Publish Date: January 8, 2025
Author: BlockBeats Editorial Team

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has exhibited a parallel evolution in multiple dimensions. The mainstream discussion has focused on the re-emergence of security incidents and fairness disputes, including attacks on trading bots, bot occupation of pre-deposit mechanisms, sparking discussions on the credibility of the infrastructure; in terms of ecosystem development, Solana has continued to advance application implementation around hardware and token incentives, Ethereum has strengthened its infrastructure positioning through robust parameter upgrades and institutional product expansion, and the Perp DEX track has accelerated competition in incentive design and new exchange listings.

I. Mainstream Topics

1. Wyoming Stablecoin FRNT Launches on Solana

The U.S.'s first state-government-issued stablecoin, FRNT, has officially launched on the Solana blockchain. This stablecoin is issued by the Wyoming Stablecoin Committee, backed by 100% USD reserves, with reserve proceeds used to fund local school projects. Kraken has listed related trading pairs (partially restricted in some regions), and LayerZero provides cross-chain support. This development is seen as a milestone, marking the entry of a public entity into the $300 billion stablecoin market.

Most users see this as a milestone, further solidifying Solana's position as the "Internet Capital Market Infrastructure"; however, a few voices express concerns that government deep involvement in the crypto system may bring new regulatory uncertainties and centralization risks.

2. Kalshi Supports Legislation to Ban Government Officials from Trading on Insider Prediction Markets

The CEO of the prediction market platform Kalshi publicly supports a bill proposed by Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres, advocating for a ban on government officials from trading on prediction markets (including Kalshi) to prevent potential conflicts of interest. Kalshi emphasizes that such behavior is already illegal under current law, with the bill mainly aimed at strengthening enforcement constraints.

Some users question the natural insider information advantage in prediction markets, believing that compliance does not fundamentally change the risk; others believe that this move helps enhance the platform's compliance image, but remain skeptical about its actual restraint effect.

3. Coinbase CEO's Stock Trading Records Spark Controversy

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted, "Feel good about buying COIN through Coinbase," but it was later discovered that his publicly disclosed 10b5-1 trading records showed only 88 sell transactions and no buys. This contrast has raised community doubts about the truthfulness of his statement. Armstrong later explained that his holdings primarily come from early accumulation rather than secondary market purchases.

Supporters believe that the founder's reasonable monetization is not inappropriate; critics, however, argue that this statement is misleading, especially in light of the founder's personal security spending significantly exceeding that of peers, which has been interpreted by some community members as "wealthy absolution."

4. Blockworks Transitions to On-Chain Data Platform

Blockworks has announced that its website will undergo a full transformation from a crypto news platform to an on-chain data platform. It has currently launched a leaderboard and protocol dashboard covering multiple public chains, DEXs, lending protocols, among other areas, and plans to introduce more cross-protocol, cross-chain data comparison features to address the industry's longstanding issues of data opacity and self-reported data distortion.

Users widely acknowledge its interface design and usability, with many looking forward to the quick launch of a dark mode; some have also jokingly expressed hopes for a future "alpha leak" section. Overall, the community holds an optimistic view of its direction in enhancing industry data transparency.

5. 6th Man Ventures Partner Proposes New Equity + Token Incentive Model

6th Man Ventures partner Mike Dudas wrote a post criticizing the common structure in current crypto projects where VCs demand both equity and tokens, which he believes is unfair to both the team and retail investors. He suggests that project teams should directly hold more tokens to achieve long-term incentive alignment, avoiding the valuation bubble and later-stage sell pressure brought about by "free tokens."

Most discussants agree on the need to redesign the incentive mechanism to reduce structural bias against retail investors. Some voices emphasize that the project's success ultimately depends on team execution rather than VC-driven token distribution design.

6. Paradigm Opposes Congressional Amendment on Stablecoin Yield Distribution Clause

Paradigm's VP of Government Affairs, Alexander Grieve, published a post criticizing Congress's attempt to include a clause in the GENIUS Act that prohibits stablecoin issuers from distributing yield to holders. He points out that this move would essentially create a "stablecoin exchange fee," allowing banks to monopolize the profit, reinforcing the anti-competitive and anti-innovative traditional financial structure.

The overall community sentiment strongly supports retaining the yield-sharing mechanism, seeing it as an important source of value for stablecoin users and innovators. Many have sarcastically commented on the banking industry's creation of a risk narrative through lobbying, calling on Congress to be vigilant and resist the influence of banking interest groups.

II. Mainstream Ecosystem Updates

1. Solana

Solana Seeker Mobile Token SKR to Launch Soon
Solana Mobile announces the conclusion of Season 1 of Seeker Phone, attracting over 100,000 participants, covering 265+ dApps, completing 9 million transactions, generating approximately $2.6 billion in transaction volume. The official confirmation states that the SKR token will be launched on January 21st (UTC), with 20% of the total supply allocated for user and developer airdrops. Season 2 activities have already started in sync, with more rules to be announced tomorrow. SKR is positioned as the incentive token for the Seeker ecosystem, and the complete tokenomics have been disclosed in the official documentation.

The overall community response is mostly positive, with many users seeing this as a crucial validation of a crypto phone running real-world use cases and showing high interest in the airdrop distribution. Some developer community members (such as NOMADZ, Lince) shared their firsthand experiences, emphasizing the practicality of the product and on-chain interactions. There are also a few voices questioning the need for another token, suggesting using BONK or SOL directly as incentives to reduce the risk of "new coin to zero," and pointing out that the actual usage of the phone is still limited, with further growth potentially relying more on team-driven initiatives.

2. Ethereum

Second BPO Fork Completed
Ethereum has completed the second Blob Parameters Only (BPO) fork as part of the Fusaka upgrade, adjusting data availability parameters: the target blob count has been increased from 10 to 14, and the maximum from 15 to 21. This mechanism allows independent adjustments of key parameters without triggering annual large-scale upgrades and is seen as a long-term technical path to support L2 scalability and lower transaction fees.

The overall community response is mostly positive, with many users praising this "quiet, cautious" scaling approach, believing it is more conducive to reducing L2 costs, attracting real users rather than creating narrative hype; node operators remind others to check and update their clients promptly. There are also a few discussions comparing this approach with the aggressive upgrade pace of other blockchains, seeing it as a sign of Ethereum's more "responsible" governance direction.

ethOS v4.1.4 Update Released
Freedom Factory releases the ethOS v4.1.4 open-source update for dGEN1 devices, introducing several new features: including XMTP Messenger that supports group chats, voice-to-text, and emoji reactions; an eSIM app launched by ETHGlobal, allowing users to purchase data using cryptocurrency without KYC or credit cards; and an enhanced CHAD AI assistant, with added features like voice activation, context awareness, DCA, and token swaps. Additionally, system-level updates include options for a customizable home app, app network permission control, and disabling Google services.

User feedback has been overall positive, with eSIM's global coverage and privacy features receiving high praise. Many have jokingly said, "Finally can FU Google." Some users have also shared their update experience, stating that this upgrade significantly improved dGEN1's usability and are looking forward to further feature expansions.

Hacker Controls Multi-Sig Wallet, Continues to Withdraw ETH from Aave
Security firm PeckShield reported that a hacker-controlled Gnosis Safe multi-signature wallet (0x1fcf...) continues to gradually withdraw ETH from Aave's leverage positions and launder it through Tornado Cash. The total amount withdrawn has reached about 6300 ETH (approximately $19.4 million). This incident stemmed from a private key leak in December, resulting in an initial loss of about $27.3 million. The hacker has been using a progressive withdrawal strategy to avoid liquidation, with approximately $20.5 million ETH still held as collateral and around $10.7 million DAI borrowed. The wallet has been identified as a private whale address not directly associated with the protocol.

The community has expressed concerns about the ongoing impact of the event, labeling it as a typical "ongoing exploit attack." There have been renewed calls to strengthen multi-signature and key management. Discussions have also focused on Tornado Cash's role in the money laundering process, reminding users to be cautious of long-term risk exposure in high-leverage environments.

Morgan Stanley Files for Ethereum Trust
Morgan Stanley has submitted an S-1 filing to the U.S. SEC to launch the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust ETF. The trust plans to directly hold ETH spot positions, track its price performance, and distribute staking rewards quarterly, subject to compliance and IRS guidelines. This product is seen as part of its expansion into the crypto business, following a similar path to its previous Bitcoin and Solana-related products. In a relatively permissive regulatory environment, traditional banks are gradually increasing their exposure to crypto assets for retail and retirement accounts.

The community's overall attitude is leaning towards optimism, viewing this as a clear signal of traditional institutions further embracing ETH. It is seen as aiding in reducing compliance and entry barriers for some investors. However, there are also reminders that the uncertainty surrounding staking rewards in tax treatment could become a focus of future attention.

3. Perp DEX

Hyperliquid Business Expansion Strategy Discussion
In a post about Hyperliquid's business expansion path, Crypto_McKenna disclosed the second wave of team token distribution: around 1,125,766 HYPE tokens allocated to the team address, with no sell-off behaviors within 31 hours, seen as a signal of the team's long-term commitment. The community's overall evaluation is mostly positive, with most users believing it demonstrates "skin in the game" and helps enhance trust in the platform. There are a few voices questioning the transparency of the distribution process, but it has not become a mainstream concern.

Kinetiq Launches sKNTQ Staking Tier System
Kinetiq has announced the launch of the sKNTQ five-level staking tiers, with thresholds ranging from 50,000 to 2,500,000 sKNTQ, corresponding to benefits such as KNTQ buyback dividends, kmHYPE coin minting allocations, trading fee discounts, and referral fee sharing. It emphasizes the full risk isolation between kHYPE, iHYPE, vkHYPE, and kmHYPE. The community has responded enthusiastically, with many users believing that this design has redefined the value capture logic of liquid staking and looking forward to its deep integration with the upcoming Markets DEX for a more explicit incentive alignment.

Hyperliquid Completes Second Wave of Team Token Distribution
The Hyperliquid Lab wallet has completed test transfers, and the second wave of HYPE tokens has been officially distributed to the team wallet without any signs of selling, further reinforcing the market's expectation for long-term holding. The community has generally given positive feedback, viewing this ongoing no-sell behavior in a highly transparent on-chain environment as an endorsement of trustworthiness. There were also some sarcastic comments such as "The community is watching, but they can't sell either," but overall, it is still seen as a positive signal.

Kinetiq HIP-3 Exchange to Go Live on the 12th
Kinetiq has confirmed that its Markets HIP-3 DEX will officially launch on January 12th, focusing on features like perpetual contract and other derivative trading to expand the Hyperliquid ecosystem's trading infrastructure. The community has high overall expectations, seeing this as an important step for the ecosystem towards a complete trading stack. There were also discussions about its future availability on platforms like GTR Trade, seen as a milestone.

4. Others

Polycule Bot Hacked
The Polycule Bot (Polymarket's Telegram trading bot) has confirmed a hack where funds were stolen. The affected wallets and specific amounts have not been disclosed yet. The project team has warned that all accounts are at risk, and the official website is in maintenance mode. The community has reacted strongly, with many users suggesting an immediate migration to alternative tools like Synthesis, PolyBot, while also raising concerns about the security of bot-type products. Some have sarcastically referred to it as "pasterhacked" and further doubted the reliability of the bot's past content releases.

Cascade's $2 Million Pre-allocation Triggers Fairness Debate
The $2 million pre-allocation cap for Cascade was quickly filled in a very short period of time. On-chain data shows little to no manual participation from retail users, with funds mainly coming from bots or large wallets (some as high as around $1.5 million). The project team has yet to make a subsequent announcement. Community sentiment swiftly turned negative, criticizing the lack of "genuine user entry" and accusing the event of being "bot-sniped." Questions have been raised about the existence of an internal whitelist access mechanism, with some discussions escalating to FUD around the project's legitimacy. The overall sentiment is mainly characterized by a sense of frustration.

a16z crypto Invests $15 Million in Babylon
a16z crypto has announced a $15 million investment to support Babylon's Trustless Bitcoin Vaults protocol development. This scheme allows native BTC to serve as a cross-chain collateral asset without the need for custody, wrapping, or bridging. It also introduces new utility scenarios for the BABY token, aiming to unlock around $1.5 trillion of idle Bitcoin for use in BTCFi applications such as lending and yield. The community has responded positively overall, viewing this as a significant milestone in the BTCFi space. The trustless model is seen as a structurally significant breakthrough, though a few voices have cautioned to be mindful of potential regulatory and tax uncertainties.

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