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TylerD's Market Summary
📉 Bitcoin, Crypto Majors Go Lower in Powell's Aftermath
It's a bloody morning out there.
Stocks are set to open down 1-2%, a minor drop compared to where crypto prices are this morning.
And now the primary question on everyone's mind - how low do we go?
What Happened?
Crypto majors have fallen 8-12% in the bloodiest day since the election.
In the past day:
- Bitcoin -8% to $93,700
- ETH -12% to $3,240
- SOL -11% to $184
Those are the majors. And remember, Bitcoin was at $108,000 on Tuesday. A full 15% correction in 2.5 days.
Memecoins? Maybe don't look.
The memecoin market has seen $57B in market cap wiped out in the past 12 days. It's a nightmare in those meme streets. And several are likely to never recover.
The new Crypto AI sector took a similar beating, with it's market cap falling from $10.7B to $7.4B in just a handful of days.
But there are some glimmers of hope.
Strength In The Blood
It's always important to look at what's holding up well during this significant correction.
HYPE's strength has been to big to ignore.
It's currently at $25.40 and down just 2% on the day (while Bitcoin is down 8%). It's up 8x since it launched less than a month ago, and doesn't appear to be slowing down with several catalysts in front of it and a well capitalized team.
FARTCOIN is also showing serious strength. It's trading at $1.10 right now, slightly green on the day.
It's a memecoin, and memes have been decimated - but that's the signal. It's green with all other majors down 20-40%. Plus TradFi continues to meme it every single day.
The other strength is in some of the AI leaders.
ZEREBRO is up 11% on the day after announcing its deal with Eliza Labs to expand open-source AI frameworks. That feels significant, and Zere also have several big launches coming up including its AI agent launchpad.
ARC is in a similar situation, having announced its Rust-based AI Agent launchpad on Solana and speed running to $200M in a week on the back of the news (though -3% today).
All of those coins are standing out to me.
Where Do We Go From Here?
My current view - this is a blip on the radar.
The Trump pump sent us from Bitcoin $65k to $100k+ in a month.
Markets all soared, and are now correcting as uncertainty into how Trump's policies (like tariffs) will impact the global economy.
And that makes sense.
Powell himself said they want to see how things play out for a bit and will re-evaluate with more data - a very logical approach.
But from a crypto lens, the set up has never been better than it is right now.
- We have the first crypto-friendly administration ever coming into office.
- The Trump family is literally buying ETH and DeFi coins for its upcoming WLF project.
- More and more companies are putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
- The ETF flows continue to be significant and more ETFs are coming next year.
- And nation states, including the USA, may step up to the plate to build Strategic Reserves as soon as next year.
It's a setup for a golden bull run. And the upside in that scenario is asymmetric to the downside if some of those predictions don't play out.
We haven't seen the top of this cycle. Far from it.
But the next few weeks might be a little rocky.
Enjoy the holidays, spend time with friends and family and recharge for 2025. It's going to be big.
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $48M on the day; Solana was next with $4M and then Bitcoin with $3M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed, led by Doodles; Punks -3% at 39 ETH, Pudgy -9% at 16.3, BAYC -4% at 17.4 ETH, Azuki +6% at 10.9 ETH, Doodles +54% to 6.75 ETH
- Doodles (+53%), Dooplicators (+133%) and Genesis Boxes (+550%) led top movers in the wake of the Doodles token tease from Burnt Toast that a "Token Is Coming"
- BTC NFT leaders were very red; Bitcoin Puppets -9%, NodeMonkes -8%, OMB -11%, Quantum Cats -8%
- The Runes leaders were very red; DOG -25% at $560M mc, PUPS -30% at $105M, BDC -24% at $52M, GIZMO -35% at $13M
- Wab.eth's Omnia game announced it will launch on Monad
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Myriad Foundation introduced its $MYR token, bridging media, predictions and digital advertising
- Abstract announced support for ai16z's Eliza codebase when it launches mainnet in January
- Robinhood listed the BONK memecoin on Thursday
- BonkBot launched a new Stealth DCA product with hidden offchain orders
- NFTfi facilitated the largest ever onchain real estate loan on Thursday
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap is fell 26% to $7.4B, with most leaders down 10-30%
- ai16z and Zerebro have formed a partnership to advance open-source AI across their Eliza and ZerePy frameworks
- New AI coin SWARMS debuted and soared to $48M in less than a day, and YNE (yesnoerror) ran to $10M
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are red this morning as crypto continues its downtrend post-FOMC; BTC -9% at $93,500, ETH -13% at $3,200, SOL -13% at $182, XRP -12% at $2.10
- Memecoin majors are more red, down about 20% across the board; DOGE -22%, SHIBA -19%, PEPE -21%, WIF -20%, BONK -15%, MOG -18%, PENGU -23%
- The SEC approved Hashdex's new Bitcoin and ETH ETF, the first of its kind to include both majors
- MetaMask announced the launch of its MetaMask card, allowing users to spend crypto from their MM wallets via the credit card
- Aptos Labs CEO and Co-Founder Mo Shaikh stepped down on Thursday to "start a new chapter", with CTO Avery Ching taking over
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $SWARMS (+48,000% to $48M market cap, SOL)
- $YNE (+13,500% to $13M market cap, SOL)
- $seahorse (+4,100% to $10M market cap, SOL)
- $ZODS (+38% to $14M market cap, SOL)
- $AIMONICA (+23% to $22M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Genesis Boxes (550%, 0.12 ETH Floor)
- Cryptoon Goonz (250%, 0.19 ETH Floor)
- Shadow Wolves (200%, 0.16 ETH)
- Dooplicator (140%, 0.4 ETH)
- Cool Pets (120%, 0.09 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
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Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
📉 Powell's Hawkish Comments Drive Markets, Bitcoin Lower
The Santa Rally hopes are on hold.
At least for a day.
Thanks to Jerome Powell and the FOMC pumping the brakes on rate cuts in 2025.
What Happened?
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve implemented a 25 basis point rate cut, a move widely anticipated by markets.
However, the Fed’s messaging took a hawkish turn, signaling that future rate cuts may be limited.
Its updated "dot plot" now projects only two additional cuts in 2025—down from three in its previous forecast.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged inflation progress but emphasized that it remains "somewhat elevated", suggesting a cautious stance on further easing.
The primary driver is uncertainty headed into the Trump presidency, with factors like Tariffs, government cuts, etc., all still major unknowns.
Impact on Markets:
- Crypto and Equities Decline: Bitcoin dropped 5% to just above $100,000, while major stock indices like the Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 fell sharply (down 3.6%, 2.6%, and nearly 3%, respectively).
- Short-Term Market Reaction: The hawkish tone sparked fears of sustained high rates, affecting risk assets like crypto and stocks, which have benefited from easing inflation and economic stabilization.
Analysts’ Perspectives:
- Ryan McMillin (Merkle Tree Capital): Stressed that 20% corrections are normal in bull markets, describing the dip as a buying opportunity.
- Pratik Kala (Apollo Crypto): Called the reaction a “short-term puke” and predicted recovery within a week.
- Pav Hundal (Swyftx): Believes the hawkish Fed stance won’t derail the bull market, citing strong tailwinds from President-elect Trump’s pro-crypto policies and broader economic support for risk assets.
Why It Matters
The Fed’s cautious approach may temper the pace of the ongoing bull market but is unlikely to halt it, according to analysts.
Crypto continues to gain traction, bolstered by a favorable regulatory outlook and institutional support.
With Trump’s upcoming pro-crypto administration and new ETF opportunities, the long-term outlook for Bitcoin and other risk assets remains optimistic despite near-term volatility.
So just a short-term blip on the road to $1M.
Remember, dips are gifts...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $41M on the day; Solana was next with $4M and then Bitcoin with $3.4M
- ETH NFT leaders were mostly green; Punks -1% at 40.2 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 18.3, BAYC +2% at 18.4 ETH, Azuki +6% at 10.15 ETH
- Oh Ottie (+110%), Regulars (+110%) & HV-MTL (+80%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly red; Bitcoin Puppets -5%, NodeMonkes -1%, OMB -3%, Quantum Cats -2%
- The Runes leaders were very red; DOG -10% at $750M mc, PUPS -13% at $135M, BDC -10% at $66M, GIZMO -15% at $20M
- New 9dcc Black Boxes sold out in minutes and instantly doubled on the secondary market to 0.12 ETH
- A Gold Claynosaurz sold for 500 SOL on Wednesday ($104,000)
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Jupiter launched Jupiterz as a new model enabling gasless swaps and 0% slippage via a toggle
- Trump's World Liberty Fi has entered a strategic partnership with Ethena Labs
- MoonPay announced MOG can be purchased directly in app via traditional payment rails
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap is fell 15% to $9.8B, with most leaders down 10-20%
- Stephen Colbert did a segment on FARTCOIN with the tagline "Silent but wealthy" which helped propel it to $1.10
- ARC was the top mover, jumping 46% to $200M after they did a spaces talking about their Rust-based AI agent launchpad based in $ARC token
- FARTCOIN, AIXBT and VIRTUAL see biggest mindshare growth
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are red this morning after Powell's hawkish comments; BTC -3% at $102,000, ETH -5% at $3,700, SOL -4% at $208, XRP -6% at $2.38
- Bitcoin's down move was largely driven by Jerome Powell's comments at the FOMC, where rates were cut as expected but future cuts seem less likely given Powell's hawkish tone
- Memecoin majors are more red than majors; DOGE -5%, SHIBA -6%, PEPE -9%, WIF -10%, BONK -10%, MOG -8%, PENGU -9%
- Solana's daily transactions hit a new ATH on Wednesday on the back of the PENGU launch
- Coinbase was approved to delist Wrapped Bitcoin by the judge in their case against Bit Global
- The new US government Stopgap bill meant to avoid a shutdown has a crypto impact via the Deploying American Blockchains Act which requires the Dept of Commerce to advise the President on crypto matters
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $LI (+10,000% to $10M market cap, SOL)
- $MEMEAGENT (+5800% to $13M market cap, SOL)
- $UFD (+500% to $250M market cap, SOL)
- $andy70b (+250% to $29M market cap, SOL)
- $ARC (+46% to $184M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Garbage Friends (160%, 0.07 ETH Floor)
- Regulars (110%, 0.04 ETH Floor)
- HV-MTL (80%, 0.06 ETH)
- The Doge Pound (60%, 0.17 ETH)
- Khuga (60%, 0.08 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
🐧 The PENGU Takeover Is Here
Pudgy Penguin holders have been through more turmoil than anyone in NFTs.
The original team made them the laughingstock of the NFT ecosystem in 2021 by putting fishing rods in eggs with no plan to execute and then effectively walked away from the project as the floor crashed.
Luckily, Luca Netz took over with a vision and the ability to execute on that vision.
And yesterday marked the latest major milestone in the Pudgy Penguin lore and launched the springboard to the masses.
What Happened?
The Pudgy Penguins PENGU token officially launched yesterday morning.
Since then, it has taken over Solana and basically the entire memecoin and NFT ecosystems.
Some stats from day 1:
- 6th biggest memecoin in crypto, 62nd overall coin
- $2.7B in trading volume (over $1B onchain)
- $2.1B market cap and $3B in FDV
- 421,000 holders
- 961,000 claims
Not surprisingly, the first few hours of claims were a bit rocky with hundreds of thousands of wallets trying to go through the process.
But the team worked through issues short order and smoothed things out.
As the dust has settled this morning, the Pudgy Penguin NFTs are down from 32 ETH to a 17.75 ETH floor (14.25 ETH loss or $55k) and the airdrop at current prices is worth $58,000.
Thus anyone who bought at 32 ETH or lower is up on their buy with the airdrop (and most holders have entries sub-10 ETH).
So, it was a good day.
Why It Matters
For the Pudgy ecosystem, the token was the primary lever to grow the holder base (The Huddle).
With only 38,120 NFTs, the team was limited with growth options.
Now, in less than a day of trading, there are 420,000 holders in the ecosystem.
20x growth, in a day.
That's explosive.
And now, those holders will likely have a leg up (or at least incentives) to explore the Abstract ecosystem, where the Pudgy team plans to take things to the next level.
They have rewarded their most loyal holders with a $60,000 gift, and many are now in the position to hold their NFTs for much longer (they have liquidity options now).
That means the NFTs can go higher in the next run (I don't think the Pudgy local top is in).
They've also shown the rest of the NFT ecosystem the power of a token drop, if done right.
But the most important message from yesterday was one that Luca delivered to us during the FOMO HOUR show, where he said this is his "end game" and he plans to do this for 15-20 years to make the PENGU brand a "Crypto Conglomerate."
Things are just getting started...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $104M on the day; Solana was next with $4.8M and then Bitcoin with $4.8M
- ETH NFT leaders were mostly red; Punks +2% at 40.5 ETH, Pudgy -47% at 17.5, BAYC -3% at 18.1 ETH, Azuki -12% at 9.4 ETH
- Pudgy Penguin NFTs did fall from ~32 ETH floor to 17.5 ETH floor after the PENGU airdrop (~$60k at current prices); Lil Pudgy's are back to 1.84 ETH and Rogs are at 0.8
- LOVE Tennis (+120%), goblintown (+32%) & VeeFriends (+26%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly red; Bitcoin Puppets -9, NodeMonkes -6%, OMB -4%, Quantum Cats -4%
- The Runes leaders were mixed; DOG -7% at $830M mc, PUPS -14% at $160M, BDC even at $75M, GIZMO even at $23M
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- PENGU went live for trading, seeing $2.5B+ in volume and holding now at $0.036 ($3.23B FDV) with over 400,000 holders
- Nifty Island's ISLAND token went live as well, now at $45M FDV
- FUEL announced a token airdrop for its 200k eligible users (wallets)
- Kraken soft-launched its new L2 Ink with its stated goal of enabling "access to DeFi from a trusted OG"
- Moonpay announced that Moonshot broke its single-day onramp record
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap is up 10% at $10.8B, with most leaders slightly green
- Binance Alpha showcased FARTCOIN, AI16Z & AIXBT in their new product, leading to speculation of potential listings in the future
- ZODS was the top mover, jumping 100% to $15M; NIKITA, AIMONICA, GRIFT, MEMESAI & ARC all jumped 20-40%
- FARTCOIN, AGENT & AIXBT see biggest mindshare growth
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are red this morning ahead of Powell's comments; BTC -2% at $104,900, ETH -4% at $3,860, SOL -4% at $217, XRP -5% at $2.55
- BGB, VIRTUAL, MOVE led top alts, up 5-10%
- Memecoin majors are more red than majors; DOGE -5%, SHIBA -6%, PEPE -9%, WIF -11%, BONK -11%, MOG -4%
- Senator Cynthia Lummis says "2025 will be the year for Bitcoin and Digital Assets," vowing to work with Crypto Czar David Sacks to help make a legal framework for the crypto industry and a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve happen
- The US Senate Banking Committee has abandoned its efforts to advance anti-crypto Caroline Crenshaw for SEC Commissioner
- Ohio Representative Derek Merrin introduced the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act yesterday, aimed at creating a Bitcoin fund for the state
- Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey says $250k Bitcoin is "One signature away" after drafting a potential strategic reserve bill for the President
- Bitwise launched a Solana staking ETP in Europe for $BSOL
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $UFD (+28,000% to $28M market cap, SOL)
- $TEMA (+95% to $24M market cap, SOL)
- $ZODS (+95% to $15M market cap, SOL)
- $SS (+94% to $14M market cap, SOL)
- $TRUST (+70% to $44M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- FishBallerz (140%, 0.04 ETH Floor)
- LOVE (120%, 3 ETH Floor)
- goblintown (65%, 0.43 ETH)
- MetaWinners (15%, 0.08 ETH)
- CyberBrokers (15%, 0.19 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
💰 FTX Gives Timeline for Re-Org, Repayments
The darkest chapter of this past crypto cycle is about to come to a close.
And it's going to end on a good note - stimulus payments for affected customers, coming in Q1.
What Happened?
FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, will begin repaying customers and creditors in early 2025.
The first distributions are expected within 60 days of January 3, 2025, the date when FTX’s court-approved reorganization plan takes effect.
Kraken and BitGo will facilitate the recovery process for users, who do have required actions to take.
Key Details for FTX Users
-
Repayment Process:
- FTX users must complete KYC verification, submit tax forms, and onboard to either Kraken or BitGo, the platforms facilitating the repayments.
- Initial payouts will focus on creditors with claims $50,000 or less, representing over 90% of all claims.
- Distributions for larger claims will follow, with details announced later.
-
Repayment Amount:
- Creditors will receive the U.S. dollar value of their crypto holdings based on prices from November 2022, when FTX filed for bankruptcy.
- FTX’s bankruptcy plan could allocate up to $16.5 billion to creditors, with 98% of claimants expected to recover 118% of their claim values.
Why It Matters
This repayment timeline offers long-awaited relief for FTX users who have been in limbo since the exchange collapsed in 2022.
Those with smaller claims will benefit first, with most receiving their funds within two months of January 3.
Users need to act quickly to ensure they are verified and onboarded to Kraken or BitGo to avoid delays in receiving their funds.
Of course, the amount recovered will be significantly less than these users would have at current prices (they're getting paid out at the 2022 lows), but it's still better than nothing and adds up to a big total in aggregate.
Now the question becomes - where will the FTX money go?
We will find out soon...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $85M on the day; Solana was next with $5.9M and then Bitcoin with $3.3M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed ahead of the PENGU airdrop; Punks +3% at 39.1 ETH, Pudgy +5% at 32.8, BAYC -4% at 18.7 ETH, Azuki even at 10.75
- Wonderpals (+100%) & InfiniGods (+75%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mixed; Bitcoin Puppets +6% at 0.159 BTC, NodeMonkes -2% at 0.136, OMB +1% at 0.147, Quantum Cats -3% at 0.20
- The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -6% at $900M mc, PUPS -1% at $190M, BDC -1% at $75M, GIZMO -11% at $23M
- CyberKongz received a Wells Notice from the SEC regarding their blockchain game having a token, cause for more potential concern for broader web3 gaming projects
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- PENGU goes live for claim and trading at 8 am ET today, with it trading at $3.7B fdv on pre-markets; see new details in the post from Luca Netz
- Nifty Island's ISLAND token goes live at 10 am ET for its eligible users
- M3M3 teased an airdrop for Vector users
- Blast teased their mobile app launch coming soon, along with tokenomics updates and other announcements
- Monad announced the creation of the Monad Foundation as it prepares for its decentralization journey (i.e. token)
- Binance announced Binance Alpha, a new platform within their wallet spotlighting early crypto projects with growth potential
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap jumps held steady at $10.6B, though most leaders red
- VIRTUAL briefly hit $3.2B before retracing (now $2.7B); ai16z +7% to $876M
- TANK, OPAIUM, KEKE, & DEGENAI were top movers jumping 20-60%
- GRIFFAIN, VIRTUAL & AI16Z see biggest mindshare growth
- ai16z and its Eliza Labs announced a partnership with Stanford, focusing on agent trust mechanisms, multi-agent economic system and decentralized agent governance
- Moemate introduced a new ecosystem roadmap
- Eternal AI added BNB as its latest chain for decentralized AI agents
- MemesAI launched a new swarm featuring Sercy and Aletheia
- Alchemy rolled out new v2 model, will be $ALCH gated soon
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are green again this morning; BTC +3% at $106,800, ETH +2% at $4,000, SOL +4% at $222, XRP +14% at $2.68; Bitcoin reaches highest-ever ratio to Gold
- BGB, XRP, XLM, CRO and RUNE led top alts, up 10-20%
- Memecoin majors are finally green again; DOGE +3%, SHIBA +2%, PEPE +2%, WIF +5%, BONK +6%, MOG -3%
- FTX announced its reorg will come on Jan 3, 2025, with initial repayments coming within 60 days
- Avalanche's AVAX9000 officially went live
- The UK issued a warning against Solana's RETARDIO memecoin, saying its not authorized in the country
- Ripple announced the launch of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin going live today
- Ethena announced its USDtb stablecoin, backed largely by BlackRock's BUIDL
- Anchorage Digital secured a BitLicense from the NYDFS, allowing it to offer secure crypto trading services to institutions in 2025
- The GOD ticker on HyperLiquid sold for $975k as the daily auctions continue to increase in closing price
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $BENJI (+84% to $41M market cap, Base)
- $PATRIOT (+70% to $38M market cap, ETH)
- $h2w6 (+70% to $12M market cap, SOL)
- $TANK (+63% to $34M market cap, SOL)
- $OCTO (+62% to $22M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Persona (200%, 0.18 ETH Floor)
- WonderPals (170%, 0.07 ETH Floor)
- Keepers v2 (65%, 0.08 ETH)
- Infinigods (63%, 0.16 ETH)
- Wassies (50%, 0.74 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
💰 Bitcoin Hits $106,000 As Strategic Reserve Hopes Rise
This is a big week.
If the Santa Rally happens, it starts this week.
And Bitcoin may have just given us a glimpse that it's going to happen.
What Happened?
Yesterday, Bitcoin hit a new ATH at $106,000 briefly before pulling back to $104,000.
It also set the highest-ever weekly close.
And many are crediting the recent pump to Donald Trump and his pro-crypto comments, specifically around the Bitcoin reserve.
- Reuters is crediting the recent pump to Trump's comments, pointing to comments from last week where he was asked about the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and if he would build it and he said "Yeah, I think so."
- Bloomberg is also crediting the pump to Trump and his overall crypto support.
- And new back of the napkin math is showing that a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could erase 44% of the national debt by 2050 if started in the next year (and if Bitcoin compounds at 25% annually).
The reality of the Strategic Reserve feels more real by the day, and it seems it's being spoken into existence.
What Are They Saying?
Donald Trump's comments from last week: "We're gonna do something great with crypto because we don't want China or anybody else - not just China but others are embracing it - and we want to be the head."
Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG: "We're in blue sky territory here. The next figure the market will be looking for is $110,000. The pullback that a lot of people were waiting for just didn't happen, because now we've got this news."
Lucas Schweiger, Digital Asset Research Manager at banking group Sygnum: "Campaign promises to make the U.S. ‘the crypto capital of the planet’ might be viewed as political posturing. But the Crypto Advisory Council proposal, along with rumors of Trump meeting several heavyweights of the crypto industry, such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, sends a signal that the new administration will pay more serious attention to the crypto market and look to understand its potential opportunities for the US economy."
Why It Matters
It feels like we're beyond political posturing at this stage.
When Trump ended his Bitcoin Nashville speech with "Go have fun with your Bitcoins," it did feel like maybe he was just posturing.
But the actions taken since then, to meet with crypto leaders, to appoint crypto-friendly people to his Cabinet, and his repeated pro-crypto comments feel too big to ignore.
And the upside of a potential Strategic Reserve is simply not priced in right now.
The asymmetric bet is on Bitcoin, and crypto growth in America.
There is a good chance that we are literally just getting started...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $57M on the day; Solana was next with $5.7M and then Bitcoin with $4.7M
- ETH NFT leaders were very green; Punks even at 38.5 ETH, Pudgy -5% at 31, BAYC +6% at 19.4 ETH, Azuki +20% at 10.75; Milady +10% at 6, Doodles +8% to 4.5
- Several other NFTs jumped 30-50% including Elementals, Beanz, Sappy Seals, Hegdies, Bond Bears, Mocaverse and Cool Cats
- Pudgy Penguins saw 3 sales at 100 ETH or higher for Ice Pudgy's, 3 of the top 10 sales of all time
- Skyborne Nexian Gems (+160%), On1 Force (+100%), The Plague (+90%) and Rug Genesis NFTs (+80%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly red; Bitcoin Puppets -6% at 0.15 BTC, NodeMonkes +1% at 0.14, OMB -3% at 0.146, Quantum Cats -1% at 0.207
- New Fukuhedrons Ordinals debuted and ran to 0.015 BTC (now 0.01)
- The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -2% at $940M mc, PUPS -5% at $180M, BDC -6% at $75M, GIZMO +11% at $26M
- Solana NFTs were mixed led by DeGods (+5%), Claynosaurz (+29%) and Mad Lads (+3%)
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- OpenSea registered in the Cayman Islands, sparking speculation that an OpenSea token may indeed be coming
- Abstract announced its mainnet launch for January 2025
- Mocaverse's MOCA token was listed on Upbit and briefly soared 3x to $4B before settling at $2B
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap jumps held steady at $10.6B over the weekend though most leaders were red
- VIRTUAL jumped 17% to $2.86B leading top movers (and all top crypto alts); FARTCOIN +20% to $750M
- MEMES AI, KEKE, MANA, SAINT, FATHA & ZODS were top movers jumping 40-90%
- FARTCOIN dominated mindshare with 20% of the sector, with AIXBT next at 13%; GRIFFAIN and GOAT were notable mindshare losers
- ONGO and KWANT lead smart engagement ratio, HIGH and SOLARIS lead holder growth %
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are green this morning after closing a new ATH on the Bitcoin weekly; BTC +1% at $104,000, ETH +1% at $3,920, SOL -2% at $215, XRP -2% at $2.37
- HYPE jumped another 20% on the day to $26, closing a +110% move on the week
- Memecoin majors are red and closed a -10%-20% week; DOGE -2% at $0.395, SHIBA -3%, PEPE -1%, WIF -5%, BONK -3%, MOG even
- Trump's recent strategic Bitcoin reserve comments are being credited for Bitcoin's surge over $105k and to new ATH
- Donald Trump's World Liberty Fi continued to buy ETH DeFi tokens including ONDO
- MicroStrategy made it into the Nasdaq 100 pushing the stock up to $411
- Crypto developer activity is soaring in Asia (home to 32% of total dev activity) where devs largely favor Solana over ETH
- PNUT's owner issued a cease-and-desist letter to Binance accusing them of trademark violations (PNUT -4%)
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $MIKU (+3,900% to $10M market cap, SOL)
- $SHITCOIN (+1100% to $12M market cap, SOL)
- $MEMESAI (+80% to $70M market cap, SOL)
- $SANUT (+80% to $20M market cap, SOL)
- $MANA (+60% to $23M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Shadow Wolves (200%, 0.06 ETH Floor)
- Cool Pets (150%, 0.05 ETH Floor)
- Skyborne (130%, 1.33 ETH)
- SupDucks (114%, 0.06 ETH)
- Rug Genesis (107%, 0.16 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
💰 BlackRock Says Buy Bitcoin for 2% of Your Portfolio
The bullish crypto headlines continue to pour in.
Yesterday it was Trump saying "We're gonna do something great with crypto" while the Trump family was actively buying ETH, LINK and AAVE.
And now it's a financial giant telling everyone to start buying Bitcoin for their portfolios.
What Happened?
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has recommended investors allocate 1-2% of their portfolio to Bitcoin.
Notably, they are one of the biggest Bitcoin buyers in the world for their IBIT (iShares Bitcoin Trust) ETF product, which has now accumulated $35B worth of Bitcoin.
Now they are telling investors they should be allocating too (within reason).
What Are They Saying:
- In the report, BlackRock says that "a reasonable range for Bitcoin exposure" is 1-2%
- BlackRock described Bitcoin as similar to investing in top tech stocks: “Over its short history, Bitcoin has seen both major surges and selloffs. This volatility, plus Bitcoin’s unique characteristics, raises the question of what role it should play in portfolios.”
- The asset manager noted that Bitcoin’s price is driven purely by adoption, without underlying cash flows, and warned that further widespread adoption could stabilize the asset but limit future price increases
- Notable holder and thought leader Fred Kreuger commented on BlackRock's allocation: "BlackRock explicitly says it thinks Bitcoin has similarities with the "Magnificent 7"...The Mag 7 opportunity is ongoing. Bitcoin is super interesting now, but maybe less in a decade. It's hard not reading this report and concluding Bitcoin is where the Mag 7 were a decade ago. And as a reminder, these stocks generally were up 10x, with NVDA and Tesla up much more. If I am an institutional portfolio manager, this report gives me the green light to take a minimum 2% allocation in Bitcoin."
Why It Matters?
Everyday American investors have been told crypto is a scam for a decade.
Now the biggest financial giant in the world is telling them they need 1-2% allocation to Bitcoin and comparing Bitcoin to the Mag 7.
That's a massive signal.
And Fred's insight is even more interesting, highlighting the path to a 10x from here.
The path to a 10x is an infinite TWAP (time-weighted-average purchasing) from 401ks around the world for the next decade (maybe coupled with some rich Nation States buying).
That TWAP is coming.
And BlackRock is telling investors to start now...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $37M on the day; Solana was next with $6.7M and then Bitcoin with $4.7M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed after the major run up; Punks -2% at 38.5 ETH, Pudgy -3% at 26.5, BAYC -6% at 18.5 ETH, Azuki -2% at 8.9; Milady -3% at 5.8, Doodles -6% to 4
- The Onchain Heroes Genesis Rings minted out at 0.2 ETH and ran to 2.3 ETH at peak (now 2) with over 1,000 ETH volume
- Treeverse (+160%), Timeless (+134%) and V (+130%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly green; Bitcoin Puppets +8% at 0.17 BTC, NodeMonkes +8% at 0.15, OMB +8% at 0.15, Quantum Cats even at 0.2
- The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -6% at $905M mc, PUPS -9% at $228M, BDC even at $94M, GIZMO -3% at $34M
- Solana NFTs were very green led by DeGods (+25%), Claynosaurz (+28%) and Blinks GG (+30%)
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Odos Protocol announced an airdrop for former users coming on Dec 20
- MONKY tokens were airdropped to everyone who attended ApeFest, worth $2500 yesterday
- Avax raised $250M via a token sale for its upcoming Avalanche9000 network upgrade
- Superform raised $3M to launch SuperVaults as "Intelligent Onchain Yield Product," with the raise led by VanEck
- Magic Eden integrated BNB to its marketplace, though the token fell another 13% to $4.27
- Fantasy Top launched v2, with a new UI, new games, automatic deck building and more, on the back of a major $4.2M fund raise
- Decrypt University is going to relaunch its community with 'Dynamic Utilities' powered by Galaxis
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap jumps another 9% to $10.6B with all the leaders in green
- The leaders almost all set new ATHs with VIRTUAL +24% to $2.33B, ai16z +16% to $990M, GOAT even at $750M, FARTCOIN +33% to $700M and GRIFFAIN +75% to $360M
- New agent Mizuki soared to $31M overnight on $25M volume (top mover)
- ai16z's Eliza framework integrated Farcaster calling it "the fugure of programmatic apps"
- ARC was a top mover jumping 100% to $80M in its 3rd day of existence after Github contributions soar
- Vader launched an investment DAO platform for AI Agents (+50% to $37M)
- Zagabond created a Chillguy agent and sent an ETH payment to Taylor Swift with it
- Solaris becomes first AI agent to host a Twitter spaces using "her" own voice
- ZEREBRO, AI16Z, AVA, FARTCOIN see biggest mindshare jump; TANK leads new holder growth; ONGO continues to own smart engagement ratio
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are slightly red this morning; BTC -0.3% at $100,400, ETH even at $3,920, SOL -2% at $226, XRP -2% at $2.38; HBAR, CORE, OP & LDO led alts up 6-10%
- The ETH ETFs have seen $2B in net inflows over the last 10 sessions
- Memecoin majors are also red; DOGE -2% at $0.407, SHIBA -2%, PEPE -4%, WIF -4%, BONK -1%, MOG +1%
- Donald Trump said "We're gonna do something great with crypto" after ringing the NYSE bell on Thursday
- BlackRock is now recommending a 2% allocation to Bitcoin in investment portfolios
- The State of Texas has introduced a new bill aiming to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve
- Solana has beat Ethereum in the number of new developers in 2024
- The Chillguy artist's X page was compromised and a series of statements posted which drove major volatily in CHILLGUY price action, now settling at $330M
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $GWART (+12,000% to $12M market cap, SOL)
- $DT (+11,000% to $27M market cap, SOL)
- $LINDA (+4,000% to $10M market cap, SOL)
- $MIZUKI (+2,300% to $16M market cap, SOL)
- $blink (+170% to $32M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Sad Times (160%, 0.19 ETH Floor)
- Timeless (133%, 0.21 ETH Floor)
- Emby (130%, 0.15 ETH)
- Cambria Founders (122%, 0.68 ETH)
- V (110%, 1.43 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
💰 Pudgy's Are $100k, Spark NFT Revival
This past week has been the most important week for NFTs in several years.
The combination of last week's PENGU token announcement for Pudgy Penguin holders combined with the Magic Eden airdrop has seen the NFT market into a frenzy.
And the mania seems to be just beginning.
What Happened?
The entire NFT leaderboard was washed in green overnight.
Notable movers:
- Pudgy's up another 10% to 27.3 ETH ($107,000)
- Bored Apes up 13% to 19.6 ETH, Mutants up 23% to 3.5
- Azuki up 33% to 9.3 ETH (new local high) with Elementals (+47%) and Beanz (+55%)
- Doodles +84% to 4.6 ETH and a smashing new local high
All while ETH is up 5% to $3,930.
That means the USD values of the NFTs are up even more.
Truly a glorious sight to see on this Thursday morning, for the NFT believers and enthusiasts.
Total trading volume on the week is up to $155M, the highest its been since March 2024 - but that's not even a good comp because of all the Blur farming.
These buys feel much more organic.
Why It Matters
Many thought that this crypto cycle would play out with the coins running first and NFTs last.
My mental model was that NFTs would have their time in Q4 2025.
I was off by a year.
The explosion in wealth creation in the post-Trump Election crypto world has almost immediately found its way to NFTs.
A few things are happening:
- Traders are hitting big wins and rotating gains to "safer" assets like NFTs (i.e. Punks) to flex
- The PENGU token, and the rise in value of the Pudgy Penguin NFTs after the announcement, has many speculating on other NFTs which may also drop tokens
- Some are farming a potential OpenSea airdrop
The best news in all of this?
It still feels early.
If crypto continues to pump through deep 2025, there's no reason to think NFTs won't pump alongside.
NFTs are back, and we have a lot of room to run...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $51M on the day; Solana was next with $6.7M and then Bitcoin with $4.15M
- ETH NFT leaders were washed in green; Punks +1% at 39.5 ETH, Pudgy +10% at 27.3, BAYC +10% at 19.6 ETH, Azuki +34% at 9.2; Milady +18% at 6.4, Doodles +68% to 4.2
- Pudgy Penguins reached a $100k floor for the first time in their existence, now at $107,000
- Dooplicator (+70%) and V (+70%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly red; Bitcoin Puppets -1% at 0.16 BTC, NodeMonkes -6% at 0.14, OMB -6% at 0.139, Quantum Cats even at 0.2
- The Runes leaders were mixed; DOG +5% at $960M mc, PUPS -5% at $248M, BDC -11% at $94M, GIZMO -13% at $35M, CYPHER even at $17M
- Mocaverse announced a 2nd Moca-airdrop for Mocaverse stakers
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Magic Eden's token fell another 8% on the day and is trading at $4.90
- Phantom is now surfacing Pump Fun memecoins within minutes of launching, allowing users to view price history, bonding curve progress and more
- Rekt Drinks' purchasers officially reached a 10x return on their investments with rektcoin passing $100M
- Ubisoft announced the launch for its new Captain Laserhawk game along with a free NFT mint for the Niji Warrior NFT collection
- Backpack rolled out support for SUI on its wallet
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap jumps another 12% to $9.7B with all the leaders in green
- VIRTUAL +12% to $1.9B, ai16z jumps 12% to $850M, GOAT +12% to $750M, ACT +6% to $5.23
- FARTCOIN rallied 38% to $580M and a new ATH after Stocktwits posted a viral meme with the FARTCOIN price and a person throwing away "The Intelligent Investor" (now back to $525M)
- Top movers include ROPIRITO, PH, LOLA, SOLARIS & MANA
- AIXBT sees biggest jump in mindshare after viral post; ONGO continues to own smart engagement ratio
- REALIS jumped 14% to $45M after releasing its tokenomics and sharing that its token stakers would receive all platform revenue
- New DAOS dot Fun project Taiger Global debuted and reached $8M, with their project vision focused on an AI Agent CTO system
- Ropirito became the first AI Agent to autonomously purchase a pizza according to its founder
- Bully became the first AI Agent ambassador, in partnership with 9dcc
- Alchemist introduced a live sports API to deliver real-time sports data
- Virtuals announced a new Agent Sandbox for infinite simulations, along with the update that AI Agents can join Google Meets
- Agent YP (AIYP) launches on Virtuals as "the AIXBT for gaming"
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are very green this morning; BTC +2% at $100,500, ETH +6% at $3,930, SOL +2% at $230, XRP +2% at $2.41
- Alts had a huge day with AAVE (+30%), SUI (+25%), HYPE (+25%) LINK (+20%) and UNI (+18%) leading
- Memecoin majors are green; DOGE +2% at $0.41, SHIBA +4%, PEPE +5%, WIF +4%, BONK +4%, MOG -7%; PNUT soared 15% after Coinbase announced it would list
- Ray Dalio said he prefers "hard money" assets like Gold and Bitcoin as major economies face a looming debt crisis
- Trump's confidant Paul Manafort said BTC holders will be “celebrating much higher [than $100,000] very soon I think" at the Abu Dhabi Bitcoin conference
- Trump's World Liberty Finance sparked alts by buying ETH, LINK and AAVE
- Vancouver passed a motion to become a "Bitcoin-friendly city" and explore its potential use cases
- Solana announced an 8-city takeover in the US in 2025 to help accelerate crypto innovation in the US
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $PULSR (+12,000% to $13M market cap, SOL)
- $BLINK (+12,000% to $16M market cap, SOL)
- $DAPE (+6,000% to $15M market cap, SOL)
- $BGG1 (+220% to $13M market cap, SOL)
- $GRIFFAIN (+50% to $232M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Doodles (85%, 4.58 ETH Floor)
- Alienfrens (80%, 0.11 ETH Floor)
- Dooplicator (73%, 0.14 ETH)
- V (72%, 0.68 ETH)
- On1 Force (59%, 0.18 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
💰 Binance and Circle Partner to Promote Global USDC Adoption
Crypto is not a threat to the US dollar.
In fact, the proliferation of US dollar-denominated stablecoins may be one of the single most important factors in maintaining its prominence.
And now Binance is doing its part to help.
What Happened?
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, to increase global adoption of USDC.
The announcement was made early this morning during Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
Binance will integrate USDC more broadly into its platform for trading, saving, and payments and make USDC its primary stablecoin for treasury operations.
Going even further, Binance is set to adopt USDC as the primary stablecoin in its treasury (versus alternatives like USDT or BUSD).
Circle will provide Binance with tech and liquidity to help it improve its exchange and services.
What Are They Saying?
- Binance described adopting USDC as a treasury asset as “a powerful signal about the world moving on-chain.”
- The collaboration aims to “support the development of the global digital assets and broader financial services ecosystem.”
- USDT is a "disaster for consumers waiting to happen" according to Consumers' Research
Why It Matters?
This partnership signals a major shift in the stablecoin landscape.
Binance is moving away from its previously favored BUSD stablecoin and USDT, both of which have faced regulatory hurdles.
By aligning with Circle and its regulatory-compliant USDC, Binance strengthens its position in key markets like the EU, where Circle already holds a MiCA-valid license.
It strengthens USDC's position in the stablecoin market (USDT still leads $139B in market cap to $41B for USDC).
And long term, it likely strengthens the US dollar's place in the world as crypto continues to proliferate and the onchain revolution begins.
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $25.6M on the day; Bitcoin was next with $6.6M and then Solana with $5.5M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed again with Pudgy leading; Punks +1% at 39.3 ETH, Pudgy +9% at 24.85, BAYC -6% at 17.75 ETH, Azuki +1% at 6.9; Milady -2% at 5.1
- Lil Pudgy jumped 18% to 2.88 ETH and Pudgy Rogs jumped 43% to 1.39 ETH, both new ATHs
- KIP (+70%) and Alien Frens (+67%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly green; Bitcoin Puppets -11% at 0.16 BTC, NodeMonkes +1% at 0.149, OMB +4% at 0.149, Quantum Cats even at 0.2; Nat Cats led +30% to 0.026
- The Runes leaders were very green; DOG +13%% at $930M mc, PUPS +10% at $260M, BDC -11% at $104M, GIZMO +15% at $39M, CYPHER even at $17M
- 9dcc introduced its Black Boxes featuring connection fashion and a rare CryptoPunk
- Claynosaurz introduced a new collector's achievement and staking system for collectors
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Magic Eden's ME token went live for trading yesterday on Binance and Coinbase, falling to lows in the $4 range before running to $9 at peak, now settling at $5.25 this morning
- Hyperbolic raised $12M in a Series A led by Variant and Polychain Capital to focus on decentralized AI computing inference services
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap jumps 11% to $8.7B as most leaders in red
- ai16z jumps 33% to $780M flipping GOAT (+14% to $700M)
- FARTCOIN rallied 38% to $460M and a new ATH
- Top movers include QUASAR (+110%), Aimonica (+107%), MONA (+90%) & FUNGI (+80%)
- ARC debuted and soared to $40M on $100M trading volume; platform is an AI Agent framework based on Rust (first of its kind) from the Playground team
- ycombinator drops thesis that AI Agents will flip SaaS as a vertical in the near future
- a16z shared 2025 forecasts showing them leaning in heavily to decentralized AI
- Bitwise Invest predicted that tokens launched by AI Agents will drive memecoin mania in 2025
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are green this morning in a welcome rebound; BTC +1% at $98,300, ETH -1% at $3,710, SOL +4% at $225, XRP +6% at $2.36; BGB & RAY were top alt movers up 20% each
- Memecoin majors are mixed; DOGE -2% at $0.4, SHIBA +1%, PEPE -7%, WIF +2%, BONK -1%, MOG even
- Microsoft shareholders voted against buying Bitcoin for the tech giant's balance sheet
- Goldman Sachs' CEO said they would evaluate entering crypto markets if regulators permit
- Trump plans to give attention to the price of Bitcoin on an ongoing basis, according to Axios reports, and his son Eric Trump predicted Bitcoin will go to $1M
- Meanwhile Bloomberg Editorials shared a story calling a Bitcoin Reserve "the biggest crypto scam yet"
- Binance and Circle enter strategic partnership to accelerate global USDC and crypto adoption
- Ripple's stablecoin received final approval from the NYDFS, currently in test mode on Ethereum and XRP Ledger
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $ARC (+42,000% to $37M market cap, SOL)
- $MANA (+11,000% to $20M market cap, SOL)
- $PATO (+8,500% to $16M market cap, SOL)
- $ALPHAPEPE (+5,800% to $18M market cap, SOL)
- $PNET (+1,300% to $16M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- KIP Protocol (67%, 0.12 ETH Floor)
- Alien Frens (67%, 0.1 ETH Floor)
- Mintify Genesis (55%, 0.07 ETH)
- Pudgy Rogs (42%, 1.38 ETH)
- Jarritos (32%, 0.31 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
🎁 Magic Eden Airdrop Is Today
We used to pray for times like this.
Back in the depths of the bear market, when there were few signs of hope, some looked forward to the next big wave of NFT and Crypto airdrops. And they seemed so, so far away.
Well, airdrop SZN is here.
And Magic Eden is starting the party.
What Happened?
Magic Eden is officially set to launch its $ME token this morning at 9 am ET.
And they are coming out firing on launch day:
- CEO Jack Lu likens Magic Eden to "an on-chain Binance"
- Binance announces a day 1 listing
- The ME token soared 45% to $5.80 on Whales pre-market with $4.75M in volume on the day
I'll get to the tokenomics and money part in a bit.
But this Binance comparison is the key here.
The Magic Eden vision is to trade all assets on all chains on their app.
They have effectively pulled this off for Bitcoin (with Ordinals and Runes trading available), but haven't touched the token side of chains like ETH or Solana.
That is a huge market to tap into, and with their $ME token incentives for app usage, they will have one big lever to pull to get new users.
Tokenomics
For a quick overview of the ME tokenomics:
- 1B total tokens
- 125M for airdrop 1
- 225M for future airdrops
- 262M for contributors (with majority locked for 18 months)
- 236M for strategic participants with a 12 month min lock
So with the token trading at $5.80, that means this is a $700M airdrop (and ME will trade at $5.8B FDV).
Of course, we all need to take pre-market prices with a grain of salt and they have been historically high by 30-40% or more.
But the MOVE token launched on Binance yesterday and opened at $10B FDV - so 11 figure launches are happening in this market.
Why It Matters
Magic Eden is not without its issues.
The runes trading experience is clunky. They don't have much ETH NFT market share at all. And their airdrop rollout rubbed about half of market participants the long way.
But per Jack Lu's note yesterday "Growth solves all problems."
If Magic Eden can pull off their vision, and/or if the token can pump similar to other recent launches - all problems will be forgiven.
We will find out soon.
Good luck today!
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $20M on the day; Bitcoin was next with $3.5M and then Solana with $2.9M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed again with Pudgy leading; Punks even at 39 ETH, Pudgy +3% at 22.9, BAYC -4% at 19 ETH, Azuki -4% at 6.8; Milady -1% at 5.15
- Realiti (+80%) and Creepz (+30%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were mostly green; Bitcoin Puppets -4% at 0.18 BTC, NodeMonkes +3% at 0.147, OMB +2% at 0.143, Quantum Cats even at 0.2
- The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -5% at $820M mc, PUPS -9% at $235M, BDC even at $118M, GIZMO -10% at $33M, CYPHER -20% at $17M
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Magic Eden's ME token goes live for trading at 9 am ET this morning (trading at $5.80 on pre-market)
- MOVE went live for trading on Monday and opened at a $7.5B FDV before running to $10B
- Jupiter's Jupuary vote passed and $860M in tokens will be given to the community in the next airdrop
- Bitcoin Lending platform Lava announced a Series A led by Khosla and Peter Theil's Founders Fund
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Overall market cap drops 5% to $7.68B as most leaders in red
- ai16z jumps 17% to $590M pulling close to GOAT (-12% to $620M)
- Big winners of the day include MIKO (+14,000%), OTTO (+530%), Aimonica (+97%), SERCY (+90%) and GRIFFAIN (+80%)
- Griffain rolled out Saga Genesis Token as the first souldbound NFT for AI Agents, also teases onchain e-commerce with payment available in GRIFFAIN tokens
- Act 1 introduced its AI Agent KOL market called Act Swap allowing buyers to provide a prompt and pay a fee to see their Agent publish on X in a new-age AI ad structure
- Animoca Chair Yat Sui posted the AImonica Brands token, causing it to 4x from $3M to $12M
- Binance listed perps for the VIRTUALS token (+10% to $1.70)
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are red this morning after a massive night of liquidations; BTC -1% at $97,600, ETH -3% at $3,740, SOL -5% at $216, XRP -8% at $2.20; MOVE & VIRTUALS were top alt movers
- The Crypto market saw $1.4B in liquidations after yesterday's dip, the largest since 2021
- Memecoin majors are very red; DOGE -5% at $0.408, SHIBA -10%, PEPE +1%, WIF -13%, BONK -12%, MOG -9%
- A memecoin tied to Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO, was the runner of the day on Solana yesterday, reaching $50M on $150M+ volume (now $20M)
- Saylor and MSTR acquired another $2.1B in Bitcoin at an average price of $98,783
- Riot announced a $575B convertible bond issuance to buy more Bitcoin
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $LUIGI (+24,000% to $24M market cap, SOL)
- $MIKO (+13,000% to $75M market cap, SOL)
- $GRIFFAIN (+130% to $174M market cap, SOL)
- $AIMONICA (+85% to $10M market cap, SOL)
- $TSOTCHKE (+80% to $23M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Wrapped Cryptocats (140%, 1.9 ETH Floor)
- Realiti (80%, 1.8 ETH Floor)
- Synthetic Dreams (65%, 3.95 ETH)
- HV MTL (60%, 0.04 ETH)
- Creepz (27%, 2.35 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
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Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
TylerD's Market Summary
🥇 U.S. Treasury Calls Bitcoin 'Digital Gold'
It was a big weekend for Bitcoin.
Last night, Bitcoin closed its highest-ever week with a $101,000 close.
But a few major headlines were even more bullish than the number going up.
What Happened?
The U.S. Treasury officially referred to Bitcoin as "digital gold" in a recent report, acknowledging its primary use as a store of value in decentralized finance.
This statement followed Bitcoin’s price crossing the $100,000 milestone, clearly a very significant milestone.
Other highlights from their report:
- Rapid growth in digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins
- To date, adoption has been limited to investment purposes
- Digital asset market cap is low relative to other asset classes
- Use cases for digital assets are progressing on two tracks - store of value (i.e. Bitcoin) and improving legacy financial markets via blockchain and distributed ledger technology
What Are They Saying:
- The Treasury report stated: "The primary use case for bitcoin seems to be a store of value aka 'digital gold' in a decentralized finance (DeFi) world; speculative interest seems to have played a prominent role in the growth of digital tokens thus far."
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell earlier echoed similar sentiments, saying Bitcoin is "just like gold, only it’s virtual," adding that "It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold."
- Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, commented: "Bitcoin crossing $100,000 is an incredibly important milestone from a psychological perspective as people are programmed to think in 10s. With bitcoin hitting $100,000, expect to see a lot of general interest pick up from individuals and broader media attention as well."
Why It Matters:
Slowly, then all at once.
It's no coincidence that as soon as Bitcoin hit $100k the narrative machine moved into overdrive.
The Lindy effect has fully kicked in. Bitcoin isn't going to 0. It's too valuable now.
And the more major players that acknowledge Bitcoin as "digital gold," the more the message will propagate and drive adoption.
It's a simple message to understand and makes Bitcoin stand out against other crypto assets (which require a bit more of a learning curve).
$100,000 is just the beginning...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $28M on the day; Bitcoin was next with $7.7M and then Solana with $2.8M
- ETH NFT leaders were mixed with Pudgy leading; Punks -2% at 39 ETH, Pudgy +5% at 22.2, BAYC -2% at 19.7 ETH, Azuki -2% at 7.05; Milady -18% at 5.2
- Pudgy Penguins saw several grail sales in the past day including a 50 ETH Pudgy Man, a 45 ETH Gold and a 30 ETH Star-eyed
- The Milady's $CULT token dropped on Sunday evening and opened at a $650M mc
- Ninja Squad (+70%) and Sugartown Oras (+50%) led notable top movers
- BTC NFT leaders were very green; Bitcoin Puppets +13% at 0.19 BTC, NodeMonkes +12% at 0.142, OMB +9% at 0.14, Quantum Cats +8% at 0.2
- The Runes leaders were mostly green; DOG even at $840M mc, PUPS even at $255M, BDC +7% at $118M, GIZMO +30% at $37M, CYPHER +10% at $21M
- An Ether Rock sold for 235 ETH ($945k) over the weekend
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
- Magic Eden's $ME token is trading at $4.17 on Whales Pre-market ahead of tomorrow's airdrop
- Movement Labs' $MOVE token will be listed on Binance today
- Sushi Labs introduced new products including comprehensive trading, new on-chain perps and a new aggregator
- Fantasy Top teases v2 with more information coming today
- Myriad announced it is coming to Abstract, along with a specific challenge for Pudgy Penguins markets
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
- Most AI leaders down 10-20% on the day; GOAT leads at $714M, ACT at $500M, ai16z at $490M and ZEREBRO at $375M; REALIS leads top movers up 80% to $33M
- Broader AI sector market cap up 20% on the week to $8B
- Zerebro got listed on Bybit and Kucoin
- FARTCOIN leads mindshare after several viral posts from TradFi help propel it back to $340M on Sunday (now $290M)
- ai16z referenced as the "React" of AI Crypto
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- Crypto majors are red this morning after Bitcoin made its highest-ever weekly close last night; BTC -1% at $98,400, ETH -3% at $3,60, SOL -4% at $227, XRP -7% at $2.39
- Most alts were red on the day with only LEO (+3%) in green
- Memecoin majors are very red; DOGE -5% at $0.433, SHIBA -7%, PEPE -2%, WIF -10%, BONK -6%, MOG +1%
- PEPE briefly hit a new ATH at $11.5B on Sunday before retracing this morning (now $10.5B)
- The US Treasury compared Bitcoin to digital gold in a recent report, stating that the "primary use case for Bitcoin seems to be a store of value aka digital gold"
- Amazon shareholders have asked their board to review the purchasing of Bitcoin for their treasury
- Financial Times references memecoins soaring in value, superficially mentions Chillguy, PNUT, BONK & PEPE
🚀 Memecoin Movers
- $JAIL (+14,000% to $15M market cap, SOL)
- $APPLE (+600% to $26M market cap, SOL)
- $REALIS (+80% to $33M market cap, SOL)
- $CULT (+50% to $635M market cap, ETH)
- $PATRIOT (+50% to $10M market cap, ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
- Closed Circuit (120%, 15.5 ETH Floor)
- Ninja Squad (67%, 0.27 ETH Floor)
- Synthetic Dreams (65%, 3.95 ETH)
- Sugartown Oras (47%, 0.11 ETH)
- Deep Black (40%, 1.05 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email to tyler.d.warner@gmail.com.
