Over the past month, Optimism users have shown the most interest in on-chain tasks, as indicated by the surge in activity on Layer3.

What you need right now is a good research compilation ✨*
General*
➖ CoinShares: Digital Asset Fund Manager Survey - January 2025
➖ CoinShares: Digital Asset Bi-Weekly Digest - January 30th 2025
➖ Galaxy: Ethereum All Core Developers Execution Call #204 Writeup
➖** Galaxy: Weekly Top Stories - 1/31

Market
➖ CoinGecko: Publicly Traded Companies Only Account for 5.8% of the Total Crypto Market Cap
➖ Glassnode: Thinking Ahead
➖ Glassnode: Crypto Markets in Q1 2025: ETFs, Layer-2 Growth, and Stablecoins Take Center Stage
➖ Galaxy: 2025 Investment Outlook
➖ Galaxy: DeepSeek’s Debut Unleashes Market Chaos

DeFi
➖ 4pillars: Yala: Unlocking the Vast Potential of Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoins
➖ Cointelegraph: Navigating 2025's Crypto Landscape

WalletConnect, arguably the most well-known wallet infrastructure, is holding their token sale on Coinlist today.

The best part?

$WCT is sold at $200M FDV.

The round is likely to be oversubscribed, so using my code → STACYMUUR maximizes your chance of getting an allocation.

Wen? Today, at 5 pm UTC.
More info here

I personally expect a heavy demand here; but ofc make sure to DYOR. NFA.

It's time to read new research! ?****

General
➖ Crypto.com: Research Roundup Newsletter [October2024]
➖ Galaxy: New Policies, Possibilities, and Paths for Crypto

Market
➖ Coinbase: Weekly: Bitcoin’s Big Rally
➖ Glassnode: Fasanara Digital + Glassnode Report: Institutional Perspectives on Digital Assets

Blockchains & networks
➖ 4pillars: Preconfirmation (feat. Taiko): Make Ethereum Fast for the First Time!
➖ 4pillars: The Reason Why Chromia Adopted a Different Database
➖ 4pillars: Launch a Project and Get Connected - Recent Strategy of LayerZero
➖ CoinGecko: Solana & Base Lead Interest in Chain-Specific Narratives in 2024
➖ Galaxy: Bitcoin L2s

Tokens & currencies
➖ Cointelegraph: Wrapped Bitcoin in DeFi: Evaluating wBTC, cbBTC and tBTC

Here’s a collection of excellent Telegram channels covering a diverse range of Web3 topics, from trading to research.I'm confident you'll find channels that deliver precisely the type of alpha you're looking for.

Be sure to follow ↓

? Web3 Telegrams

THE DAILY WEB3 GOLDMINE ?

• Must-read threads from CT
• Key data insights
• Cutting-edge research articles

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Why US spot Bitcoin options launch is such a big deal. Link.

Key insight: Bitcoin-ETF options open the door to the largest and deepest liquidity pools on the planet, allowing large market makers, institutional capital and retail investors to participate at scale.

Author: CoinTelegraph

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The Trump Bitcoin rally is slowing. Here’s what three experts say will drive the price next. Link.

Key insight: Analysts shift focus from Trump to the Fed after Bitcoin price hike. It may have to wait until the new year for new momentum.

Author: Liam Kelly | DL News

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Fed funds rate predicts unemployment by 1.5 years. Link.

Key insight: If we shift forward the interest rate hikes by about 18 months, they've typically been a reliable predictor of rising unemployment.

Author: Bravos Research

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Are memecoins truly a springboard for gains this bull run? Link.

Best for: Everyone who now feels FOMO on memecoins.

Author: Stacy Muur

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Token incentives through the lens of stock-based compensation. Link.

Key insight: All chains have expenses, and in many cases they exceed earnings by many times. In this realm, the data for Ethereum is not that bad.

Author: Michael Nadeau | The DeFi Report

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AI Agents: Research & Applications. Link.

Focus area: A structured overview of AI agents and their architectural foundations, focusing on components such as memory, perception, reasoning, and planning.

Author: Accelxr

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DeMystifying MEV in Sui. Link.

Focus area: This article attempts to understand how transactions are executed on Sui and how its MEV landscape is shaping up.

Author: Muhammad Yusuf

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Hyperliquid readies for TGE. Link.

Focus area: Impressive project performance and the team's plans for the future.

Author: tempest

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Winning in crypto: It’s all about attention. Link.

Key insight: Being first is an advantage, but it’s not everything. Execution, narrative, and timing are what truly make the difference.

Author: milian

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Why surging Memecoins are on the verge of a ‘supercycle’. Link.

Best for: Those who don't understand why memcoins can be of interest even to institutional investors.

Author: Osato Avan-Nomayo

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Pump Science combines DeSci with Memecoins. Link.

TL;DR: The platform allows users to launch and test “longevity experiments” of drugs and chemical compounds, which creates new fundraising mechanisms for drug developers.

Author: Squiffs

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Microsoft and Atom Computing will launch a commercial quantum computer in 2025. Link.

Focus area: Current state of affairs in quantum computing that potentially threaten the crypto industry.

Author: Frederic Lardinois | TechCrunch

? X (Twitter) | ? Telegram | ?Substack

ApeChain testnet launch positively impacted the ApeCoin ecosystem last quarter:

– Governance fund grew by 1,007.54%
– ApeChain revenue increased by 77.5%
– Circulating coin supply also rose by 6.84%

Get all ApeChain insights in Messari’s new report.

Why does Bitcoin hit new ATHs while Ethereum struggles?

Some thoughts ↓

First, it's the Ethereum scaling meta.

In 2021, the Ethereum meta included Ethereum alone.

Today, the Ethereum meta features dozens of L2s, each vying for liquidity and users. This competition results in fragmentation at all levels, including capital influxes.

Second, it's the DeFi meta.

In 2021, with a similar crypto market cap (close to $3T), the on-chain TVL was 40% higher than today's.

For context, Ethereum has 35% to go to reach an ATH.

Third, it's the influx of institutional capital.

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have shown one simple thing:
For investors, Bitcoin = Crypto.
Ethereum is a beta play, not the alpha play.

Ethereum = DeFi.
Bitcoin = Crypto.

Ethereum will begin outperforming Bitcoin when DeFi (or a new Ethereum-native narrative) becomes an alpha play once more.

Daily Dose of News: November 14, Thursday

General updates:

• FBI raided Polymarket CEO apartment as part of a DOJ investigation. Link.

• Sygnum's 2024 survey reveals 57% of institutional investors plan to increase crypto allocations amid the current bull run. Link.

Action required:

• Phantom warns iOS users of potential "app resets" after a recent update, urging them to back up their recovery phrases. Link.

Releases:

• Blackrock's BUIDL, the largest tokenized Treasury fund, is now available on Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, and Polygon. Link.

• OP_CAT could go live on Bitcoin within 12 months, enabling new functionalities like covenants, ZK-rollups, and L2 networks. Link.

• Solana-based NFT marketplace Tensor announced Vector.fun – a social trading app to rival pump.fun. Link.

• Bubblemaps has introduced new features to help users identify insider-controlled tokens and enhance market transparency. Link.

• Curve Finance has introduced a decentralized yield-bearing stablecoin "Savings-crvUSD" (scrvUSD) aimed at low-risk returns. Link.

Incentives:

• ZKsync's Token Assembly has approved the Ignite program, allocating 325M $ZK ($48.5M) to boost DeFi liquidity. Link.

• The mETH Protocol team has announced the upcoming launch of COOK Feast with an initial total reward pool of 200 cmETH. Link.

• The Aavegotchi team has announced the GOTCHI Play-to-Airdrop campaign, which begins on Nov. 21, 2024. Link.

Listings:

• Robinhood has announced the relisting of SOL, ADA, and XRP for U.S. customers, and the listing of PEPE. Link.

Fundraising:

• Ambrus Studio [gaming] has raised $10.00M in a Series A funding round. Link.

10 Demons of Web3 ↓

1️⃣ Low circulating supply & high FDV
2️⃣ High inflation tokens
3️⃣ Endless Galxe, Zealy, and points campaigns
4️⃣ Unfair airdrop distribution
5️⃣ Wash trading and market manipulation
6️⃣ Fake activity numbers
7️⃣ Insider token vesting of less than 1 year (team, VCs, advisors)
8️⃣ Founders blaming the community
9️⃣ Engagement farming and 1,000x threads
? Undisclosed KOL rounds

Anything else?