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- Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos and More Week 2 2025
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos and More Week 2 2025
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TL;DR
UK Judge Dismisses $770M Bitcoin Landfill Case
Russia Sells Seized Bitcoins from Bribery Case
Compound Integrates Ethena and Mantle Tokens
Vitalik Buterin on AI Risks and Opportunities
MANTRA and DAMAC Partner for $1B Asset Tokenization
Rena Labs Secures $3.3M Pre-Seed for Verifiable AI
Nation-State Bitcoin Adoption to Drive Growth in 2025
U.S. Regulator Targets Crypto Wallet Providers
and much more!
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Bitcoin Highlights of the Week
James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has lost his legal battle to recover a $770 million Bitcoin hard drive mistakenly thrown away in 2013. The hard drive, containing 8,000 BTC mined in 2009, was disposed of and ended up in a landfill.
The Newport City Council denied Howells access to the site, citing environmental permit restrictions. Judge Keyser dismissed the case, stating it had “no realistic prospect” of succeeding. Despite the loss, Howells' ownership of the Bitcoin was acknowledged, potentially paving the way for future monetization options.
New Hampshire Representative Keith Ammon has introduced a bill to establish a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" in the state treasury. The proposed legislation would permit the state to invest in Bitcoin and other digital assets alongside traditional investments like precious metals.
This marks a significant step in recognizing cryptocurrencies as a viable state investment option. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for next week. This move follows a broader trend seen in other states, with North Dakota also advancing similar legislation, underscoring growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a strategic financial asset at the state level.
Metaplanet, a Tokyo-based company, has set a bold target to acquire 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025, up from its current 1,762 BTC valued at $175 million. This aggressive strategy aligns with bullish bitcoin market predictions, with prices expected to surpass $200,000.
The company, led by CEO Simon Gerovich, began integrating bitcoin into its treasury in April 2024 and has since grown rapidly. Metaplanet used various financial tools, including loans and bond issuances, to fund its acquisitions. It forecasts significant revenue growth and aims to become a key player in the global bitcoin space through systematic accumulation and expansion.
Russian authorities have begun liquidating part of the 1,032 bitcoins seized from Marat Tambiev, a former investigator convicted of accepting bribes. The bitcoins, confiscated in 2023 following a court ruling, were allegedly obtained from the Infraud Organization in exchange for not seizing their assets.
Tambiev, currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, had split the bitcoins into smaller amounts, causing legal challenges for bailiffs attempting to sell them. So far, authorities have been authorized to sell $10 million worth of BTC, with plans to liquidate more. Tambiev's co-accused also face significant legal consequences.
Thailand is launching a pilot program in 2025 to enable tourists to use Bitcoin for transactions in Phuket, a popular tourist destination. The initiative, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, will operate within existing legal frameworks, allowing visitors to register Bitcoin through a Thai exchange and verify their identities before making purchases.
The program aims to integrate digital currency into everyday transactions, making digital payments more accessible in tourism-focused cities. BTC transactions will be converted into Thai baht through a clearinghouse, promoting competitiveness and enhancing Thailand’s business opportunities in the digital era.
Ethereum Highlights of the Week
Compound Finance has added Ethena's stablecoin USDe and Mantle's liquid staking token (LST), mETH, to its decentralized lending platform. Approved through a vote by Compound’s tokenholders on January 8, 2025, these tokens are now eligible as collateral.
The move reflects the growing adoption of yield-bearing stablecoins and LSTs in decentralized finance (DeFi). Compound’s total value locked (TVL) is currently $2.7 billion. Meanwhile, the DeFi market’s total TVL approaches $117 billion, driven by the rise of liquid staking tokens. Ethena's USDe has also become the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, offering competitive annual yields.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's co-founder, has voiced both caution and optimism regarding artificial intelligence (AI). In a series of tweets, he highlighted the existential risks AI poses, particularly the emergence of self-replicating autonomous systems that could permanently diminish human control.
However, Buterin also praised AI's potential to enhance human creativity, likening it to "mecha suits for the mind." He emphasized the importance of designing AI agents, such as those that replace chat-based systems, to empower users rather than disempower them, stressing the need for careful development to ensure AI serves humanity's interests.
Bhutan’s new special administrative region, Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), plans to include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin in its strategic reserves to strengthen its economic resilience. This move marks one of the first official integrations of digital assets into a region’s financial strategy.
GMC aims to focus on cryptocurrencies with substantial market capitalizations and liquidity, ensuring ease of trade. The decision follows the enactment of the “Application of Laws Act 2024,” which establishes a legal framework for digital assets. Bhutan’s ongoing crypto investments, including over $1 billion in Bitcoin, reflect its long-term strategy.
A recent survey revealed that Ripple (XRP) has overtaken Ethereum (ETH) as the second-most preferred cryptocurrency among South Korean investors, with Bitcoin (BTC) remaining the top choice. Conducted from December 24-26, 2024, the survey gathered insights from over 5,220 participants, showing Bitcoin in the lead, followed by XRP, and then Ethereum.
Ripple has been a popular choice in South Korea since 2017, maintaining strong support despite legal challenges, such as the SEC lawsuit. XRP's 400% price increase in 2024 further solidified its position among investors.
Sonic Labs has announced the integration of Circle’s bridged USDC stablecoin into its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer-1 chain, supported via the Sonic Gateway. This integration aims to reduce liquidity fragmentation, simplify token-swapping, and boost liquidity across the blockchain.
Developers can also create decentralized applications (dApps) with consistent contract addresses, ensuring future compatibility with native USDC. The bridged USDC is available from Ethereum, Solana, and Fantom via deBridge. Sonic Labs is preparing for its public network launch after completing its Genesis block and aims to reduce latency and transaction fees.
Cosmos Highlights of the Week
MANTRA and DAMAC Group have formed a groundbreaking partnership to tokenize $1 billion in real-world assets, including real estate, hospitality, and data centers, exclusively on MANTRA Chain starting in early 2025. This initiative leverages blockchain technology to provide secure, transparent, and accessible investment opportunities.
Amira Sajwani, Managing Director at DAMAC, highlighted the company's focus on innovation, noting tokenization's potential to enhance investor convenience. MANTRA CEO John Patrick Mullin described the collaboration as a pivotal moment for the Real-World Asset (RWA) industry, signaling confidence in blockchain's role in transforming traditional financing models and unlocking new growth opportunities.
Rena Labs has raised $3.3M in a pre-seed round led by Paper Ventures, with support from Faction VC, Eterna Capital, and others, to advance its Trust Execution Environment (TrustEE)-powered AI platform. TrustEE enables secure, autonomous, and verifiable AI through a specialized TEE ML abstraction stack.
As a Movement Labs launch partner, Rena is integrating TrustEE into the Movement chain and projects like Vomeus. Additionally, Rena's TrustEE Data Appchain leverages Initia and Celestia to enhance interoperability and portability.
Babylon Labs has launched the Phase-2 Testnet (bbn-test-5), beginning block production on January 8, 2025, at 9 AM UTC. This testnet introduces a Babylon PoS chain secured by Signet Bitcoin stakes, integrating Phase-1 and newly created stakes. A staking web app goes live at 10 AM UTC for stake registration and monitoring.
Key participants include stakers, validators, wallets, and developers deploying CosmWasm smart contracts. The testnet involves simulated tokens and prohibits incentivization. Detailed guides and faucets for testnet funds are available.
Agoric has partnered with EMURGO to integrate its innovative Orchestration technology into the Cardano ecosystem, fostering cross-chain interoperability. This collaboration connects Agoric with key projects and partners, enabling blockchain developers to create user-friendly, scalable applications.
Agoric’s Orchestration framework supports multi-block execution and native asynchronous functionality, streamlining Web3 development. By improving cross-chain flows, enhancing user retention, and driving value creation, the partnership aims to redefine blockchain innovation.
ATOM Accelerator has awarded an $80,000 grant to Ark Protocol, advancing critical infrastructure for interchain NFTs on the Cosmos Hub. This initiative focuses on breaking NFT interoperability barriers, enabling secure storage, governance, and seamless transfers across chains.
Ark Protocol’s plans include deploying NFT contracts to the Cosmos Hub, creating a cross-chain NFT bridge, and launching a creator-friendly NFT launchpad. Additionally, the grant supports relayers for smooth cross-chain operations and robust DevOps for system reliability.
Other Highlights of the Week
Fidelity Digital Assets predicts that nation-states will incorporate Bitcoin into their strategic reserves in 2025, propelling significant growth in the crypto market. Research analyst Matt Hogan emphasized that nations, central banks, and sovereign wealth funds may follow the examples of Bhutan and El Salvador, which have seen substantial returns.
Hogan warned that not allocating Bitcoin could become a risk due to issues like inflation and currency debasement. The firm also expects digital asset products, including Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, and tokenization to become mainstream, with tokenized value potentially doubling in 2025.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a new rule that would classify crypto wallet providers like MetaMask and Phantom as financial institutions, holding them accountable for fraudulent transactions. This rule aims to make wallet providers responsible for unauthorized transfers, even those caused by fraud or cyber theft.
MetaMask's Senior Counsel, Bill Hughes, expressed concerns over this responsibility shift. Critics argue that the rule represents a last-ditch effort by the Biden administration to regulate crypto, though many believe it may not be enacted once a potential shift in leadership occurs.
In a recent Bloomberg interview, SEC Chair Gary Gensler discussed his tenure and regulatory actions, claiming that the crypto industry is "rife with bad actors." He highlighted the SEC's handling of over 100 crypto-related cases during his leadership, compared to 80 under his predecessor, Jay Clayton.
Gensler also differentiated traditional finance from DeFi, emphasizing sentiment-driven investment in the latter. Critics argue that Gensler’s strict regulatory stance has stifled innovation, calling for clearer compliance laws to support industry growth. Many hope for a more constructive regulatory approach following his departure.
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