TLDR Crypto 2024-01-10

The open interest in Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has hit a record high of $5.4 billion, surpassing the previous all-time high of $4.5 billion set in November 2021, indicating a significant increase in institutional investor participation. This surge in futures trading, coupled with high open interest from both asset managers and hedge funds, suggests heightened market activity and anticipation of potential Bitcoin ETF approvals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Twitter account was hacked, resulting in a false announcement about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETF. SEC Chair Gary Gensler confirmed the account was compromised and the tweet was unauthorized. This was one of the most high-profile examples of an X account being compromised in relation to cryptocurrency. Despite the fake approval, it is widely expected that spot bitcoin ETFs will be approved today, with trading to begin tomorrow.

Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, has launched Verify, an open-source protocol developed on Polygon's proof-of-stake blockchain. Verify is designed to authenticate original media content and combat AI-generated deepfakes. The tool allows publishers to register and cryptographically sign their content onchain, enabling consumers to easily identify and verify content from trusted sources.

The Xai gaming network, built as a "layer-3" network on Arbitrum, has started its first major token airdrop. It will distribute 125 million XAI tokens to eligible participants, including certain NFT owners and Sentry Node operators. The airdrop's total value currently sits at nearly $70 million. XAI's market cap stands at just over $154 million, with over 277 million tokens in circulation, including those from the airdrop.

An introduction to the top actions, protocols, and catalysts for growth for the Bitcoin L2 Stacks. It covers wallets, exchanges, staking services, tokens, upcoming protocols, NFTs, and much more. The thread analyzes opportunities for Stacks, making the prediction that Stacks will likely be a major player in BTCfi. It also provides several X accounts for people to follow to stay up-to-date on Stacks' developments.

A playbook for landing airdrops for top restaking protocols EtherFi, Kelp, and Renzo. It may be better to spread wallets across several projects as often the rules for airdrop eligibility favor smaller capitals. Always prefer to deposit slightly more than a round number, for example, deposit 1.1 ETH instead of 1 ETH. Readers should be aware that gas fees may sometimes be excessive as the airdrops are on the Ethereum network.

This article discusses the cyclical relationship between apps and infrastructure in the evolution of crypto, highlighting how innovations like Bitcoin and Ethereum have successively spurred the development of new applications and supporting infrastructures. Currently, the focus is on creating a sophisticated crypto app infrastructure, including low-fee blockchains and embedded wallets, to pave the way for the next wave of consumer-oriented crypto applications in various domains.

This article explores SocialFi, an emerging trend that merges social media with financial speculation, transforming user engagement and content monetization. It highlights innovative platforms like SAX and AlphaClub, which introduce new user roles and economic models with the aim of enhancing content quality and reshaping traditional social media dynamics.

Celsius bankruptcy managers notified creditors that those who withdrew more than $100,000 in the 90 days prior to July 13, 2022 are liable to clawbacks.

Three-month developer retention in the Solana ecosystem increased from 31% to more than 50% over the course of 2023.

Dymension’s RollApps will require a data availability layer like Celestia to function properly, which is positive for Celestia.

Rodney Burton, also known as "Bitcoin Rodney," was arrested and charged by U.S. authorities for allegedly defrauding investors of over $7 million through the HyperVerse crypto investment scheme.