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Crypto wallet Phantom confirms it won’t launch a token amid airdrop rumors
Rumors came after Phantom announced a new social discovery feature, where some speculated users would earn tokens by gaining followers.
Digital asset wallet Phantom has refuted rumors suggesting it would initiate a token airdrop to complement its soon-to-be-released social discovery feature.
“We've seen some speculation about an airdrop tied to this feature, so to clarify: we do not have any plans to launch a token,” the non-custodial crypto wallet provider stressed in a Jan. 3 X post.
“But we're incredibly excited about social discovery on Phantom and are actively working on ways to make it something everyone loves.”
Announced on Dec. 19, Phantom’s new social discovery feature will allow users to create a profile, add other users as friends and choose between three profile privacy levels — public, private, and invisible.
Some members of the crypto community, such as X user “Slim,” claimed that users of the new feature would earn tokens by following others and getting followed, fueling speculation of a token launch. Read More
Metaplanet eyes upping Bitcoin holdings to 10K BTC in 2025
Metaplanet holds 1,762 Bitcoin and wants to increase its stash by 467% to 10,000.
Metaplanet aims to expand its Bitcoin stash more than fivefold to 10,000 BTC in 2025, as analysts predict a bull run this year that could see BTC rise above $200,000.
The Japan-based venture capital firm was one of the most notable companies to follow MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment playbook in 2024 and currently holds 1,762 Bitcoin BTC tickers down $93,532 worth $173.4 million from 19 purchases.
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said in a Jan. 5 X post that its aim this year is to increase its holdings to 10,000 BTC “by utilizing the most accretive capital market tools available to us.”
Gerovich also said it aims to advance Bitcoin adoption in Japan and globally, as well as to “grow Metaplanet’s impact in Japan and the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
“We’re not just building a company but driving a movement,” said Gerovich. Metaplanet is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in Asia and has the 15th largest Bitcoin holdings among publicly listed companies, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data. Read More
Vitalik Buterin suggests AI hardware pause for humanity’s safety
Buterin said a last resort to “slow down” dangerous forms of superintelligent AI would be to restrict available global computing power for a year or two.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said temporarily halting globally accessible computational resources might be a way to “buy more time for humanity” in the face of a potentially dangerous form of AI superintelligence.
In a Jan. 5 blog post following up his November 2023 post advocating the idea of “defensive accelerationism,” or d/acc, Buterin said super-intelligent AI might be as little as five years away, and there’s no telling if the outcome would be positive.
Buterin said a “soft pause” on industrial-scale computer hardware could be an option to slow AI development if this happens, reducing available global computing power by up to 99% for one to two years “to buy more time for humanity to prepare.”
AI superintelligence is a theoretical AI model that is typically defined as being far more intelligent than the most brilliant humans in all fields of expertise.
Many tech executives and researchers have aired concerns about AI, with over 2,600 urging in a March 2023 open letter to halt AI development due to “profound risks to society and humanity.”
Buterin noted that his post introducing d/acc made only “vague appeals to not build risky forms of superintelligence” and he wanted to share his thoughts on addressing the scenario “where AI risk is high.” Read More
OpenAI's Altman, Ethereum's Buterin Outline Competing Visions for AI's Future
Sam Altman has emphasized OpenAI's readiness to build out AGI this year as Vitalik Buterin cautions a need for robust safety mechanisms.
This week, two of tech's most influential voices offered contrasting visions of artificial intelligence development, highlighting the growing tension between innovation and safety.
CEO Sam Altman revealed Sunday evening in a blog post about his company's trajectory that OpenAI has tripled its user base to over 300 million weekly active users as it races toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
"We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it," Altman said, claiming that in 2025, AI agents could "join the workforce" and "materially change the output of companies."
Altman says OpenAI is headed toward more than just AI agents and AGI, saying that the company is beginning to work on "superintelligence in the true sense of the word."
A timeframe for the delivery of AGI or superintelligence is unclear. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But hours earlier on Sunday, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin proposed using blockchain technology to create global failsafe mechanisms for advanced AI systems, including a "soft pause" capability that could temporarily restrict industrial-scale AI operations if warning signs emerge.
Image created by Decrypt using AI. Read More
Important Updates About The ILP and Entrepreneur One Upgrade
We are on the verge of the greatest economic renaissance globally, undoubtedly the most extraordinary in the history of the United States, and even overshadow the impact of the Industrial Revolution. At the forefront of this revolution is cryptocurrency, which holds the power to empower millions of individuals and integrate them into a secure, decentralized global economy. Cryptocurrency introduces extra protection for people and presents an opportunity to evade issues such as inflation, political uncertainty, and economic marginalization.
It is a “rebuilding” of the entire global economy, and Markethive is at the threshold of this economic resurgence, ready to launch after years of preparation, iterations, and Divine guidance. Cryptocurrency has paved the way for revolutionary platforms to counter many real-world problems across various sectors, with Markethive pioneering social, marketing, and digital broadcasting.
We are launching into what many are calling the greatest crypto revolution ever. This revolution marks the increasing realization of the actual economic and social potential of decentralized platforms, heralding autonomy, financial sovereignty, and wealth distribution in a dynamic crypto-enabled ecosystem. As more people recognize these potentials, the crypto market will experience unprecedented growth and innovation, creating a renaissance within Markethive. Read More
Japan's Metaplanet To Expand Bitcoin Holdings by 470% in 2025
Metaplanet's expansion goal aligns with forecasts that government Bitcoin adoption could spur broader institutional investment in 2025.
Metaplanet Inc. plans to increase its Bitcoin holdings by 470%, aiming to reach 10,000 BTC this year as it continues to build on an accumulation strategy first undertaken in April.
CEO Simon Gerovich says Metaplanet will expand its BTC holdings by "utilizing the most accretive capital market tools available."
"Last year was transformational, as we broke records, expanded our Bitcoin treasury, and reinforced our position as Asia’s leading Bitcoin Treasury Company," Gerovich tweeted Saturday. "This year, we’re laser-focused on execution and driving even greater value for our shareholders."
The Tokyo-based investment firm currently holds 1,761.98 BTC worth 27.2 billion yen (US$173.6 million), according to a December 23 regulatory filing.
It follows a series of 19 purchases last year, with an average acquisition price of 11,846,002 yen per Bitcoin (roughly $75,000 each).
Its most recent purchase of 619.70 BTC for 9.5 billion yen in December marked its largest single acquisition, representing about 35% of its total holdings. Read More
Behind Ripple’s Stablecoin Growth: A Closer Look at the Top 10 RLUSD Giants
In a mere fortnight, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin has witnessed its supply on Ethereum expand by $4.4 million. Yet, with 768 addresses in possession of the token, over 70% of the stablecoin’s supply lingers in the Ripple Deployer wallet or contract address.
In 2024, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin garnered significant discussion and scrutiny, a digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar or its equivalents, and deployed across both the Ethereum blockchain and XRP Ledger (XRPL). Currently, there are 57.6 million RLUSD tokens issued on Ethereum, having experienced 1,672 transfers. The bulk of these tokens, precisely 70.97% or about 40,880,019 tokens, remain under the control of the Ripple Deployer address.
The second-largest wallet, tagged by Arkham Intelligence as possibly belonging to the B2C2 Group, comes with a caveat, as Arkham labels it with a query mark. B2C2 Group is renowned as a premier crypto-native liquidity provider, focusing on over-the-counter (OTC) and institutional solutions for digital asset trading. Regardless of its true owner, this wallet holds 3.03 million RLUSD. The third-largest wallet is in the custody of the crypto exchange Bullish.
Bullish’s address grips around 2.99 million RLUSD, which accounts for 5.2% of the total supply. An unidentified wallet possesses the fourth-largest amount of Ripple’s stablecoin, holding 2.89 million RLUSD as of Jan. 4, 2025. The global multi-asset digital trading platform Uphold manages the fifth largest RLUSD reserve with 2.28 million under its control. The sixth-largest holder on the Ethereum blockchain remains a mystery, yet it contains exactly 1,600,000 coins. Mexico’s crypto exchange Bitso holds the seventh largest RLUSD wallet.
Bitso currently possesses 1.24 million of Ripple’s stablecoin, representing approximately 2.15% of the entire 57.6 million supply. Read More
Solana Proposal Promises to Bring Support to Billions of Users
Solana's latest proposal introduces a new hashing system that could eliminate computational bottlenecks while maintaining security.
Solana developers have put forward a proposal that could transform how its blockchain handles billions of user accounts, addressing one of the biggest hurdles facing mainstream adoption.
The proposal introduces a "lattice-based" hashing system that fundamentally changes how the blockchain tracks and verifies user account states.
Following approval, the proposal could set a new standard for blockchain scalability, potentially influencing how other networks approach similar scaling challenges.
"The main goal is to scale Solana to billions [of] accounts and compute a "hash of all accounts" in practical time and space," the proposal reads, outlining a solution to a challenge that has long plagued high-performance blockchains. Read More
How to send money to family and friends abroad with cryptocurrency
Sending money overseas? Explore how cryptocurrency makes international transfers faster, cheaper and securer for your loved ones.
Key takeaways:
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made history by using Bitcoin to buy two Papa John’s pizzas, trading 10,000 Bitcoin BTC tickers down $93,316 — then worth just $25 — for the delivery. At the time, little did anyone know that cryptocurrency would emerge as a viable solution for international money transfers.
But why is crypto considered for cross-border transactions?
Traditional remittance methods carry high fees and take up considerable processing time. For example, if you’re in the United Kingdom, sending 1,000 British pounds to Los Angeles through a bank could cost you between 10 and 15 pounds in fees (depending upon the chosen banks), and the processing time can be a real hassle — often taking many business days.
While fintech solutions like Wise and Revolut have lowered transaction costs (between 1.50 and 4.66 pounds) and processing times (often instant), many people still face challenges accessing these services.
This article explores using cryptocurrencies to send money to family and friends abroad, highlighting the advantages of using crypto for making cross-border payments. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
