Jan 20, 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.

 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 — Cooling CPI Relieves Market

Recent data indicated a stagnation or potential reversal in inflation progress, with a key measure of underlying price hikes — the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) — remaining unchanged for months. However, this trend shifted on Wednesday, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a slowdown in the core CPI for the first time in months.

The CPI, which tracks price changes for commonly purchased goods and services, showed an overall increase of 0.4% from November 2024, lifting the annual rate to 2.9%. This rise was primarily driven by surging gas and food prices, with energy costs alone contributing to 40% of the monthly increase. Food prices also remained high, impacted by weather conditions and disease affecting key staples like meat and eggs.

Excluding volatility for food and energy prices, the core CPI only rose 0.2% from November, easing to 3.2% after being stuck at 3.3% since September 2024. Market reactions were positive, as traders hoped the Federal Reserve would continue its rate-cutting campaign.

While inflation has slowed since peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, the journey back to normalcy has been bumpy. Everyday item prices are now 21% higher than in 2021, straining household budgets, particularly for lower-income Americans. Though wages have risen faster than inflation over the past 20 months, they still lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

This latest CPI report, the last before President Biden transitions power to president-elect Trump, underscores the ongoing challenges in managing inflation, particularly for essential goods and services.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — Crypto Cases Drop Before Trump’s Inauguration

Digital Currency Group and its subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital, reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, indicative of a broader trend among cryptocurrency firms resolving regulatory issues as the Biden administration approaches its conclusion. Over the past week, multiple U.S. regulatory agencies — including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Justice Department and the SEC — have announced various settlements and charges across at least six cases involving digital assets, signaling a renewed focus on enforcement as the administration winds down.

During Biden's term, more than 100 enforcement actions were filed against crypto companies, reflecting heightened scrutiny of the industry. However, with president-elect Donald Trump set to take office, there’s an expectation of a paradigm shift in regulatory approaches. Trump, once a critic of cryptocurrencies, has appointed crypto-friendly officials to key positions and intends to prioritize legislation that supports the industry.

For many crypto firms, settling with regulators is seen as a strategic move. Legal experts note that such settlements allow these companies to close contentious chapters and redirect their efforts in a potentially more favorable regulatory environment. Jonathan Groth, a partner at DGIM Law, commented on the implications of the incoming administration, suggesting that support for extensive enforcement actions may diminish.

Recent high-profile cases include a $5 million fine against Gemini for regulatory violations and a $100 million penalty for BitMEX due to failures in 

 measures. Additional actions have targeted fraudulent schemes, and individuals involved in illegal cryptocurrency activities. As the regulatory landscape shifts, firms settling with agencies may be positioning themselves for a fresh start under a more accommodating regime.

Advanced

20 Jan Weekly Newsletter.png

Weekly Institutional Insights: Cooling CPI Relieves Market; Bitcoin Regains $100K Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

Dive into HeyAnon, an innovative protocol launched by experienced DeFi builder Daniele Sesta, and merging DeFi interactions with AI agents.

 (DeFi) protocol designed to simplify DeFi interactions. By integrating conversational artificial intelligence (AI) with real-time data aggregation, HeyAnon empowers users to manage DeFi operations seamlessly. From 

 to tracking project updates and analyzing trends, HeyAnon combines natural language processing and actionable insights to redefine the DeFi user experience.

This article explores the emergence of DeFAI (DeFi + AI), HeyAnon’s groundbreaking features and its role in shaping the future of DeFi.

DeFAI is the birth child of DeFi and AI. It represents a groundbreaking evolution in blockchain technology, whereby AI agents are integrated into DeFi. This emerging sector goes beyond traditional AI applications, focusing on automating on-chain activities through autonomous trading agents, abstraction layers and AI-driven DApps.

The term gained traction during the rise of the AI agent meta, beginning with projects like 

 (GOAT), an innovation born from Andy Ayrey’s Truth Terminal experiment. 

This movement has spurred the creation of numerous AI agents and frameworks, eventually pushing the AI agent market to a peak 

 (as of Jan 15, 2025). Despite its overlap with AI agent concepts, DeFAI has carved out a distinct niche valued at $1 billion, emphasizing deeper blockchain integration. 

Unlike early AI agents, which primarily operated as bots posting on social media with limited on-chain utility, DeFAI agents can participate in blockchain activities. This shift indicates the prioritization of tangible applications, such as automated trading, staking and 

 is an AI agent network built to simplify DeFi interactions while providing users with unparalleled access to real-time information. By combining conversational AI with robust data aggregation capabilities, HeyAnon creates a seamless interface for managing DeFi operations.

Designed with user experience in mind, HeyAnon leverages natural language processing (NLP) to allow users to execute complex DeFi tasks through simple conversations. From automating bridging, swapping, staking and borrowing to monitoring market trends, HeyAnon streamlines operations that typically require advanced technical knowledge.

HeyAnon’s strength lies in its ability to aggregate data from diverse sources, such as X (Twitter), Telegram, Discord, GitHub and GitBook. It provides insights into project updates, community sentiment, development activity and price fluctuations, enabling users to make informed decisions with ease.

Essentially, HeyAnon aims to bridge the gap between technical complexity and user accessibility, improving the way we experience DeFi.

, a renowned figure in DeFi and the crypto market. Sesta is widely recognized for his past projects, including Wonderland (TIME), a decentralized reserve currency protocol that made waves during the DeFi 2.0 era.

HeyAnon empowers users to streamline their DeFi experience with the following features, while remaining informed, efficient and in control.

By leveraging advanced natural language processing (NLP), HeyAnon enables conversational interactions for managing DeFi operations. Users can perform tasks such as staking, swapping tokens or borrowing simply by engaging in a natural conversation with the platform. This intuitive interface eliminates the steep learning curve often associated with DeFi, making it accessible to both newcomers and seasoned users.

HeyAnon excels at consolidating real-time data from diverse sources, including X (Twitter), Telegram, Discord, GitHub and GitBook. By aggregating project updates, community sentiment, development activity and market data, HeyAnon provides users with actionable insights at a glance. For instance, it can monitor GitHub commits or X (Twitter) sentiment to keep users informed about a project’s health and progress.

Automation lies at the core of HeyAnon’s utility, simplifying the following complex DeFi tasks.

, in which several innovative projects are also making their mark. Following is an overview of some key players.

 is a prominent competitor that focuses on leveraging AI to simplify on-chain interactions.

 specializes in providing crypto market intelligence and automating the process of tracking market trends and interpreting data. 

 is an AI agent that aims to transform the way users interact with DeFi. It’s developed by 

, a company that builds infrastructure merging AI and blockchain capabilities. Orbit is available on over 100 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, and across thousands of DeFi protocols.

The ANON token is central to HeyAnon’s ecosystem, serving governance, community benefits and treasury purposes. As the governance token for the Anon DAO, ANON grants holders voting rights to shape HeyAnon’s development, influence agent skills and determine platform features. Holders enjoy free and/or discounted AI agent services, and can actively participate in shaping the project's road map and priorities.

, ensuring transparent fund use within the DAO’s treasury. Further details can be found in 

HeyAnon is one of the most promising projects in the emerging DeFAI market, combining advanced AI capabilities with actual utility. Its innovative features — automation, cross-chain interactions and data aggregation — could position it as a leader in DeFi and AI innovation.

With a strong team and an experienced DeFi founder in Daniele Sesta, HeyAnon’s road map is set to drive community-led development and enhanced DeFi solutions.

Intermediate

heyanon.png

HeyAnon (ANON): Daniele Sesta’s New DeFAI Platform

Swiss bank PostFinance has partnered with Sygnum to launch Ethereum staking, allowing customers to earn passive income via Ethereum blockchain integration into its e-finance platform.

Daily Top Performer — Morpho Protocol (MORPHO)

The S&P 500 dropped 0.21%, ending a three-day rise, with tech losses offset by gains in utilities, real estate, and industrials. Gold prices rose above $2,700, driven by weak US retail sales, rising jobless claims, and dovish comments from Fed Governor Waller, which fueled expectations of rate cuts. Falling bond yields further supported the uptrend, with gold targeting $2,750. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.10%, with Bitcoin rising by 0.69% and Ether dropping by 3.34%, in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is MORPHO, which surged nearly 37.1% following the launch of Coinbase's seamless crypto-backed loans powered by Morpho infrastructure.

Morpho Protocol (MORPHO), founded in 2021, is a decentralized Ethereum-based lending platform with a P2P order matching system. It offers customizable markets and Morpho Vaults for various risk levels. Initially launched in 2022 for Aave and Compound, it introduced Morpho Blue in 2024 for flexible lending. Morpho Labs continues to develop Morpho while supporting the original Morpho Optimizers. 

, allowing users to borrow USDC against BTC via the Coinbase app. The product offers competitive rates, flexible terms, and a seamless experience. This move highlights the growing use of Morpho's infrastructure for onchain finance, with more institutions expected to follow suit.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 with Sygnum to launch Ethereum staking, allowing customers to earn passive income via Ethereum blockchain integration into its e-finance platform. Customers can start staking with a minimum deposit of 0.1 ETH, and rewards will be displayed alongside other crypto assets. The service is currently limited to Ethereum, with plans to expand to other cryptocurrencies in the future.

Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETF flows totaled $98.2M, driven by $168.2M inflows from non-GBTC products, offset by a $70M outflow from GBTC.

. Wave 1 eligibility is now live, limited to specific Quai Discord roles, with more waves to follow. NFT holders might qualify for allocations, though it's not yet confirmed.

Beginner

4.png

PostFinance Launches Ethereum Staking for Passive Income on E-Finance Platform

Top Hat is an AI-based token launchpad built on the Solana blockchain. Learn about how this project works in this article.

There’s currently a huge demand for token launchpads that allow everyday consumers to create their own 

 plans to meet this demand by pairing classic launchpad design with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This exciting new product has the potential to make token creation more accessible and convenient than ever. If you're interested in learning more about Top Hat's design, check out this helpful guide.

Top Hat is an AI-based token launchpad built on the 

 blockchain. This user-friendly system requires no coding ability, and allows people to create personalized tokens and 

Not much is known about the team behind Top Hat. The project is a fairly new one, having just started in October 2024 and being made available to the public the next month. As of January 2025, its creators haven’t announced their identities. Instead, all of the communication from the Top Hat team 

 a Twitter/X account. Though this account hasn't revealed much about the creators' motivations or experience, it has disclosed that its team is focused on promoting AI and making Solana development fun and accessible.

Top Hat's goal is to provide the most user-friendly and low-effort experience possible. There’s a huge demand for launchpads, but many companies struggle to create one that can handle all of their potential users. By incorporating AI design, Top Hat hopes to reduce the burden of running a launchpad.

Top Hat’s other primary goal is to create a convenient space for people designing new cryptocurrencies and AI agents. Traditional web3 launches often require users to have advanced technical knowledge — such as the ability to code. Top Hat does away with such requirements, and instead guides users through a convenient interface. AI prompts, simple wording and clear menus make it much easier for the average person to create their own Solana-based token.

Top Hat runs on a Solana base integrated with Telegram, X and other social media sites. Solana is used to manage the cryptocurrency side of the website, generate tokens and keep track of individual transactions. 

Meanwhile, generative AI is used to create social media posts for each AI agent. This allows users' agents to develop their own personalities and socialize with each other. To guide users through the process of making AI agents, Top Hat employs the following mechanisms.

The manual build process allows people to create a customized, blockchain-based AI character. Simply link a Solana wallet, and follow the prompts from Top Hat as it asks for details about your desired personality, culture and goals for your character. A manual build also lets you create a new token and specify details such as token supply.

For those with a less defined concept, Top Hat also features a 

 setting. A user simply inputs their token contract address, and Top Hat's AI system will fill in all the details of the character for them. This can be useful for those who want to work with an AI agent but don't want to spend time designing the agent themselves.

Top Hat's creation options also include the ability to clone a public personality. Instead of defining a character themselves, users can simply enter the X account of a person, and the AI launchpad design will analyze and mimic that person's account. 

In just a few months, Top Hat has launched the public version of its site and acquired over 2,000 users. In 2025, Top Hat hopes to capitalize on its success by launching 

. This new and improved version of the site will include a full rebrand and more features for users to try out:

The HAT token plays a critical role in the Top Hat ecosystem. It's currently the native token for the site. Top Hat plans to add additional utilities in the future, such as fee payments and/or voting usage. The HAT token is 

, and the project’s owners plan to use the resulting revenue to buy back and burn 

There’s a maximum supply of 1 billion HAT tokens and a current total/circulating supply of just under 990 million. Because HAT is meant to be as accessible as possible, it features no predetermined distribution. Instead, anyone who wishes to acquire HAT can buy it directly from the market.

Looking to trade Top Hat tokens? Bybit now offers the HAT/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll need to first create a Bybit account, fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

The Top Hat project is an exciting look at how crypto, AI and web3 technologies can be combined. It's grown rapidly, and has already acquired many users. This optimistic outlook is supported by HAT’s performance. Since its debut, its price has primarily stayed in the $0.05 to $0.10 range. There have been some notable price spikes, and a steady price increase that indicates opportunities for investors to profit. 

HAT certainly has some positive qualities, but keep in mind that this product is lacking in a lot of detail. Without knowing much about the team, or having a clearly defined idea of how the project’s technology runs, it's hard to say whether Top Hat is set up for long-term success. Therefore, it's a somewhat risky investment that investors need to approach cautiously. For best results, HAT should only be a small part of a diverse portfolio. Always 

 carefully before buying cryptocurrencies.

Through the power of AI, Top Hat makes it quick and easy to design custom, blockchain-based agents. These characters are capable of engaging with others on social media and managing complex plot lines. Thus, they have numerous applications for entertainment and meme coins. While Top Hat is still a new project that needs to fully prove its utility, it's already done a great job of appealing to a select group of web3 AI enthusiasts.

top hat.png

Top Hat (HAT): Solana's First No-Code AI Agent Launchpad

GameFi

Explainers

Altcoins

Xai (XAI) is a decentralized platform that offers a user-friendly, low-cost, and scalable environment to attract traditional gamers to blockchain gaming.

2401-T16454_Skinny_Banner_for_Blog_and_Learn_Row_53_728x90.png

Skinny_Banner-1600x400.webp

 gaming cryptocurrency, XAI, experienced a 150% price jump. While some observers attributed this mainly to the token’s 

, others speculated that at least some portion of XAI’s impressive run was due to the similarity in name to Elon Musk’s AI-focused xAI startup. Apparently, some people erroneously thought that the crypto token was related to that venture.

XAI, the native token of the Xai Layer 3 decentralized gaming platform, might share only a name with the much-publicized xAI startup. However, its potential impact on the gaming and blockchain industries could turn out to be as revolutionary as Musk’s anticipated influence on the AI sector.

While gaming has been among the fastest-growing areas in the world of blockchain, factors such as transaction cost, technological instability, and potential lack of familiarity with crypto on the part of users have slowed the adoption of blockchain-based games. Xai aims to solve these problems — and to make blockchain gaming and in-game asset trading much more accessible to billions of gamers worldwide.

 (XAI) is a decentralized platform that offers a low-cost, scalable and user-friendly environment to attract traditional gamers to blockchain gaming. 

One of the platform’s key goals is to provide crypto gaming and in-game asset trade opportunities without using 

. This should ease the transition for traditional (non-blockchain) gamers into the blockchain world.

Xai was developed by Offchain Labs, the company behind the massively popular 

 (ARB) Layer 2 rollup platform servicing the Ethereum (ETH) chain. Xai is based on Arbitrum Orbit — a key component in the stack of Arbitrum technology solutions. While Arbitrum is a 

 protocol, Xai is a Layer 3 platform that extends Arbitrum’s functionality to offer gaming-focused features, such as 

 transactions, wallet-free asset trading and increased smart contract limits for developers.

Thus, Xai’s network acts as a third layer that connects to Arbitrum’s Layer 2, which in turn is linked to Ethereum’s Layer 1 blockchain. While the arrival of Arbitrum and similar Layer 2 solutions have helped slash the costs and increased the speed of transacting on Ethereum, Xai takes these improvements to an entirely new level by offering stellar scalability, minimal fees and gasless, walletless interactions — in addition to explicitly gaming-focused features.

The problems with attracting a multibillion-strong army of gamers to blockchain platforms have long been recognized in the gaming industry. Currently, there are over 3 billion video and digital game users, but only a tiny fraction of them engage in blockchain-based gaming. The complexity of blockchain use has often been cited as the key barrier to entry into the world of decentralized gaming. Additionally, the poor stability and/or 

 of many blockchain platforms can deprive users of a truly fun gaming experience. Offchain Labs recognized the presence of these obstacles — and aims to tackle them head-on with the launch of Xai.

Xai employs a unique approach to improving its security and decentralization. To achieve these goals, the platform uses Sentry Nodes, a vital part of the Xai community. These nodes monitor and verify the correctness of the block generation activity on the network.

Any network user can install and run a Sentry Node on their laptop or desktop, or even in their cloud environment. Sentry Node operators receive network rewards for keeping the platform secure. These rewards are paid out in esXAI, one of Xai’s native crypto tokens, which can also be 

 to increase an operator’s reward yield.

Xai offers developers an environment for creating games that incorporates minimal explicit blockchain features, while still harnessing blockchain technology’s benefits. For example, crypto wallets are integrated into the backend to make the gaming experience as seamless as possible for traditional gamers. In addition, gasless transactions smooth the transition to blockchain gaming, since gamers outside of blockchain environments typically aren’t used to paying fees for common transactions within their games.

Xai is a new platform and currently features just five games. However, this total is likely to grow as developers realize the benefits of offering blockchain games without a significant learning curve for users. The quintet of games available or being actively developed on Xai includes:

: In this card-collector game, your task revolves around building a powerful deck of cards in order to engage in battles with other players. You can collect different categories of cards such as relics and summoned companions, and various limited edition types. The rewards from battles you win can help you evolve your cards into more powerful variations.

: If you love chaos, LAMOverse might just be the game you’ve been waiting for. This is a shooter game where players battle hard against each other, traveling in their hover cars in a chaotic and destructive environment.

: Carnivale is a futuristic open-world game where the control and influence of information determine who wins and loses.

: Engage in epic battles against monstrous creatures as you traverse the expansive game world in this RPG adventure.

: Enter the origami-themed realm of Kashi, another captivating RPG in Xai’s collection. Your mission involves solving diverse puzzles while navigating through a multidimensional world.

The XAI Layer 3 blockchain platform’s two native tokens, XAI and esXAI, power its functionality.

XAI is the platform’s main token and is used for network fee and in-game payments. It’s a fully transferable token that can be freely traded on the market and used as a value transfer and storage asset. The token’s maximum supply is 2.5 billion, while its total and 

 figures currently stand at 984 million and 277 million, respectively.

Launched in early January 2024, XAI has the following initial supply allocation shares:

esXAI is used to reward Sentry Nodes for their work in securing the network. Node operators can also use their esXAI for staking to access more network rewards and benefits. Staking esXAI provides three main benefits to Sentry Node operators:

Unlike the XAI token, esXAI isn’t transferable, and can only be used by the operator who originally earned it.

As of Jan 26, 2024, the XAI token is trading at $0.74, which is 38.9% lower than its all-time high price of $1.21, recorded on Jan 17, 2024, and 62.4% higher than its all-time low of $0.455, registered on Jan 10, 2024.

The long-term outlook for XAI is generally bullish, with DigitalCoinPrice predicting it 

 and $5.37 in 2030. Meanwhile, CoinCodex 

The XAI token is currently in its early days on the market, but has already attracted significant investor interest as evidenced by its impressive 153% price spike between Jan 10–18, 2024. Although XAI is now off its highs achieved in mid-January, it still generates significant attention among crypto investors on the lookout for promising new tokens. The main reasons you might consider investing in XAI include the following:

1. Xai’s platform is the first major undertaking to provide a smooth transition for traditional game users into the world of blockchain gaming. With more than 3 billion gamers in its potential target audience, Xai has a great chance of achieving outsized market success.

2. Xai was developed and is actively supported by Offchain Labs, a key player in the blockchain industry. With a promising business model targeting the vast army of gamers, Xai will be high on Offchain Labs’ agenda. Expect its dedication to Xai to be no less serious than its commitment to Arbitrum — and Arbitrum’s popularity clearly demonstrates that the team at Offchain Labs knows how to support and nurture a product to achieve significant market success.

You can buy XAI on Bybit both as a Spot pair (

 contract. If you don’t have an account on Bybit, you can easily 

 and trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies in the Spot and/or Derivatives markets.

Blockchain-based gaming opens up opportunities for users in areas such as NFTs, in-game asset trading, 

 (P2E) and more. However, despite all of these attractive features, the industry has yet to see a decisive shift in gamers’ preferences from traditional video gaming platforms toward blockchain alternatives. The primary reason for this deficit is the lack of familiarity with concepts such as cryptocurrency, NFTs and crypto wallets. In particular, the need to conduct transactions using crypto wallets is a challenging one for blockchain novices.

Xai’s Layer 3 platform is the first project that aims to address these challenges. Its unique features — such as seamless wallet interaction, gasless transactions and enhanced scalability — have the potential to create a significant disruption in the gaming industry. 

The platform that offers us the benefits of blockchain gaming without the need to know much about crypto transactions has finally arrived. Xai will now attempt the boldest change in the history of gaming ever — enticing billions of traditional gamers to embrace blockchain. If Offchain Labs succeeds even partially in this endeavor, we might soon be talking about Xai as one of the world’s major gaming platforms.

Xai (XAI): A Decentralized Future for In-Game Trading

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards