Binance Officially Enters NFT Lending Sector Via Ether Loans

Sygnum is expanding into new markets after raising $58 million in an oversubscribed strategic growth round, bringing its valuation to over $1 billion.

Global Expansion

The funds will help Sygnum grow its presence in the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Hong Kong, while developing Bitcoin-focused products and pursuing acquisitions. Fulgur Ventures, a key investor known for supporting Blockstream, was involved in the funding round, however Sygnum will maintain majority ownership.

Room For Improvement

The company saw its trading volume surge by over 1,000% in 2024, driven by partnerships with Swiss state-owned bank PostFinance and more than 20 other banks. Sygnum is also working with AsiaNext and Hidden Road to expand its 24/7 multi-asset settlement network, Sygnum Connect.

Despite its success, CEO Mathias Imbach expressed concern that Switzerland is losing its competitive edge as a crypto hub and emphasized the need for continued innovation. Founded in 2017, Sygnum holds licenses in Switzerland and Singapore and manages over $5 billion in client assets.

The ETF Store President, Nate Geraci, predicts 2025 will be a transformative year for crypto ETFs, with at least 50 new crypto-related ETFs launching.

These include covered call ETFs, Bitcoin-denominated equity ETFs, and Bitcoin bond ETFs. Geraci also expects Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs to surpass gold ETFs in asset size, signaling the growing prominence of digital assets in mainstream investments.

Paving The Way Forward

While Geraci anticipates approval for spot ETFs tied to SOL and XRP, regulatory challenges may delay their debut. Analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart believe Litecoin and Hedera have a better chance of SEC approval, as they are not classified as securities like Solana and XRP.

Concurrently, Ethereum (ETH) will have a much bigger role going forward, with Geraci predicting approval for spot Ether ETF options trading in 2025, providing new ways for investors to hedge or speculate. Additionally, both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are expected to adopt in-kind redemption processes to improve liquidity and efficiency.

The ETF Race Is On

The market will also see crypto index ETFs by Bitwise and Grayscale, broadening access to crypto-related investments. Geraci highlights the potential of the Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF, which he believes could quickly reach over $1 billion in assets.

Meanwhile, Vanguard, traditionally focused on equities and bonds, is also expected to enter the crypto ETF market, reflecting a wider trend of traditional firms embracing digital assets.

A proposed export restriction on AI chips by the outgoing Biden administration has sparked backlash by the tech industry, with concerns that it could stifle innovation and diminish U.S. leadership in the sector.

The restrictions will enter a 120-day comment period before being decided by the incoming Trump administration.

A Misguided Approach

On January 13th, the White House unveiled a plan that would impose caps and licensing restrictions on semiconductor sales to all but 18 allied nations. Nvidia criticized the framework as misguided, arguing it would hinder innovation and weaken overall competitiveness.

The proposal sets import caps of up to 50,000 semiconductors per country, with government-to-government deals potentially raising the cap to 100,000. Some institutions could purchase up to 320,000 microchips over two years, with small orders not requiring a license.

Mixed Reactions

Daniel Castro warned that pressuring nations to choose between the U.S. and China could alienate key allies. He also noted that foreign competitors could bypass the regulatory burdens faced by U.S. firms.

John Neuffer of the Semiconductor Industry Association expressed concern over the rushed policy, fearing it could harm U.S. economic and technological standing. On the other hand, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo supported the move, emphasizing that it would protect national security while maintaining technological leadership.

Charles Hoskinson has confirmed ongoing talks with Ripple about integrating the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin onto the Cardano blockchain.

Integration Details
Hoskinson revealed that his team is exploring the feasibility of adding RLUSD to Cardano (ADA), following past criticism over missed opportunities to adopt popular stablecoins like USDC.

The RLUSD stablecoin, launched last month, has already gained traction with listings on exchanges like Bitstamp and Bullish. Ripple President Monica Long has hinted at more exchange listings to come.

Community Reactions
The announcement has sparked excitement among both Cardano and Ripple communities, as stablecoins are crucial in DeFi, offering stability during market volatility. Integrating RLUSD could enhance Cardano significantly, attract new users, and increase competitiveness. However, the market response has been negative, with ADA dropping over 9% in the last 24 hours.

Regardless, Hoskinson praised the RLUSD team and stressed the importance of building a solid stablecoin ecosystem on Cardano, which already includes USDM and Djed. If successful, the RLUSD integration could strengthen Cardano while broadening its user base.

Meta shareholders have suggested allocating part of its $72 billion in cash reserves to Bitcoin (BTC), citing concerns over inflation, while MicroStrategy, led by co-founder Michael Saylor, has aggressively pursued Bitcoin despite mixed reactions by the financial community.

Long Term Viability

As of January 12th, MicroStrategy holds 447,470 BTC, valued at around $42.4 billion, following a recent purchase of 1,070 BTC. However, the company saw its stock fall by about 40% compared to its peak in November, reflecting broader market downturns.

Meanwhile, Saylor remains steadfast in his belief that Bitcoin can serve as a superior long-term store of value, urging other companies to adopt it as a treasury asset. While some view this strategy as viable, critics like finance professor David Krause warn that it could lead to significant losses for the company, even raising the possibility of bankruptcy if prices fall sharply.

21/21 Plan

Despite these concerns, Saylor launched the 21/21 plan to raise $42 billion for additional Bitcoin acquisitions through equity and debt offerings. This approach underscores a heavy reliance on both markets for liquidity.

As the company presses forward, its Bitcoin strategy could become a test case for corporate adoption of the flagship cryptocurrency, with the outcome shaping the future of corporate treasury management and raising questions about the risks of over-concentrating in a volatile asset.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a plan to integrate AI into the local infrastructure with substantial investments by several tech firms and the full implementation of a 50-point action plan.

Transforming The Economy

Announced on January 13th, the plan includes recommendations by Matt Clifford, chair of the U.K. Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), such as establishing AI Growth Zones to fast-track data center approvals.

Starmer highlighted that AI will transform the economy, and the strategy aims to ensure its benefits are felt nationwide. Key proposals include building a supercomputer capable of playing chess 500,000 times per second and creating a National Data Library for AI model training.

The Race Is On

The United Kingdom is trying to remain competitive in the global AI race, especially against the U.S. and China. Neighboring Ireland has paused new data centers due to energy concerns, prompting the U.K. to form an AI Energy Council to work with energy companies.

Many tech companies, including Vantage Data Centres and Microsoft, have pledged a combined $17 billion to build AI infrastructure. Starmer has called on all cabinet members to prioritize AI adoption, with the goal of spurring rapid progress.

The market is down again, but a new narrative is emerging, AI agents. This is a rapidly growing sector which is expected to reach a $200 billion market cap by 2030.

Crypto AI agents are autonomous, AI-powered systems designed to perform specific tasks within specific ecosystems. These agents use algorithms such as LLMs or ML models to analyze data, make decisions, and execute actions with minimal or no human intervention.

What To Look For

To find the next 100x opportunity, it is key to focus on AI agent platforms, which serve as launchpads for developers to create these agents.

Popular platforms include Virtuals on Ethereum and Base, ai16z and Griffain on Solana, and Sentient AI on Sui. To identify high-potential agents, go to the Prototype section, sort by Created At, and look for agents with strong utility, fast execution speed, and solid on-chain data.

Investing In Success

Unlike AI chatbots that follow human-made scripts, AI agents are completely independant, capable of analyzing data and making decisions to achieve set goals, like predicting crypto market trends. 

Successful agents often show quick bonding times, holder growth (at least 1,000 holders per $1M market cap), and consistent progress. Experts believe that by focusing on these traits, traders will be well-positioned to find valuable AI agents in 2025 and beyond.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has formed a head-and-shoulders pattern on its daily chart, signaling a potential bearish reversal.

Weak Market Momentum

The pattern consists of three peaks, with the middle peak, or head, being higher than the two shoulders, and the neckline acting as a key support level, currently around $0.00002100.

A drop below the key support level could trigger further declines, with an estimated price target around $0.00001750, aligning with the 200 EMA support. Despite some minor bullish attempts, low trading volumes and a neutral RSI suggest weak market momentum.

A Critical Week

Meanwhile, the SHIB community has seen a 300% increase in token burns, and large holders, or whales, control over 565 trillion SHIB tokens, adding uncertainty to the price outlook. Many investors may cash out their SHIB due to this uncertainty, as it all depends on how SHIB performs this week.

If SHIB remains above the neckline and regains upward momentum, it could target resistance at $0.00002250 and $0.00002500, but a break below the neckline could push the price lower. Traders should monitor the $0.00002100 level closely for any signs of a breakout or breakdown.

Ouro Medicines raised $120M in Series A Funding. Ouro Medicines is dedicated to developing immune reset therapeutics for people living with chronic immune-mediated diseases.

Numab Therapeutics AG secured $54.5M in Series C Funding. Numab is developing multi-specific antibody-based immunotherapies to treat inflammation and cancer related illnesses.

nsave acquired $18M in Series A Funding. nsave provides trusted accounts to people in countries with high inflation and stringent banking regulations. The nsave team has worked for Morgan Stanley, Revolut, BNY Melon, Robinhood, and Microsoft.

Windward Bio secured $200M in Series A Funding. Windward Bio is a clinical-stage, drug development company committed to improving outcomes for people living with advanced immunological diseases with an initial focus on severe respiratory conditions.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals obtained $350M in Debt Financing Funding. Nephron Pharmaceuticals provides patients reliable access to affordable, high-quality medications through their innovative approach to sterile manufacturing.

DDN raised $300M in Private Equity Funding. DDN is the leading data intelligence platform in the world that reliably accelerates massive data sets across AI and HPC workloads. 

Compass Pathways acquired $150M in Post-IPO Equity Funding. Compass Pathways is a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health.

Innovaccer secured $275M in Series F Funding. Innovaccer works with healthcare organizations to supercharge their existing software with true intelligence.

Oxford Cancer Analytics raised $11M in Series A Funding. Oxford Cancer Analytics Ltd (OXcan) is on a mission to enable curative cancer treatments through early detection. Its machine learning platform enables minimally invasive and inexpensive cancer screening in high risk populations through analyzing cancer materials shed into the blood.

Grand Games obtained $30M in Series A Funding. Based in Istanbul, Grand Games is dedicated to shaping the future of gaming by creating genre defining games played by millions worldwide.

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a turbulent end to the week, with its price initially dipping to around $91,000, followed by a sharp rise to $96,000 before stabilizing closer to the middle of that range. Meanwhile, altcoins continue to face challenges, with SOL, ADA, and AVAX all posting declines of around 4% on the day.

Maintaining Momentum
It was an eventful week for Bitcoin, marked by significant price fluctuations. The week began on a high note, as the recent MicroStrategy purchase propelled the flagship cryptocurrency above $100,000 for the first time this year, and it even surpassed $102,000 by Tuesday morning.

However, the momentum shifted, and BTC saw a steep drop later that day. By Wednesday, the price had fallen to $96,000, followed by a further decline on Thursday to $91,200, marking its lowest point in over a month.

At this juncture, the bulls stepped in and began pushing the price back up. Although volatility remained high with several ups and downs, BTC ultimately regained some ground, reaching $96,000 again. However, it struggled to maintain this level and has since dropped slightly, now trading at around $94,000.

Altcoins Struggle
The total market cap for Bitcoin has risen to just below $1.87 trillion according to CoinGecko, with its dominance over altcoins climbing to 54.5%. Altcoins are also facing downward pressure. Ethereum dropped below $3,200 on Thursday, and despite a brief recovery, it is now hovering near that level again after a 2.3% daily loss. XRP is one of the few altcoins showing small gains today.

However, the majority of altcoins are struggling, with SOL, ADA, SUI, AVAX, and LINK all experiencing losses of up to 4%. SOL has fallen below $190, and ADA is now priced just above $0.90. Additional losses are seen in OM, ICP, and RNDR among the larger-cap altcoins.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap has also weakened, dropping to $3.43 trillion on CoinGecko.

Other Markets

The first trading day of 2025 at the NYSE and NASDAQ saw the U.S. stock market facing several challenges as earnings season began. Gary Gensler warned against weakening safeguards for retail traders, while Chinese stocks struggled with their worst start to the year since 2016. Growing concerns over Payment-in-Kind debt attracted additional regulatory scrutiny.

Elsewhere, Mali will receive $1.2 billion through miners, while Enbridge plans a pipeline expansion amid a drilling boom. Gazprom continues oil operations in Serbia, and Denmark has a new thriving shipping terminal.

Dogecoin (DOGE) recently attempted a price recovery but hit a major obstacle, struggling to break above the 4-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA), which has acted as a strong resistance.

Despite initial signs of a rebound, DOGE failed to surpass this level, pointing to fragile bullish momentum and increasing bearish pressure, making the meme coin vulnerable.

Price Action And RSI Analysis

A move above the 4-hour SMA could signal a shift toward positive sentiment and higher resistance levels. However, continued rejection may intensify selling, pushing DOGE toward lower support.

The price movement for DOGE shows difficulty breaking through the 4-hour SMA, suggesting weakening upward momentum. The RSI remains below 50%, confirming bearish pressure. As long as the RSI stays under 50%, downward momentum may continue.

Support And Resistance Levels

DOGE is testing the $0.3066 support level. A drop below this could push the price toward $0.2677. On the upside, breaking the 4-hour SMA could lead to resistance at $0.3563, with further gains targeting the $0.40 zone.

As of the time of this writing, DOGE is trading around $0.34, according to CoinGecko.

The Trump administration is set to create the first-ever Senate crypto subcommittee, led by pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Senator Tim Scott, will establish this subcommittee, modeled after the House Financial Services Committee.

A Sensible Choice

Lummis, known for her support of cryptocurrency, is expected to chair, with members chosen soon. This move is a significant step in shaping U.S. crypto regulation, as the subcommittee aims to create clear regulations focusing on consumer protection and innovation.

Often praised for her expertise, Lummis is seen as the right leader for the job. Many crypto companies are backing the incoming administration, with firms like Circle and Ripple contributing millions to Trump and his new administration which also consists of notable names like Elon Musk.

Supporting Trump

Lummis has advocated for several pro-crypto policies, including the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. Her support is critical to Trump and what he aspires to accomplish during his second term in office.

With key appointments, including David Sacks as White House Crypto Czar, and potential changes at the U.S. SEC, the creation of the Senate subcommittee signals a promising future for the U.S. crypto landscape in 2025.