🚀 Weekly Crypto Market Wrap: Jan 13, 2025

Market Overview

Bitcoin (BTC) made another push toward the $100K threshold at the start of the week but reversed sharply as stronger-than-anticipated macroeconomic data triggered a market-wide sell-off. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization shrank by over 5.25%, declining from $3.559 trillion to $3.372 trillion.

BTC recorded a 4.10% loss over the week, while Ethereum (ETH) fell more steeply by 6.46%. Long positions were hit hard, with liquidations totaling $1 billion over the last three days. Short positions remained relatively stable, averaging $100 million in daily liquidations during brief market rebounds. Funding rates across major cryptocurrencies continued their downward slide, approaching negative territory as bearish sentiment grew.

• The U.S. Department of Justice approved the sale of $6.5 billion in Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road case.
• Coinbase announced it received a subpoena from the CFTC regarding its investigation into Polymarket.
• MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, purchased an additional 1,070 BTC for $101 million at an average price of $94,004.

The Impact & Significance of This
The first full trading week of the year started with optimism but quickly turned bearish following the DOJ’s Bitcoin sale announcement and robust economic data. Bitcoin fell back into the low $90K range, with altcoins suffering steeper losses. Traditional markets mirrored this downturn, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.72% and the Nasdaq falling nearly 2.5%. Despite the broader market weakness, Bitcoin's dominance inched up by 0.77% to 58.09%. AI-driven tokens like Swarms (SWARMS), Freysa AI (FAI), and AIOZ Network (AIOZ) stood out, along with Sui (SUI) and DeepBook (BOOK).

This Week’s Narrative Plotline

Macroeconomic Data Disrupts Market Momentum

• JOLTs job openings and ISM Services data exceeded expectations, pushing anticipated rate cuts beyond July 2025 as bond yields climbed.
• An alternative outlook suggests a bullish 2025, driven by a crypto-supportive Trump presidency and the potential end of quantitative tightening.

The Impact & Significance of This
Investor optimism heading into 2025 was dampened by unexpectedly strong economic data. Hopes for early interest rate cuts faded as bond yields rose, causing investors to pivot away from riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. This shift in sentiment heightened market volatility, contributing to widespread declines across crypto and traditional markets.

Key Advancements & Projects

• Backpack Exchange, created by ex-FTX employees, acquired FTX EU and its MiFID II license, enabling expansion into European markets and reintroducing derivatives trading.
• StarkNet released SN Stack, offering modular zero-knowledge rollup solutions to support scalable dApp development.
• Berachain announced funding recipients from its Request for Applications (RFA) program, including Abracadabra Money, Beradrome, Curvance, and Jumper Exchange.
• Revolut partnered with the Pyth Network, becoming the first banking data provider to offer decentralized financial data.
• Injective passed the INJ 3.0 governance proposal, implementing token burns and staking incentives to reduce the circulating supply through Q1 2026.
• Solayer introduced InfiniSVM, a hardware-accelerated blockchain designed to scale Solana through yield-bearing assets like sSOL and sUSD.
• Phala Network pivoted from being a Polkadot parachain to becoming an Ethereum Layer 2 solution.

The Impact & Significance of This
These developments reflect strategic efforts to navigate regulatory environments and enhance scalability. Backpack Exchange’s acquisition strengthens its regulatory compliance in Europe. StarkNet and Solayer's technological innovations address critical scalability challenges. Phala Network’s shift to Ethereum Layer 2 signals rising interest in Ethereum’s evolving scaling solutions.

Highlights in the Ecosystem of DeFi

• Aave deployed on the Aptos testnet, marking its first expansion beyond Ethereum’s ecosystem.
• ZKSync launched Ignite, a liquidity mining program offering 100 million ZK tokens to liquidity providers.
• Usual Money plans to activate its fee switch after 50% of tokens are staked or by February 1st, distributing all protocol revenue to stakers.
• Frax Finance introduced the Frax Universal Interface (FUI), streamlining swaps, bridging, and earning opportunities.
• Elixir partnered with Securitize to give institutional investors DeFi exposure through tokenized funds.

The Impact & Significance of This
Aave’s expansion to Aptos reflects a growing trend of DeFi platforms diversifying beyond Ethereum. ZKSync’s liquidity program and Usual Money’s revenue-sharing model highlight the competitive drive to attract users. Frax’s new interface improves usability, and Elixir’s institutional partnership bridges traditional finance and DeFi.

Meme Coins

• Large Language Model (LLM), a community-driven meme coin, gained popularity by parodying ai16z’s Eliza mascot.
• ai16z developer Shaw criticized LLM but later supported a similar project called Fatcoin, increasing speculative interest.

The Impact & Significance of This
Meme coins continue to stir market activity through viral marketing and community engagement. Despite their speculative nature, these tokens drive significant trading volumes and highlight the dynamic behavior of crypto markets.

Investment Rounds

• JAN3, creators of the Aqua Bitcoin Wallet, raised $5 million in seed funding from Fulgur Ventures, Tether, and Lightning Ventures to expand Bitcoin infrastructure.
• SoSoValue, a crypto research and analytics platform, secured $15 million in a Series A round led by HongShan Capital Group and SmallSpark.
• ZKcandy, a gaming-focused Layer 2 on ZKSync, raised $4 million from investors like Wemix Network, Animoca Ventures, and Spartan Group.
• Rena Labs, a verifiable AI startup, raised $3.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Paper Ventures and supported by Lightspeed Faction and Eterna Capital.

The Impact & Significance of This
Robust fundraising reflects ongoing investor confidence in crypto infrastructure, DeFi, and gaming sectors. These investments will accelerate project development and ecosystem growth, demonstrating the market’s resilience despite volatility.

Airdrop Buzz

• Dolomite announced a DOLO token airdrop, allocating 20% of its supply to the community following Berachain’s mainnet launch.
• Nansen introduced a rewards system where users earn points through subscriptions and staking, with plans to distribute up to 1 billion points.
• Jupiter Exchange will release its airdrop eligibility checker in the upcoming week.
• Bubblemaps will reward active users of its V2 platform with an upcoming airdrop.
• Sonic SVM initiated a token airdrop, distributing 7% of its supply to early adopters and ecosystem participants.

The Impact & Significance of This
Airdrops remain an effective method for driving user engagement and adoption. Rewarding loyal users fosters community growth while encouraging participation in decentralized ecosystems.

Your Trusted Crypto Research Team,
Crypto Research Australia - CRA.
 "Consistency breeds credibility; stay steady in pursuit of excellence."  

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