Gate Research Institute: BTCSpot ETF surpasses gold in scale, Ethena TVL hits a new all-time high

Summary

• The price of BTC rose by 0.08% in the past 24 hours, while the price of ETH fell by 2.33% in the past 24 hours.
• Ethena TVL exceeds 60 billion USD, reaching a historical high.
• Ohio proposes a Bitcoin reserve bill, suggesting the state government establish a Bitcoin reserve fund.
• The size of the American Bitcoin spot ETF has surpassed its gold ETF.
• TON Foundation collaborates with EVAA Protocol to launch DeFi incentive plan, with 100,000 TON tokens boosting ecosystem growth.
• gate launches the Hunt Coin Plan #1 event, trading VANA, MOCA and other hot coins to win $15,000.

Market Review

According to Gate.io market data, as of December 18, 4:00 (UTC+0) [1]:

• BTC - BTC price rose by 0.08% in the past 24 hours, currently priced at $106,131.4, with the highest price in the past 24 hours reaching $108,341.7 and the lowest price at $99,696.3. After reaching a new historical high during the overnight US session, it quickly retraced, showing a correlation with the decline in US stocks. There is currently no significant resistance above the recent high, and it is currently experiencing a retracement. In the short term, pay attention to the support and resistance at the Monday low of $103,353.4 and the important support level at the weekend low of $100,610. It is likely to maintain a bullish trend unless it breaks below these two support levels. However, if it breaks below the two support levels, it may lead to a significant retracement. [2]

• ETH —— The price of ETH has fallen by 2.33% in the past 24 hours, with the current price at $3,985.94. The highest price in the past 24 hours was $4,105.47, and the lowest price was $3,861.94. After reaching a three-year high in the previous trading day, ETH quickly pulled back. This area also serves as a resistance zone for the high point in March this year. If it continues to be under pressure in this area, it may seek support downwards. The short-term support below is near the weekend’s low point of $3,825.67. If it falls below that, it will test support near $3,500. In the future, if it can stabilize above the yearly high of $4,100, it is expected to test the historical high of $4,866. [3]

• ETF - According to SoSoValue data, the total net inflow of US Bitcoin spot ETF in the past 24 hours is $493 million【4】, and the total net inflow of US Ethereum spot ETF is $144 million【5】.
• Shanzhai Coin - According to Gate.io data, ZkSync Ecosystem, Solana Ecosystem, DeFi and other sectors rose by 0.35%, -0.87%, -2.47% respectively. [6]
• US stock three major indexes - the S&P 500 index fell by 0.39%, the Nasdaq index fell by 0.32%, and the Dow Jones index fell by 0.61%.【7】
• Spot Gold - The spot gold price is at $2,647 per ounce, up 0.02% on the day.【8】
• Fear and Greed Index - The Fear and Greed Index dropped from 87 to 81 yesterday, indicating that the market is still in an extreme greed state, but the greedy sentiment has fallen slightly. [9]

Popular Tokens

According to the market data from gate.io [10], combined with the trading volume and price performance in the past 24 hours, the popular altcoins are as follows:

PATRIOT (PATRIOT) - Daily increase of approximately 94.3%, with a market capitalization of $51.86 million The community trustee is building a massive bronze statue to commemorate the courage and determination Donald Trump showed after the failed assassination attempt. This 17-foot statue not only symbolizes Trump’s resilience, but also attracts widespread public attention. [11]

The recent price increase of PATRIOT may be related to President Trump’s retweet of the project’s news. This move significantly boosted community enthusiasm and participation, further driving token demand and market attention.

MEMESAI (Memes AI) - Daily increase of about 50.1%, with a market capitalization of 9,732 million US dollars MemesAI is a meme creation platform that combines artificial intelligence with blockchain technology, providing users with a new space for creative expression. AI-driven intelligent creation tools allow users to easily generate various interesting memes, while blockchain technology ensures decentralized and tamper-proof creation.【12】

Memes AI is essentially an interactive platform that combines AI-driven meme generation and a powerful NFT market, making its community highly active with continuous discussions in both Chinese and English communities. The platform is represented by an octopus-shaped AI robot, similar to the ‘terminal of truths’, and is also one of the early explorers in this wave of AI frenzy. With the expansion of AI technology applications, strong community engagement may drive token prices up.

PENGU (Pudgy Penguins) - a single-day decline of about 21.35%, with a market capitalization of 1.835 billion US dollars PENGU is the official token of Pudgy Penguins. Pudgy Penguins has one of the most influential communities in the industry. From the adoption of the penguin image by large companies to the widespread dissemination of ETF advertisements, Pudgy has become a cultural phenomenon. As the exclusive token of the Pudgy Penguins community, PENGU provides the growing fan base with opportunities to participate in community governance, share creations, and enjoy exclusive benefits. PENGU represents community, creativity, and a positive atmosphere.【13】

PENGU was listed for trading on multiple platforms yesterday, and the airdrop application was launched. As one of the hottest projects recently, after the initial launch of PENGU, it faced selling pressure from the airdrop benefits, and the price showed a trend of rising and falling.

Highlights Data

Ethena TVL breaks through $6 billion, reaching a new all-time high Ethena is an Ethereum-based synthetic dollar protocol that mints a stablecoin called USDe pegged to the US dollar by collateralizing ETH or its derivatives. Ethena ensures the stability of the USDe price through the use of Delta hedging mechanism and enables high composability in the DeFi ecosystem. In addition, Ethena has launched ‘Internet Bonds’, which combines Ethereum, on-chain custody, and centralized liquidity, providing users with a savings method that does not rely on traditional financial institutions.

Currently, the total locked value (TVL) of Ethena has exceeded 6 billion US dollars, reaching a historical high. Among them, the supply of USDe is 5.933 billion, and the supply of USDtb is 70.42 million. In just a few months, the scale of USDe has expanded to 6 billion US dollars, making it one of the fastest-growing stablecoins in history. This growth rate demonstrates the market’s recognition of Ethena and its strong growth potential, which could expand the scale of USDe to hundreds of billions of dollars.

The number of PENGU token holders has exceeded 368,000 The number of token holders of Pudgy Penguins has exceeded 383,000. In less than three hours after the PENGU token was launched, the number of holders exceeded 191,000, growing rapidly. [15]

After the Pudgy Penguins airdrop opened, 657,000 wallets have claimed 13.8 billion PENGU airdrops, accounting for 33.6% of the total airdrop amount, with 26.9 billion PENGU still waiting to be claimed. On average, each claiming wallet can receive 20,800 PENGU. The on-chain transaction volume of PENGU exceeded 1 billion USD in less than 12 hours, with Raydium platform accounting for over 50% of the trading volume.

Ethereum whale holdings hit a record high, accounting for as much as 57.35% According to Santiment data, currently 104 whale wallets hold over 100,000 Ethereum, reaching a historical high. These wallets collectively account for 57.35% of the total ETH supply, worth approximately $331 billion. At the same time, the proportion of medium-sized wallets holding 100 to 100,000 ETH has dropped to a historic low of 33.46%, and wallets holding less than 100 ETH have also remained at a 4-year low of 9.19%.

This centralized holding structure highlights the increasing influence of a few large investors on the Ethereum market. As the proportion of holdings in medium and small wallets continues to shrink, the diversity of market participants significantly decreases. This centralized market situation may lead to increased market volatility and even trigger market manipulation risks. However, the continuous increase in holdings by whales also indirectly reflects their optimism about the long-term value of Ethereum, which may be seen as a bullish signal.

Hotspot Review

Ohio proposes Bitcoin Reserve Act, suggesting the state government establish a Bitcoin Reserve Fund The Ohio House of Representatives recently proposed a bill to include Bitcoin in the state’s financial reserves. This is the third state in the United States to propose a similar bill after Texas and Pennsylvania. The bill, submitted by Republican leader Derek Merrin on December 17th, aims to authorize state financial officials to purchase Bitcoin within the appropriate asset allocation range. The proposal emphasizes that as an emerging digital asset, Bitcoin has the potential to resist inflation and can help Ohio protect tax funds. However, due to the end of the current session, the bill’s deliberations will be postponed to the next session.

Against the backdrop of increasing global economic uncertainty, more and more states are putting the discussion of including Bitcoin in their financial reserves on the agenda, such as the recent strategic reserve plan proposed by Texas and Pennsylvania’s allowance of allocating 10% of assets to Bitcoin. These bills reflect the recognition of the long-term value of cryptocurrency in some regions, while also presenting complexities in policy-making and asset management. Although the proposal in Ohio carries significant symbolic significance, the subsequent legislative process still faces challenges. For the cryptocurrency market, such measures may further promote the mainstreaming of Bitcoin and its application in the public domain, but also need to guard against the impact of policy risks on the market. [17]

The scale of the US Bitcoin spot ETF has surpassed its gold ETF. In the United States, the managed assets of Bitcoin ETFs have reached $129.3 billion, surpassing the previously leading Gold ETFs ($128.9 billion). Despite having a 20-year development history, the rapid growth of Bitcoin ETFs has enabled them to successfully overtake Gold ETFs. Nate, the President of The ETF Store, predicts that in the long term, the size of the spot Bitcoin ETFs is expected to be three times that of Gold ETFs.

The counterattack of the American Bitcoin spot ETF’s asset under management marks the official challenge of crypto assets to the traditional financial market. In just 11 months, the asset under management of Bitcoin ETF has surpassed $129 billion, surpassing the gold ETF that has been deeply cultivating the market for many years, and Bitcoin is gradually becoming the new favorite in investors’ asset allocation, with the potential to replace gold and become the new safe-haven asset.

TON Foundation Joins EVAA Protocol to Launch DeFi Incentive Plan, 100,000 TON Tokens Boost Ecosystem Growth TON Foundation and EVAA Protocol have jointly launched a DeFi incentive program, offering a reward of 100,000 TON tokens (approximately $4.2 million) to attract users to participate and promote the development of the TON ecosystem. The program consists of two phases: the first phase encourages users to borrow USDT through the EVAA main pool and obtain rewards by using TON and other assets as collateral; the second phase focuses on attracting more users to participate in liquidity provision. In order to further expand the ecological impact, EVAA has established partnerships with multiple TON ecological projects to jointly build an interconnected network, providing stable and reliable liquidity support for the TON ecosystem.

This plan not only demonstrates the potential of the TON ecosystem in the DeFi field, but also highlights the core competitiveness of EVAA in promoting ecosystem development. However, the success of the plan ultimately depends on the depth and sustainability of user participation. With the incentive of up to 100,000 TON tokens, combined with EVAA’s previous technical reputation and community education established through QuantStamp audits, the plan is expected to lay the foundation for a more comprehensive incentive strategy in the future. With the official launch of the plan this week, it is expected to bring positive and far-reaching impacts to the TON DeFi ecosystem.

Gate launches the Hunter Coin Plan #1 campaign, trade hot coins like VANA, MOCA to win $15,000 gate has now launched the Hunting Coin Plan #1 campaign. During the campaign (December 17-31, 2024), users participating in contract trading of designated popular currencies can share a $15,000 reward.

The designated contract trading currencies for the event include: LINK, AAVE, ENA, ONDO, COW, OM, PENDLE, SUI, BLUE, MONKY, ZEREBRO, MOCA, LINGO, VANA; as well as newly listed trading currencies: MOCA, BLUE, MONKY, ZEREBRO, VANA, LINGO; in order to encourage user participation, the trading volume of the newly listed trading currencies will be doubled. [20]

Financing Information

According to RootData, in the past 24 hours, a total of 5 projects publicly announced financing, with the highest amount of financing being 50 million US dollars, and a total financing exceeding 74.5 million US dollars, involving CeFi, payments, and creator economy sectors. Here are the top three financing scales: [21]

BVNK —— BVNK completed a $50 million Series B financing, with a valuation of $7.5 billion, led by Haun Ventures and participated by Coinbase Ventures, etc. BVNK provides banking services and payments for crypto-native businesses. Companies using BVNK can accept payments in fiat and cryptocurrency, hold hundreds of different currencies and crypto assets, and send funds worldwide.【22】

Prometheum - The encrypted securities platform Prometheum has completed a $20 million financing round, with the investment institution yet to be disclosed. Currently, Prometheum has raised a total of approximately $64.3 million. Prometheum is a blockchain-focused company committed to building an end-to-end ecosystem for the trading, custody, and settlement of digital asset securities. [23]

Promeet - Promeet completed a $3.1 million pre-seed financing, and the amount and investors of the financing have not been disclosed. With the new funds, Promeet plans to expand its team, enhance platform functionality, and grow its user base. Promeet is a content monetization platform that allows creators, professionals, and influencers to control their income streams, offering various ways to attract and profit from audiences through live streaming and recorded video content. [24]

Airdrop Opportunity

Reddio

Reddio is an Ethereum-compatible high-performance hardware Layer 2 network. It uses parallel execution and GPU acceleration technology to enhance the throughput and computational efficiency of the blockchain network. It is committed to improving performance through parallel EVM architecture and its testnet has achieved 13,000 TPS, demonstrating strong technical potential. As an important supplement to the Ethereum ecosystem, Reddio aims to provide efficient and low-cost on-chain transaction services and has received investment from well-known institution Paradigm. The official statement indicates that it will be the first parallel EVM project to launch its own token and plans to release the token after Series A financing.

Participation Method:

1. Log in to the Reddio website, connect your wallet, and authorize Twitter. [26]
2. Complete social tasks, daily check-in, retweet on Twitter, join the official DC.
3. Complete the staking task, currently staking 1 ETH can generate 100 staking points per day.
4. Visit the test network to claim the faucet and get test coins.【27】
5. Test the function and interact to familiarize yourself with the platform operation in advance.
6. Pay attention to the official announcements and keep an eye on the task updates at all times.

Note: Airdrop plans and participation methods may be updated at any time. Users are advised to follow Perena’s official channels for the latest information. At the same time, users should participate cautiously, be aware of risks, and conduct sufficient research before participating. gate Research does not guarantee subsequent airdrop rewards distribution.
Reference:

1. Gate.io,
2. Gate.io,
3. Gate.io,
4. SoSoValue,
5. SoSoValue,
6. gate.io,
7. Investing,
8. Investing,
9. Gate.io,
10. gate.io,
11. Truthsocial,
12. Gate.io,
13. Gate.io,
14. Defillama,
15. Solscan,
16. Santiment,
17. X,
18. X,
19. Ton,
20. Gate.io,
21. Rootdata,
22. Fortune,
23. axio,
24. Decrypt,
25. X,
26. Reddio,
27. Reddio testnet,

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