Solana poised for 2025 rally, Fetch.ai launches $10M fund: Finance Redefined

Experts in the field of cryptocurrency anticipate that this year could bring substantial monetary benefits for Solana, as it’s expected to witness increased acceptance among novice investors. This growth is partly due to speculation about the launch of a U.S.-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) specifically focused on Solana.

Investment in the field of artificial intelligence is experiencing a revival due to increasing curiosity about self-governing AI systems. To foster advancements in AI agents and quantum computing, Fetch.ai has initiated a $10 million program to nurture growth.

Solana poised for gains fueled by US ETF and retail adoption — Analyst

2025 looks set to be another year of substantial expansion for Solana, fueled by growing curiosity among individual investors and the expectation of a U.S.-based Solana Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) coming into play.

On January 9th, the price of Solana (SOL) dropped beneath the significant $200 level following a week-long decline of over 7%, according to data from CryptoMoon Markets Pro.

Despite the present market adjustments, Solana is set to deliver substantial financial gains throughout the year, primarily fueled by retail investors’ optimistic profit forecasts, as stated by Nicolai Søndergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, in an exclusive interview with CryptoMoon at the Emergence Prague 2024 event.

[Solana’s attractiveness] stems from its potential returns. Essentially, it appears more affordable. When considering a single unit, the thought is that it’s less expensive to purchase,” Søndergaard stated.

Fetch.ai launches $10 million accelerator for AI agent startups

In simpler terms, the AI-focused cryptocurrency company called Fetch.ai, which operates on the Cosmos network, declared the launch of a $10 million program to aid startups in their endeavors related to AI agents, quantum computing, and advanced technology.

As a researcher involved with the accelerator based within Fetch.ai’s Innovation Lab, my focus is on bridging academic discoveries with practical, real-world applications. With strategic locations in San Francisco, London, and India, this lab offers financial support, mentorship, and access to our cutting-edge agent-based technologies to help budding startups expand their reach across the globe, as outlined in a press release I’ve recently received and shared with CryptoMoon.

Humayun Sheikh, head of Fetch.ai and leader of the ASI Alliance, shared with CryptoMoon that “agents” will not just reshape the way we design software but also act as the operational foundation for contemporary technologies.

MiCA can attract more crypto investment despite overregulation concerns

The European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is receiving praise within the cryptocurrency sector as a major stride, even though there are apprehensions regarding possible excessive regulation during its early stages of implementation.

The globally extensive cryptocurrency regulatory structure known as MiCA became fully operational for all crypto asset service providers on December 30, 2024.

According to Dmitrij Radin, founder of Zekret and CTO of Fideum – a company specializing in regulation and blockchain infrastructure for institutions – there are ongoing worries about excessive regulation, but in the end, this regulation could prove beneficial for the cryptocurrency sector as a whole in the future.

Looking ahead, MiCA is undeniably optimistic. Each regulation contributes to the development of the market. It’s expected to attract more investments and more participants, as stated by Radin during an interview with CryptoMoon at Emergence Prague.

However, the proposed regulation aims to pinpoint potential vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency sector, potentially leading to increased oversight for individual investors and users of digital currency platforms, as stated by Radin.

Suspected insider wallets net $20 million on Solana’s Focai memecoin launch

Approximately 15 digital wallets under suspicion for insider trading have managed to transform a modest starting investment of around $14,600 into over $20 million, sparking worries regarding the openness and impartiality within the realm of cryptocurrency exchanges.

15 secretive investors pocketed more than $20 million in earnings from the freshly introduced memecoin, Focai.fun (FOCAI), which debuted on the memecoin platform, Pump.fun, launched on Solana’s (SOL) infrastructure.

It is reported by the analysis firm, Lookonchain, that individuals believed to be insiders achieved a massive return of over 136,000 times on their initial investment of $14,600. This investment gave them control over approximately 60.5% of the total supply of Focai tokens. Subsequently, they sold all their Focai tokens for 94,175 Solana ($20.5M), resulting in a net profit of 94,108 Solana ($20.48M).

Criticism is being levied by blockchain analysts because a significant proportion of the digital coins are held in just a few digital wallets. This scenario underscores potential threats to the concept of decentralization, an essential feature of the cryptocurrency world.

Ripple partners with Chainlink to boost RLUSD stablecoin in DeFi markets

In simpler terms, Ripple, a company that develops blockchain technology for payments, has joined forces with Chainlink, a service that connects smart contracts to data from the real world, to enhance the usage and acceptance of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) digital coin in financial applications within the decentralized space.

The partnership unveiled on January 7th aims to deliver pricing data for RLUSD on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger. This data is intended to facilitate affordable transactions and decentralized finance applications for enterprise-level stablecoins.

In simple terms, RLUSD (Rai Stablecoin Dollar) is tied to the U.S. dollar and obtains secure and reliable information from Chainlink via its decentralized networks. This integration aims to minimize potential issues such as manipulation or service interruptions.

DeFi market overview

Based on information from CryptoMoon Markets Pro and TradingView, the majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies as ranked by market cap concluded the week with losses.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, THORChain’s RUNE token experienced a significant drop of approximately 29% this week, placing it as the largest decliner. The Virtuals Protocol’s VIRTUAL token also saw a decrease, falling by around 22% according to the weekly graph, finishing second in terms of losses.

Appreciate you taking the time to go through our recap of this week’s significant DeFi advancements. Catch up with us next Friday for additional tales, perspectives, and learning opportunities in this rapidly evolving sector.

2025-01-10 22:03