ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Sushi Labs has acquired the DeFi infrastructure company Shipyard Software. Shipyard founders Mark Lurie (a multi-exit founder and DeFi leader) and AMM research pioneer Abe Othman will join Sushi Labs as advisors.This acquisition aims to address key challenges in DeFi, including mitigating impermanent loss, optimizing liquidity provision, and enhancing multi-chain trading efficiency.

ChainCatcher news, BounceBit announced the expansion of USDC support through two new initiatives: the introduction of the Bridged USDC standard on the BounceBit chain, and the launch of the USDC yield generation feature on its CeDeFi platform.Users can connect their wallets and deposit USDC through the BounceBit official website to monitor yield performance in real-time. Additionally, BounceBit plans to explore collaboration with Circle in the RWA field and continue to develop more services to meet user needs.

ChainCatcher message, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams posted on X: "Honestly, I've been thinking about an EIP for years, which is to acquire top DeFi projects and L2 through one-time ETH inflation.DAOs can submit on-chain in advance, so everything happens simultaneously. Make DeFi + L2 free, and the only remaining code is ETH. All supplementary projects are commoditized.I have never advocated for this initiative, as it seems unlikely to be realized, but the impact it brings cannot be ignored, and in my opinion, it is worth it for Ethereum."

ChainCatcher news, DWF Ventures stated on platform X that the market capitalization of the TRUMP token soared over $70 billion within less than 48 hours of its launch, driving significant capital inflow into the Solana ecosystem and a surge in the number of active addresses on-chain, which also led to an exponential increase in demand for platforms like DEX on the Solana chain. It is certain that under the leadership of the Trump administration, the favorable factors for the development of cryptocurrency outweigh the negative ones. Many will ask, what will be the next direction of the market? Will attention shift back to AI? Or will it turn towards DeFi and SocialFi?Cryptocurrency is essentially a social movement driven by emotions and collective beliefs towards a certain goal. The success of TRUMP showcases the power of collective strength, and we will see more such phenomena in the future as communities promote their own narratives. The flow of this "hot money" will continuously revolve around different narratives, and the speed of this rotation is faster than ever before. Amidst the noise, a few projects will stand out and maintain relevance across multiple cycles, which is where the greatest returns come from. In the coming months, we may see more volatility rather than a one-sided rise. However, the future of cryptocurrency remains very positive.

ChainCatcher news, Grayscale's communications chief Jennifer Rosenthal will be leaving to join the DeFi Education Fund as the new Chief Communications Officer. Since 2021, Rosenthal has held various positions at Grayscale, during a critical time when the company was vying for a Bitcoin spot ETF.

ChainCatcher news, according to GlobeNewswire, DeFi staking service provider Amerany announced the completion of a $2 million Series A funding round, with investor information not yet disclosed. The new funds are intended for upgrading the infrastructure of its multi-chain staking platform.Currently, the platform supports more than 10 blockchains, including Ethereum (ETH), Aptos (APT), and Optimism (OP). It is reported that Amerany has also launched a bug bounty program with a scale of $100,000.

ChainCatcher news, Astherus, a multi-asset liquidity hub strategically invested by Binance Labs, recently announced the official integration of the Arbitrum network. Through this integration, Arbitrum users can trade on the Astherus platform to continuously earn Rh points; mint ALP to earn Au points, generating stable returns with low risk.It is reported that Astherus aims to address inefficiencies in DeFi by focusing on maximizing the real yield of assets, providing sustainable and substantial returns. Its ecosystem product AstherusEx offers a comprehensive decentralized trading experience, featuring products such as the Degen mode, which supports up to 1001x leverage, and the Dumb mode, which predicts the value of underlying assets fluctuating minute by minute. AstherusEx attracts numerous traders with its trading experience and generous reward mechanisms, with a trading volume exceeding $2.5 billion per week.

ChainCatcher news, Bitget Wallet announced that it will designate PayFi as its core strategy for 2025. By combining the convenience of crypto payments with the yield capabilities of DeFi, it aims to upgrade the wallet from a storage and trading tool to an integrated financial application for wealth management and consumption. By integrating wealth management, transfers, and spending, Bitget Wallet will build an on-chain financial ecosystem that allows funds to operate efficiently and continuously appreciate. Users can deposit assets into flexible savings accounts, earn real-time returns, and use them directly for payments, realizing the concept of Buy Now, Pay Never.Bitget Wallet plans to launch the Bitget Wallet Card, supporting global cryptocurrency payments and providing crypto-friendly, secure, and compliant international multi-currency bank accounts. Bitget Wallet will also collaborate with partners to create a Web3 payment ecosystem covering scenarios such as gift card purchases, mobile top-ups, QR code payments, and POS payments, while optimizing transfer and wealth management functions to promote inclusive crypto finance and asset growth.

ChainCatcher message, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted on X: "Trump is promoting Bitcoin globally. Short-term holders are continuously buying, while long-term holders are selling. This is the definition of a bull market."

ChainCatcher news, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday related to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, initiatives that could boost the development of both emerging industries. Kara Calvert, Vice President of U.S. Policy at Coinbase Global Inc., stated, "This will definitely change the fundamentals. The U.S. has a president who embraces digital assets and has established a consulting committee that recognizes the need for non-governmental expertise, which is really exciting."

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, OKX Ventures partner Jeff Ren was invited to attend the "DeFi Shaping the Future of Finance" summit hosted by 1inch on January 23, 2025, where industry leaders from traditional finance and digital assets gathered to discuss the future development of decentralized finance (DeFi) and its profound impact on the global financial ecosystem.During the event, Jeff Ren hosted a roundtable forum titled "Sustainable Growth of Cryptocurrency - Outlook for 2025 and Beyond." The discussion featured guests including 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz, GSR Ventures head Quynh Ho, Polymesh CEO Bill Papp, and WAGMI Ventures partner Eric Chiang, who engaged in in-depth discussions on key topics such as "The Evolution and Development of DeFi," "Innovation and Disruption in the Blockchain Ecosystem," and "The Widespread Application of Decentralization Principles." Additionally, the roundtable forum also addressed recent hot topics, discussing MEME culture, the Hyperliquid protocol, and analyzing the impact of recent events related to Trump on the market.

ChainCatcher news, the latest report released by Tiger Research points out that despite South Korea's leading global position in cryptocurrency trading volume, the development of the country's Web3 industry is hindered by unclear regulations and a lack of specific guidance, resulting in accelerated outflow of capital, talent, and enterprises. The report mentions that in 2024, the transfer of South Korean crypto assets to overseas exchanges and DeFi platforms is expected to increase by 2.3 times year-on-year, primarily influenced by service interruptions at local exchanges and the attraction of external investment opportunities. Additionally, South Korean Web3 companies such as Nexpace, Klaytn, and Wemix have relocated their headquarters to regulatory-friendly countries like the UAE.The report also highlights that the outflow of talent has exacerbated the decline in the technological competitiveness of South Korea's Web3 ecosystem, while countries like the United States and the UAE have attracted high-end technical talent through clear policies. If South Korea wants to maintain its competitiveness in the global Web3 industry transformation by 2025, it urgently needs to promote regulatory reforms, allow corporate accounts to engage in crypto trading, and formulate policies related to stablecoins and DeFi to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to SoSoValue data, the encrypted market sector has seen a slight pullback, with AI Agents leading the decline at 8.42%, while Layer2 and DeFi sectors performed strongly. Within the AI Agents sector, mainstream tokens such as Ava (AVA), ai16z (AI16Z), and AI Rig Complex (ARC) fell by 16.42%, 12.71%, and 9.76% respectively, while the leading project Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) dropped by 5.46%, and AIXBT fell by 7.82%. The Layer2 sector remained relatively strong, with a 24H increase of 1.23%, among which, Mantle (MNT) rose by 10.07%. The DeFi sector had a 24H increase of 0.89%, with Chainlink (LINK) rising by 3.13%, Ondo Finance (ONDO) increasing by 4.18%, and Raydium (RAY) up by 5.43%.In other sectors, Layer1 saw a 24H decline of 0.36%, CeFi dropped by 0.64%, the PayFi sector fell by 1.27%, and the Meme sector continued to decline, with a 24H drop of 3.06%, among which, OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) fell by 13.86%, and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) decreased by 7.05%.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Glassnode data shows that the current price trend of Bitcoin is highly similar to the mid-cycle of the 2015-2018 market cycle. The data indicates that Bitcoin has risen approximately 630% from its cycle low of $15,000 in 2022, which is close to the 562% increase during the same period of the 2015-2018 cycle.Bitget analysts speculate that if the increase of the 2015-2018 cycle is repeated, Bitcoin could theoretically reach $1.7 million. However, Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan emphasizes that the current market environment has fundamentally changed, with factors such as increased institutional adoption, clearer regulations, and advancements in blockchain technology all influencing Bitcoin's trajectory. RedStone Oracles COO Marcin Mazmierczak also pointed out that today's market environment is significantly different from the past, with ETFs, a mature DeFi ecosystem, and more developed market infrastructure being important distinctions.

ChainCatcher news, Curve founder Michael Egorov commented on the recent Ethereum Foundation controversy on social media. He believes the Ethereum Foundation should focus on the following points:Adopt a roadmap focused on scaling L1. Acknowledge the fact that L2 is fragmenting the ecosystem. Pushing users towards VC chains is not the neutrality we want. L2 is still suitable as "application chains" for non-financial applications or applications that do not require composability.Fund important non-profit infrastructure projects. Vyper and Titanoboa are great examples, and there are other projects that are also very valuable.Always stay connected with the industry, especially DeFi. Understand project needs and reflect these learnings in the roadmap.Stop funding "virtue signaling" type projects: these projects are inefficient.Communicate with the traditional financial industry and politicians. Ethereum is the only blockchain capable of supporting the global financial system, the most trusted programmable financial infrastructure.