Bitcoin enters the new year hovering below $100k
Weekly Market Update #52
Happy New Year to all of our reader! We hope you enjoyed our content throughout 2024 as we intend to keep delivering valuable insights in 2025. We appreciate your readership.
Before diving into this week’s update, here is some recently released research content form our analyst team:
Major developments for the week:
Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs: Net flows were -$377.6 million for Bitcoin ETFs and $349.3 million for Ethereum ETFs.
MicroStrategy's 21/21 Plan: The company announced a Special Meeting to advance its plan to raise $42 billion for Bitcoin acquisitions.
Wormhole DAO Launch: Plans unveiled for a DAO launch in Q1 2025.
Jupiter Airdrop: Jupiter DEX aggregator announced a 700 million JUP token airdrop scheduled for January 2025.
Solana Futures ETFs: Volatility Shares filed for ETFs offering leveraged and inverse exposure to Solana futures.
ai16zdao Updates: The DAO overhauled its tokenomics and acquired a launchpad to drive innovation.
SeiNetwork Scaling: Plans revealed to scale its network to 5 Gigagas/second.
Hyperliquid Staking: Introduced staking for its HYPE token, with over 300 million tokens staked since launch.
MicroStrategy Called a Special Meeting for Its $42 Billion Bitcoin Acquisition Plan
An interesting update came from Microstrategy last week in which
it announced a Special Meeting of Shareholders to advance its "21/21 Plan," which aims to raise $42 billion for further Bitcoin acquisitions. The meeting will focus on several key proposals:
Increasing Authorised Class A Shares: Expanding the authorised shares from 330 million to 10.33 billion to support future fundraising initiatives.
Expanding Preferred Shares: Raising the authorised preferred shares from 5 million to 1.005 billion to enhance financing flexibility.
Amending the Equity Incentive Plan: Adjusting the plan to automatically grant equity awards to newly appointed directors, aligning their interests with the company's Bitcoin-focused goals.
Since late 2024, MicroStrategy has actively raised capital through stock offerings and convertible bonds, amassing a substantial Bitcoin reserve.
Last week alone, they added over 7,000 BTC. The company has achieved BTC Yield of 47.8% QTD and 74.1% YTD. As of 12/29/2024, they hold 446,400 $BTC acquired for ~$27.9 billion at ~$62,428 per bitcoin.
Ethereum experienced stronger flows than Bitcoin last week. Between 23 and 27 December 2024, Spot Ethereum ETFs drew net inflows on four of the five days. ETHA and FETH were the main contributors, amassing $181.8 million and $160.4 million respectively, while ETHW added $7.2 million. On 23 December, inflows reached $130.8 million, and on 26 December another $117.2 million was recorded, driven largely by FETH’s $83 million. Grayscale ETH ended slightly negative at –$0.1 million, leaving the overall total for the period at $349.3 million.
ai16zdao Updated Its Tokenomics and Acquires a Launchpad
In other news, The AI-driven venture capital DAO, ai16zdao, introduced a major tokenomics update centred on two key initiatives:
Launchpad Development: Plans are underway to launch a dedicated platform in Q1 2025 to drive innovation within the Eliza framework. This includes acquiring advanced technologies and teams to enhance multi-chain integration, introduce staking mechanisms, and expand value-capture opportunities.
Ecosystem Expansion and Incentives: The DAO is focusing on fostering ecosystem growth and synergy by creating interconnected products that mutually enhance their value. This includes incentivising developers through buyback mechanisms and ecological funds.
These changes aim to boost the utility and value of AI16z tokens, potentially positioning the DAO for sustained growth and innovation.
Latest Developments in the Solana Ecosystem
Last week was a busy period for Solana related developments.
Wormhole’s Decentralised Autonomous Organisation Launch:
The first piece of news came from Wormhole, a cross-chain interoperability platform, which intends to unveil its DAO in the first quarter of 2025, anchored by the MultiGov system that allows W token holders to create and vote on proposals across Solana and EVM-compatible chains.
Governance Staking and Rewards:
To participate in voting, W holders must complete governance staking through the Wormhole Staking Rewards Programme, available on Solana and various EVM networks, with an initial allocation of at least 50 million W tokens to reward early adopters.
Implications for Decentralised Governance:
This development paves the way for greater community influence over Wormhole’s strategic decisions.
Jupiter’s “Jupuary” Airdrop:
Meanwhile, Jupiter, a leading Solana DEX aggregator, plans to distribute 700 million JUP tokens (valued at around $580 million during time of writing) in January 2025 to users, stakers, and community contributors.
Distribution Criteria:
Token eligibility derives from a previously taken snapshot focused on annual trading volumes, with some wallets anticipated to receive as few as 50 tokens and others potentially receiving up to 250.
Previous Airdrop and Token Supply:
An earlier airdrop in November 2023 granted almost 1 billion JUP tokens to users who completed $1,000 in swap volume, while Jupiter’s community has since voted to reduce the maximum JUP supply from 10 billion to 7 billion by burning over 3 billion tokens.
Volatility Shares’ Proposed Solana Futures ETFs:
For the final update within the Solana ecosystem, Volatility Shares has filed with the SEC to offer ETFs that provide 1x, 2x leveraged, and -1x inverse exposure to Solana. These ETFs will invest in futures contracts traded exclusively on Commodity Futures Trading Commission-registered exchanges, maintaining collateral in cash, equivalents, and high-quality securities - an ambitious move that anticipates the imminent launch of Solana futures.
Hyperliquid Launches Staking for HYPE Token
Lastly, Hyperliquid has introduced staking functionality for its native HYPE token, allowing holders to earn rewards while supporting network security and decentralization. Since the launch, over 300 million HYPE tokens (worth approximately $8.4 billion) have been staked with various validators.
Through staking, users delegate their tokens to trusted validators who engage in block proposal and validation activities. In return, both validators and delegators are rewarded, fostering a collaborative and mutually beneficial ecosystem.
This milestone marks a key step for Hyperliquid, strengthening network security through greater decentralisation while providing token holders with an avenue for passive income.
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Disclaimer: This research report is exactly that — a research report. It is not intended to serve as financial advice, nor should you blindly assume that any of the information is accurate without confirming through your own research. Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets are incredibly risky and nothing in this report should be considered an endorsement to buy or sell any asset. Never invest more than you are willing to lose and understand the risk that you are taking. Do your own research. All information in this report is for educational purposes only and should not be the basis for any investment decisions that you make.