Welcome to This Week’s Crypto Weekly Digest! 🚀
Another action-packed week in crypto and blockchain! From UBS diving into digital gold with blockchain tech to stablecoins outshining Visa and Mastercard, the industry is proving it’s here to stay. 🔥 Meanwhile, Kraken is making big moves with record profits and staking services, and Bitcoin ETFs have smashed past $125B in holdings—could $200K BTC be on the horizon? 📈
AI is also stealing the spotlight, with India launching its own generative AI, Google blocking government-backed hackers from abusing Gemini, and AI-powered crypto agents gaining major traction (but still lacking real value?). 🤖💡
Let’s dive into this week’s biggest stories and what they mean for the future of crypto! ⬇️
Swiss banking giant UBS is testing blockchain to make digital gold investments smoother, faster, and more secure using ZKsync! 🏆
By leveraging ZK proofs 🔐, the bank aims to boost privacy, scalability, and efficiency—giving retail investors easier access to fractional gold ownership. 🏅 If all goes well, this could be a game-changer for traditional finance, bringing a touch of crypto magic ✨ to the age-old love for gold! 🚀
Crypto venture capital is back in full swing, with $13.6 billion invested in 2024 and even bigger plans for 2025! 📈 January saw funding flow into Hamilton Treasury ($1.7M for Bitcoin RWA tokenization), Gate Ventures ($20M for BNB incubation), and Keplr Wallet ($5M, now valued at $50M). 🏦
Meanwhile, EarnOS ($5M) wants you to earn crypto for ads, Starpower ($2.5M) is making blockchain-powered batteries, and Hyve Labs ($2.75M) is building Web3 gaming infrastructure. 🎮 With the crypto bull market in full swing, investors are betting big on blockchain’s future!
Crypto exchange Kraken doubled its revenue in 2024, raking in a whopping $1.5 billion, with an average of $2,000 per customer and a staggering $665 billion in trading volume! 📈 But that’s not all—after a two-year battle with the SEC, Kraken is bringing back staking services in 37 US states, letting users earn rewards on ETH, SOL, ADA, and more. 🔥
The exchange also played a key role in distributing FTX bankruptcy funds, adding fuel to its growing influence. 🏦 With all this momentum, could Kraken be heading for a 2025 IPO? 👀
Stablecoins just pulled off a power move, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined in transaction volume last year, hitting a jaw-dropping $27.6 trillion! 💰🔥
While their market share dipped slightly, their role as the lifeblood of crypto trading and DeFi remains stronger than ever. Bots played a huge role, with 70% of transactions automated—on Solana and Base, it was a mind-blowing 98%! 🤖⚡
Meanwhile, Ethereum and Tron still lead the pack, but newcomers like Solana, Arbitrum, and Base are making serious moves. The takeaway? Stablecoins aren’t just stable—they’re dominating! 💪🔗
Coinbase just grabbed Spindl, an onchain advertising platform, to help projects on Base go viral! 🎯📈 Spindl’s founder, who once helped build Facebook’s ad empire, is now bringing that magic to Web3—except this time, it’s fully onchain! 🏗️💡
The goal? Make crypto projects discoverable, help builders reach their ideal users, and push Web3 ads into the future. 🏆 With Coinbase backing the vision, expect onchain ads to level up big time! 📊🔥
Bitcoin isn’t just digital gold anymore—projects like Elastos are turning it into a DeFi powerhouse! 🏦 The Web3 firm just secured $20 million to expand Bitcoin-based DeFi, letting users collateralize BTC and tap into Ethereum smart contracts. 🔗
With $7.2 billion locked in Bitcoin DeFi and institutional interest soaring, the race to bring financial innovation to Bitcoin is heating up! 🔥 Looks like BTC holders might soon have more ways to put their coins to work! 💡
Booking a hotel with crypto? Now you can! Travala has teamed up with Trivago to enable cryptocurrency payments for over 2.2 million hotels worldwide. 🌍
Users can pay with Bitcoin, Ether, and 100+ tokens, making travel more Web3-friendly than ever. Plus, crypto-based bookings come with BTC & AVA rewards, turning your vacation into an investment! ✈️🔥 With mainstream platforms integrating digital assets, is crypto finally going mainstream in travel? 🤔🚀
India, known for its strict crypto stance, might be softening up as global adoption gains momentum! 🌍 The government is reportedly reconsidering its policies after seeing other nations embrace digital assets, though it still enforces hefty taxes—up to 70% on hidden gains! 💸
Meanwhile, India’s central bank is pushing hard for CBDCs, calling them the future of currency. 🏦 With the world moving towards crypto-powered finance, India faces a choice—stay in the game or risk being left behind! 🤔 🇮🇳
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are on fire, with derivatives trading volumes expected to more than double to $3.48 trillion in 2025! 📈 In 2024, these platforms already processed $1.5 trillion, fueled by lower fees, deep liquidity, and the rise of meme-fueled trading frenzies. 🐶
Meanwhile, new tax reporting rules in the U.S. could push even more traders toward DEXs, escaping the grasp of centralized exchanges. 🏃♂️💨 With this momentum, DEXs might just take over the crypto trading scene! 🔥
Bitcoin ETFs are booming, now holding a massive $125 billion, which makes up over 6% of Bitcoin’s total supply! 🔥 BlackRock’s IBIT has climbed the global ETF rankings, now sitting at 31st place among all ETFs worldwide. 📊
With ETFs fueling Bitcoin’s price surge and bringing in $4.2 billion in inflows this year alone, some analysts believe BTC could hit $200,000 in 2025! 📈 But with economic uncertainties still in play, the crypto rollercoaster ride is far from over. 🎢
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is back in full force, reaching an all-time high of $17.1 billion in onchain value! 📈 The sector has surged 94% since last year, with tokens like Chainlink, Mantra, and Ondo Finance leading the charge. 🔥
This comeback comes amid Wall Street’s growing interest in the $30 trillion RWA market and speculation that the Trump administration may loosen restrictions. 🏦 With tokenized bonds, private credit, and equities booming, RWAs might just be crypto’s next big thing! 💰
More than 50% of Ethereum validators have signaled support for raising the gas limit, potentially lowering transaction fees and boosting network capacity. 💡 The current gas cap of 30 million could soon rise, with some advocating for 40 million or more, while others warn that too big a jump could destabilize the network. ⚖️
Even Vitalik Buterin is getting involved, pushing for a Pectra fork to help scale Ethereum without constant hard forks. 🔗 With gas limits creeping past 33 million already, the Ethereum community is bracing for a major shift in how transactions flow! 🔥
Stablecoins on Solana more than doubled in January, jumping from $5.1 billion to $11.4 billion, fueled by memecoin mania and Trump’s Solana-based token launch. 🎩 Unlike Ethereum and Tron, where USDT dominates, USDC rules Solana, making up 80% of its stablecoin supply. 💵
Circle has been minting billions in USDC, while Tether faces regulatory heat in the EU despite raking in $13 billion in profit. 📈 With Solana gaining traction, stablecoin wars are heating up—who will come out on top? 🤔
Uniswap has launched v4 on 12 chains, bringing customizable "hooks" that let developers tweak swap fees, hedge risks, and even lend unused liquidity for extra yield. 🔄💰 The upgrade rolls out on Ethereum, Avalanche, and several L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism, aiming for a smoother DeFi experience. ⚡
But Uniswap faces stiff competition—Solana’s Raydium has overtaken it in trading volume, fueled by the memecoin craze and Trump’s token launch. 🏆 With v4’s new tools and upcoming expansions, Uniswap is making a strong push to reclaim its top spot! 🔥
Kraken just secured a MiFID license, allowing it to offer crypto derivatives across the EU, thanks to its acquisition of a Cypriot investment firm. 🇪🇺⚖️
With Europe's $7 billion crypto market booming, the exchange is positioning itself among major players like Bitstamp and Coinbase. 📈 This move follows Kraken’s recent revenue surge to $1.5 billion and its return to US staking—proving it’s not just riding the wave, but making waves of its own! 🌊🔥
Cboe Global Markets is bringing 24-hour stock trading to weekdays, responding to rising global demand for round-the-clock access to U.S. equities. 🌍 While crypto and tokenized RWAs already trade 24/7, traditional markets are now playing catch-up—though weekends are still off-limits. 🏦⏸️
With real-world asset tokenization booming and major players like BlackRock stepping in, the line between traditional finance and blockchain keeps getting thinner. 🔗 Will Wall Street ever go fully 24/7, or will crypto keep leading the way? 🤔🚀
Asset manager 21Shares has filed with the SEC to launch a spot Polkadot ETF, aiming to bring DOT to the big leagues of crypto investment. 📄 While Polkadot is the 18th largest cryptocurrency, its price hasn’t exactly been thrilling—down over 5% in the past year. 📉
Some analysts say the market will ultimately decide if this ETF has real demand or flops. 🤷♂️ With crypto ETFs booming after Gary Gensler’s resignation, it looks like firms are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks! 🎯
Coinbase is urging U.S. regulators to confirm that banks can freely offer crypto custody and trading services, making it easier for traditional finance to embrace digital assets. 📄 The exchange argues that current laws already allow banks to provide these services, but regulatory uncertainty is holding them back. 🤷♂️
With Trump’s administration seen as more crypto-friendly, many hope for a policy shift that removes barriers for banks entering the crypto space. 🇺🇸 As the largest custodian for U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, Coinbase is making sure it stays ahead in the game! 🔥
More people are actively using crypto than ever, with mobile wallet users hitting 36 million in late 2024! 📈🔥 What used to be a world of passive holders is now seeing users interacting with DeFi and blockchain apps, signaling deeper adoption. 💡
Stablecoins are also playing a huge role, becoming crypto’s new “killer app” for fast and cheap global transactions. 💵 With predictions that crypto holders could triple in two years, mainstream adoption might just be getting started! ⏳
THORChain’s node operators approved a bold plan to convert $200 million in debt into equity tokens, giving affected users "TCY" tokens that grant a share of the platform’s revenue. ➡️📊
While this move aims to stabilize liquidity, critics argue it relies too much on trust, with some fearing legal issues over potential security classification. ⚖️💭 The platform still needs to finalize key details, but for now, the community is split—is this an innovative fix or just kicking the can down the road? 🤔
India is gearing up to launch its own generative AI model in 2025, investing heavily in GPUs and data centers to support development in multiple languages and cultures. 🇮🇳💡 With 18,693 GPUs, including 12,896 Nvidia H100s, the country is making a serious push into AI despite US restrictions on high-performance chips. ⚡
Meanwhile, Trump’s AI mega-project "Stargate" aims to keep the US ahead, but critics warn that stricter chip controls could actually slow innovation. 🔍🌍 As AI competition heats up, it’s game on for global dominance in artificial intelligence! 🏆🔥
OpenAI has launched a new “deep research” agent for ChatGPT, capable of scouring the internet, compiling reports, and citing sources—perfect for finance, science, and even shopping for a new car. 📑💡
The AI, optimized for fact-checking and web browsing, outperformed rivals like DeepSeek, though OpenAI admits it can still hallucinate facts at times. 🤯🔬 Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini is rolling out a similar tool, but OpenAI’s version is already live—if you’re willing to pay $200 a month for it! 💰📈
Primex Finance is bringing AI to DeFi with its new DeFi Agent, an AI-powered assistant designed to simplify trading, staking, and portfolio management. 🚀 Instead of navigating complex protocols, users can simply type commands like “Stake my ETH for the best APY”, and the AI handles the rest. 🎯
By automating strategies and optimizing trades, Primex aims to make decentralized finance accessible to everyone, from beginners to pros. 📈 With DeFi growing fast but still intimidating, could AI be the key to mainstream adoption? 🤔🔗
AI-powered crypto agents are gaining huge traction, but their real value is still up for debate, according to Sygnum Bank. 🚀 While projects like Bittensor, FET, and Phala Network are tackling real-world challenges, many AI tokens are fueled by speculation rather than utility. 🎭
Despite the market cap doubling to $10B, the recent rise of cheap and powerful Chinese AI models has shaken confidence. 🇨🇳⚡ Will AI agents truly transform crypto, or is this just another hype cycle? 🤔🔥
Google has exposed government-backed hackers from Iran, China, and North Korea trying to misuse Gemini AI for cyber threats, but so far, all attempts have failed. 🚨💻 Attackers tried using basic jailbreak tactics to bypass safety filters, hoping to write malicious code and gather intel, but Gemini didn’t fall for it. 🔒
While AI remains a hot target for cybercriminals, Google insists its defenses are holding strong—at least for now. ⚡ But with $1.3B in crypto stolen by North Korea in 2024, the AI arms race between security teams and hackers is far from over! 🌍🔥
EigenLayer and Cartesi are on a mission to build the next game-changing blockchain app! 🏗️ They’re hosting a hackathon (Feb 10-18) to bring AI-powered and DeFi-driven innovations to the mainstream. 💡 The goal? Create verifiable AI that makes blockchain trustworthy enough for real-world use—think mortgages, medical records, and beyond. 📜🔗 With AI taking over crypto trading, will human traders soon be outmatched by bots? 🤔🔥
That’s a Wrap for This Week! 🔥
With DEX derivatives booming, Bitcoin DeFi heating up, and Coinbase pushing for crypto-friendly banks, the industry is gearing up for a massive 2025. 🚀 As the lines between traditional finance and blockchain continue to blur, one thing is clear—crypto isn’t slowing down anytime soon. 💰
Stay tuned for next week’s edition as we keep an eye on emerging trends, regulatory shifts, and groundbreaking innovations shaping the future of Web3. Until then, keep stacking, staking, and staying ahead of the curve! 📊🔗
See you next week! 🚀
