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- BTC stumbles at $100K, Hyperliquid’s $2B Boom and Pudgy Penguins’ Airdrop Claims
BTC stumbles at $100K, Hyperliquid’s $2B Boom and Pudgy Penguins’ Airdrop Claims
PLUS: Don't Ignore AI on Arbitrum
Gm Frens,
It’s Chronicle day, and if yesterday’s dump has you feeling down, let us remind you why we’re all here.
The developments unfolding in crypto and its intersection with the real world are beyond what anyone could have imagined just a cycle ago — and hey, if Fartcoin can hit a billion-dollar cap, there is hope for us all yet.
Here’s what to expect this week:
🤖 AI Agents - why devs shouldn’t ignore Arbitrum
💸 Market Watch - Bitcoin ETFs boom, Hyperliquid’s airdrop impact and Pudgy Penguins’ airdrop claims
🧙 Ambire Legends is Live - gamified onboarding to smart accounts
📈 Price Action - BTC stumbles at $100K and why sideways movement isn’t always a bad thing
🔑 Key News - all the hottest headlines, updates and new projects to check out
ARBITRUM CORNER
Ladies, Gentlemen and.. Bots, welcome to another edition of the Arbitrum Corner!
This one is intended to be consumed by human and Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents alike.
After all, AI agents have invaded crypto, much earlier than most of us expected.
With a flourishing and highly composable ecosystem coupled with one of the most performant tech stacks, Arbitrum is the perfect place for the proliferation of AI agents.
This Arbitrum corner provides an introduction to the state of AI in Arbitrum and dives deeper into Trailblazer, a grant program focused on AI, set on supporting new innovations.
TO AI OR NOT TO AI?
There’s no secret sauce for the development of AI agents. Most of them have been launched on Base, thanks to the development of Virtuals, the pump.fun for AI agents, and on SOL, due to ai16z, an open-source framework for deploying AI agents and social platforms.
But as a developer, why would you migrate to different chains and networks from those mentioned above?
For the network effect of a much more developed ecosystem and highly performant tech stack.
Financial, infrastructure, and community support..
Arbitrum stands out across both of those categories.
ECOSYSTEM SUPPORT AND FUNDING
To support the development of new AI agents, the Arbitrum Foundation has created the Trailblazer grant program, with $1m of funds available for developers.
This fund is intended to kickstart a new wave of AI agents on Arbitrum. It offers developers up to $10,000 to build or scale their applications across various verticals (DeFi, Gaming, SocialFI, NFTs and art, etc.), with a key focus on AI experimentation.
THE PERFECT TECH STACK
Aside from a supporting and welcoming ecosystem, it is fundamental that the technical specifications of the chain allow for smooth operation for the agents developed.
Arbitrum guarantees one the most performing stacks among Layer 2 (L2s), characterized by:
Low Latency
High throughput
Cheap fees
Furthermore, Arbitrum boasts Stylus, which allows developers to abstract the complexity of blockchain-based programming language and comfortably develop their AI agents in Rust.
This dramatically simplifies how traditional devs can interface with AI agents and integrate them across Web3. Embrace for a new wave of rust-based AI agents coming on Arbitrum.
Furthermore, the ArbitrumDAO has approved a 5m ARB grant for Stylus builders, along with collaboration opportunities and support. So there’s lots for devs to get their teeth into!
More info can be found at: https://blog.arbitrum.io/stylus-sprint/
THE STATE OF AI ON ARBITRUM
There are already a few examples of AI projects launched on Arbitrum:
Powering AI agents with their context-aware model, providing superior accuracy and continuous improvement. Allora adopts a decentralized approach, distributing tasks across network participants to ensure more accurate results by leveraging their collective intelligence.
Powering AI agents for innovative gaming experiences, using human modeling models rather than relying only on Large Language Models (LLMs). This ensures AI agents simulate human behavior across different games.
Allowing the deployment of AI models as programmable smart contracts on multiple networks, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana. Their blockchain runs on a “Proof-of-compute”, where Eternal AI Nodes run AI prompts.
“The open access AI cloud”, a decentralized protocol to access and provide GPU resources and AI services, democratizing access to computing power.
An infrastructure protocol providing:
An AI oracle to integrate AI functionalities into smart contracts. Supported by a network of permissionless nodes, it allows use cases such as AI-generated NFTs, prediction markets, and on-chain games, among others.
Initial Model Offers (IMOs), which tokenize AI models on-chain as funding mechanisms for contributors and founders.
This one’s currently in stealth, but the blueberries seem to be cooking something up ;)
Basically an Arbitrum-maxi version of Mert, the most famous Solana yapper!
An AI based on Vitalik Buterin, which now is also live on Base.
This SDK greatly simplifies how traditional developers who are not experts in Solidity and other blockchain-development languages can integrate AI capabilities across Web3 applications.
It’d be great to see further partnerships between this existing framework and Arbitrum to boost the development of Stylus-based agents.
If you are building AI on Arbitrum and we missed you - reach out to us!
Combined, these projects showcase the tip of the iceberg of what is possible to build with AI, and they all chose Arbitrum as their as one of their deployments.
Now it’s the time to continue this push, attract talented builders, and provide them with the best possible tech stack and support.
Imagine what Arbitrum will look like a year from now, with thousands of AI agents talking to themselves and us.
The possibilities are endless.
What would you like to see?
Courtesy of Francesco - Core at Castle Labs
🔍️ MARKET WATCH
SECTOR PERFORMANCE
This week’s market performance leaned bearish, with benchmarks showing mixed results.
Top Assets:
Bitcoin (BTC): +2.63%
Ethereum (ETH): +0.41%
Solana (SOL): -4.96%
Average Performance: -0.64%
Layer 1s:
SUI: +2.99%
FTM: +2.56%
NEAR: -9.32%
SEI: -14.23%
TON: -10.09%
Average Performance: -4.44%
Gaming Infrastructure:
RON: +9.43%
BEAM: -22.42%
MAGIC: -20.43%
DeFi (ETH-Based):
AAVE: +22.94%
LINK: +12.33%
CRV: -7.39%
FXS: -18.28%
Average Performance: -0.81%
Memecoins:
WIF: -16.36%
BONK: -13.69%
Average Performance: -12.14%
Modular & AI/DePIN Sectors:
Sector Averages:
Modular: -10.24%
AI & DePIN: -12.72%
Biggest Declines:
RENDER: -17.06%
AR: -15.83%
Overall Market Sentiment: Bearish across most sectors, despite isolated gains.
BITCOIN ETF INFLOWS CONTINUE TO SURGE AMID RISING DIGITAL ASSET CONFIDENCE
Over the past week, Bitcoin spot ETFs have continued to experience strong investor demand, adding $1.13 billion in net inflows, driving cumulative inflows to $36.73 billion as of December 17, 2024. This reflects an ongoing trend of institutional and retail interest, especially following a more cryptocurrency-friendly environment that has boosted market optimism.
This momentum aligns with broader digital asset flows, which saw a substantial surge in November. Investors poured $8.2 billion into digital asset funds, pushing total net assets to nearly $121.68 billion. Bitcoin's rising value, from $70,000 to nearly $107,000, appears to have fueled this activity.
HYPERLIQUID'S TVL SKYROCKETS AMID RECORD AIRDROP AND STRONG PERFORMANCE
Hyperliquid's Total Value Locked (TVL) surged an astonishing 269% over the past 7 days, reaching $2.21 billion. This growth follows one of the most successful airdrops in recent crypto history, driving substantial attention and capital inflow to the platform. Notably, Hyperliquid recorded $500 million in spot volume and $4.5 billion in perpetuals volume in a single day, underscoring the platform's increasing adoption and activity.
Hyperliquid continues to push forward with upcoming launches and consistent token buybacks. The platform's profitability has enabled its assistance fund to buy back $300 million worth of HYPE in just 19 days, further boosting traders and community confidence.
PUDGY AIRDROP CLAIMS
The Pudgy Penguins ecosystem has seen ~60% of its allocated airdrop claimed so far (~13B/22B). Wallets holding at least one Pudgy NFT account for just 1-2% of claimers but receive 50% of the total drop.
Outside the Pudgy ecosystem, 800K wallets have claimed 31% (~7B/22B) of the airdrop, with Binance alone accounting for 4B tokens. Price impact from this group remains muted due to the widespread distribution of smaller claims ranging from $10 to $500. Globally, 45% of the airdrop is claimed (likely ~60% when accounting for dead wallets), with 70% of wallets still holding.
See the claim data live here.
Courtesy of @MarketsAlpha - Telegram channel for sharing crypto market research and Intel Alpha
🔑 AMBIRE LEGENDS IS LIVE
Ambire Legends is live! 🔥
An on-chain game built by the Ambire Wallet team to showcase the power of smart accounts in a gamified experience.
Relive the good old Runescape vibe and enjoy:
Abstracted gas: pay gas crosschain using Gas Tank or a variety of ERC-20 tokens.
Transaction batching eg: Approve & Swap or any combination of transactions.
Sponsored transactions on Base for minting your unique NFT character.
How to earn XP?
Complete quests and conduct transactions on supported networks (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Scroll). Additionally, prove your onchain skin in the game with existing EOAs and smart accounts for XP headstart!
As your Level increases, so do your chances of receiving future rewards. Ambire DAO decided to allocate 195M WALLET tokens for campaign incentives in the following months!
Start Legends ➡️https://legends.ambire.com/
Invite code for Castle fam: castlecap
📈 PRICE ACTION
Gm frens!
Last week I was looking for a pullback towards the rising 10/20 EMA on the weekly chart. The reason for this is that I believe this push is a bit overextended and I’d feel more comfortable taking on risk after some late longs get liquidated. On a daily chart, that would look something like this:
Here’s where we’re at:
Expansion out of sideways price action (big green box)
Current push slightly overextended
Looking to get involved again after a liquidation
I’d like to see price break down and accumulate below moving averages. Then breaking out of sideways price action once again and getting involved on the momentum higher (circled area).
That being said, price is still supported by the rising 10/20 EMA, which is a clear sign of strong momentum. So by all means, trading on lower timeframes still makes sense. But once price breaks below the 10/20 EMA it’s time to chill and wait on the side-lines again.
Trade responsibly and I’ll see y’all next time!
Courtesy of 0x_Vlad - trend-based trader and MentFX student
🔑 KEY NEWS
MAJOR HEADLINES
Texas Files Bill to Establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
@Grayscale launches LINK trust
Riot Platforms buys more than $500M in Bitcoin
Trump's @WorldLibertyFi started buying $ENA, $ONDO
@MicroStrategy acquires 15,350 BTC
UK set to prohibit public offers of crypto
@Bybit_Official to remove services from French users
PROJECT UPDATES
@Odosdao launches and reveals $ODOS token & airdrop checker
@FantasyTop announces v2 and new funding round
@debridgeFinance now supports bridging to Hyperliquid
@eigenlayer introduces ELIP-002: Slashing
@zksync releases 2025 roadmap
@AbstractChain to launch mainnet in January 2025
@0xzerebro launching python-native framework
@LidoFinance sunsetting on Polygon
@AaveAave DAO discusses ceasing operations on Polygon
@Ethena_Labs introduces USDtb Launch
@BuildonBeam introduces Beam Layer 1
@AlignedLayer airdrop checker released
@Monad_xyz splits into Monad Foundation & Category Labs
@Avalanche blockchain’s largest-ever upgrade, 'Avalanche9000,' is live
@Binance introduces Binance Alpha
INTERESTING PROJECTS
Mizuki.exe: AI coding platform on Solana
Uranium Digital: Tokenized uranium trading on Solana
sqrFUND: AI-driven DAO and investment platform
Sovrun: AI-powered GameFi ecosystem
Hypervol: Volatility-focused platform on Hyperliquid
Hypers: NFT marketplace on Hyperliquid
IncentiveFi: Asset management and recovery platform on Arbitrum
Raptor AMM: Decentralized Automated Market Maker (AMM) on SVM
Agenic AI: AI agents and infrastructure platform
Chart Sage: AI-powered trading analysis tools on Base
Animix: AI and GameFi platform on Sophon
Courtesy of CJ - check out his telegram channel for daily news, project updates and new releases
And that’s a wrap from us.
It’s been a busy few months on-chain and 2025 is looking spicy so go enjoy the holidays and keep an eye out for our end of year round up on December 26th.
Happy Holidays!
✍️ CONTENT CREATORS WANTED
Want to stack some extra funds for the on-chain casino while levelling up your game?
As the crypto market gains momentum, Castle Labs is expanding and seeking talented content creators who thrive in short and long-form writing, work autonomously, and take the initiative to own and drive their work.
Three Key Roles at Castle Labs:
Newsletter & Social Media Owner: Craft engaging, timely content to grow our online presence.
Long-Form Writer: Dive deep into research reports or client-facing content with precision and clarity.
Marketing Specialist: Shape client strategies and help incubate their marketing efforts with creative and effective campaigns.
In our newsletter, we may discuss projects or tokens in which we hold positions. While we aim to provide informative content, our views are not financial advice. Please conduct your research and consult professionals before making investment decisions. Crypto markets are volatile, and past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Invest responsibly, and be aware of the risks. Your capital is at risk, and we do not accept liability for any losses.
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