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

web3

PIP is a web browser extension and a suite of payment products built on the Solana blockchain. Find out more about how it works in this article.

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While crypto adoption is becoming more prevalent, not every web page in the world allows you to pay with cryptocurrency. Further, it can sometimes be daunting when it comes to paying with cryptocurrency, as you have to ensure that the crypto wallet address that you’ve input is accurate. Otherwise, you’ll no longer be able to get back your funds. Rather than going through this hassle, PIP has found a solution to enable global payments without limitations. 

 and Web 2.0 ecosystems, empowering creators and service owners to effortlessly transact value and unlock an additional revenue stream by integrating the PIP Button into their websites. This process is achieved without the need for third-party permission or incurring high intermediary fees, simplifying transactions for billions of people.

The project entered the limelight in February 2022 after it raised its 

 through multiple high-profile financial institutions. Investors included well-known names such as CMS Holdings LLC, Coinbase Ventures and Galaxy Digital Hong Kong.

Right after the launch, the project's co-founders, Umit Akcan and Hank Park, offered an overview of the project. The launch also included the initiation of the PIP token and its integration with various social platforms.

As of March 2023, the project has completed six stages of development. You can get more information on the future road map

PIP is a web3 payment solution with the mission to create a complete micropayment layer on the internet. The project aims to provide a seamless payment experience on the web to retail users and social media enthusiasts. Using the browser extension and a variety of innovative products, anyone can easily accept real-time payments across the entire internet.

By integrating web3 capabilities into commonly used social media platforms, PIP enables users to perform transactions such as buying and selling 

, and FIDA tips directly on platforms such as Twitter and Twitch.

According to PIP’s website, the project aims to break the unfair local economic systems and platform policies that bind people worldwide. The company's vision is to establish a global micropayment layer on the internet, where people can unleash their talents and abilities globally and receive rewards based on their achievements rather than their nationalities.

To use PIP, you need to install the PIP Extension to your browser (Chrome, Opera or Edge) and connect it to BNB Chain, Solana, 

 wallet. Another example would be the popular 

In the next step, create your own unique PIP tag. This tag represents your web3 ID and it is your unique wallet address. With it, you won’t have to bother with long strings of alphanumeric characters as your wallet address. 

Afterward, you can link social media accounts, such as Twitter, with PIP. Once connected, users can send and receive supported cryptocurrency using social platforms without the need for a crypto exchange or a bank account.

Focusing on payment service providers, the infrastructure makes it easier to send and receive cryptocurrency.

The following is an overview of PIP's main features.

, users can easily link their social media accounts, including Discord and Twitter, to their PIP accounts. Once your account is connected successfully, you’ll be able to send and accept payments from users who are registered on other social platforms.

As a fully-integrated suite of web3 payment products, it also lets users create payment groups, letting people split bills, pay for shared expenses and manage group finances without a bank account. The payment system uses blockchain technology to ensure that transactions are secure and transparent so that users can track their payments in real time.

If you want to send crypto payments to someone who isn’t a PIP user, don’t worry — you’ll still be able to send them crypto through the PIP escrow service, which holds the funds for 24 hours. Non-PIP users can then create their PIP account during those 24 hours and the funds will be released to them. If they do not do so, the funds will be returned to you.

 is a versatile link-in-bio tool and web page that can be customized to suit a user's needs. It comes with various add-ons and modules, such as creating a simple and unique link in the bio page, selling or promoting services, and displaying digital assets.

It incorporates a convenient payment button that's available to all users and payment service providers. This button allows the audience to send a range of tokens on mobile and desktop platforms. In other words, anyone visiting your 

 page can use the payment button to send you tokens and recurring payments without using a traditional payment platform.

 are a hassle-free and uncomplicated approach to carrying out recurring transactions and payments within the PIP ecosystem.

Each link is an exclusive web address that enables users to transfer money to a particular PIP user or address without the need for the recipient's wallet address. These links can be shared via different means, such as emails or text messages. You can also use them to pay for goods or services, or to send money to acquaintances and relatives.

 on your individual social media pages. Using the button, you can accept recurring payments on your website, eliminating the need for third-party payment processors.

The button is linked to the PIP ecosystem and supports various cryptocurrencies, such as BNB, SOL, ETH, 

, USDC and many others. It's super-easy to embed the Payment Button on your website. The first step is to select the cryptos you're interested in receiving. Next, customize the button design — such as text and color — to match your brand. Finally, copy and embed the HTML code in order to accept payments.

 is the latest to join PIP’s suite of products. It was introduced on Feb 28, 2023 and comes in handy for those who want to create crypto-supported invoices in just a few clicks. After you register for a PIP account, you can connect your wallet and immediately create an invoice. This invoice can then be shared with others through either a URL link or a QR code that brings the user to the payment page. 

PIP features an interactive model for distributing tokens. When users send tokens to others using the PIP Extension, or spend money through the PIP Extension on supported platforms, they can receive periodic 

 in the form of PIP tokens. This is meant to incentivize more users to adopt web3.

The PIP token is distributed according to specific rules published on the official website of the project. Multiple factors can contribute to the amount of PIP received as a reward, such as network rate and volume rate. Once received, you can send rewards directly to your PIP wallet address.

You can earn a maximum amount of 200 PIP tokens a day, but do take note that 

 transactions and PIP token transactions are not included in this Reward Farming program.

Two months into 2023, the team has already completed the integration of Ethereum and successfully provided support for ERC-20 tokens. The team also launched its latest product, PIP Invoice. In the future, there are plans for:

Some other exciting features you can look forward to include PIP Card, PIP Commerce, Payment Streams and 

The ecosystem has a total supply of 1 billion tokens that were all minted at once. These tokens will be distributed among four primary groups — Community, Strategic Investors, Team and Advisors. Following is an outline of the distribution:

: Sixty-nine percent of the total supply will go to community members. The community consists of individuals and teams who can increase awareness and adoption of the project, provide feedback and ideas for improvement, and contribute to the development of the project through code contributions or other means.

: 15% of tokens are shared among strategic investors. These investors offer financial support, valuable industry knowledge, connections and expertise.

Unlike traditional investors who may invest purely for financial returns, strategic investors typically invest for reasons such as gaining access to new technology, expanding their network and building partnerships with the project. Examples of strategic investors include venture capital firms, blockchain-focused investment firms, corporations and high-net-worth individuals.

: The team working on the project gets 15% of the token supply. In the context of this project, the team consists of founders, project managers, and individuals who played a key role in development, design, marketing and business development.

: One percent of the token supply is given to advisors. These individuals provide guidance, expertise and support to the project team. Advisors can also guide on technical issues, regulatory compliance, business strategy and other areas relevant to the project's goals.

The Role of the Community Treasury in Token Distribution

The Community Treasury received 690 million PIP tokens, which account for 69% of the total supply. The Community Treasury will redistribute these tokens among five different subcategories, according to the following predefined rules:

Forty percent of the community tokens are reserved for reward farming. Through this program, users can earn daily PIP tokens by engaging with the platform. Some examples that will yield you rewards include creating new content, sending and receiving crypto, and interacting with the PIP community. 

, this is a process in which users of a crypto project can earn rewards by providing liquidity to the project's platform. This typically involves depositing a certain amount of cryptocurrency into a liquidity pool, which is used to facilitate trades on the platform.

: Ten percent of the Community Treasury is set aside for the development of the ecosystem. The ecosystem is 

. PIP token holders are considered members of PipDAO and have ownership of the ecosystem. This means that they have a say in the proposals raised to improve the PIP ecosystem.

Ten percent is reserved for staking activities. Staking is a process of holding or locking up cryptocurrency in a wallet or smart contract to support the security and operations of a blockchain network. When PIP holders stake their cryptocurrency, they are also providing liquidity to the PIP ecosystem. As such, they will be rewarded with PIP tokens. 

Five percent of the token supply is used to maintain the liquidity of the PIP ecosystem.

Four percent of the total supply is reserved for future use. After approval from the PipDAO, these reserves will be used for funding initiatives, development and any of the other areas described above.

At this time, you can buy PIP from a Solana-based decentralized exchange, 

. The platform is based on an automated market model. It can also determine if the token swap is cheaper if routed through the liquidity pool or the Serum order book.

The only drawback to buying from Raydium is the learning curve required to trade through a DEX and the accompanying limitation of swapping it for SOL only. In addition, you can only trade PIP/SOL pairs.

Fortunately, PIP will be available on Bybit on Mar 2, 2023 at 8AM UTC. Simply create a Bybit account to get started with trading the 

It's a well-known fact that sending and receiving crypto payments is relatively complicated compared to a traditional bank account. It's complicated because you need a wallet address, and must input the right crypto address to complete the transaction.

PIP offers a practical solution for crypto users.

It offers a streamlined solution for website owners and social media users to complete the entire process in one click without worrying about the formalities attached to typical crypto transactions.

Besides being a strong product, the project has clear guidelines, a clear road map and a growing community. These traits are enough to establish the project as a front-runner in its field.

The relatively stable performance of its native token in a volatile market is an additional sign of strength. Under these conditions, it makes sense to invest in the coin.

The success of this project is based on its ease of integration and its utility to social entrepreneurs.

Using HTML, React and JavaScript, it can also be integrated with third-party content management systems like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and others. Similarly, anyone using social media or a website can accept crypto without relying on a complicated setup.

These features give PIP a first-mover advantage in the fast-paced web3 environment.

PIP (PIP): Enabling Global Payments Without Limitations

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards