This Week in Review | SEC Chairman to Resign on January 20; Base Protocol Ecosystem Gaining Momentum
BlockBeats will curate the industry's key news content for the week (11/18-11/24) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and industry trends.
Important News Recap
Bitcoin Reaches an All-Time High of $99,588 for the First Time, Just a Step Away from $100,000
This week, Bitcoin has repeatedly broken through $99,000 to hit a new all-time high. Many institutions are optimistic about Bitcoin's future performance. In its latest report, asset management giant VanEck pointed out that from key indicators, this rebound seems to be just beginning: since November 12, the perpetual futures funding rate has remained above 10%, indicating a strengthening bullish momentum. Additionally, the current 30-day moving average relative unrealized profit level is around 0.54, usually indicating that the market may peak in a longer time cycle. The search term popularity is only 34% of the peak in May 2021, indicating that speculative frenzy has not yet spread, and retail investor participation will enable Bitcoin to have further room for upside. On November 24, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicted in a recent podcast that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by the end of this year, and by the end of 2025, it may reach $250,000, with Dogecoin potentially hitting $1. Related Readings: "After Bitcoin Breaks $100,000, Which Track Will Explode First?", "As Bitcoin Approaches $100,000, Taking Stock of the Institutional Power Behind Over 2.7 Million BTC Holdings"
SOL Hits an All-Time High; Ranks 153rd in Global Asset Market Cap
On November 22, SOL reached $260 for the first time, hitting a new all-time high after 1100 days with a 24-hour gain of 11.98%. Solana's market cap has reached $122.35 billion, surpassing companies such as Sony and Allianz, ranking 153rd in the global asset market cap. SOL had previously set a historical high of $259.9 on November 6, 2021, when the Solana ecosystem was deeply integrated with the well-known trading platform FTX, and SOL itself was highly praised by the crypto figurehead at that time—FTX founder SBF. As the Fed raised interest rates to end the 2021 bull market, the crypto space was successively hit by the LUNA incident and Three Arrows Capital's liquidation in 2022. FTX was also affected and eventually faced liquidation at the end of 2022, causing SOL to drop to $8 at one point. Related Readings: "Solana: From Zero to a Billion Dollar High, The Crypto World's Most Perfect Rebirth"
Sources: SEC in Talks With SOL Spot ETF Issuer, Making ‘Progress’
On November 21, a FOX Business reporter tweeted on social media that, according to two sources familiar with the matter, SEC staff have made ‘progress’ in negotiations with the issuer looking to launch a SOL spot ETF. The SEC is currently reviewing the S-1 application for the SOL spot ETF. These sources suggest it is ‘quite likely’ to see some 19b-4 filings from exchange representatives of the potential issuer in the coming days, which is the next step in the ETF approval process. Possibly influenced by this news, SOL saw a 4% short-term surge.
Wall Street Bond Trading Giant Cantor to Acquire Around 5% Ownership Stake in Tether
On November 24, according to reports, Cantor Fitzgerald is expected to acquire approximately a 5% ownership stake in Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, with Lutnick leveraging his political clout to address threats faced by Tether. Cantor Fitzgerald is currently one of Tether's key banking partners. Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is set to become Trump's Secretary of Commerce
Meme Coin Craze Continues: Case of Capitalization Resurfaces; TikTok Narrative Heats Up; Emergence of Live Streaming Mythology
ai16z recently attracted significant attention by launching a decentralized AI trading fund based on Solana. The fund leverages AI agents to analyze the market and execute trades, driving the market performance of the eponymous token. In particular, the AI agent Eliza, backed by ai16z, briefly reached a market capitalization of $50 million. On November 16, due to ai16z partner Shaw's announcement to 'set Eliza free' and launch the new token ELIZA, Eliza's market cap plummeted by over 87% in a short period. This move sparked intense community reactions, as the showdown between the community and a conspiracy group continues to unfold. Related Read: “Eliza's 'Capitalization' Battle: On-chain 'VC' ai16z vs. Community Showdown?”
On November 20, as reported, a teenage trader known as 'Kid Brother' created a MEME coin named Quant during a live stream and sold all of it at a price of 128 SOL (worth $30,000), making a profit of $29,600. The 51 million Quant he sold is now worth $4 million. Subsequently, he created lucy and sorry, selling them all and making a profit of 103 SOL (approximately $24,000). Related Read: “How did a Kid who Created and Sold Coins in a Livestream Become the New Top Streamer?”
The Solana-based meme coin CHILLGUY rapidly gained popularity thanks to a trending TikTok character meme, with its market value soaring from $10 million to nearly $500 million in just a few days. An early investor put in around $1,000 and saw a return of over $1 million in less than a week. CHILLGUY's surge attracted a large number of new users to the crypto space and drove Solana's transaction volume to a new high. Read more: "From $1,000 to $1 Million, Who Caught Chillguy's Sudden Wealth?", "Continued TikTok Heat + AI Meme Rebound, Solana On-Chain Continues Money-Printing Mode | What's Today's Meme Frenzy?"
The Rise of the Base Ecosystem, AI Agent Token Skyrockets 100x in One Week
The cryptocurrency world has seen continuous turmoil since Trump took office. On November 19, Trump is set to discuss SEC appointments with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, bringing the long-dismissed base ecosystem back into the public spotlight. In Base's meme ecosystem, in addition to well-known figures such as Brett and Degen, the pace is accelerating, with numerous AI concepts emerging, and many tokens from the Desci series migrating to Base. On November 21, Vitalik and Jesse bought into the Base ecosystem meme coin ANON, igniting another AI token frenzy on Base. This utility token, touted with ZK technology, once again made the community realize that Base may be witnessing a narrative similar to the early-year Degen frenzy.
Read more: "AI Agent Token Skyrockets 100x in One Week, the Rising 'Base Agent' Ecosystem""Quietly Brewing a 100x Opportunity in the Base Ecosystem, What Are the Pumping Targets?"
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to Resign on January 20
On November 22, according to official sources, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will resign on January 20. The official announcement mentioned that in the last full fiscal year, although the cryptocurrency market accounted for less than 1% of the U.S. capital market, 18% of the reports, complaints, and referrals received by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were related to cryptocurrency. Courts across the board have supported the Commission's investor protection actions and have rejected all arguments that the SEC could not enforce the law when securities were issued—regardless of the form of the securities issuance. Related reading: "Crypto Lawyer Teresa Might Serve as SEC Chairman, What Is Trump's Intent?"
MicroStrategy Enters Top 100 Market Cap of U.S. Listed Companies, Currently Holding 331,200 BTC
On November 20, MicroStrategy (MSTR) surged over 2.43% in pre-market trading, with a stock price exceeding $440.55, a market cap of over $96.732 billion, entering the top 100 U.S. listed companies. According to data from mstr-tracker, MicroStrategy currently holds 331,200 BTC, valued at $30.898 billion, with an average purchase price of $49,874 per BTC, currently holding an unrealized gain of over $14.7 billion. Related reading: "$15 Billion Ambition: Where Will MicroStrategy Take Bitcoin?", "Making Billions Trading Bitcoin with a Listed Company, He Is the Happiest Person in the Bull Market"
Renowned Short-Selling Institution Citron: Short MSTR for Hedging, Still Bullish on Bitcoin
On November 21, the renowned short-selling institution Citron Research officially posted on social media, stating that with Bitcoin investments now easier than ever (you can currently buy ETFs, COIN, and HOOD), MSTR's trading volume has completely detached from BTC's fundamentals. Although Citron still remains bullish on Bitcoin, we have hedged by opening a short position on MSTR. Citron stated: "Even Michael Saylor must know that MSTR is overheated now." Related reading: "Publicly Shorting MicroStrategy, Can Citron Capital Win This Time?"
U.S. Bitcoin Spot ETF Options Set to Launch
On November 19, according to a notice posted on the official website of the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the institution is preparing to launch options for a spot Bitcoin ETF. The disclosed notice indicates that the OCC is preparing for the clearing, settlement, and risk management of spot Bitcoin ETF options, which will follow the new option listing process outlined in the options listing program.
Total BTC and ETH Open Interest Hits Over $64 Billion and $20 Billion, Setting New Highs
On November 22, according to Coinglass data, the total open interest of Bitcoin futures contracts across all platforms reached 648,800 BTC (approximately $640.9 billion). Among them, CME's Bitcoin open interest was 216,820 BTC (approximately $21.4 billion), ranking first, while Binance's Bitcoin open interest was 124,570 BTC (approximately $12.3 billion), ranking second. On the same day, the total open interest in Ethereum futures contracts exceeded $20 billion, reaching $20.61 billion, hitting a new all-time high with a 24-hour growth rate of 4.68%.
Justin Sun: Acquires Cattelan's Banana from Sotheby's Auction for $6.2 Million
On November 21, Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and member of the HTX Global Advisory Council, took to social media to announce, "Successfully acquired Maurizio Cattelan's iconic work 'Comedian' for $6.2 million. This is not just an artwork, but also a cultural phenomenon connecting art, meme culture, and the cryptocurrency community. I believe this piece will inspire more thoughts and discussions in the future and become part of history. I am honored to be the proud owner of this banana and look forward to it bringing more inspiration and impact to art enthusiasts worldwide." Possibly influenced by this news, the on-chain meme token BAN saw a temporary surge of over 27%.
Trump-Owned Company in Advanced Talks to Acquire Crypto Exchange Bakkt
On November 19, according to reports, a social media company owned by Trump is in advanced talks to acquire Bakkt, the cryptocurrency exchange owned by Intercontinental Exchange, as the company seeks to expand beyond online conversations. Two sources familiar with the negotiations stated that the Trump Media and Technology Group is close to a full-stock acquisition of Bakkt. On the same day, the market value of the Solana-based meme coin BAKKT surpassed $35 million, with a trading volume of $107 million within 9 hours of its launch. Related read: "Trump Expands 'Crypto Business Empire,' Plans to Acquire Crypto Exchange Bakkt"
Trump Crypto Team Expected to Establish Bitcoin Reserve
On November 22, according to Reuters, Trump's "Cryptocurrency Advisory Council" is expected to establish a committed Bitcoin reserve.
China Discipline Inspection Commission: Yao Qian Used Virtual Currency for Power and Money Transactions, Abused Policy Recommendation Authority, and Decision-Making Authority
On November 20, according to Pengpai News citing the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, in conjunction with the Shantou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in Guangdong Province, carried out disciplinary review and supervisory investigation into serious violations of discipline and law by Yao Qian, the former director of the Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the former director of the Information Center.
It was found that Yao Qian abused supervisory powers such as policy recommendation, decision-making, and enforcement authority, neglected his duties in technology supervision, sought undue benefits for others in expanding business at information technology system service institutions, hardware and software procurement, etc., and engaged in power and money transactions using virtual currency. After deliberation by the Party Committee of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yao Qian was expelled from the Party; after deliberation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yao Qian was dismissed from public office; his ill-gotten gains from violations of discipline and law were confiscated. After deliberation by the Shantou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in Guangdong Province, the issue of Yao Qian's suspected crimes was transferred to the procuratorate for examination and prosecution, and all the relevant property involved was also transferred.
Shanghai High Court: Personal Holding of Virtual Currency Not Illegal, But Token Issuance Illegal
On November 21, it was reported that the Songjiang District People's Court in Shanghai recently concluded a service contract dispute case caused by the effectiveness of a virtual currency issuance financing service contract. The plaintiff, a certain agricultural development company (hereinafter referred to as Company X), conceived the idea of issuing virtual currency and using it for financing during the 2017 ICO. Introduced and recommended by the defendant, a certain investment management company (hereinafter referred to as Company S), Company X signed a "Blockchain Incubation Agreement" with Company S, entrusted Company S to create a 'White Paper,' and based on mainstream blockchain smart contract technologies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, carried out token issuance on the blockchain. However, a year later, the tokens were still not issued. When Company X inquired, Company S stated that token issuance required the development of a corresponding APP first, and since the cost of APP development was high and not within their service scope, Company X should develop the APP on its own, and Company S would only be responsible for subsequent token issuance. Company X's expectations were dashed, leading to a lawsuit in the People's Court, requesting the contract be rescinded and Company S to return the service fee of 300,000 RMB.
The judge responsible for this case at the Songjiang District People's Court stated that virtual currency, as a virtual commodity with property value, is not inherently illegal for individuals to hold, but legal entities cannot freely engage in virtual currency investment transactions or even issue tokens at will.
Aptos Announces Launch of Meme Coin Platform emojicoin dot fun Mainnet
On November 20, Aptos officially announced that the Meme Coin issuance platform emojicoin dot fun has now launched its mainnet. Powered by Aptos and the Move programming language, emojicoin.fun allows anyone to create and trade fairly issued Meme Coins, redefining on-chain interactions. It is reported that emojicoin dot fun was incubated by Econia Labs and is operated by infranomicon.net. Related Reading: "Can Meme Save Public Chains? A Quick Look at Aptos' 'Emoji' Launch Platform emojicoin.fun"
Binance Pool Introduces Fractal Bitcoin (FB) Joint Mining
On November 18, Binance Pool officially launched Fractal Bitcoin (FB) joint mining. Participate in Bitcoin (BTC) mining to receive Fractal Bitcoin (FB) rewards. Fractal Bitcoin (FB) is currently not listed on Binance.com. The launch of Fractal Bitcoin (FB) mining services by Binance Pool does not guarantee that the token will be listed on Binance.
‘Memecoin’ Google Search Volume Surges to All-Time High
On November 18, according to Google data, the one-time Google search volume for ‘Memecoin’ surged to an all-time high. The founder of Wealth Mastery commented that "retail investors are awakening, and their usual entry point is various Memecoins."
Institution: NVIDIA's Q4 Revenue Expectations Fail to Impress Wall Street
On November 21, NVIDIA's Wednesday announced fourth-quarter revenue forecast came in slightly above expectations but still fell short of some investors' high hopes. Following the earnings report, the company's stock fell by about 2% in after-hours trading. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to be $37.5 billion, /- 2%, while analysts' average expectation, according to LSEG data, was $370.9 billion. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated, "The era of AI is in full swing, driving a global transition to NVIDIA computing." He said, "As the base model manufacturers expand the scale of pre-training, post-training, and inference, the demand for Hopper and the expectations for Blackwell are unbelievable." Prior to the earnings announcement, expectations were high, with NVIDIA's stock price rising over 20% in the past two months. Year-to-date, the company's stock has nearly doubled, surging over nine times in the past two years.
Magic Eden Announces Tokenomics: Initial Airdrop Allocation 12.5%
On November 19, Magic Eden announced its ME token tokenomics, with a total supply of 1 billion ME tokens. The token distribution will take place over 4 years, with 50.2% allocated to the community. The community and ecosystem's total allocation is 37.7%, with the community's initial allocation accounting for 12.5% of the total supply. Additionally, contributors account for 26.2% and strategic partners for 23.6%, both with lock-up periods. Magic Eden stated that an airdrop verification website will be launched soon, although the specific date is yet to be confirmed. Related reading: "What Preparations Should Be Made Before Receiving the Magic Eden Token Airdrop?"
ETHGlobal Bangkok Hackathon Announces 10 Winning Projects, Including AI Agents, Telegram Mini-Apps, and More Tracks
On November 18, ETHGlobal hosted its latest hackathon in Bangkok, Thailand, over the weekend following Devcon. A total of 713 projects were submitted for this event, with judges including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Aave founder Stani Kulechov, and Base founder and CEO Jesse Pollak, among many other key Ethereum ecosystem participants. The ten finalists selected by the judges focused on the rapidly growing areas of the crypto space, involving topics such as Meme coins, AI agents, and DAO tools. The hackathon offered a prize pool of $750,000, making it the largest prize pool in ETHGlobal history. Related reading: "From AI Agents to DeSci: A Quick Look at the 10 Finalists of the ETHGlobal Bangkok Finals"
This Week's Top Articles
In November 2024, the price of SOL reached a historic all-time high of $260, showcasing Solana's phoenix-like journey. From the early days of code inception to the challenging fundraising dark ages, to the strong push by FTX founder SBF, Solana once became a star public chain. However, in 2022, FTX's bankruptcy and ecosystem collapse caused SOL's price to plummet to $8, nearly leading to market abandonment. Subsequently, the foundation transparentized its assets, improved its technology, and hosted global hackathon events, successfully restoring community confidence and attracting over 60,000 developers to participate, incubating several star projects. With its advantage of high-speed, low-fee transactions, Solana has become the preferred chain for MEME trading and diversified applications, once again scripting a crypto miracle.
This week, as Bitcoin hit a new all-time high, MicroStrategy's stock price surged in tandem, rising over 2500% since mid-2020, outperforming both Bitcoin and Nvidia. The company's founder, Michael Saylor, transformed his company, originally focused on data analytics, into the publicly listed company with the most Bitcoin holdings globally. He personally and his company hold over 330,000 Bitcoins and plan to continue accumulating. Saylor shifted from a Bitcoin skeptic to a staunch supporter, reshaping the company's destiny with a bold Bitcoin investment strategy. Known for his luxurious lifestyle and innovative management style, he has showcased a complex yet legendary life and business achievements.
“‘Altcoin Season 312’ vs. ‘BTC All-Time High’: Who Made Money in the Crash?”
Recently, the altcoin market experienced a significant crash, causing many investors to flee with their profits, leading to a sharp drop in altcoin prices. For example, $URO and $RIF fell by 36.2% and 21.8%, respectively. These profit-taking funds quickly flowed into Bitcoin, driving its price to a new high, demonstrating Bitcoin's dominance in the market. Some major players, such as MicroStrategy and BlackRock, had already accumulated a large amount of Bitcoin, steering clear of the short-term altcoin bubble. For ordinary investors, perhaps a more rational approach focusing on Bitcoin's long-term value rather than chasing quick profits from altcoins might be advisable.
“Musk and D.O.G.E: What You Need to Know About the Government Efficiency Department”
The U.S. government is set to launch a new initiative called the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), aimed at reducing the federal budget deficit, cutting regulatory expenses, and restructuring government agencies. This initiative is jointly led by Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. While the department cannot officially be established as a government entity, the plan will drive government streamlining through reports and recommendations. The core objective of the DOGE plan is expense reduction, with Musk proposing a $2 trillion budget cut and Ramaswamy suggesting significant layoffs. The plan’s name, “DOGE,” is inspired by Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, and is closely tied to his image in political activism.
《Pulling off a "Hat Trick," He Exploits FTX to Swipe $1.2 Billion
Mauritian citizen Nawaaz Mohammad Meerun orchestrated a sophisticated market manipulation and exploited exchange vulnerabilities to acquire $1.2 billion from FTX and Alameda Research within a year. He first inflated the price of the low liquidity token BTMX for cashing out through leverage, then switched to a shorting strategy causing Alameda a massive $1 billion loss, and also manipulated other tokens using fake accounts multiple times. Despite being eventually uncovered by FTX, he successfully withdrew a substantial amount of funds. Lawsuit documents further allege his involvement with transnational criminal networks and terrorism financing, but Meerun denies all charges, claiming to be a rule-abiding trader.
《Vitalik, Jesse Sequentially Buy In, What's Behind ANON in the Base Ecosystem?
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Base Protocol lead Jesse Pollak recently purchased the ANON token successively, driving its price to a rapid surge, surpassing a $50 million market cap. The ANON token originates from the anonymous posting feature Superanon on the Supercast social platform, issued through zk technology and AI integration, quickly attracting attention from the crypto community. Despite the "case sensitivity dispute," the ANON token has sparked more applications and ecosystem development, such as the anonymous publishing platform anoncast and the NFT project Base Colors. ANON's success reflects the potential of decentralized communities and token ecosystems, but it also faces the dual challenges of short-term speculation and long-term application development.
Since Trump's plan to discuss SEC appointment matters with Coinbase CEO, the Base ecosystem has once again captured attention. As a significant extension of Ethereum, Base has driven narratives of social media, RWA, Depin, and other innovations this year, rapidly becoming a hub for AI meme and Desci projects. In the AI field, the Virtuals platform supports AI Agent ecosystem development, tokens like LUNA form a closed loop through live buybacks, and projects like Aixbt and Sekoia leverage cross-chain or investment narratives to gain market favor. In the Desci field, projects like VitaDAO, Baby, and Grow use the advantages of the Base ecosystem to explore longevity research and synthetic biology, but overall liquidity shortage remains a limiting factor. Base may be quietly taking over the innovation relay baton, becoming Ethereum's beacon of hope.
“Public Companies Flocking to Buy BTC: Top 15 Profit Ranking Revealed, Who Grew Nearly 30x?”
Publicly traded companies are driving stock price growth through Bitcoin strategic reserves, with MicroStrategy leading the list with a profit from its 331,200 BTC holdings, followed closely by Coinbase and Tesla. German companies have shown outstanding profit growth rates, while Boyaa Interactive and Meitu represent Hong Kong-listed companies joining the trend. With Bitcoin's price breaking new highs, more companies are accelerating their BTC reserve strategies, boosting stock prices and attracting new capital into the market. Recently, several U.S. companies have announced BTC purchase plans, further confirming the trend towards Bitcoin mainstream adoption, leaving non-invested companies potentially missing out on the opportunity.
“$15 Billion Game Plan: Where Will MicroStrategy Take Bitcoin?”
MicroStrategy, through bold bond issuances and stock offerings, continues to increase its Bitcoin investments. With flexible financial operations and strong support from the rising Bitcoin price, it has accumulated significant unrealized gains. Compared to Luna, which lacks a solid asset backing, MicroStrategy's leverage strategy is more robust, with its debt maturity extended to 2027, alleviating short-term liquidation pressures. As the Bitcoin price keeps rising, MicroStrategy's successful model is attracting more institutional mimics, further fostering market prosperity. However, its major future threat lies in potential sell-offs by Bitcoin whales, which could impact the market significantly.
“Another Profit Strategy Investing in Memes: Boosting Returns Through Passive LP”
The article provides a detailed analysis, with practical examples, of achieving high returns in the memecoin market using Uniswap v3 LP strategies. The author demonstrates how to optimize liquidity provision by setting appropriate ranges and fees to maximize transaction fee revenue while minimizing impermanent loss effects. Against a backdrop of high trading volumes and volatility, this strategy achieved up to a 32,120% annualized percentage yield (APY) in just 10 hours, showcasing the potential of becoming a passive LP in the meme market. The article also discusses further optimization methods regarding range setting and fee tiers, offering valuable insights to long-term holders and developers.
Magic Eden has announced the ME tokenomics and airdrop plan. 12.5% of the total token supply will be unlocked during the TGE, incentivizing Bitcoin, Solana, and EVM users, and rewarding user activity through product usage. Following the news, the pre-market price of ME surged, but the related NFT Magic Tickets' floor price fell back to pre-news levels. ME token distribution is community-centric, with over half allocated to users and ecosystem development. The team emphasizes actual user utilization over trading volume and has established a security council to ensure token operation. The market's focus on the NFT sector continues to decline, posing a challenge to whether ME can reignite the market through its token model.
《Ethereum and Solana Staking Business Model Differences: A Discussion on Lido and Solayer》
Solayer recently secured funding from Polychain and Binance Labs, becoming a prominent player in the Solana on-chain DeFi space. Its TVL continues to rise, surpassing Orca and entering the top twelve in Solana chain TVL rankings. In the staking arena, despite challenges faced by projects like Lido, Eigen, and ETHFI, Solayer's restaking model has garnered widespread attention. Unlike Ethereum's Liquid Staking and Restaking, Solayer's restaking involves further staking ETH through Eigenlayer to potentially generate higher yields for users. Meanwhile, Etherfi offers a more user-friendly participation method through Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT), positioning itself as an emerging competitor in the market.
As of November 2024, over $13.1 billion in Real World Assets (RWA) has been tokenized on the blockchain, spanning across multiple blockchain networks such as Aptos, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism, and Arbitrum. The trend of RWA tokenization has further driven the growth of the gold, alternative fund, and corporate credit markets, especially with the active performance of Paxos Gold (PAXG) and the BUIDL Fund. With the expansion of tokenized financial products, especially the strong growth of the Maple and Syrup platforms, the demand for tokenized funds is also increasing, with more fund managers expected to explore this emerging field. Additionally, the BUIDL Fund has surpassed $543 million and achieved cross-chain support, enhancing its market attractiveness.
《Code Nation: A Brief History of "Code is Law"》
In 2024, the crypto world still upholds "Code is Law" as its core tenet, where code is not only the foundation of the crypto world but also the embodiment of governance and faith. From Professor Lessig's warning of "Code is Law" at Harvard Law School to Nick Szabo's proposal of smart contracts, and further to the birth and development of Bitcoin and Ethereum, code has gradually become a self-executing rule, empowering decentralized applications and organizations with new life. However, this idea has also faced challenges in practice, especially in The DAO incident where hackers exploited a code vulnerability to carry out an attack, leading to a severe rift in the Ethereum community. The eventual hard fork solution did not completely resolve the controversy. With the rise of DeFi and DAOs, "Code is Law" is once again at the forefront. "Code is Law" is not a flawless doctrine but an ongoing experiment, a continuous exploration process.
《DeSci Make-Up Class: How to Quickly Get Started with Pump.Science?》
By combining the speculative nature, transparency, and meme effect of cryptocurrency, Pump.Science is merging Decentralized Science (DeSci) with longevity research, creating an innovative ecosystem. Users can fund lifespan extension experiments from worms to mice by purchasing experiment-related tokens while tracking experiment progress and results in real-time. This milestone-based funding model not only provides new momentum for scientific research but also encourages more people to participate in scientific innovation, driving the development and practical application of longevity compounds, bringing revolutionary changes to the traditional funding methods of science.
《A Veteran VC Who Has Witnessed Three Crypto Cycles: Is He Anxious About This Meme Cycle?》
In the current extreme divergence of the crypto market, Meme coins have become an undeniable investment opportunity. As traditional finance enters the crypto space, market liquidity gradually shrinks. The high valuations of VC projects coupled with a lack of tangible use cases have driven investors toward the more speculative Meme market. Meme coins, by embodying cultural trends and emotions, have built strong community support. Their low supply cap results in a low investment noise ratio but can yield high returns for early investors. Despite the risks of liquidity oversaturation and market downturns, Memes have demonstrated cross-cycle potential, offering an opportunity for daring investors.
《Sygnum Report: Singapore Could Become the Next 'Cryptocurrency Safe Haven'》
Singapore's cryptocurrency market is continuously evolving, with an increasing number of institutions and individual investors focusing on crypto assets. According to Sygnum Group's latest survey, 57% of institutional investors plan to increase their long-term holdings of cryptocurrencies, especially driven by the potential for crypto asset diversification and long-term growth trends. Despite significant market volatility, 65% of respondents stated that they have a higher risk tolerance. While regulatory clarity has improved, security and custody issues remain primary barriers for Singaporean institutions adopting cryptocurrency investments. Additionally, L1 public chains and Web3 infrastructure are the areas of greatest interest for current investors, with most respondents leaning towards investments in mature assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Overall, Singapore's cryptocurrency market is moving towards increased maturity and diversity.
As of November, there are globally 93 entities holding over 2.728 million Bitcoins, representing nearly 13% of the total Bitcoin supply. Bitcoin spot ETFs have become a key channel for institutional holdings, with BlackRock's IBIT holding the most. Bitcoin mining firms and private companies are also actively increasing their Bitcoin holdings. Several countries, including the US, China, and the UK, have become significant holders. In the realm of publicly listed companies, MicroStrategy holds a leading position with approximately 331,000 Bitcoins and continues to expand its Bitcoin investments. With active participation from institutions and nations, Bitcoin's market dominance is gradually shifting from retail investors to institutional investors.
《Eliza's "Case" Battle: On-chain "VC" ai16z vs. Community Showdown?》
ai16z has recently attracted widespread attention due to the launch of a decentralized AI trading fund on Solana. The fund uses an AI agent to analyze the market and execute trades, driving the performance of its namesake token. The AI agent Eliza, supported by ai16z, once reached a market value of 50 million USD, but after ai16z partner Shaw announced "setting Eliza free" and introduced a new token ELIZA, Eliza's market value plummeted by over 87% in a short period. Shaw stated that Eliza no longer belongs to ai16z, and he hopes the AI agent project can truly serve the community rather than be a speculative tool. This move has triggered strong reactions from the community, and the drama of Community vs. Conspiracy Cartel is still unfolding. As for whether uppercase or lowercase will ultimately be the Eliza that leads to freedom, the market will naturally provide the answer.
《Why This Is a Round of Stock-to-Bitcoin Bull Market?》
Recently, the price of Bitcoin has risen strongly, while the altcoin market has shown weakness, mainly due to the "premium issuance" strategy of the US stock MicroStrategy (MSTR). By issuing stocks at a premium when the price of Bitcoin rises, MicroStrategy continuously accumulates more BTC, creating a cyclical flywheel effect that drives up the company's market value and MSTR stock price. At the same time, this pattern has attracted other US stock giants to start exploring similar "Bitcoin Treasuries," intensifying the link between Bitcoin and the stock market, leading to a concentration of funds flowing into Bitcoin rather than other crypto assets. Under this trend, the future market trend may focus on Bitcoin and a few scalable projects such as Solana, while altcoins face the risk of marginalization.
《Crypto Gains a New Ally: Who Is Trump's Nominee for Commerce Secretary, Lutnick?》
Trump has nominated Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick to be the next Secretary of Commerce. If approved, he will drive US economic growth and strengthen domestic industries. Lutnick is known for rebuilding the heavily affected Cantor Fitzgerald after the 9/11 attacks, demonstrating extraordinary resilience. He is also a Bitcoin supporter, has worked with Tether to manage digital assets, and supports Trump's high tariff policy. Lutnick's appointment has received backing from Musk and is seen as a non-traditional choice that can bring about transformative change.
“Rune Trading Picks Up, Has the Bitcoin Ecosystem Finally Warmed Up?”
This week, OKX launched the Rune DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON perpetual contract, gradually attracting the attention of Bitcoin ecosystem players. Although current market liquidity is mainly concentrated on Solana, after a period of accumulation, the Rune ecosystem has begun to show strong potential. Projects such as DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON, PUPS•WORLD•PEACE, and BILLION•DOLLAR•CAT have surpassed a billion-dollar market cap, and the community is continuously growing. Several projects in the Rune ecosystem, such as MEMENTO•MORI, CYPHER•GENESIS, and RSIC•GENESIS, are showing varying degrees of growth and innovation, attracting more and more investor attention.
“Is Upbit Fading Away? Why Is the Korean Listing Premium Effect Gradually Disappearing?”
There has been a significant change in cryptocurrency trading in the Korean market recently, especially after the introduction of USDT, making arbitrage opportunities easier but also suppressing the premium phenomenon in the Korean market. With the widespread adoption of USDT, Korean investors are transferring crypto assets to overseas exchanges for arbitrage, avoiding the occurrence of high premiums, making the market fairer. However, with the Korean government tightening regulations on cryptocurrency trading, even planning to freeze accounts without prior notice, this may lead to more funds flowing out of the Korean market. For Koreans, this means an increased risk in the cryptocurrency trading environment, potentially leading to a trend of more funds moving to foreign exchanges.
“Why Choose to Start Building on Base Now?”
Since Trump's election, COIN and BTC have seen significant increases, but the author leans more towards ETH and is optimistic about the development of the Base L2 ecosystem. Base is poised to stand out in the competition, attracting MEME, consumer dApp, and more on-chain activities. ETH remains at the core of digital assets, and Base, as Coinbase's on-chain leverage, benefits from Coinbase's resources and support, possesses scarcity and innovation, can attract users in the long run without relying on traditional token incentives. The activity and TVL growth of the Base ecosystem demonstrate its great potential in the ETH-L2 space.
"The Rise and Fall of Stablecoins: From Currency Wars to Tripartite Struggle"
Stablecoins, as a key part of the cryptocurrency market, have experienced significant growth but also face many challenges. Their basic mechanism is similar to traditional banks' money creation, backed by debt and collateral. However, the existing stablecoin model suffers from fragmentation, counterparty risk, and yield competition. For example, the presence of multiple stablecoins in the market leads to poor interoperability, and the exchange between different stablecoins increases transaction friction. Additionally, centrally issued stablecoins are vulnerable to bank risks. The article predicts that in the future, stablecoins may be divided into three areas: payment, yield, and middleware, facing a more decentralized and balanced competitive landscape.
This article describes how stablecoins are changing the payment and financial world, analyzes the yield strategies of stablecoins, their advantages compared to traditional payments, and their role in exchanges and cross-chain transactions. It also mentions some challenges such as regulation and technical issues. The article also discusses how big companies like JPMorgan and PayPal have entered the stablecoin issuance arena, highlighting the immense profits behind it, and the new possibilities stablecoins bring in improving payment efficiency and expanding financial inclusion. Overall, stablecoins are driving a financial revolution but also facing a tug of war between freedom and regulation.
ai16z's Co-Founder Shaw elaborates in the interview on the future potential and challenges of integrating AI with cryptocurrency. He emphasizes that AI will trigger large-scale changes, potentially replacing human work, leading to unemployment, among other issues. He also mentions that a decentralized AI ecosystem can prevent the misuse of "god-like AI" and advocates for universal basic income as a solution. Shaw also suggests that through open-source and community-driven approaches, AI can drive market development and optimize trading decisions. The integration of AI with social platforms and the application of simplified technology will enable more people to participate and contribute to driving social change.
《How to Quickly Issue Tokens Using an AI Bot on Farcaster?》
Clanker is an AI-based "Token Bot" that allows users to easily create tokens without a technical background. By interacting with Clanker in a Farcaster client (such as Warpcast or Supercast), users can deploy their own tokens on Base with simple commands. Clanker's emergence has lowered the barrier to token issuance, attracting various participants, including AI agents. Recently, the AI agent Aether from the Higher community created the $LUM token through Clanker, and its market value skyrocketed to $80 million within a week, demonstrating Clanker's potential. While not all tokens may succeed, Clanker provides a convenient tool for creators and communities to experiment and earn liquidity pool rewards.
《Resilient Against "AI Poisoning," Can You Still Code with ChatGPT?》
A user encountered a phishing scam while attempting to develop an automatic bumping bot for pump.fun due to blindly trusting the code guidance provided by ChatGPT. Following the instructions, the user visited a website disguised as the Solana API and submitted their main Solana wallet's private key, resulting in the theft of around $2500 in assets. The scammers swiftly transferred the funds using the website. An investigation revealed that the malicious code repository aimed to steal private keys, with most of these codes being AI-generated. Experts warn users to avoid blindly using AI-generated code and to take strict security measures to safeguard their private keys.
《Pump.fun is Becoming the "TikTok of the Crypto World"》
This article was first published in July when Pump.fun launched its live streaming feature, coinciding with the emergence of the "live streaming with meme" trend. Recently, Pump.fun once again promoted its live streaming feature. In the early hours of November 22, a North American unemployed youth stated during a Pump.fun livestream that he would only end the stream once the market cap of his own token (LIVE) reached $100 million. This livestream was also featured as an official selection by Pump and placed on the homepage. After raising over $100,000 on the internal exchange, the LIVE token surged in value, eventually breaking a $20 million market cap. Following the popularity of the "live streaming guy," Pump.fun's website experienced another wave of live streaming frenzy, with various hosts showcasing their unique ways to boost their token prices, creating a resemblance to the "TikTok of the crypto world."
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