ChainCatcher news, RootData released the "2024 Web3 Industry Investment Research Report." The report shows that in 2024, VC coins have become a daunting term, with the crypto market bearing its exit liquidity. Projects such as Optimism, Sui, Aptos, Ethena, dydx, and Cardano unlock over 30 million tokens each month. Among these, there have been 9 major unlocking events (single transactions exceeding 100 million USD), namely INJ, MEME, PYTH, AVAX, SUI, W, JTO, APT, TIA.Comparing the prices before and after token unlocks, it is found that project parties can significantly raise token prices before large unlocks through early announcements of positive information, marketing, and other means. Over-the-counter (OTC) trading is the method with the least impact on token prices for exiting, which can eliminate the risk of significant token price drops.In addition, based on the popular tags from RootData over the past year (with over 5000 clicks), infrastructure, Layer 1/2, and DeFi remain the hottest tracks in blockchain. Tags such as artificial intelligence and DeSci have seen a rapid increase in clicks, with representative projects like Virtuals Protocol and Bio Protocol consistently ranking high on the RootData popularity list.The popularity of some high-click tags usually lasts only 1-3 months, such as DePIN, Tap to Earn, and the Bitcoin ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, Wintermute co-founder Yoann Turpin shared his views on price discovery and market neutrality. He pointed out that price discovery is the process by which the market continuously seeks the true price of an asset, primarily occurring in CeFi and OTC markets in the crypto space, while being relatively rare in DeFi, only appearing during the launch of token supplies, such as on platforms like Pump.fun. Due to the small scale of tokens, Wintermute did not participate in these.Market neutrality refers to participants not profiting from price fluctuations, a strategy that helps market makers maintain inventory balance. When prices rise, market makers typically sell in CeFi and buy back in DeFi; conversely, they buy in CeFi and sell back in DeFi, ensuring that the prices paid by all market participants are roughly the same.Turpin also stated that while supporting the DeFi ecosystem, significant improvements in user experience are needed to achieve more price discovery, and new users should be prioritized in entering the DeFi space.

ChainCatcher news, bitcoinminingstock data shows that over 80% of listed Bitcoin mining companies have performed strongly at the start of 2025. The combined market capitalization of 31 listed Bitcoin mining companies is $44.16 billion, with 26 companies seeing their stock prices rise this year.So far this year, the highest stock price increase is Cathedra Bitcoin (TSXV: CBIT), which has risen by 25%. Among the top ten companies by market capitalization, Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) ranks first with a stock price increase of 17.53%. Following closely is Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT), with a stock price increase of 14.2%. Meanwhile, companies like Galaxy, MARA, Northern Data, Cleanspark, and Iris Energy have seen stock price increases ranging from 6.49% to 12.01%.On the other hand, among the top ten Bitcoin mining companies by market capitalization this year, three have seen their stock prices decline, with decreases ranging from 0.07% to 14.62%. Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ), ranked fourth by market capitalization, saw its stock price drop by only 0.07%. Terawulf (NASDAQ: WULF) fell by 4.59%, while Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) experienced the largest decline at 14.62%.At the same time, some mining companies are diversifying their business focus, exploring high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) hosting in addition to their BTC strategic reserves.According to data from theminermag.com, as of December 2024, publicly listed Bitcoin mining companies hold a record reserve of over 92,000 BTC.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, finance professor David Krause stated that a significant drop in Bitcoin prices could severely impact MicroStrategy, jeopardizing its debt repayment ability and potentially leading to financial distress or bankruptcy, which could trigger a stock sell-off.Financial analyst Jacob King mentioned that when MicroStrategy's stock price is above its Bitcoin asset net worth, the company raises funds through debt or equity to purchase more Bitcoin. This cyclical strategy only works if BTC continues to rise; if BTC stagnates or crashes, this cycle will collapse.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, BIT Mining has acquired a 51-megawatt power facility and nearly 18,000 Bitcoin mining machines in Ethiopia through a $14 million deal. With electricity costs in Ethiopia being about 70% lower than in the United States, the company is able to transfer old mining machines that were retired in the U.S. for local use, extending the lifespan of the machines by about two years.It is reported that Ethiopia's abundant hydroelectric resources (partly from China-funded projects, such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) and the government's support for Bitcoin mining provide BIT Mining with a unique opportunity.Currently, Ethiopia contributes 1.5% of the Bitcoin network's hash rate, comparable to Norway. Despite facing social unrest, BIT Mining chose to purchase existing facilities rather than build new ones to mitigate potential risks.

ChainCatcher news, according to Digital Asset, prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, today arrested two suspects aged in their 30s and 20s, which appears to be the first case of violation since the implementation of the new "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" in South Korea. They are accused of manipulating the price of the cryptocurrency Fusionist (ACE), which is listed only on the local exchange Bithumb, by falsifying purchase orders to inflate trading volume, illegally profiting approximately 7 billion won (about 4.76 million USD).The media pointed out that the ACE trading volume and price data displayed on the Bithumb website are consistent with the data in the announcement released by the prosecutors.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Wall Street Watch, Asian stock markets have shown mixed performance this year against the backdrop of a strong dollar. Some have achieved a bull market in local currency at the cost of currency depreciation, while others have sacrificed part of their stock market gains for relatively stable exchange rates, with South Korea being an exception.In terms of the Korean won, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has fallen by 10.0% this year. Considering the depreciation of the won, the KOSPI has dropped by 18.9% when measured in dollars, making it the weakest in Asia. From the perspective of capital flow, since the second half of this year, only institutional investors in South Korea have maintained a net buying scale in the stock market, while the resident sector has been continuously reducing purchases.Analysis suggests that a significant portion of the money that South Korean residents have withdrawn from the stock market has been used for "crypto trading." Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) shows that as of November, the number of domestic cryptocurrency investors in South Korea has reached 15.59 million, an increase of 610,000 from the previous month. Currently, among the 51 million South Koreans, 30% are involved in crypto trading.The daily trading volume of South Korea's five major cryptocurrency exchanges—UPbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX—has surged from 34 trillion won in October to 149 trillion won in November, more than quadrupling. South Koreans have always been keen on investing in cryptocurrencies. During the first wave of the cryptocurrency bull market in 2017, about 5% of the population participated; in the second bull market in 2021, 10% participated; and now this proportion has expanded to 30%. However, historically, the South Korean stock index has shown a positive correlation with Bitcoin prices, which was completely broken in October of this year.

ChainCatcher news, after obtaining approval from the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), six mutual funds tracking the price of Bitcoin (BTC) will be listed in Israel next week.The six companies will start operating on December 31, the same day, which is a condition set by the regulators. Investment company executives stated, "The investment companies have been pleading for ETF approval for over a year and began sending out prospectuses for Bitcoin funds mid-year. But the regulators have acted independently. They must check the details."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi, Bitcoin is experiencing one of its weakest December performances in history, down 2% over the past 30 days. The traditional "Santa rally" expectations have been shattered due to profit-taking and the Federal Reserve hinting at fewer rate cuts next year.Alex Kuptsikevich from FxPro stated that Bitcoin dropping below $90,000 could mean new opportunities for market traders, "In a potential shock scenario, Bitcoin could suddenly drop below the $70,000 range."However, the likelihood of a pullback to $90,000 in the coming weeks is greater, which is attractive enough for buyers to prevent selling. "Kuptsikevich pointed out that the market is digesting the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, combined with the willingness to take profits after this year's strong rally, leading to current price pressure."

ChainCatcher news, according to Techcrunch, the X platform (formerly Twitter) has raised the price of its premium subscription service Premium+ by 37.5% to $22 per month, marking the largest increase since Musk acquired the platform in 2022. The price adjustment will take effect in the U.S. market starting December 21, and existing users can maintain the original price until January 20, 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, based on CME Federal Reserve observation data, the market widely expects the Federal Reserve to announce a 25 basis point rate cut to the 4.25%-4.50% range at this week's FOMC meeting, marking the second rate cut since November, with the current expected probability as high as 93.4%.Luis Buenaventura, head of cryptocurrency at GCash, stated that since the rate cut expectations have already been priced in by the market, the direct impact of this policy adjustment on cryptocurrency prices will be relatively limited. Historical data shows that when Bitcoin experiences a 50% increase within 60 days, there is about a two-thirds probability of achieving an additional 35% increase in the following two months.Neal Wen, global business development director at Kronos Research, added that in a low-interest-rate environment, institutional investors tend to view crypto assets as an alternative to traditional investments. Min Jung, a research analyst at Presto Labs, pointed out that the market focus has shifted to the policy speech content and the latest economic projections dot plot from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, which will provide important guidance for the direction of monetary policy in 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine editor The Bitcoin Historian, Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto has become the 16th richest person in the world with a personal wealth valuation of $106 billion, as the price of Bitcoin reached $106,000, surpassing Michael Bloomberg.

ChainCatcher message, trader Eugene shared the recently popular DEX project Hyperliquid on his social platform. Eugene stated, "HL (Hyperliquid) is the best Deriv DEX on the market, far ahead, deserving of the market share and fan base it has accumulated; everything that founder Jeff and his team have done so far has been right, even paving the way for other founders to establish the 'correct' strategy for issuing tokens.However, since the TGE, the token price has actually been parabolic, and I believe the current price has reached a very attractive level for early airdrop participants. In my view, the amount of promotional hype is equivalent to the peak market share of the entire CT. The speed of accumulation also reflects the enthusiasm of many marginal buyers, especially above $10.I have no opinion on the hype (long-term or short-term), but I admire their achievements in such a short time. Given that I am bombarded with questions about this topic every day, these are just my thoughts."

ChainCatcher news, Michael Saylor posted, "Please note that Metaplanet has chosen to adopt the Bitcoin standard," and released a picture of Metaplanet's stock price.The stock price of the Japanese listed company Metaplanet has risen since it announced in May this year that it would adopt Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, recently reaching a high of 3,410 yen.

ChainCatcher news, 10xResearch posted on social media that, contrary to popular belief, it believes that the price of Bitcoin is driven by demand rather than changes in the supply of BTC itself (mining).Each cycle of Bitcoin's five bull markets has been driven by innovations in how investors acquire it, from the creation of early spot trading platforms to the use of contracts, unsecured loans, spot Bitcoin ETFs, and now options on these ETFs.This development highlights the increasing integration of Bitcoin with traditional financial markets, and the regulatory approvals from U.S. agencies such as the CFTC and SEC have accelerated this trend, as these agencies have legalized Bitcoin-related financial products over time.

ChainCatcher news, according to a disclosure from the Sinopec WeChat official account, Mr. Qiu, a truck driver from Suzhou, Jiangsu, saw an advertisement on a short video platform selling fuel cards at a low price: "A fuel card worth 1000 yuan is only 880 yuan." The other party stated that the transaction must be made using the virtual currency USDT (Tether). After transferring the USDT to the "trading platform" as instructed, it was then transferred to the other party's digital account. After the first transaction was successful, Mr. Qiu felt he had found a bargain. He then transferred a total of over 70,000 yuan in digital currency to the other party multiple times, intending to continue purchasing, but found that the digital currency in his account had disappeared, and he had been blacklisted on WeChat.Sinopec reminds consumers not to be tempted by cheap fuel cards from unofficial channels, to be cautious of fuel card discount information that seems too good to be true, and to avoid falling victim to scams.