Jan 6, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly Highlight — Markets Snap Five-Day Loss Streak 

Investors are now seizing the opportunity to buy the dip in U.S. stocks after a five-day decline that erased over $1 trillion in market value. Wall Street has broken its longest losing streak since April, with the Nasdaq-100 rebounding 1.7% and the S&P 500 rising 1.3% on Friday, January 3. These gains slightly offset the week's sell-off, which had continued into the new year following a tough December.

Despite concerns about slowing earnings growth among tech giants like the Magnificent Seven, traders remain optimistic, especially regarding AI leader NVIDIA Corporation. The market believes that, as long as retail investors keep investing in AI, the associated stock market boom is expected to persist. 

Stocks reached their session highs in the afternoon after Mike Johnson was reelected as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, indicating potential support for a business-friendly agenda. Meanwhile, bond yields rose, with the 10-year hitting 4.6% following comments from Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin about maintaining restrictive rates. U.S. manufacturing showed modest growth, with new orders at their highest since early last year, while investors assessed economic strength against the possibility of slower interest-rate cuts.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — AI Agent Spring Coming

Many investors are eagerly anticipating an Alt Season, a period when altcoins typically surge in value. However, current market dynamics suggest we may not see a widespread altcoin rally. The sheer number of tokens, combined with limited liquidity, has led to what's known as altcoin dispersion, making it crucial to select the right sectors and tokens.

, which are thriving even as the broader market declines. This nascent sector is experiencing rapid advancements, and its associated tokens face less pressure from venture capital unlocks. Many of its top protocols lack centralized exchange listings, indicating more buyers may enter the market.

Those investors who missed previous opportunities, such as the DeFi summer of 2020 and the Alt Layer 1 trade, now have another chance. Instead of targeting individual AI agents, the best risk/reward strategy lies in investing in infrastructure plays, which serve as the foundational tools for the sector.

The leading AI agent player is Virtuals Protocol, a platform for launching tokenized AI agents on the Base network. By purchasing tokens like Luna by Virtuals (LUNA) and VaderAI (VADER), users gain governance rights over specific agents, which allows them to both influence development and share in profits. 

Recently, daily protocol fee revenues dropped significantly in mid-December 2024 as activity slowed for the holidays. However, speculation around agent-associated tokens surged as the new year approached. Currently, Virtuals Protocol generates over $1 million in daily fees, though this is 50% less than figures for early December. Despite these challenges, the VIRTUAL token has more than doubled in value, reaching a market capitalization of $4.6 billion.

Other highlighted opportunities include Zerebro, which is pivoting to a full-stack framework for AI agents; ARC, with its Rust-based framework; and 

 (GRIFFAIN), a natural language on-chain search tool. These projects are well-positioned for future growth in the evolving landscape of AI technology.

 as we delve into leading AI agent tokens and the past week’s market movements. 

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Market Snaps Five-Day Loss Streak; AI Agent Spring Coming

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events, the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

December's end-of-year options expiration brought an unexpected drop as realized volatility fell to the lowest levels of the month. Perpetual swap open interest remained stable, indicating these markets weren't heavily used for hedging against expired options, likely contributing to the muted volatility. 

While most expired open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) hasn't been reinvested, the balance of calls and puts remains consistent. Notably, ETH options are pricing in higher implied volatility as compared to BTC, particularly for shorter expirations, leading to a flat term structure for ETH, while BTC is offering cheaper options exposure.

In the perpetual markets, low volatility and minimal spot movements have led funding rates for nearly all tokens to mirror broader market sentiment throughout the holiday season. On the options side, BTC's term structure is noticeably lower and steeper than ETH's, with realized volatility now dipping below implied volatility levels, highlighting an intriguing shift in market dynamics.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Open Interest Solid Amid Year-End Options Expiration

Although open interest for both BTC and ETH perpetual swaps hasn’t returned to early December 2024 highs, it remained robust throughout the significant end-of-year options expiration event. This suggests that these markets weren’t heavily utilized to 

 of the expiring options contracts, likely contributing to the lack of volatility observed during this period. Instead, trading volumes have dipped noticeably during the winter holiday season, coinciding with a collapse in realized volatility back to December 2024’s lowest levels.

BTC Option Curve Remains Steep During Call-Put Parity

The expiration of December's end-of-year options didn’t trigger the anticipated surge in volatility; instead, realized volatility has plummeted to the lower end of its recent range. The implied volatility term structure remains steep compared to both its recent behavior and ETH's, with longer-dated implied volatility around 57%, and 1-week at-the-money options trading about five points lower. Much of the expired open interest hasn’t yet been rolled into new positions, maintaining a neutral balance between puts and calls. Consequently, BTC's options market positioning is relatively neutral, lacking the leverage it had at the start of December 2024.

Huge ETH Option Expiring Doesn’t Cause Volatility

A late December spike in realized volatility didn’t carry into the new year, with ETH’s spot price currently exhibiting volatility below that of short-tenor implied volatility. Interestingly, the implied volatility term structure has undergone a steepening and re-flattening over the past week, contrasting with BTC’s slightly steeper profile. This suggests that ETH’s options market is anticipating higher short-term volatility in spot price movements. 

Despite the significant expiration of options open interest at the end of December 2024, which didn’t lead to a rollover into later expirations, call options continue to dominate the market and have increased at the start of 2025.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Jan 2, 2025): BTC Options Continue to See Call-Put Parity, With Lower Short-Term Volatility Expected

Dive into FLock, a decentralized platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform countless industries, but its development often raises questions about privacy, control and inclusivity. 

 is a unique decentralized platform that democratizes AI training, fine-tuning and inferencing. With its blockchain-powered infrastructure, FLock ensures transparency, security and community-driven decision-making, paving the way for AI models that align with established societal values. 

In this article, we’ll explore how FLock decentralizes AI training, its key features and its potential impact on developers, communities and users.

 platform that revolutionizes the way AI models are developed, trained and deployed. By leveraging blockchain technology and a novel approach called 

, FLock addresses critical issues in AI development, such as centralized control, lack of transparency and privacy concerns.

At its core, FLock’s mission is to democratize AI by enabling communities to participate directly in the creation and refinement of AI models. Through federated learning, FLock trains AI models across multiple decentralized devices or servers. This method ensures that data remains local, eliminating the need for raw data exchange while still enabling robust model training. By decentralizing the training process, FLock not only protects individual privacy, but also fosters a more inclusive ecosystem in which diverse contributors can collaborate.

What sets FLock apart is its integration of 

. This ensures that all contributions — whether data, compute power or feedback — are transparently recorded and fairly rewarded. Blockchain tech’s immutable ledger enhances trust among participants and safeguards the process against manipulation. Additionally, the platform’s on-chain incentive mechanisms encourage participation from a wide range of contributors, ensuring that rewards are distributed equitably.

Ultimately, FLock empowers communities to develop bespoke AI models tailored to their specific needs. By decentralizing the process and prioritizing transparency and collaboration, FLock breaks the monopoly of large corporations, creating an AI ecosystem that aligns with public ethics and societal values.

, an Oxford alumnus with a robust background in AI and blockchain technology. Sun, who serves as FLock's CEO, has an impressive career trajectory, having worked as the Director of AI for the Royal Bank of Canada and as an AI Research Fellow at Imperial College London. His vision for FLock stems from a deep understanding of both the technical and ethical challenges of AI development.

The founding team also includes other Oxford alumni, boasting over a decade of combined experience in AI research and the cryptocurrency industry. This team brings a collective blend of academic excellence and practical expertise that positions FLock to lead the decentralized AI movement.

FLock has successfully raised $11 million in funding across two rounds, reflecting strong investor confidence in its vision. In May 2024, FLock secured a $6 million seed round co-led by Lightspeed Faction and Tagus Capital, with additional backing from Digital Currency Group (DCG), Volt Capital, OKX Ventures and Inception Capital.

Later, in December 2024, FLock announced a $3 million successful funding round led by DCG and joined by prominent names like Animoca Brands, Fenbushi Capital, GnosisVC and GSR. These investments are being channelled into enhancing the platform’s testnet and federated learning client, accelerating FLock’s mission of enabling secure, collaborative AI development.

With this funding and over 1,500 nodes contributing from platforms like Numerai and Kaggle, FLock is rapidly scaling its impact on decentralized AI training.

FLock AI revolutionizes AI development through its decentralized training framework. This approach allows participants to contribute to AI model training without ever sharing their personal data. Instead, models are trained locally across devices using federated learning, which ensures that data remains with its owners while still enhancing the accuracy of the model overall. 

FLock’s reward system is designed to incentivize active participation. Contributors who provide data, computational power and/or feedback are compensated with FLOCK tokens, ensuring a fair distribution of rewards. 

FLock empowers its community through a robust governance framework. Decisions regarding AI model development, deployment and ethical considerations are driven by the community, ensuring alignment with established societal values. Through blockchain-based voting mechanisms, contributors can influence the direction of AI projects, fostering transparency and public accountability. 

FLock’s modular architecture allows contributors to participate in specific aspects of AI model development. Whether providing raw data or computational power or even refining algorithms, the platform enables a collaborative and scalable development process. 

At the core of FLock’s philosophy is its commitment to privacy and security. By leveraging blockchain technology, the platform ensures that no single entity controls the AI development process. Data remains local and protected by cryptographic measures, while the immutability of blockchain guarantees transparency in every transaction and model update. 

 begins with a blockchain and an AI layer.

The blockchain layer underpins FLock’s incentivization and security mechanisms.

The AI layer facilitates model training, refinement and deployment, leveraging both centralized and federated approaches.

Let’s have a look at the supply and demand for the FLOCK token.

FLock adopts a 1:2 ratio model between team/investors (33.3%) and community (66.7%), prioritizing community-driven growth and ecosystem expansion. The majority of tokens are allocated to incentivize user participation and long-term ecosystem success.

FLock aims to improve the future of AI development by decentralizing the training process and ensuring transparency, privacy and inclusivity. By leveraging blockchain and federated learning, FLock empowers communities to contribute to AI creation without compromising on privacy. Its innovative reward system and community-driven governance foster a fair and collaborative ecosystem. 

With significant backing and a growing network of contributors, FLock is positioning itself as a leader in decentralized AI, offering a more ethical and secure alternative to traditional AI development models. As it continues to scale, FLock is set to transform the way AI models are built and deployed.

 — and earn a share of a 10 million FLOCK prize pool. For more details, visit 

Intermediate

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FLock AI: Decentralized AI Training

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how you can complete a series of tasks in Network3 for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade.

Task 1: Register for a Network3 Account and Connect Your Bybit Wallet 

: Navigate to the campaign page and click on the 

task. Click on the task, and Galxe will ask to redirect you to the Network3 register page.

: Register for a Network3 account using your email address. You may indicate a 

Task 2: Download the Network3 App and Run a Node for One Hour

 and choose your operating system to download the Network3 app.

 or powerbutton, depending upon which operating system you’re using. For ease of reference, we’ve used macOS and iOS as examples below.

: Keep running the node until the timer reaches 

Beginner

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How to Complete Network3 Tasks for Bybit Web3 Airdrop Arcade

Bybit Learn

GameFi

Pancake Games is an intelligent NFT gaming platform that gives users access to a variety of different blockchain games. Find out more about how it works here.

 blockchain games has increased dramatically in recent years. Many of these projects center around the 

 and may venture into the web3 space in the future. Unfortunately, many of them have a similar concept, which is to entertain gamers while providing a way to earn rewards. While 

 is also a play-to-earn game based on NFTs, it stands apart from other major projects in exciting ways. With a closer look at what Pancake Games is and how it works, you may want to play.

Pancake Games is an intelligent NFT gaming platform that gives users access to a variety of different blockchain games. In addition to providing rewards and entertainment, the platform’s unique design teaches its users about blockchain gaming.

Many blockchain games in the cryptosphere usually require the accumulation and use of points, or coins, while Pancake Games uses GCAKE. The token can be exchanged on Pancake Swap and Uniswap, and is listed on numerous popular exchanges including Bybit. With Pancake Games, users can produce a 

 stream through rewards and staking, and can expand their knowledge and skills of gaming strategies and development. Gamers can even reserve NFT games before their release, and organize events. Plus, given the token’s performance abilities, there’s upward pressure on the value of GCAKE, which presents a solid investment opportunity to the platform’s users.

While little is known about the creators of Pancake Games, its purpose is clear: To develop a niche platform in the decentralized gaming world. 

Besides filling the same boxes that other platforms offering blockchain games do, Pancake Games has been focused on turning everyday gamers into professional gamers with its many special features. Since the project officially launched in November 2021, it has received cash infusions from 14 equity investors around the world. They include a private U.S. investor, a Korean gaming company, a Hong Kong crypto NFT capital investor and a Japanese advertising company. Indeed, the platform has received ample attention, which has been partly demonstrated by a 

 project established in South Korea, Pancake Games strives to do what other blockchain games haven’t. Other NFT-based games provide entertainment and allow investors to earn rewards and income in various ways. These platforms depend on gamers continually using them. However, the playtime of many gamers is limited by their need to address important offline responsibilities, such as working to pay the bills. With this in mind, Pancake Games is committed to helping its many users become professional gamers, if they strive to do so, by educating them on the latest and upcoming NFT games and their winning strategies.

Not only does Pancake Games connect users to a variety of games, but it also supports the pre-ordering of new games as an exclusive benefit to its users. This gives Pancake Games users a head start once the latest games become available for general use.

All the features offered on the Pancake Games platform are accessible to GCAKE holders, who can use their tokens to pre-order new games and have first access to exclusive NFTs. GCAKE holders may also see a financial gain in their holdings based on the token’s increased value. While there’s no guarantee the token’s value will increase, Pancake Games uses a powerful 

 mechanism to create deflationary pressure.

Moreover, token holders can qualify to win a range of rewards that vary over time, so pay attention to when rewards are available. Users can also earn rewards when they organize events, attend gaming tournaments or are active in other ways. Rewards are paid in GCAKE.

The incredible design of this new GameFi project is firmly rooted in several key features that provide users with the many benefits and rewards for which Pancake Games is known. Keep in mind that Pancake Games is a relatively new platform, so some of its exciting features are still in development. Here’s what’s cooking on Pancake Games now.

One of the features still in the works is an initial DEX offering — or 

 platform — a relatively recent way for new projects to raise money. An IDO platform is a decentralized crowdfunding platform that supports 

. Through its IDO platform, Pancake Games will support a variety of currencies that are associated with highly rated games. This upcoming feature has the potential to elevate the function of the Pancake Games platform significantly.

Pancake Games has been, and will continue to be, designed with collaboration in mind. Specifically, it has already connected with other NFT game projects to support an interactive user experience. Other collaborations are expected to be announced on an ongoing basis. In addition, various NFT game competitions are planned for the purpose of promoting the platform’s features. By participating in these events, users have the opportunity to earn GCAKE.

Gacha is an interactive feature on the Pancake Games platform that can benefit users. It’s a virtual mechanical feature based on luck. GCAKE holders who spin the virtual gacha may possibly win an item. Some winners will receive a rare and valuable NFT. The Gacha campaign has been specifically designed by the platform’s creators to provide a strong probability of winning the most coveted rewards.

Pancake Games incentivizes GCAKE holders to interact with the platform. The User Ranking Board provides up-to-date stats on each user’s rank, which can be enhanced by attending conferences. Rare NFTs may be available for those who participate. Ranking enhancement is also possible through a daily bonus offered for logging on to the platform. By achieving a higher ranking, users gain access to airdrops. A higher ranking also provides educational materials, such as videos on winning strategies, and lectures by pro gamers against whom users can play, to help participants become professional gamers. A user may level up by reaching milestones in games and completing games.

Many platforms that offer blockchain games are designed to provide business-to-consumer services. Pancake Games, however, is both a business-to-consumer and a business-to-business service platform, in that it can connect developers, creators and others. With its design and focus on developing professional gamers, Pancake Games is positioned to experience extensive growth. The B2B platform is entirely funded by GCAKE tokens, which provide developmental and financial support for the creation of new blockchain games.

As with other blockchain gaming platforms, the 

 of Pancake Games is managed by GCAKE holders. Specifically, GCAKE holders receive priority for IDO activities, vote on proposals, request changes to the platform and suggest new NFT games. Each token holder receives voting rights based on how many tokens they have.

The number of GCAKE tokens available for purchase, 10 trillion, was established in September 2021 shortly before the platform’s launch. Pancake Games will not issue any additional tokens. A burn mechanism is in place that promotes the relatively rapid destruction of GCAKE. This mechanism fosters both short-term and long-term value deflation. While many tokens are created based on inflation, GCAKE’s deflationary mechanism could make it extremely popular on exchanges going forward.

While it’s easy to view Pancake Games as just another play-to-earn blockchain game in use today, the reality is that this new GameFi project stands apart in extraordinary ways. In fact, its unique traits lay the foundation for its exciting advantages. What are those advantages?

One of the key areas where Pancake Games stands apart from other blockchain games is its focus on developing professional gamers. For example, users with a higher ranking have access to educational materials that teach gaming strategies. Furthermore, gamers can receive priority access to some of the upcoming NFT games, and learn more about the games and their strategies before others have the opportunity to do so. Because Pancake Games also offers the ability to gain financially, it can provide essential income to professional gamers.

Pancake Games provides users with several ways to make money. One method is to simply hang on to the GCAKE tokens. While in general the value of tokens fluctuates, there’s deflationary pressure on GCAKE through the platform’s burn mechanism. This means the token value may trend upward over time. 

In addition, several options are built into the platform’s features for users to earn tokens as well as NFTs. These options include staking tokens, using Gacha campaigns and participating in events. NFTs may be traded or sold, and tokens can be swapped on an exchange for other cryptocurrencies or for fiat.

While Pancake Games is live, many of its features are still being developed. When the GCAKE tokens were offered for sale in September 2021, the Uniswap listing became active, and the 

 listing was active as of November 2021. 

In October 2021, Pancake Games announced its 

, a major Japanese gaming studio founded by 

. Through this partnership, Pancake Games aims to organize events and collaborate with professional gamers in the eSports space.

Some of the Pancakes Games features are scheduled to come online soon. They include the IDO platform and the increased functionality of the Gacha campaign. Keep in mind that governance activities take place frequently, allowing for GCAKE holders to regularly make suggestions and vote on the adoption of new measures. With this in mind, and with new collaborations and features in the works, Pancake Games is scheduled to benefit from considerable growth in both the short and long terms.

GCAKE is the native token for Pancake Games. The maximum and total supply of GCAKE tokens is 10 trillion. The market cap is currently approximately $340,000. Its initial price on November 11, 2021 was $0.000001642. The value of a GCAKE token quickly shot up to $0.000002542 by the end of that month. Since then, the value fluctuated rapidly at first, but valuation has become less severe over the last few months. The current price of GCAKE is approximately $0.000000358212.

GCAKE has strong fundamentals and a burn mechanism that supports upward value growth, and it continues to gain traction in the world of crypto tokens. Thus, it may have a stronger potential for growth over a longer period of time. By the end of 2022, 

 believes that GCAKE’s price will increase to $0.00000047, then grow to $0.0000007 by the end of 2023 and $0.00000099 by the end of 2024. 

Looking farther ahead, GCAKE may hit $0.0000032 by the end of 2027 and $0.00001441 by the end of 2031. It’s important to understand that these are projections based on the technical analysis of current data. As the market shifts and other data points change as well, these projections may change. In light of this, it’s always a smart idea to purchase tokens only after careful research and with caution.

To purchase GCAKE tokens, you first convert fiat into one of the main cryptocurrencies. These include ETH, BTC and USDT. Then you can use an exchange platform to make a token swap. 

 is an exchange that supports the purchase of 

 tokens. It has a user-friendly layout and offers a wide range of trading pairs. 

Once you’ve purchased the tokens on Bybit, simply transfer your new GCAKE to your wallet. When you start using them on the Pancake Games platform, they can begin generating benefits and rewards for you.

While Pancake Games has already garnered considerable interest, its token price remains relatively low. This means an investor or user can purchase a large number of tokens for a nominal price. The value of GCAKE may increase over time because of the deflation created by the platform’s burning mechanism. It may also increase as new users come aboard. Pancake Games is actively planning for growth, such as developing new partnerships and raising awareness through special events. As more NFT games are introduced, the GCAKE token value could also increase.

However, because Pancake Games is a new platform with many unfinished features, there’s an element of risk for investors. Besides that, GCAKE and all crypto tokens can experience sharp and sudden changes in pricing, due to whale activity and other factors. With this in mind, it’s important to make investments cautiously.

Pancake Games offers exciting features and capabilities with ample room for future growth. Between the affordable price of its tokens and its ability to help take gamers to a professional level, Pancake Games is a play-to-earn platform that requires a closer look.

Pancake Games (GCAKE): Connecting Blockchain Gamers & Game Creators

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards