Jan 6, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly Highlight — Markets Snap Five-Day Loss Streak 

Investors are now seizing the opportunity to buy the dip in U.S. stocks after a five-day decline that erased over $1 trillion in market value. Wall Street has broken its longest losing streak since April, with the Nasdaq-100 rebounding 1.7% and the S&P 500 rising 1.3% on Friday, January 3. These gains slightly offset the week's sell-off, which had continued into the new year following a tough December.

Despite concerns about slowing earnings growth among tech giants like the Magnificent Seven, traders remain optimistic, especially regarding AI leader NVIDIA Corporation. The market believes that, as long as retail investors keep investing in AI, the associated stock market boom is expected to persist. 

Stocks reached their session highs in the afternoon after Mike Johnson was reelected as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, indicating potential support for a business-friendly agenda. Meanwhile, bond yields rose, with the 10-year hitting 4.6% following comments from Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin about maintaining restrictive rates. U.S. manufacturing showed modest growth, with new orders at their highest since early last year, while investors assessed economic strength against the possibility of slower interest-rate cuts.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — AI Agent Spring Coming

Many investors are eagerly anticipating an Alt Season, a period when altcoins typically surge in value. However, current market dynamics suggest we may not see a widespread altcoin rally. The sheer number of tokens, combined with limited liquidity, has led to what's known as altcoin dispersion, making it crucial to select the right sectors and tokens.

, which are thriving even as the broader market declines. This nascent sector is experiencing rapid advancements, and its associated tokens face less pressure from venture capital unlocks. Many of its top protocols lack centralized exchange listings, indicating more buyers may enter the market.

Those investors who missed previous opportunities, such as the DeFi summer of 2020 and the Alt Layer 1 trade, now have another chance. Instead of targeting individual AI agents, the best risk/reward strategy lies in investing in infrastructure plays, which serve as the foundational tools for the sector.

The leading AI agent player is Virtuals Protocol, a platform for launching tokenized AI agents on the Base network. By purchasing tokens like Luna by Virtuals (LUNA) and VaderAI (VADER), users gain governance rights over specific agents, which allows them to both influence development and share in profits. 

Recently, daily protocol fee revenues dropped significantly in mid-December 2024 as activity slowed for the holidays. However, speculation around agent-associated tokens surged as the new year approached. Currently, Virtuals Protocol generates over $1 million in daily fees, though this is 50% less than figures for early December. Despite these challenges, the VIRTUAL token has more than doubled in value, reaching a market capitalization of $4.6 billion.

Other highlighted opportunities include Zerebro, which is pivoting to a full-stack framework for AI agents; ARC, with its Rust-based framework; and 

 (GRIFFAIN), a natural language on-chain search tool. These projects are well-positioned for future growth in the evolving landscape of AI technology.

 as we delve into leading AI agent tokens and the past week’s market movements. 

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Market Snaps Five-Day Loss Streak; AI Agent Spring Coming

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events, the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

December's end-of-year options expiration brought an unexpected drop as realized volatility fell to the lowest levels of the month. Perpetual swap open interest remained stable, indicating these markets weren't heavily used for hedging against expired options, likely contributing to the muted volatility. 

While most expired open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hasn't been reinvested, the balance of calls and puts remains consistent. Notably, ETH options are pricing in higher implied volatility as compared to BTC, particularly for shorter expirations, leading to a flat term structure for ETH, while BTC is offering cheaper options exposure.

In the perpetual markets, low volatility and minimal spot movements have led funding rates for nearly all tokens to mirror broader market sentiment throughout the holiday season. On the options side, BTC's term structure is noticeably lower and steeper than ETH's, with realized volatility now dipping below implied volatility levels, highlighting an intriguing shift in market dynamics.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Open Interest Solid Amid Year-End Options Expiration

Although open interest for both BTC and ETH perpetual swaps hasn’t returned to early December 2024 highs, it remained robust throughout the significant end-of-year options expiration event. This suggests that these markets weren’t heavily utilized to 

 of the expiring options contracts, likely contributing to the lack of volatility observed during this period. Instead, trading volumes have dipped noticeably during the winter holiday season, coinciding with a collapse in realized volatility back to December 2024’s lowest levels.

BTC Option Curve Remains Steep During Call-Put Parity

The expiration of December's end-of-year options didn’t trigger the anticipated surge in volatility; instead, realized volatility has plummeted to the lower end of its recent range. The implied volatility term structure remains steep compared to both its recent behavior and ETH's, with longer-dated implied volatility around 57%, and 1-week at-the-money options trading about five points lower. Much of the expired open interest hasn’t yet been rolled into new positions, maintaining a neutral balance between puts and calls. Consequently, BTC's options market positioning is relatively neutral, lacking the leverage it had at the start of December 2024.

Huge ETH Option Expiring Doesn’t Cause Volatility

A late December spike in realized volatility didn’t carry into the new year, with ETH’s spot price currently exhibiting volatility below that of short-tenor implied volatility. Interestingly, the implied volatility term structure has undergone a steepening and re-flattening over the past week, contrasting with BTC’s slightly steeper profile. This suggests that ETH’s options market is anticipating higher short-term volatility in spot price movements. 

Despite the significant expiration of options open interest at the end of December 2024, which didn’t lead to a rollover into later expirations, call options continue to dominate the market and have increased at the start of 2025.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Jan 2, 2025): BTC Options Continue to See Call-Put Parity, With Lower Short-Term Volatility Expected

Dive into FLock, a decentralized platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform countless industries, but its development often raises questions about privacy, control and inclusivity. 

 is a unique decentralized platform that democratizes AI training, fine-tuning and inferencing. With its blockchain-powered infrastructure, FLock ensures transparency, security and community-driven decision-making, paving the way for AI models that align with established societal values. 

In this article, we’ll explore how FLock decentralizes AI training, its key features and its potential impact on developers, communities and users.

 platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed. By leveraging blockchain technology and a novel approach called 

, FLock addresses critical issues in AI development, such as centralized control, lack of transparency and privacy concerns.

At its core, FLock’s mission is to democratize AI by enabling communities to participate directly in the creation and refinement of AI models. Through federated learning, FLock trains AI models across multiple decentralized devices or servers. This method ensures that data remains local, eliminating the need for raw data exchange while still enabling robust model training. By decentralizing the training process, FLock not only protects individual privacy, but also fosters a more inclusive ecosystem in which diverse contributors can collaborate.

What sets FLock apart is its integration of 

. This ensures that all contributions — whether data, compute power or feedback — are transparently recorded and fairly rewarded. Blockchain tech’s immutable ledger enhances trust among participants and safeguards the process against manipulation. Additionally, the platform’s on-chain incentive mechanisms encourage participation from a wide range of contributors, ensuring that rewards are distributed equitably.

Ultimately, FLock empowers communities to develop bespoke AI models tailored to their specific needs. By decentralizing the process and prioritizing transparency and collaboration, FLock breaks the monopoly of large corporations, creating an AI ecosystem that aligns with public ethics and societal values.

, an Oxford alumnus with a robust background in AI and blockchain technology. Sun, who serves as FLock's CEO, has an impressive career trajectory, having worked as the Director of AI for the Royal Bank of Canada and as an AI Research Fellow at Imperial College London. His vision for FLock stems from a deep understanding of both the technical and ethical challenges of AI development.

The founding team also includes other Oxford alumni, boasting over a decade of combined experience in AI research and the cryptocurrency industry. This team brings a collective blend of academic excellence and practical expertise that positions FLock to lead the decentralized AI movement.

FLock has successfully raised $11 million in funding across two rounds, reflecting strong investor confidence in its vision. In May 2024, FLock secured a $6 million seed round co-led by Lightspeed Faction and Tagus Capital, with additional backing from Digital Currency Group (DCG), Volt Capital, OKX Ventures and Inception Capital.

Later, in December 2024, FLock announced a $3 million successful funding round led by DCG and joined by prominent names like Animoca Brands, Fenbushi Capital, GnosisVC and GSR. These investments are being channelled into enhancing the platform’s testnet and federated learning client, accelerating FLock’s mission of enabling secure, collaborative AI development.

With this funding and over 1,500 nodes contributing from platforms like Numerai and Kaggle, FLock is rapidly scaling its impact on decentralized AI training.

FLock AI revolutionizes AI development through its decentralized training framework. This approach allows participants to contribute to AI model training without ever sharing their personal data. Instead, models are trained locally across devices using federated learning, which ensures that data remains with its owners while still enhancing the accuracy of the model overall. 

FLock’s reward system is designed to incentivize active participation. Contributors who provide data, computational power and/or feedback are compensated with FLOCK tokens, ensuring a fair distribution of rewards. 

FLock empowers its community through a robust governance framework. Decisions regarding AI model development, deployment and ethical considerations are driven by the community, ensuring alignment with established societal values. Through blockchain-based voting mechanisms, contributors can influence the direction of AI projects, fostering transparency and public accountability. 

FLock’s modular architecture allows contributors to participate in specific aspects of AI model development. Whether providing raw data or computational power or even refining algorithms, the platform enables a collaborative and scalable development process. 

At the core of FLock’s philosophy is its commitment to privacy and security. By leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures that no single entity controls the AI development process. Data remains local and protected by cryptographic measures, while the immutability of blockchain guarantees transparency in every transaction and model update. 

 begins with a blockchain and an AI layer.

The blockchain layer underpins FLock’s incentivization and security mechanisms.

The AI layer facilitates model training, refinement and deployment, leveraging both centralized and federated approaches.

Let’s have a look at the supply and demand for the FLOCK token.

FLock adopts a 1:2 ratio model between team/investors (33.3%) and community (66.7%), prioritizing community-driven growth and ecosystem expansion. The majority of tokens are allocated to incentivize user participation and long-term ecosystem success.

FLock aims to improve the future of AI development by decentralizing the training process and ensuring transparency, privacy and inclusivity. By leveraging blockchain and federated learning, FLock empowers communities to contribute to AI creation without compromising on privacy. Its innovative reward system and community-driven governance foster a fair and collaborative ecosystem. 

With significant backing and a growing network of contributors, FLock is positioning itself as a leader in decentralized AI, offering a more ethical and secure alternative to traditional AI development models. As it continues to scale, FLock is set to transform the way AI models are built and deployed.

 — and earn a share of a 10 million FLOCK prize pool. For more details, visit 

Intermediate

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FLock AI: Decentralized AI Training

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how you can complete a series of tasks in Network3 for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade.

Task 1: Register for a Network3 Account and Connect Your Bybit Wallet 

: Navigate to the campaign page and click on the 

task. Click on the task, and Galxe will ask to redirect you to the Network3 register page.

: Register for a Network3 account using your email address. You may indicate a 

Task 2: Download the Network3 App and Run a Node for One Hour

 and choose your operating system to download the Network3 app.

 or powerbutton, depending upon which operating system you’re using. For ease of reference, we’ve used macOS and iOS as examples below.

: Keep running the node until the timer reaches 

Beginner

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How to Complete Network3 Tasks for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade

Bybit Learn

Crypto

Omega Network is a proof of networking social chain that focuses on creating a secure, high-performance and stable decentralized social platform.

, a cornerstone of the decentralized finance (

) landscape, is one of the most popular ways to earn crypto. It involves the use of computational resources to validate and record transactions on a blockchain. Traditional mining processes typically require high-powered computer systems and consume significant amounts of energy, leading to concerns about accessibility, sustainability and environmental impact. However, a new player in the field, Omega Network, is working to redefine this landscape by addressing these challenges. Read on to find out more about Omega Network and how it works.

 addresses the sustainability issue head-on by creating an energy-efficient mining process. The power consumed by smartphone-based mining is a fraction of that used in traditional mining operations, enabling a more environmentally friendly approach to cryptocurrency mining. This focus on sustainability aligns with global efforts to mitigate climate change and create a more responsible digital economy. 

Moreover, the Omega Network project has been engineered to be user friendly. Users can mine cryptocurrency right from their mobile devices, making the often complex world of cryptocurrency more accessible to everyday smartphone users. This easy-to-use interface, combined with the promise of earning cryptocurrency, will stimulate a more widespread adoption of cryptocurrency. Its design reflects an emphasis on inclusivity, bringing crypto mining capabilities to a broader audience without the need for specialized hardware.

In order to access Omega Network’s full suite of features, you’ll first have to download the Omega Network app on 

You can take on four different roles when you use Omega Network: Pioneer, Ambassador, Validator and Trainer. All roles reward you with OMN tokens, as long as you participate and contribute on the day itself. It's important to note that a user can assume more than one role. 

Users who are interested in mining and earning crypto are known as Pioneers. To activate mining, you’ll first have to launch the app and hit the 

button. The mining process refreshes every 24 hours. After activating, the app doesn't need to remain open; it continues to accrue OMN hourly. After a 24-hour period, this automatic accumulation halts until the 

 button is pressed again to initiate a fresh 24-hour session. It's also possible to use the app to execute a transaction, such as transferring OMN to another Pioneer.

An Ambassador brings in new users to the Omega Network through 

. They’re asked to identify five pioneers whom they can vouch for and trust. This activity helps build trust globally within the Omega Network. Forgotten accounts can be recovered by contacting five people within the security circle to send information to the 

. This security measure is anticipated to be implemented in Q4/2023.

Validators are users who not only function as pioneers and contributors via the Omega mobile app, but also operate the Omega node software on their personal computers. The software executes the core 

, incorporating trust graph information provided by the contributor. This feature is expected to be launched in Q4/2023, when Pioneer rewards are predicted to decrease.

Trainers are individuals well-versed in web3 who will become part of the Omega Web3 ecosystem. As leaders, they’ll guide their teams in discovering and leveraging NFTs. The implementation of the Trainer role is forthcoming, coinciding with the launch of Omega Web3.

With a self-sovereign identity management system integrated within Omega Network, users can maintain and manage their digital identities with utmost security. Omega Network leverages sophisticated encryption methods, such as 

), when it comes to safekeeping users' personal data. This, in turn, also facilitates smooth identity confirmation when necessary.

In the Omega Network community, members have the chance to express their creativity through the creation of content and to monetize it. This model encourages the creation and sharing of high-quality content. The network's unique tokenomics strategy is rooted in 

 and cryptographic algorithms, enabling a transparent and fair distribution of rewards which in turn promotes a dynamic environment for user-generated content.

In order to secure user data, Omega Network leverages decentralized data storage solutions, such as the InterPlanetary File System (

. These systems offer redundancy and fault tolerance, and they resist censorship, ensuring that users' data is always secure and accessible.

Omega Network offers its users the ability to control their content's privacy levels. This guarantees that personal data is shared strictly with intended recipients. Cutting-edge technologies (

) are employed by the network to enable users to use the platform without compromising their sensitive data. These technologies offer an efficient way to process transactions while prioritizing user privacy, achieving an optimal balance between performance and data security.

Ahead of the Omega Network mainnet debut, 

 has been initiated to promote user involvement and ensure a seamless transition to the mainnet. The testnet provides an opportunity for users to acquaint themselves with the platform's functionalities and actively contribute to its development. Users can engage in various activities, such as 

. These actions allow users to get a feel for the workings of Omega Network ahead of its full-scale launch.

 serves as an integral part of both project evolution and community engagement. It offers a crucial preparatory stage for users to explore the Omega Chain and the decentralized applications it supports before the official rollout of the mainnet. The campaign also aims to demystify the whitelist selection process that’s associated with the testnet event.

The criteria for whitelist selection are centered on user activity and engagement. To this end, the top 1,000 addresses (based on transaction numbers on the testnet) are selected for whitelisting, rewarding the most proactive community members who have interacted with the testnet and offered constructive feedback. If a user's address falls within the top 1,000 in terms of transaction count, they secure a spot on the 

, allowing them to participate in the public sale on the Ethereum network. 

 is set to be launched soon. Interested users can follow the platform’s 

 was first envisioned in 2022, leading to the swift establishment of its website and the beta version of the Omega Network app on the Google Play Store.

Q4/2023 was marked by notable advancements. The Omega Network app was officially launched on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. At the same time, the team rolled out its white paper, OMN mining operations, and Referral and Invite program. Social media channels were also set up to foster community engagement. In order to fund these developments, Omega Network successfully raised capital through a Seed Round that was held from Feb 22 to Mar 22, 2023.

Moving into Q2/2023, Omega Network took significant strides forward. A Private Round fundraiser was conducted, an initial DEX offering (

) initiated, and an internal Omega Wallet (along with a multi-chain blockchain wallet) was launched. Furthermore, the Omega testnet was set up, allowing users to experience features such as the blockchain explorer, DEX, cross-chain bridge and faucet firsthand.

Looking ahead, the Omega Network team plans to launch the public mainnet and list the OMN token on centralized exchanges (

). By the end of the year, the project is set to introduce a governance and voting system, launch the Omega NFT Market, develop an Omega decentralized ID system and enhance the functionalities of the Omega Wallet.

Lastly, in the following year the project aims to innovate further with plans to release Omega Metaverse, Omega LaunchPad and OmegaPay system. With this series of impressive developments lined up, Omega Network is emerging as a truly promising project in the crypto landscape.

OMN is the governance token of Omega Network. It provides users with voting rights and benefits within the ecosystem. There is a total supply of 970 million OMN tokens, distributed in the following allocation:

 model for its OMN token by burning up to 3% of the total supply quarterly. 

Looking to trade OMN tokens? Bybit will be offering the OMN/USDT Spot trading pair on Jun 16, 2023 at 10AM UTC. To get started, simply 

To celebrate this listing, Bybit is running a 

 from Jun 15–30, 2023, in which you can receive a share of the 350,000 OMN prize pool! You’ll need to accumulate a total deposit of at least 2,500 OMN in order to be eligible. Please note that rewards will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Bybit is also running a Buy to Earn campaign from Jun 16–30, 2023, in which you can receive up to 15,000 OMN of the 350,000 OMN prize pool simply by accumulating a net buy volume of at least 100 USDT worth of OMN on the Bybit Spot trading platform. The higher your net buy volume, the larger your cut of the prize pool.

Omega Network is recognized as the front-runner in mobile cryptocurrency mining. It shows strong potential as a high-growth crypto project, with a user-friendly platform that breaks down barriers, allowing cryptocurrency enthusiasts to mine and earn rewards irrespective of their location or time.

The platform's features — such as convenience, user-centrism and decentralization — make it well-positioned for widespread adoption within the crypto community. Furthermore, with plans to launch numerous innovative features, such as Omega Metaverse, Omega LaunchPad and OmegaPay system, the network continues to evolve, offering new opportunities for both users and investors. The project also intends to establish its public mainnet and to list the OMN token on centralized exchanges, both significant milestones in enhancing its visibility and access. 

However, it's important to remember that while Omega Network presents promising opportunities, cryptocurrencies inherently carry high volatility. Therefore, potential investors should exercise prudence and thoroughly consider their financial capacity and risk tolerance before investing their funds — and, as always, 

In conclusion, Omega Network is a transformative project in the cryptocurrency mining field. As the project evolves, it could redefine the landscape of cryptocurrency mining, making it a more inclusive and sustainable process.

Omega Network (OMN): Helming the Mobile Mining Industry

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards