Decentral Block Post

Opinion by: Brendon Sedo, Core DAO initial contributor

Bitcoin is outgrowing the “digital gold” narrative. The primary driver of this shift is the rise of Bitcoin DeFi (BTCfi), which looks beyond the mere store-of-value use cases. 

In 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) became a natively yield-generating asset and the centerpiece of Ethereum-style decentralized finance ecosystems. 2025 is when that kindling can grow its flame on innovative Bitcoin sidechains. 

Most past attempts to tap Bitcoin’s value as a productive asset required significant changes to its base layer. That’s a big reason they failed. The Bitcoin layer 1 is not designed for much change, leaving most Bitcoiners to merely hodl and not do much else. The result is that Bitcoin remained underutilized as a network and an asset.

Bitcoin sidechains have emerged as the perfect solution to all these problems, scaling Bitcoin’s utility without altering or being limited by the base layer. Naturally, these protocols will be the most potent catalyst for BTCfi’s growth, especially with BTC surpassing $100,000, constituting over 60% of the total crypto market share, and entering a new regulatory landscape with the first “pro-crypto” US government regime.

Opinion by: Ido Ben Natan, co-founder and CEO of Blockaid

Centralized exchanges (CEXs) have controlled what people can trade for years. If a token wasn’t listed on major exchanges, it didn’t exist for most users. That system worked when crypto was small. But today? It’s completely broken.

The rise of Solana-based memecoins, the popularization of projects like Pump.fun and developments in AI-driven token creation are driving the creation of millions of new tokens each month. 

Exchanges have not evolved to keep up. That must change. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently weighed in on the topic, saying that exchanges must shift from an allowlist model to a blocklist model, where everything is tradeable unless flagged as a scam.

In many ways, this is the Kodak moment for CEXs. Kodak’s failure to adapt to digital photography has made it a poster child of failed strategy. Now, exchanges are faced with the same threat. The old way of doing things isn’t just slow — it’s obsolete. The real question is: What comes next?

An unknown trader pocketed nearly half a million dollars in profit from a newly launched memecoin shortly before the token lost half its value, fueling insider trading allegations amid a recent wave of memecoin collapses.

The savvy trader made an over 1,500-fold return on his initial investment, turning it into over $482,000 in less than 24 hours on the Bubb (BUBB) memecoin.

Source: Lookonchain

“Turned $304 into $482K on $BUBB—a 1,586x return! This trader spent only $304 to buy 43.94M $BUBB and sold 28.9M $BUBB for $122K, leaving 15.64M $BUBB($360K),” wrote Lookonchain in a March 21 X post.

The profitable trade happened shortly before the token shed over 50% of its value, dropping from a peak market capitalization of $43.7 million at 10:00 pm UTC on March 21 to $22.6 million currently, according to Dexscreener data.

Once, long ago, cryptocurrency companies operated comfortably in the US. In that quaint, bygone era, they would often conduct funding events called “initial coin offerings,” and then use those raised funds to try to do things in the real and blockchain world.

Now, they largely do this “offshore” through foreign entities while geofencing the United States.

The effect of this change has been dramatic: Practically all major cryptocurrency issuers started in the US now include some off-shore foundation arm. These entities create significant domestic challenges. They are expensive, difficult to operate, and leave many crucial questions about governance and regulation only half answered. 

Many in the industry yearn to “re-shore,” but until this year, there has been no path to do so. Now, though, that could change. New crypto-rulemaking is on the horizon, members of the Trump family have floated the idea of eliminating capital gains tax on cryptocurrency, and many US federal agencies have dropped enforcement actions against crypto firms.

For the first time in four years, the government has signaled to the cryptocurrency industry that it is open to deal. There may soon be a path to return to the US.

Suriname’s new presidential candidate Parbhoe wants a deeper Bitcoin nation than Nayib Bukele’s El Salvador. 

Retail users in Hong Kong can now buy Ether and Bitcoin through Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank. They need an account and to undergo a risk assessment. 

If Satoshi is behind the 2010 wallets, it makes sense to leave the 2009 wallets alone to avoid drawing attention, BTCparser said.

We’ve all “got drunk on the ChatGPT Kool-Aid” over the past few years said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. 

PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said the new rule was designed to help manage the power grid as more mining facilities come online.

The new wealth record has been driven by a Tesla stock surge late last week and a $50 billion funding round for Musk’s AI startup. 

Mechanism Capital’s Andrew Kang said DeSci protocols will likely change their existing models before evolving into more market-ready products.

Terraform Labs’ near $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC has contributed to a record year for the agency’s financial penalties.

Dogecoin, XRP, Stellar and Sandbox saw a larger liquidation share than usual as some top altcoins from the 2020-21 cycle soared as much as 50%.

Wrapped Bitcoin was launched in 2019 to give Bitcoin investors an option to use the asset in decentralized finance applications.

Bitcoin sellers take the upper hand as BTC struggles to rally to $100,000. What will altcoins do?

According to stablecoin firm Tether, over $134 billion USDt tokens are circulating across various blockchain protocols as of November 2024.

According to the Atlantic Council, 134 countries are currently exploring CBDCs in different phases — including every G20 country.

Bitcoin sellers, whether genuine or not, are refusing to allow a $100,000 BTC price milestone.

November has already surpassed October’s total volume, continuing strong market momentum for NFTs.

Australia’s Treasury seeks input on implementing the crypto-asset reporting framework within its domestic tax laws. 

The report comes five days after Cantor Fitzgerald's CEO Howard Lutnick was appointed as President-Elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of Commerce.

Mythical’s CEO John Linden anticipates that FIFA Rivals could attract over 100 million gamers into the Web3 space.

A crypto trader mulls over whether Bitcoin will retrace back to $90,000, Solana ETF filings flood in and more: Hodlers Digest

The infamous 10,000 BTC mistake is often used by Bitcoin maximalists to extoll the virtues of 'hodling' the supply-capped asset.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM are some of the biggest companies currently researching and developing quantum computer technology.

The current CryptoQuant Bitcoin exchange reserve metric is roughly 2.5 million coins — the lowest level recorded during this market cycle.

Bitcoin predictions easily favor a six-figure BTC price by the start of 2025, but sell-side pressure keeps growing.

Bitcoin predictions easily favor a six-figure BTC price by the start of 2025, but sell-side pressure keeps growing.

Bitcoin’s price action has historically benefited from economic concerns and issues in the banking industry.

Analysts are eyeing a potential $20,000 cycle top for the Ether price, which is expected to gain momentum in the first half of 2025.