, Pleads Not Guilty to All Charges
According to Cointelegraph, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has been charged with a new offense: conspiracy to commit money laundering. This new charge was included in an alternative indictment unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 2. The indictment states that Do Kwon conspired with others, knowing that transactions exceeding $10,000 involved illegal proceeds, yet facilitated these financial transactions.
Previously, Kwon had been charged with eight felonies for his role in the 2022 Terra ecosystem collapse and was arrested in Montenegro in 2023 for forging travel documents. After extradition disputes with the U.S. and South Korea, Kwon was handed over to the U.S. in December 2024. Currently, Kwon pleaded not guilty to all charges during his court appearance on January 2 and agreed to be detained. It remains uncertain whether a plea agreement will be reached or if a criminal trial will take place.
This case bears similarities to that of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who faced additional charges after extradition and was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Musk posted on his social media platform regarding the controversy over taxation on crypto transactions, stating, "A customer bought $7,000 worth of cumrocket and staked it for 3 months to earn a 6900% return. Then they sold and withdrew profits to invest in NFTitties, but the developers rug-pulled the project, and they only managed to liquidate 10% of the funds. Can the customer deduct the gas fees for minting to offset short-term capital gains tax?"
As a result of this news, the token CumRocket (CUMMIES) surged by 124% in a short time.
21. Trump's Son Eric Trump Meets Michael Saylor at Mar-a-Lago and Mentions Bitcoin
Eric Trump, son of Trump, met with Michael Saylor at Mar-a-Lago and stated, "Two friends, a shared passion: Bitcoin."
22. Binance BNSOL Super Staking to Launch on EOS Network (EOS)
Binance BNSOL Super Staking will launch on the EOS Network (EOS) from January 6, 2025, 08:00 to January 21, 2025, 07:59 (UTC+8). Users holding BNSOL in their Binance accounts and wallets or staking SOL to BNSOL will receive EOS APR Boost airdrop rewards.
23. SAF Co-Founder: At Least 13 States in the U.S. Are Drafting "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" Legislation
Dennis Porter, co-founder and CEO of Satoshi Action Fund (SAF), posted on X that at least 13 states in the U.S. are drafting legislation related to "strategic Bitcoin reserves." January is set to be a record month for Bitcoin policy.
24. Zhao Changpeng: The Digital "4" Originates from a Binance Vision Tweet Posted Two Years Ago Today
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng stated, "If you want to know why people mention the number 4 in tweets, it's because of a tweet from two years ago today. In hindsight, the fourth point should be considered the zero point; 2025 will be a year of 'send it' (go all out)."
Previously, CZ tweeted on January 3, 2023, that 2023 would be about keeping things simple, outlining what to do and what not to do: 1. Education; 2. Compliance; 3. Products and services; 4. Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha recently disclosed his personal assets worth $400 million, which include two properties in London, investments in several companies, and a collection of luxury watches and bags. The 38-year-old member of the Shinawatra family also listed 1.09 billion Thai baht (approximately $31.6 million) in cash and deposits across more than 26 bank accounts. When disclosing this information to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of Thailand, his total assets reached 13.85 billion baht (approximately $400 million).
According to documents exposed by local media, Prayuth also declared nearly 5 billion baht in debts, resulting in a net worth of 8.9 billion baht ($258 million). Prayuth is the youngest daughter of Thaksin and became the third member of the Shinawatra family to lead Thailand in August 2024, following the ousting of former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for ethical violations by the Constitutional Court. Prayuth's spouse, Pidok, disclosed assets of 147 million baht and an income of 5.13 million baht from the previous year, which included profits from cryptocurrency trading. (Jin Shi)
SlowMist released the "2024 Blockchain Security and Anti-Money Laundering Annual Report," stating that there were 410 security incidents in 2024, resulting in losses of up to $2.013 billion. Compared to 2023 (464 incidents, losses of approximately $2.486 billion), the losses decreased by 19.02% year-on-year.
From the perspective of project sectors, DeFi remains the most attacked area. In 2024, there were 339 DeFi security incidents, accounting for 82.68% of total security incidents, with losses reaching $1.029 billion. Compared to 2023 (282 incidents, losses of approximately $773 million), losses increased by 33.12% year-on-year.
In terms of ecosystems, Ethereum suffered the highest losses, totaling $465 million, followed by BSC with $87.35 million. Regarding the causes of incidents, contract vulnerabilities led to the most security incidents, totaling 99, resulting in losses of approximately $214 million. The second most common cause was account hacking. With the support of InMist intelligence network partners, SlowMist assisted clients, partners, and publicly hacked incidents in freezing funds totaling over $112 million in 2024.
27. Vitalik: Looking Forward to More Innovations in the DeSci Field
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated on the DeSci podcast that cryptocurrency is an efficient fundraising tool that can provide more diverse funding sources for DeSci and significantly enhance the convenience of funding.
He has a strong personal interest in longevity and medical research and has supported related projects through cryptocurrency, such as donating cryptocurrency to fund COVID-19 relief efforts in India and launching the Balvi pandemic prevention project.
Vitalik looks forward to seeing more innovations in the DeSci field, such as:
- A research contribution distribution mechanism to fairly recognize the value of scientific work;
- An interdisciplinary public education fund;
- Prediction markets to improve decision-making efficiency in research directions.
28. The U.S. Accounts for Over 40% of Global Bitcoin Hash Rate
Data from TheMinerMag shows that the U.S. accounts for over 40% of the Bitcoin network's hash rate, with two U.S.-based mining pools, Foundry USA and MARA Pool, accounting for over 38.5% of all mined blocks.
According to TheMinerMag, Foundry USA's hash rate grew from 157 EH/s at the beginning of 2024 to approximately 280 EH/s in December. Foundry is currently the largest single mining pool by hash rate, controlling about 36.5% of the total Bitcoin network hash rate.
According to Phoenix News, the Public Security Bureau of Neijiang City, Sichuan Province, held a press conference announcing that the Neijiang police recently cracked a case of illegally obtaining computer system data, overseen by the Ministry of Public Security, and arrested 5 individuals. It is reported that the gang consisted of high-end "hackers" engaged in network technology, one of whom worked for a large cybersecurity company. They wrote hacking programs to illegally obtain citizens' personal information and ultimately sold this information on foreign websites using virtual currency, with prices reaching up to 5 yuan per record.
Police investigations revealed that the case involved 57 government and enterprise websites, with the gang stealing 208 million records of personal information, including flight trajectories, diplomas, and addresses, resulting in illegal profits exceeding 6.4 million yuan. The special investigation team seized over 5.6 million yuan in illegal gains and confiscated more than 30 sets of core code for hacking tools written by the suspects, over 10 hacking virtual machine penetration attack systems, and 270 penetration scripts. The case has been transferred for prosecution and is currently under trial.
30. Bitcoin Technology Company JAN3 Completes $5 Million Seed Round Financing, Led by Fulgur Ventures
According to official news, Bitcoin technology company JAN3 announced that it has completed a $5 million seed round financing, led by Fulgur Ventures, with participation from Grupo Salinas, Tether, Lightning Ventures, East Ventures, Plan B Fund, Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, and NYDIG. As part of the current seed financing, JAN will allocate $1 million to establish a Bitcoin treasury, which includes 12 BTC, with an average cost of $83,333.33 per BTC.
According to Web3 asset data platform RootData, JAN3 is a Bitcoin technology company founded by former Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow, aimed at accelerating Bitcoin adoption. JAN3 has taken over Blockstream's crypto wallet AQUA, Bitcoin and Liquid mobile wallets, and the NFT marketplace Raretoshi. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of El Salvador to provide digital infrastructure for the country and Bitcoin City.
"What Are the Noteworthy Articles to Read This Week (12.30-1.5)"
1. Interview with UXLINK CMO: Breakthroughs, Innovations, and Challenges in 2024
ChainCatcher recently interviewed UXLINK's CMO Eric about breakthroughs, achievements, challenges, and new year plans for 2024. Just as a coin has two sides, the achievements of UXLINK are accompanied by multiple challenges faced by the team. However, Eric stated that regardless of how the market environment changes in 2024, UXLINK is focused on genuine user growth, emphasizing that "any meaningful Dapp construction must serve end users. Web3 and Crypto cannot always play financial games; they need to truly benefit the public for the industry to explode."
Additionally, regarding plans for the new year, Eric revealed that to achieve the goal of 100 million users, UXLINK will continue to focus on Telegram in 2025 while also investing and growing on LINE. They aim to attract new users by continuously enhancing the Web3 user experience with innovative features like One Account One Gas. In terms of user incentives, UXLINK will not only launch the upcoming second season airdrop but also have third and fourth seasons to fully ensure community benefits.
This survey collected 1,570 responses, providing valuable firsthand data for the industry to understand the Web3 individual investor community.
2024 is set to be the year of the meme explosion, with the meme craze permeating the entire year. As of the time of writing, CoinGecko data shows that memes represent a market worth over $100 billion. Memes are not just the battlefield of retail investors; they have also become a battleground for major institutions, CEXs, and public chains vying for traffic.
Compared to the past, which mainly focused on zoo-type memes, 2024 can be said to be a year where everything can be a meme, with unexpected angles emerging. This article reviews the main types of meme hype concepts in 2024 and the predictions of research institutions regarding the development trends of memes in 2025.
4. Scammers, Big Players, Influencers… A Review of the Meme Personalities of 2024
In 2024, the Memecoin sector emerged with a mix of praise and criticism, growing into a super cycle that surprised many Old Money investors.
In the trading battlefield of Memecoins, there are genius scammers who set "wealth traps" with cunning methods, big players who engage in market games with precise judgment and operations, influencers who bring traffic to tokens through their influence, and callers who sway market trends through their calls… These annual personalities have come together to create a carnival of Memecoins.
5. Top 10 Funny News in the Crypto Circle for 2024 | Annual Review
Congratulations on significantly enhancing your cognitive dimension this year, completing the transformation from a crypto novice to a crypto consumer.
As of December 31, ai16z's market cap has approached the $2 billion mark, with a more than 40% increase in the past 24 hours. Notably, the ai16z token has rapidly grown into a project nearing a $2 billion market cap in less than two months since its launch on October 26, and its market popularity continues to rise.
As the "first AI-driven decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for investment," ai16z is a standout project in the AI Agent wave, with its launched AI Agent construction 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 and 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 December trend list on GitHub.
With the dual driving force of "investment + Eliza development framework technology," ai16z has become a center for the incubation and production of AI Agent projects. So, what AI Agent projects has ai16z participated in supporting as the AI Agent incubation center?
Virtuals is an AI agent asset issuance platform launched on the Base network, currently valued at nearly $2.5 billion, with over 100,000 agents issued on its platform. Its ecosystem has birthed several standout AI agents, including the virtual person Luna who does live streaming and tweeting, the crypto "KOL" AIXBT who provides project suggestions, and G.A.M.E, which offers agent development frameworks to developers.
Virtuals was originally established in 2021, with its predecessor being the gaming guild PathDAO. However, as Axie Infinity fell from grace, it became increasingly difficult to operate a gaming guild. During this period, the team attempted multiple transformations and developed various platforms, including a social networking app, an AI music project, and lending services aimed at gamers. It wasn't until 2023, with the release of GPT, that the team realized the importance of AI, and Virtuals officially began to focus on AI as its main direction.
The success of GOAT sparked a wave of AI agents in the Web3 space, but beyond memes, what other possibilities do AI agents hold?
ChainCatcher interviewed Wee Kee, co-founder of Virtuals, who believes that AI agents can autonomously create sustainable cash flow assets. Tokenizing them can provide quality returns for investors while incentivizing more developers to create better AI agents. He used Luna and G.A.M.E, the most famous AI agents on Virtuals, as examples to explain the monetization mechanisms and tokenization processes of AI agents.
In the future, Wee Kee hopes to build a community composed of both AI agents and humans, where a true economic cycle can form between AI and AI, as well as between AI and humans, greatly liberating human productivity.
In this conversation, we discussed with Wee Kee the monetization mechanisms of AI agents on Virtuals, the development ecosystem, and his vision of an AI society.
With the continuous development of various technological fields, blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies are jointly driving an unprecedented technological revolution. In this transformation, DeepBrainChain (DBC), as a pioneer of decentralized AI public chains, is leading the future development of the AI industry with its unique charm and limitless potential. Since its establishment in 2017, DBC has been committed to building a decentralized AI infrastructure, gradually constructing a stable, efficient, and secure decentralized AI public chain network through continuous technological innovation and ecological expansion.
During our in-depth understanding of DBC, we had the privilege of interviewing DBC's founder, Feng. Feng shared DBC's ecological vision and planning, filling us with anticipation for DBC's future.
9. Understanding 2024 Meme Coins Through a Set of Data: The Ecological Changes Behind 600% Growth
What new meme blue chips will emerge in 2024? Which KOLs will have a significant impact on the meme coin market? What are the commonly used meme tools and narratives?
10. AI Agent Latest Layout Guide: CreatorBid, Solana AI Hackathon, Spore Ecosystem
The field of AI agents is creating exciting opportunities across various ecosystems. Capital flows, the launch of new features, and emerging trends are providing investors with new layout directions. Here are some ecosystems worth paying attention to, along with unique trading strategies.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
