Weekly Report | Bitcoin asset management scale has surpassed silver to become the second largest ETF commodity category in the U.S.; Bitcoin Layer 2 is experiencing a financing boom; Freechat's $80 million financing raises suspicions
The asset management scale of Bitcoin has surpassed silver, becoming the second largest ETF commodity category in the United States; Bitcoin Layer 2 is experiencing a financing boom; doubts arise over Freechat's $80 million financing; OKX Ventures releases a review of key projects for 2024 and seven major predictions.Organizer: Elvin, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (1.15-1.21)"
1. HashKey Group Completes Nearly $100 Million Series A Financing with a Valuation of Over $1.2 Billion
According to ChainCatcher, digital asset financial services group HashKey Group announced the completion of nearly $100 million in Series A financing with a pre-money valuation of over $1.2 billion. This round of financing was supported by existing shareholders and included new investors such as large institutional investors, Web3 organizations, and strategic partners. The funds will be used to deepen HashKey's full ecological layout in the virtual asset industry, accelerate the diversification of licensed business products in Hong Kong, and promote the group's compliant and innovative development globally.
It is reported that HashKey Group's current core businesses also include HashKey Capital, a global asset management company specializing in blockchain technology and digital assets; HashKey Cloud, a leading global provider of blockchain node verification services; HashKey Tokenization, a tokenization service provider; and HashKey NFT, a Web3 PFP incubation and community operation service provider, among others.
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2. Solana Mobile's Second-Generation Phone Pre-Sales Reach 30,000 Units in the First 30 Hours
According to ChainCatcher, TechCrunch reported that Solana co-founder and Solana Labs president Raj Gokal stated that the pre-sales of Solana Mobile's second-generation phone (Solana Chapter2) reached 30,000 units within the first 30 hours.
Sales have surpassed the total sales of the first-generation phone in 12 months.
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3. Bitcoin's Asset Management Scale Surpasses Silver, Becoming the Second Largest ETF Commodity Category in the U.S.
According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that Bitfinex's derivatives director Jag Kooner stated that just one week after trading began, the asset management scale of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. has surpassed that of silver ETFs, making it the second largest ETF commodity category in the U.S.
According to data from CC15Capital, Bitcoin spot ETF funds (including the conversion of Grayscale's GBTC trust) currently hold approximately 647,651 Bitcoins, with an asset management scale of $27.5 billion.
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4. DePIN Startup DIMO Completes $11.5 Million Series A Financing, Led by CoinFund
According to ChainCatcher, decentralized infrastructure startup Decentralized Infrastructure, which is building the DIMO network, has completed $11.5 million in Series A financing, led by CoinFund, with participation from Slow Ventures, ConsenSys Mesh, Borderless Capital, Bill Ackman's Table Management, and former General Motors CEO G. Rick Wagoner Jr.
Digital Infrastructure is building the DIMO network, a decentralized automotive data protocol, and DIMO Mobile, an application that allows drivers to collect and view their own vehicle data and earn rewards through DIMO tokens.
Alex Felix, managing partner and chief investment officer of CoinFund, will join the board of Digital Infrastructure. A spokesperson for the company told The Block that the Series A financing has brought Digital Infrastructure's total funding to $22 million.
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5. Manta's Korean BD Selling 2 Million MANTA Raises Questions, Manta Claims Funding Aims to Expand Market
According to ChainCatcher, Korean crypto KOL Definalist disclosed on social media that Manta Network's Korean BD allegedly transferred 2 million MANTA to a personal wallet of the Korean BD on the day MANTA was listed on Bithumb, and then deposited the 2 million MANTA into Bithumb, accounting for over 75% of Bithumb's total circulation. This led to MANTA's price on Bithumb soaring to $230 within 5 minutes of listing. The BD exchanged the 2 million MANTA for 2,094.7 ETH (approximately $5,162,112) at a price 50-100 times higher and deposited it into a personal wallet.
BD Wallet: 0x9670359ce856771369ad04A67DD6cF276b9fE8aF
Manta Issuance Wallet: 0x6aedc8c2c8c61a3a34c23520001489b843a10555
Additionally, according to an official Medium article from Manta Network, Manta Network is taking a series of measures to expand into the Asian market, especially Korea and Hong Kong. Manta Network is establishing a branch in Korea and allocating part of the Ecosystem/Community funds to market expansion in Korea (BD) based on the token economic model.
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6. Web3 Cashback Platform VIP3 Launches First On-Chain Real-Time Cashback Feature
According to ChainCatcher, Web3 cashback platform VIP3 has launched a real-time cashback feature this week, allowing users holding VIP3 Pass to receive most of the transaction fees back after completing transactions on partnered DEX/cross-chain bridge platforms.
It is reported that the Web3 cashback platform VIP3 has over 80,000 on-chain members after 4 months of launch and has established partnerships with several leading protocols such as Orbiter, DODO, iZUMi, Owlto, Meson, and TransitSwap, offering users an average of 50% fee refunds. Limited-time free minting activity for VIP3: vip3.io/mint
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7. SatoshiVM Transfers Approximately $10.5 Million SAVM to 248 KOL Addresses, Accounting for 11.5% of Total Supply
According to ChainCatcher, monitoring by Lookonchain shows that SatoshiVM has transferred 1,217,818 SAVM (approximately $10.5 million, accounting for 11.5% of total supply) to 248 KOL addresses, including Thor Hartvigsen. Currently, these 248 addresses still hold 483,493 SAVM (approximately $2.16 million), while 734,325 SAVM (approximately $6.32 million) have been transferred or sold.
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8. Rollup.Finance Launches Second Airdrop Event, Plans to Issue Tokens in Q2 2024
According to ChainCatcher, the decentralized derivatives trading platform Rollup.Finance announced the launch of the second phase of its airdrop event and stated that it plans to issue its native tokens in the second quarter of 2024.
It is understood that the second phase of Rollup.Finance's airdrop event mainly serves ecological incentives and will have multiple seasons. Users participating in liquid staking or contract trading can earn points, which can be exchanged for airdrop treasure chests.
Rollup.Finance is a decentralized derivatives trading platform that debuted on zkSync, providing a solution for Layer 2 on-chain perpetual contract trading, creating a new model for on-chain contract trading, and sustainably bringing real returns to users.
9. Planet Hares Invited to Attend B2GC Conference Supported by the Thai Government
According to ChainCatcher, the B2GC summit supported by the Thai government was successfully held in Phuket, Thailand, providing Web3 entrepreneurs with the opportunity to directly dialogue with Thailand's Minister of Digital Economy.
As an incubation project of the Everything Creation Camp S2, Planet Hares was officially invited to participate in this conference and set up a booth at the event to engage in in-depth exchanges with the BNB Chain team and Thai government officials.
It is reported that Planet Hares is a Web3 brand centered on entertainment culture, integrating gaming, trendy brand IP, original novels, virtual assets, motion capture technology, AI digital humans, and other content into a metaverse platform, aiming to create the first metaverse ecosystem with tens of millions of users in Web3, providing application scenarios and services for different communities and partners.
10. OpenAI Discusses Establishing a New Chip Joint Venture with Middle Eastern Investors and Chip Manufacturers
According to ChainCatcher, the Financial Times reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in discussions with Middle Eastern investors and chip manufacturers, including TSMC, to establish a new chip joint venture, aiming to meet the company's growing demand for semiconductors while reducing reliance on Nvidia.
According to insiders, Sam Altman is also negotiating with investors in the UAE, including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, chairman of International Holding Company (IHC) in the UAE (brother of the current president of the UAE). It is unclear whether Sam Altman's chip company will be managed as a subsidiary of OpenAI or as an independent entity. According to two insiders, OpenAI will be the primary customer of the new company.
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11. Binance Launchpool Launches 45th Project AltLayer (ALT), Supports Mining with BNB and FDUSD
According to ChainCatcher, Binance's new token mining has launched the 45th project AltLayer (ALT), supporting mining ALT with BNB and FDUSD. Users can deposit BNB and FDUSD into the ALT mining pool on the Launchpad website after 08:00 on January 19, 2024, to earn ALT rewards, with ALT available for mining for a total of 6 days.
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12. Binance New Token Mining Launches 44th Project, Mining Manta (MANTA) with BNB and FDUSD
According to ChainCatcher, the official announcement states that Binance's new token mining has launched the 44th project, mining Manta (MANTA) with BNB and FDUSD. Users can deposit BNB and FDUSD into the MANTA mining pool on the Launchpad website after 08:00 (UTC+8) on January 16, 2024, to earn MANTA rewards, with MANTA available for mining for a total of 2 days. The website is expected to update about five hours before the mining activity opens.
It is reported that Binance will list Manta (MANTA) on January 18, 2024, at 18:00 (UTC+8), and open trading markets for MANTA/BTC, MANTA/USDT, MANTA/BNB, MANTA/FDUSD, and MANTA/TRY, subject to seed label trading rules.
Previously, users who received MA tokens on the Binance platform will have their MA tokens automatically exchanged for MANTA tokens at a 1:1 ratio.
(Source Link)
13. Data
- Total assets under management of Bitcoin ETFs exceed $29 billion
- Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 3.90% to 70.34 T
- Cumulative fee revenue from Ordinals inscriptions reached 5,822.57 BTC, approximately $242 million
- Total net inflow of funds into the Bitcoin spot ETF market reached $1.2 billion
- The number of PYTH stakers has exceeded 57,000, with approximately $200 million worth of PYTH staked
- PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD total issuance has surpassed 300 million
- Since the 18th of last month, Sun Yuchen has withdrawn $60 million in assets from Binance
- EigenLayer's TVL has surpassed $1.8 billion
- Grayscale holds over 560,000 Bitcoins
- USDT issued on the TRON chain accounts for 50% of total issuance
- Total trading volume on Blur is approximately 3.88 million transactions, with a total trading amount exceeding 2.43 million ETH
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading This Week (1.15-1.21)"
1. "Bitcoin Layer2 Welcomes Financing Boom, Overview of 20 Early Projects"
Currently, Bitcoin Layer2 is showing a similar trend to Ethereum Layer2, attracting a large number of entrepreneurs. In addition to the well-known Lightning network, Liquid Network, and Stacks Layer2 protocols, a large number of new projects claiming to be Bitcoin Layer2, such as B² Network, BEVM, Dovi_L2, and Map Protocol, have also emerged.
ChainCatcher has systematically sorted out the current Bitcoin Layer2 solutions, representative projects, and their progress. This article is divided into two parts, with this being the second part, mainly summarizing the outlines of 20 early Bitcoin Layer2 projects.
The news of the $80 million financing did not bring the expected publicity for Freechat, but raised doubts among some Web3 practitioners, as Freechat has never disclosed any investors after announcing the completion of two rounds of financing, and there has been no news of any capital investing in it. The "half-hidden" high profile sowed seeds of suspicion in the industry, leading to accusations of "fake financing."
Freechat, an overseas Web3 social platform, was founded by Jack Long, whose Chinese name is Long Yujing, a native of Sichuan, China, and an early Bitcoin miner. Long stated in an interview that he cannot disclose information about the $80 million investors at this time, as it needs to wait for the investors to disclose it themselves.
3. "OKX Ventures 2024 Outlook: Key Projects and 7 Major Predictions"
In the year of the Dragon, the improvement of the macroeconomic situation resonates with the innovation cycle of the crypto industry, opening up new visions for the bull market. With favorable catalysts such as the Federal Reserve's interest rate expectations, the crypto industry's Cancun upgrade, Bitcoin halving, and the acceleration of BTC's global adoption through ETFs, a bright 2024 is anticipated. As a top investment institution in the crypto industry, OKX Ventures has set its sights on many potential projects and predicted the 7 most explosive tracks for 2024 after in-depth research on industry innovations and changes.
4. "Bitcoin Layer2 Flourishes, Overview of 6 Major Protocols' Progress"
Bitcoin Layer2 is showing a similar trend to Ethereum Layer2, attracting a large number of entrepreneurs. In addition to the well-known Lightning network, Liquid Network, and Stacks Layer2 protocols, a large number of new projects claiming to be Bitcoin Layer2, such as B² Network, BEVM, Dovi_L2, and Map Protocol, have also emerged.
ChainCatcher has systematically sorted out the current Bitcoin Layer2 solutions, representative projects, and their progress. This article is divided into two parts, with this being the first part, mainly introducing the progress of the leading Bitcoin Layer2 protocols.
5. "Review of Projects in Eigenlayer's Re-staking Track That May Have Airdrop Opportunities"
In 2024, with the explosion of Layer2 blockchains, competition for data availability has entered a fever pitch. As the leading re-staking protocol in the Ethereum ecosystem, EigenLayer announced on January 10 that it will add 3 new LST assets and reopen the existing cap of 200,000 ETH for each LST asset for re-staking on January 29.
This article reviews the projects in Eigenlayer's re-staking track that may have airdrop opportunities.
6. "Bitcoin Drops to Lowest Level Since Approval of Spot ETF, Is GBTC the 'Main Culprit'?"
According to data from BitPush terminal, Bitcoin's price fell again by 4.5% on Thursday, dipping to a one-month low of $40,800. Since the SEC's recent approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF began trading on January 11, Bitcoin has only experienced a brief rise and has now dropped by about 13%. The performance of crypto concept stocks has also been dragged down. The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., Coinbase, fell about 6.7%, down 17% since the approval of the spot ETF. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital dropped 6.9%, while MicroStrategy, a professional coin holder, fell 3%.
This article attempts to explain the reasons behind Bitcoin's recent decline.
On January 17, Coinbase held a court hearing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding previous charges. During nearly five hours of questioning, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York questioned both sides on their respective arguments.
In June of last year, the SEC charged Coinbase with illegally operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency, alleging that its crypto staking services involved the sale and issuance of unregistered securities. Coinbase rebutted these claims, arguing for the dismissal of the case and accusing the regulatory agency of taking an "enforcement regulatory" approach.
8. "First Week Breaks $10 Billion, Deep Dive into the Big Winners Behind Bitcoin ETF"
On January 17, Yahoo data showed that just one week after the SEC officially approved the Bitcoin spot ETF, its cumulative trading volume had surpassed $10 billion. Among them, Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity dominate, accounting for about 90% of the total trading volume. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas also noted that Grayscale's spot Bitcoin ETF has lost $500 million, while BlackRock is most likely to surpass Grayscale to become the "king of liquidity."
So, with such a massive trading volume for the Bitcoin spot ETF, besides the 11 issuers and their affiliates, which lesser-known institutions will benefit from it? Inspired by 1kx partner Diana Biggs in her article "Understanding the Current Status and Potential of Crypto ETPs Before the Launch of Bitcoin Spot ETF," the author has thoroughly reviewed 11 of the latest Bitcoin spot ETF filings submitted to the SEC, uncovering at least 24 issuers and their affiliates, with at least 48 other stakeholders behind them. In other words, 72 beneficiaries have surfaced, with top Wall Street capitals represented by Bank of New York Mellon, State Street Bank, United Bank, JPMorgan, Jane Street Capital, Macquarie Capital, and Virtu already involved.
9. "Pantera Investment Guide: Invest in Bitcoin First, Then Altcoins in the Bull Market"
Pantera Capital recently released a lengthy article detailing its views on the trends, investment strategies, focus areas, and trend predictions for the 2024 crypto market.
Due to the length of the article, we have divided it into different sections based on content themes for compilation.
This article is the first part of the full content, written by its portfolio manager Cosmo and content director Erik, providing an in-depth analysis of the bull market phase in the digital currency market, particularly the correlation between Bitcoin and other tokens (altcoins).
The authors point out that a bull market typically consists of two phases: in the first phase, Bitcoin outperforms other markets; in the second phase, altcoins outperform Bitcoin. The article also explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, such as Bitcoin's liquidity and visibility, as well as investors' exploration of emerging tokens.
10. "Bitcoin Security Lab BTC Security Lab Officially Established, Early Partner Recruitment Now Open"
BTC Security Lab is jointly initiated by ScaleBit under BitsLab, along with BiHelix, Waterdrip Capital, and Satoshi Lab, with Techub News and LK Venture as founding members, aiming to fill the current gap in the Web3 industry for research institutions dedicated to Bitcoin ecosystem security.
11. "Paradigm CTO: What Actions Will Be Taken in the Next Prague Upgrade After Ethereum's Cancun Upgrade?"
The purpose of this article is to outline the Paradigm Reth team's views on which EIPs (Ethereum Improvement Proposals) should be included in the Prague upgrade, which is the next hard fork of the Ethereum execution layer (EL) following Cancun, as well as an overview of our "EL Core Developer" plan for 2024. The following views are still evolving and only represent the current opinions of the Reth team, not necessarily those of the broader Paradigm team.
We believe that the Prague hard fork is feasible on the Ethereum testnet in Q3 2024 and can be implemented on the mainnet before the end of the year. It should include:
(1) EIPs related to staking, such as EIP-7002, which enables re-staking and trustless staking pools.
(2) Independent EVM changes.
(3) We are willing to collaborate with any team that wants to further explore the difficult issues surrounding Prague or other future EL hard forks, and we are happy to provide guidance or receive suggestions for modifications to the Reth codebase.
12. "AIxDePIN: What New Opportunities Will Arise from the Collision of Hot Tracks?"
Leveraging the power of algorithms, computing power, and data, advancements in AI technology are redefining the boundaries of data processing and intelligent decision-making. Meanwhile, DePIN represents a paradigm shift from centralized infrastructure to decentralized, blockchain-based networks.
As the world accelerates its pace toward digital transformation, AI and DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) have become foundational technologies driving change across various industries. The integration of AI and DePIN not only facilitates rapid technological iteration and widespread application but also opens up safer, more transparent, and efficient service models, bringing profound changes to the global economy.
13. "Metis' Black Horse NUVOGENESIS's Inscription Layout"
According to L2beat data, Metis has surpassed zkSync, Base, and other strong competitors to become the Top 3 in the Ethereum ecosystem Layer 2, second only to Arbitrum & Op Mainnet, with a TVL increase of 51.43% in the past 7 days, bringing the total TVL close to $1 billion. Inscriptions are extending from BRC-20 to other public chains, with the ecosystem led by Ethereum Layer 2 continuing the frenzy of inscriptions.
