Yesterday, Forbes Digital Assets posted an article highlighting the rise of the leading AI Agent "AIXBT" and its impact on Crypto Twitter.

For those unfamiliar with AIXBT:

• Introduction: AIXBT is an AI agent that analyzes data from over 400 key opinion leaders (KOLs) to provide market insights, predict trends, and deliver technical analysis, particularly in the cryptocurrency space.

  • Example: Within minutes of a major announcement, AIXBT has provided detailed analysis on Twitter, demonstrating its capabilities. It also provides insight on existing projects, provides bull/bear takes and uses data in its reasoning.

• How AIXBT Operates:
  Built on the Base chain's Virtuals Protocol, AIXBT synthesizes vast data sets to offer actionable intelligence. It tracks KOLs, identifies market patterns, interprets price movements, and produces risk assessment reports.

  • It has gained 304K followers within three months by reshaping market intelligence through real-time engagement and data-driven commentary.

And of course, AIXBT is tokenized. The AIXBT token is currently worth $520M, recently reaching a peak over $650M before a slight pull back.

A truly meteroic rise, given the token launched on Nov 21, 2024.

What Are They Saying?

Forbes focused on AIXBT's role in market intelligence and how it could be applied to other indusries.

AIXBT is described as a game-changer, automating high-level market analysis and making sophisticated insights accessible to businesses of all sizes.

It levels the playing field for smaller companies by offering the same caliber of intelligence available to larger enterprises.

They go on to mention how AI agents like AIXBT are finding applications in other sectors, including:

• Customer Service: 24/7 AI agents handle queries and troubleshoot issues.
• Healthcare: Supporting diagnostics and patient care management.
• Retail: Enhancing personalized shopping experiences.
• Education: Providing tailored learning experiences and automated tutoring.

Why It Matters

Clearly what is happening with AI in Crypto is starting to be noticed outside of our bubble.

And with tech giants OpenAI, Google and NVIDIA clearly focusing on AI Agents, this spotlight is likely only to get bigger.

And guess what? Crypto is actually on the cutting edge of some of this.

Sure, the tech giants likely have better tooling. But real Agents applied to real use cases are being developed in real time here and finding product market fit.

AIXBT shows that PMF, reaching 300k followers and becoming a market mover in less than 2 months.

Forbes is taking notice, and soon others will too...

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH NFT leaders were mixed, led by the surging Pudgy Penguins again; Punks -3% at 37 ETH, Pudgy +14% at 27.92, BAYC -1% at 16.4 ETH, Azuki +2% at 12.6 ETH
• DigiDaigaku (+85%), The Currency (+82%) and CyberBrokers (+60%) led notable top movers
• Pudgy Penguins reclaimed a $100,000 floor in their move up to 27.92 ETH
• BTC NFT leaders were mostly red after the BTC pump; Bitcoin Puppets -9%, NodeMonkes -1%, OMB -9%, Quantum Cats +1%; Unsanctioned Wizards were the top mover up 59% to 0.013 BTC
• The Runes leaders were mixed; DOG -7% at $695M mc, PUPS +1% at $97M, BDC +5% at $40M, GIZMO even at $13M
• Gabriel Leydon teased Limit Break's biggest web3 release yet coming later today, likely driving the DigiDaigaku 85% pump
• Mad Lads rallied 19% after the Backpack FTX acquisition news (see below), now 88 SOL; ai16z partners (+35%), Critters Quest (+18%) and 1000x GEM (+34%) all saw big moves on Solana as well

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are mixed this morning after a green Monday; BTC +1% at $100,700, ETH -1% at $3,630, SOL -2% at $213, XRP +1% at $2.42
• BGB (+5%), RAY (+5%), and ADA (+5%) led alts
• Bitcoin ETFs saw $979M in inflows on Monday, posting back-to-back $900M+ sessions; ETH saw $129M in inflows, its 2nd highest total in the past two weeks
• Ripple's CEO said that Trump is already opening doors for crypto and that they've signed more clients in the 6 weeks post-election than in the 6 months prior
• Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy bought another $100M of Bitcoin last week 
• Animoca Chair Yat Siu predicted that 2025 will be the year crypto finally goes mainstream, pointing to stablecoins, memecoins, crypto gaming, reputation systems and web3 capitalism as levers for adoption
• Memecoin majors are red this morning mostly down 1-3%; DOGE -1%, SHIBA -2%, PEPE -3%, PENGU -9%, BONK -2%, WIF -2%, MOG -10%
• Galaxy Digital predicted DOGE will reach $1 in 2025

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The AI Crypto sector hit a market cap of $17.5B late last week, up a staggering 70% in just a week (currently $16.9B).

But it's more than just a market cap explosion.

AI has totally taken over mindshare for Crypto Twitter, reaching a whopping 70% total mindshare this weekend (Meme at 6% and DeFi at 5% are the next closest).

That is domination.

And it comes on the back of some massive wins. Just take a look at the market caps of the current AI leaders and where they were a month ago):

• VIRTUAL at $4.1B ($1.78B a month ago)
• AI16Z at $2.2B ($500M)
• FARTCOIN at $1.25B ($200M)
• FAI at $610M ($34M)
• AIXBT at $560M ($216M)
• GOAT at $523M ($780M)
• ZEREBRO at $500M ($325M)
• GRIFFAIN at $465M ($15M)
• ACT at $355M ($580M)
• ARC at $345M

Some of these coins didn't even exist a month ago (ARC). Several are up 4-5x or more (ai16z, FARTCOIN, FAI, GRIFFAIN). And only GOAT and ARC are red on the month.

But it's not just the leaders driving the market.

There has been an explosion of new AI Agents hitting the scene.

AI analytics site Cookie.Fun tracks over 900 agents now. And the pace of growth is accelerating.

In the past day, 3 new launches have come out and soared in their debut:

• HYPER explodes to $250M in its first 12 hours of trading
• GNZ soars to $50M in its debut
• HTERM opens at $30M

(See below for more information on each of these).

Demand for existing and new agents is off the charts.

Why It Matters

Even if you aren't a Crypto AI believer, this market (and its mindshare) has become too big to ignore. 

If you are a believer, there are reasons to be excited.

For one, this is still not a consensus trade. CT seems split down the middle with believers going all-in and calling for $100B+ overall market cap for the sector (I'm in this camp btw, and $100B is fud). And those who think it's all just vaporware, chatGPT wrappers, and/or a scam.

My view - there is certainly some vaporware/scams in a sector that has 900 agents. That's undeniable.

But there are true builders flocking to this space. AI agents operating onchain just makes sense. It's the end state for where autonomous, sentient agents will ultimately trade.

Those that see the vision are dedicating their time and resources to it.

And new narratives are forming. At the beginning, everything was in one big AI bucket.

• Now there are Agent platforms that are starting to be priced as L1s (Virtuals, ai16z, ZEREBRO, ARC, BULLY).
• There are the pure memes (FARTCOIN, GOAT).
• There are the pure Agents operating within niches (AIXBT, NFTXBT, POLY).
• And we're starting to see a wave of Apps producing games/experiences for users (FAI, GNZ).

The narratives will continue to shift. And the leaders are very likely to shuffle. It's very possible the "winners" aren't even here yet.

But the opportunity right now is simply too big to ignore.

Like it or not - AI Crypto is here to stay...

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $18M on the day; Solana was next with $2.6M and then Bitcoin with $1.8M
• ETH NFT leaders were mostly green, led by Pudgy Penguins; Punks even at 38 ETH, Pudgy +8% at 24.2, BAYC +4% at 16.6 ETH, Azuki even at 12.35 ETH, Doodles -2% to 5.1 ETH
• Project AEON (+36%), Cryptoadz (+29%) and Cryptodickbutts S3 (+28%) led notable top movers; Denizens also jumped 280% to 0.12 ETH
• Kaito Genesis, the NFTs tied to Kaito and their new Yapper program, are holding at 4.14 ETH
• BTC NFT leaders were mixed; Bitcoin Puppets -5% at 0.138 BTC, NodeMonkes -6% at 0.12 BTC, OMB even at 0.171 BTC, Quantum Cats +2% at 0.335 BTC
• OCM Dimensions led top movers up 75% to 0.243 BTC, and Bitcoin Wizards up 10% to 0.126
• The Runes leaders were also mixed; DOG -1% at $734M mc, PUPS +1% at $97M, BDC +5% at $40M, GIZMO +3% at $13M
• AI NFTs lead top gainers over the weekend with:
  • Onchain Gaias jump 70% to 1.33 ETH
  • FAI NFT set 2049 / Reflections +50% to 0.75 ETH
  • Virtuals WAIFUs soar 500% to 0.2 ETH on Base, hailed as "mascot" of Virtuals
  • ai16z Partners up 50% to 5.5 SOL floor

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3

A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are green this morning to kick off the week; BTC +2% at $99,200, ETH +1% at $3,650, SOL +1% at $216, XRP +2% at $2.40
• INJ (+13%), SAND (+10%), and AIOZ (+9%) led alts; RENDER, XDC and FIL also up 8-9%
• Bitcoin ETFs saw $900M in inflows on Friday, largest in weeks 
• Solana became Quantum Resistant, meaning it found a way to protect user funds against future quantum attacks
• Calls for a congressional probe into the FDIC activity related to Operation Chokepoint are getting louder after a recent unsealing of letters sent to banks
• Memecoin majors are also green this morning mostly up 1-2%; DOGE +1%, SHIBA +1%, PEPE even, PENGU +6%, BONK -1%, WIF -3%, MOG +5%
• PENGU passed 600,000 holders as it entered the top 50 crypto tokens by market cap at $2.85B
• Babyshark's web3 arm launched a BABYSHARK meme which soared past $200M this weekend before settling at $150M
• SPX jumped another 17% to $1.43B leading top meme movers
• Solana's new gaming meme MLG jumps 230% to $41M and BUTTHOLE meme jumps 55% to $100M
• Base's Kekius meme soars 135% to $580M and DICKBUTT jumps 240% to $24M

🚀 Memecoin Movers 

• $HYPER (+248,000% to $204M market cap, SOL)
• $GNZ (+30,000% to $42M market cap, SOL)
• $HTERM (+21,000% to $25M market cap, SOL)
• $WAVE (+400% to $30M market cap, SOL)
• $MLG (+250% to $44M market cap, SOL)

📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)

• Denizens (290%, 0.12 ETH Floor)
• Karafuru (67%, 0.16 ETH Floor)
• ASM Brain (60%, 0.29 ETH)
• Project AEON (36%, 1.75 ETH)
• CrypToadz (29%, 0.76 ETH)

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• 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:

🌎 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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• 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:

🌎 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.

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:

🌎 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.

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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.

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:

🌎 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.

• 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:

🌎 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.

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:

🌎 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.

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:

🌎 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.

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:

🌎 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.