CyberKongz, a reputable NFT platform, recently received a Wells notice by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On December 16th, CyberKongz revealed that the SEC does not believe the platform has the proper registration required to issue ERC-20 tokens. CyberKongz has been given 30 days to respond to the notice.

The Wrath Of The SEC

The concerns by the SEC are believed to center on the sale of Genesis Kongz NFTs in April 2021. However, CyberKongz clarified that this was a contract migration and not a primary sale. The platform emphasized that it has operated primarily on a self-funded basis, without raising capital, and has a small treasury, despite enduring scrutiny for over two years.

CyberKongz speculated that the actions taken by the regulatory agency may be part of a broader effort to slow the growth of the Web3 space. The team is hopeful that the situation will improve under newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, and it remains committed to advocating for NFT projects across all platforms.

Showing Resilience
Despite receiving the Wells notice, the CyberKongz NFT market has shown resilience. According to CoinGecko, the floor price for CyberKongz NFTs rose by over 19% in the last 24 hours, reaching an average of 8.59 ETH, or approximately $26,900.

This marks the second notable Wells notice served to a gaming and NFT firm in recent months, following a similar notice to Australian-based Immutable on November 1st. CyberKongz has also received backing by Axie Infinity co-founder Jihoz Zirlin, who believes the persecution of Web3 innovators will eventually end under the new Trump administration.

Bitcoin (BTC) has shattered the $106,000 mark, hitting a new all-time high (ATH) and continuing its upward trend. Although the price has dipped slightly to $104K, it has already recovered to touch $105K.

A Safe Haven

BTC has been steadily climbing for months. Although it had struggled last week when it dipped below $95K, the bulls managed to propel it to a new ATH. The $100,000 mark was the true test for Bitcoin, as there were multiple times when it reached this point in the last 7 days including on December 9th, 11th, and 13th. 

This rally also comes at a time when traditional financial markets are facing challenges, such as inflation and geopolitical instability. Bitcoin, often viewed as a safe haven asset in uncertain times, has drawn in both retail and institutional investors like BlackRock, Grayscale, and MicroStrategy.

The surge has also been linked to recent political developments, mainly Donald Trump once again becoming United States President and immediately replacing SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler with Paul Atkins. 

Alts Mostly In The Green

As Bitcoin continues to rise, many altcoins are also increasing. Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Binance Coin (BNB), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) are all in the green, as is most of the market. However, some such as Ripple (XRP), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar (XLM), and Hedera (HBAR) are among the few in the red.

The global market capitalization is now $3.88 trillion, up 0.61% in the last 24 hours and 133.05% in the previous year. As of today, Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, reflecting a 53.56% domination. Meanwhile, stablecoins have a cumulative market cap of $208 billion, accounting for 5.36% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.

A man posing as an Uber driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been arrested for allegedly stealing a total of $300,000 worth of cryptocurrency by scamming two unsuspecting passengers. The incidents reportedly occurred in March and October of this year.

How The Scam Unfolded

According to a December 12th report by Fox10 Phoenix, the Scottsdale Police Department identified the suspect as Nuruhussein Hussein. Authorities claim Hussein targeted victims outside the upscale W Hotel in Scottsdale, pretending to be the Uber driver they had ordered. To make his deception convincing, Hussein allegedly greeted the victims by their names, though investigators have not disclosed how he obtained this information.

Once inside the car, Hussein allegedly asked the passenger if he could use their phone, claiming his own was broken. In one case, he offered to troubleshoot the Uber app after the passenger questioned why it appeared their ride had not officially started.

Police say Hussein exploited the phones to transfer funds through their Coinbase accounts. He allegedly conducted crypto transfers between phones and then moved the stolen assets to cold storage wallets, ensuring they were untraceable.

Intimidation And Arrest

When one of the victims grew suspicious and demanded their phone back, Hussein reportedly threatened them, warning them to relax or something bad would happen to them. The Scottsdale Police Department, in collaboration with U.S. Secret Service agents, arrested Hussein on December 11th. He faces charges of theft, fraud, and money laundering.

Prosecutors successfully argued for a $200,000 secured cash bond, along with electronic monitoring if Hussein posts bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for December 18th, and investigations into the case are ongoing.

Offline Crypto Thefts On The Rise

The case highlights a concerning trend of offline crypto-related thefts. According to data provided by GitHub, there have been at least 19 such incidents across various countries in 2024 alone, compared to 17 in 2023 and 32 in 2021.

These crimes often involve direct confrontations or innovative schemes targeting crypto holders. A notable historical case occurred in 2014, when an unknown individual reportedly attempted to extort 1,000 BTC via Hal Finney, a pioneer in the crypto space. More recently, on December 3rd, a group of thieves in Melbourne, Australia, made headlines by ramming a vehicle through a shopping center to steal a Bitcoin ATM. The machine was later discovered in a park, pried open and set on fire.

A cryptocurrency trader has reportedly transformed a modest $27 investment in the Pepe meme coin into an astonishing $52 million profit. On December 14th, Lookonchain revealed that the anonymous trader, who had held onto the Pepe tokens for 600 days, transferred a massive 2.1 trillion PEPE tokens, worth around $52 million, to a new address. This move resulted in a monumental 1.9 million times return on their initial investment.

Meme Coins Soar

Despite their lack of intrinsic utility, meme coins like Pepe have generated massive profits for investors, with one individual turning $3,000 into $46 million earlier this year by trading Pepe, yielding a remarkable 15,700% return.

The meme coin market has shown impressive performance in 2024, with Pepe surging over 1,600% year-to-date, making it the second-best performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. It is only surpassed by the Solana-based meme token Dogwifhat, which is up 1,400%. However, the governance token Mantra (OM) has outperformed all meme coins, soaring over 16,600% this year.

Risky Business

While technical analysis often falls short when applied to meme coins, some traders believe there is still significant upside for Pepe. Some even speculate that Pepe could mirror the success of Dogecoin, positioning it as a dominant force in the current bull run.

Meme coins have quickly become a form of rebellion for disillusioned investors who feel that the opportunities their parents enjoyed are no longer available. However, it is important to note that trading meme coins remains highly volatile. During the $1.7 billion crypto market liquidation on December 10th, some of the top meme coins experienced significant declines, demonstrating the risks involved in such investments.

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed plans to establish a U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, Trump emphasized the need for the United States to stay ahead of nations like China and Russia, with the latter also reportedly considering implementing a Bitcoin reserve strategy of their own.

The plan aligns with the Bitcoin Act proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, which calls for the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to purchase 1 million BTC over five years, at an estimated cost of $100 billion. Current U.S. holdings of 200,000 confiscated BTC, valued at $20 billion, could serve as the foundation for this reserve.

Russia Enters The Race

Like the U.S., Russia is also considering a Bitcoin reserve strategy, with President Vladimir Putin praising the flagship cryptocurrency for its performance and viewing it as a way to counter economic restrictions, raising the specter of a crypto cold war. After enduring economic sanctions and seeing foreign currency reserves frozen, Putin believes Bitcoin could provide a means to bypass the global financial system dominated by the U.S. dollar.

Bitcoin Price Projections Soar

The growing adoption of Bitcoin by governments worldwide has fueled predictions of unprecedented price growth. Perianne Boring, founder of The Digital Chamber, forecasts Bitcoin could exceed $800,000 by 2025, while the stock-to-flow model of PlanB suggests peaks near $1 million.

Institutional players like BlackRock add further weight to this potential upward trajectory, recommending a 1-2% portfolio allocation. BlackRock estimates that even a 2% global reserve allocation to Bitcoin could push its price to $900,000. Despite the excitement, critics warn of heightened volatility and a possible correction soon.

Juicyway raised $3M in Pre-Seed Funding with help by P1 Ventures. Juicyway is a financial technology platform that specializes in streamlining global payments and cross-border financial operations for businesses and individuals. 

DexCheck AI secured an undisclosed amount with support by ChainGPT Labs. DexCheck is revolutionizing crypto trading through its unique, AI-boosted analytics platform. It offers real-time insights into crypto and NFT markets, making blockchain analysis intuitive and accessible even for beginners.

Yei Finance obtained $2M in Seed Funding with assistance by Manifold. Yei Finance is a decentralized, non-custodial money market protocol built on the Sei network. It enables users to deposit assets for passive income or borrow through overcollateralized or flash loans, adhering to strict risk parameters. 

Moonray PBC raised $1.75M in Undisclosed Funding with help by Animoca Brands. Moonray provides a unique gaming experience that allows players to venture into an intergalactic world.

Spectral Labs secured an undisclosed amount with support by STIX. Spectral focuses on creating an Agent Economy for Web3 as well as a Machine Intelligence Network to generate autonomous onchain agents.

Inveniam raised an undisclosed amount with assistance by G42. Inveniam is designed to streamline data management for private market assets by leveraging blockchain technology to enhance trust, liquidity, and interoperability.

SolStone acquired $2M in Pre-Seed Funding. SolStone is a bot for trading on Solana that has MEV protection and various trading features.

Uranium Digital obtained $1.70M in Pre-Seed Funding with help by Portal Ventures. Uranium Digital is transforming uranium trading through the first digital platform for instant spot trading, derivatives, physical settlement, and issuance.

Privasea AB raised an undisclosed amount in Strategic Funding with support by Lunar Labs Capital. Privasea is a decentralized AI network that leverages Fully Homomorphic Encryption Machine Learning (FHEML) for secure data circulation.

Superform Labs secured $3m IN Strategic Funding with help by VanEck. Superform is a DeFi protocol comprising non-upgradeable, non-custodial smart contracts that serve as a central repository for yield and a user router. It facilitates efficient discovery, execution, and management of yield across multiple blockchains.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw its price firmly stay above the significant $100,000 level, even surpassing $102,000 earlier this week. While most altcoins are showing slight declines, XRP and BNB have emerged as the top gainers. The market capitalization of BTC has also gone well past $2 trillion, with its dominance over altcoins slightly decreasing to 52.5%.

Seeking A New All-Time High
The beginning of the business week was challenging for Bitcoin, as its price dropped to around $94,400 on several occasions. However, it rebounded after reaching that support level the second time, climbing to $98,000 by Wednesday.

The upward momentum continued, with Bitcoin reclaiming the six-digit range by Thursday. Besides a few brief dips below that threshold, Bitcoin has largely remained above it. Moreover, the price surged to over $102,500 earlier today, marking a nine-day high. Though it has retraced slightly and is now just under $102,000, it remains up by 1.5% on the day.

XRP And BNB On The Rise
Most large-cap altcoins are experiencing modest gains today. Ethereum (ETH) has climbed back to $3,900 after a small 1% increase. Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have seen similar rises.

BNB has risen by 3% and is now trading above $725. XRP has notably outperformed the larger-cap coins, surging by 6%. It briefly reached $2.5 earlier today but has pulled back slightly. Other notable gainers include Chainlink, Stellar, and TRON. The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies remains above $3.8 trillion, following a 1% increase in the last 24 hours.

Other Markets

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is facing pivotal policy decisions with all eyes on the upcoming Jackson Hole meeting, while global central banks wrap up a year of easing marked by significant rate cuts.

Meanwhile, in China, major cities like Shanghai are easing rules for homebuyers, with the housing regulator reporting signs of stabilization in the market. At the same time, U.S. heirs are set to inherit a staggering $105 trillion, with investors in Asia focusing on the strong dollar and political risks related to Donald Trump as they prepare for 2025.

In environmental news, the Enbridge pipeline continues its cleanup efforts after an oil spill in Wisconsin. Zambia, dealing with its financial challenges, paid $82 million to China as part of a debt restructuring deal. The 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum saw the Russian billionaire forecast a reasonable exchange rate of 100-110 rubles to the dollar.

Lastly, as Trump returns to Washington, vital U.S. economic data faces threats, with federal agencies struggling under the pressure of shrinking budgets.

A JPMorgan Chase customer says he has been fighting for over a year to get his money back after $7,000 vanished via his account. Grant Holihan told CBS New York he believes his debit card was skimmed at an ATM in Queens. Shortly after using the machine, he got an alert by JPMorgan about a suspicious purchase in Las Vegas.

A Sad State Of Affairs

Holihan immediately closed the account, but that was not the end of it. He says scammers managed to make additional charges at multiple Giant supermarkets in Pennsylvania, draining his entire life savings in under an hour. In less than 60 minutes, scammers spent more than $7,000 at four different stores, Holihan said, before adding that it has already been over a year, and he still has not received any kind of reimbursement as the bank keeps denying his claim.

Holihan says he has evidence proving he was in New York when the fraudulent transactions occurred, but JPMorgan Chase insists the charges were legitimate. The claim was denied because the transactions were completed using the PIN number of the customer and was verified by phone, the bank said in a statement. Holihan, who feels abandoned by the bank, is asking Chase to step up and do the right thing.

Growing Concerns

This is not the first time that banks have let their customers down, and it is very much a global issue. It is also one of the main reasons why so many across the globe are actively shifting toward alternate means of saving up their hard-earned money, such as crypto.

In fact, many experts believe that is the rapidly growing popularity of crypto that so many banks are afraid of, as it would essentially render them obsolete, much like how social media rendered the post office completely irrelevant. Cases like Holihan are only increasing and unless banks step up and help out their customers, it could very well only be a matter of time before they have little to no customers left at all.

Google has unveiled Mariner, a cutting-edge AI agent powered by the Gemini 2.0 framework, setting the stage for a major leap in how we interact with technology. This advanced AI system is designed to handle tasks on your behalf by leveraging reasoning, planning, and memory.

Currently, Mariner is in limited release, with a broader rollout expected in 2025. Many are actively working to keep up with what Google is doing, with Quant.Bond recently launching their Terminal Simulation.

Hefty Ambitions

Jaclyn Konzelmann, project manager for Mariner, told the New York Times that users can now input requests directly into their web browser, and Mariner will take action autonomously. This development comes hot on the heels of the Gemini 2.0 release, which supercharges the ability of the model to perform complex reasoning, solve multi-step problems, and execute tasks with minimal human intervention.

The significance of this launch extends beyond what Google has planned for its AI ambitions. By integrating Mariner into the Chrome browser, Google positions itself at the forefront of the push to seamlessly embed AI agents into everyday life and business workflows, much like how cryptocurrencies and blockchain are slowly transforming the financial landscape.

As cryptocurrencies continue to shape decentralized finance (DeFi), AI agents like Mariner could play a similar role in revolutionizing industries by automating complex processes, increasing efficiency, and offering tailored solutions across various sectors such as crypto trading strategies to business intelligence.

Key Advances In Gemini 2.0 AI Agents
Gemini 2.0 represents a monumental shift compared to its predecessor, with a clear focus on agentic AI, systems that not only process data but can also reason, plan, and take action. Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the upgrade as a significant step forward.

While its earlier version emphasized handling multimodal data like text and images, the new Gemini 2.0 enables AI agents such as Mariner to tackle much more intricate tasks independently. For example, its Deep Research feature can scour the web, analyze data, and compile detailed reports, mimicking the work of an expert assistant, a powerful tool for industries like crypto, where fast, accurate data analysis is crucial for making investment decisions and predicting market trends.

El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, is joining forces with Argentina to develop digital asset regulations. This partnership is part of a broader strategy by El Salvador to collaborate with over 25 nations, sharing its expertise to help shape effective cryptocurrency regulations in Latin America.

Argentina President Javier Milei has backed the use of cryptocurrencies to combat inflation, making Argentina an ideal partner. Reyes praised the local high crypto adoption rate and innovative blockchain ecosystem, which are key reasons for the partnership.

Plenty Of Potential

On December 11th, Juan Carlos Reyes, President of the El Salvador National Commission of Digital Assets (NCDA), and Roberto Silva, President of the Argentinian National Securities Commission (CNV), signed an agreement aimed at fostering regulation and innovation in the digital asset sector.

Reyes highlighted the potential of the collaboration, noting that the forward-thinking blockchain industry in Argentina combined with the technological know-how of El Salvador would create a highly productive partnership. In fact, Argentina already has businesses operating in El Salvador, underscoring the practical benefits of this collaboration.

Global Expansion

The efforts by El Salvador extend beyond Argentina, with talks underway with over 25 countries to forge similar partnerships. Reyes emphasized the importance of international collaboration to advance crypto adoption and global regulation.

To facilitate these partnerships, El Salvador has assembled a 20-member team of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency experts to assist other nations in developing clear and effective regulations that can prevent fraud and money laundering in the sector.

Despite facing criticism for its bold Bitcoin initiatives, such as making the cryptocurrency legal tender, El Salvador has gained valuable experience, which it is now using to help other countries create solid regulatory frameworks. El Salvador is also nearing final agreements with two other countries as part of its broader strategy. Reyes believes that cross-border knowledge-sharing is crucial for ensuring a secure and effective environment for digital assets.

The Solana (SOL) ecosystem is facing controversy over Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) tactics, particularly Sandwich Attacks. A single Solana validator is reported to have extracted over $60 million through these attacks in one month, using the Solana blockchain to manipulate transactions and profit at the expense of users.

Substantial Losses

DeFi analyst 0xngmi noted that while the $60 million is the profit for the validator, user losses are even greater due to transaction priority fees, or validator bribes. The issue gained attention when Ben, a core developer of Temporal, revealed that the Arsc validator was using a sandwich attack bot to front-run transactions and increase MEV earnings.

This raised concerns about the centralization of MEV, threatening the decentralization aspect of Solana. Ben proposed solutions like whitelisting or blacklisting validators or using a public mempool, though these received criticism for potentially leading to censorship. Coinbase representative Viktor Bunin argued that improving DEX design and slippage parameters would be a better solution.

Transparency Issues

A sandwich attack works by malicious actors manipulating transaction orders, making users pay higher prices while attackers profit. The architecture of Solana, with its fast transaction processing and private mempools, makes it especially susceptible to such attacks. This has raised concerns over the transparency of REV (Real Economic Value) of Solana.

While some argue that sandwich attacks are a small portion of this REV, the majority comes via prioritizing transactions for faster processing. As the debate continues, users can protect themselves by using tools like Helius or choosing chains with built-in MEV protections like MultiversX (EGLD).

The 2024 Bitcoin bull market has spurred plenty of investor interest in meme coins, with traders seeking volatility and large profits. Celebrities have capitalized on this by launching their own tokens, but many face accusations of scams.

Despite poor track records, novice investors continue to fall for celebrity-endorsed tokens. Celebrities have previously promoted crypto projects for profit, and platforms like Pump.fun make it easy to launch meme coins with little utility. 

Celebrity Tokens That Failed

Andrew Tate is a controversial figure to say the least, and his $DADDY token is no different. It suffered the same pump-and-dump scheme that so many meme coins have experienced, with insiders profiting significantly. Investigations revealed significant early buys, raising concerns over fairness.

Jack Doherty is another celebrity with a failed meme coin project. He hyped his $MCLAREN token during a livestream, only to sell off his holdings and crash the price, leaving investors with heavy losses. No legal action has been taken yet. In the music industry, Sean Kingston launched his $KING token which crashed shortly afterward, and he was later arrested for fraud and theft.

Caitlyn Jenner and Jason Derulo both launched meme coins with Sahil Arora, leading to pump-and-dump accusations. Jenner is facing a lawsuit for allegedly soliciting unregistered securities.

The Dangers Of Trusting Celebrities

While celebrities may drive attention to crypto projects, their involvement does not guarantee legitimacy, with savvy investors often seeing celebrity endorsements as a red flag. Investing in a celebrity-endorsed meme coin is therefore risky because celebrities often lack expertise in crypto, with many not even knowing the ins and outs of what they are promoting in the first place.

The aforementioned celebrity-endorsed meme coins are not only highly speculative, prone to pump-and-dump schemes, but they are also just a drop in the vast ocean of such meme coins which many believe are just pump-and-dump schemes waiting to happen. Once the hype fades, many investors are left holding the proverbial bag.