Japan’s MicroStrategy Metaplanet accumulates the most Bitcoin today, purchasing as the price falls, generating a 309% return.
On Monday, Japan’s MicroStrategy Metaplanet reported the purchase of an additional 617 BTC, taking advantage of Bitcoin’s slump to $95,000. It also revealed that the corporation made a huge 309% yield on its Bitcoin assets in the fourth quarter. However, the stock price has failed to recover considerably today due to low sentiment.
Metaplanet takes its total Bitcoin holdings to 1762 Bitcoins
MicroStrategy acquired 619.70 Bitcoin for ¥9.5 billion (~$60.7 million) at an average price of ¥15.33 million. This recent investment has contributed to the company’s quarterly Bitcoin yield of 309.8%. Furthermore, with the Bitcoin price rising to an all-time high of $108K this quarter, the company’s BTC yield has increased significantly from 41.7% in the third quarter.
As of December 23, Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin holdings stood at 1,761.98 BTC, bought for about ¥20.87 billion. This is part of the company’s continual efforts to increase its BTC holdings.
Last Monday, the Japanese corporation launched its 4th Series of Ordinary Bonds, successfully raising 4.5 billion Yen from EVO FUND, which would mature on December 17, 2024. On December 20, the Japanese corporation issued its 5th Series of Ordinary Bonds, raising an additional ¥5.0 billion from EVO FUND with similar terms to the 4th Series. Metaplanet saw an opportunity with the 10% drop in the price of Bitcoin from its all-time high during the crypto market meltdown and invested all of the earnings in new Bitcoin acquisitions.
Metaplanet becomin Bitcoin Treasury company
Last week, Metaplanet officially identified itself as a Bitcoin Treasury company. “The company aims to strategically acquire and manage Bitcoin as a core corporate asset and leverage capital markets to increase shareholder value,” noted the firm.
CEO Simon Gerovich stated that their Bitcoin purchase method helps to safeguard funds from the decreasing Japanese yen.
Stock price up over 2000% YTD
The company’s Bitcoin adoption plan caused a tremendous increase in its stock price, which reached an all-time high of 4,250 JPY last week. However, the stock has subsequently corrected by about 20% and is now trading at 3,410 JPY.
Metaplanet stock has currently up 2,034% year to date, bringing the company’s capitalization to more than $1 billion.
Businesses and governments buying the BTC price dip
Apart from Japan’s MicroStrategy, other large whales are collecting BTC during this latest drop. According to Arkham Intelligence, the El Salvador government increased its Bitcoin holdings by 29 BTC, totaling around $2.84 million. This current acquisition brings the country’s total Bitcoin holdings to 5,995 BTC, valued at $562 million, and comes at a time when El Salvador has achieved an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and secured a $1.4 billion loan.
Bitcoin (BTC) price is now $95,500, with a market capitalization of less than $1.9 trillion. Also, daily trade volumes have plummeted by more than 4.18%, falling below $50 billion. According to Coinglass statistics, 24-hour liquidation has increased to $62 million, with long-liquidation accounting for $40 million.
Tron’s Justin Sun offloads 50% ETH holdings, Ethereum price crash imminent?
Tron’s Justin Sun has sold $143 million in ETH holdings amid a whale selloff; could Ethereum’s price go below $3000?
Tron creator Justin Sun has been massively selling his ETH holdings, with the Ethereum price plummeting 17% since the rejection at $4,000. Sun has sold another 50% of his assets for $143 million in the last seven days. Market observers expect that the ETH price will fall below $3,000 once again before resuming its upward pace.
Tron’s Justin Sun on ETH selling spree
Justin Sun is on a major Ethereum selling binge after the coin started its upward trend following Donald Trump’s election victory. This persisted until last week, when Tron creator offloaded $143 million worth of ETH, leading the Ethereum price to plummet by more than 15% during the crypto market crisis.
According to the blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain, Justin Sun redeemed 39,999 ETH (worth $143 million) from liquid staking sites Lido Finance and EtherFi. He then deposited the full money at HTX.
Since November 10, as the Ethereum price has risen, Sun has deposited 108,919 ETH (worth $400 million) to HTX at an average price of $3,674. Notably, many of these deposits occurred during local price maxima.
Spot On Chain also stated that Justin Sun is now in the process of unstaking 42,904 ETH (worth $139 million) from Lido Finance. The Tron creator might donate these monies to HTX later.
Ethereum price drop below $3000 coming?
With Ethereum (ETH) price losing its critical support around $3,500, market sentiment for the world’s largest altcoin has shifted negative. Last week, crypto market analysts went gloomy on Ethereum, predicting the price to fall by $2,800 due to a selloff by whales.
According to popular market researcher IncomeSharks, Ethereum had a “low-volume weekend,” following a turbulent week for equities. The experts noted that it will not be a good moment to sell.
The On-Balance Volume (OBV) indicator, which measures buying and selling pressure, remains constant, swinging within a channel. Recent Ethereum purchases are still profiting, offering some support to the market. However, the trend below reveals that Ethereum might still fall to $3,000.
Prominent cryptocurrency analyst “I am Crypto Wolf” also expressed an optimistic view, citing a likely inverted head-and-shoulders (iHS) pattern. According to the expert, Ethereum’s price chart is presently creating the “right shoulder” of the iHS continuation pattern.
This setup might give the impetus required to break through the $4,000 obstacle and go for a $10,000 objective by May. A breakthrough is expected by the end of January, but a retest of the $3,000 barrier is still possible before the rally takes off, he said.
Experts discuss if decentralized AI is next big trend or just another retail fad
The decentralized AI sector had extraordinary growth in 2024. According to PitchBook, investors pumped $436 million into the industry, representing a than 200% growth from 2023.
This growth corresponds to the global AI market’s remarkable market capitalization of $214 billion this year. The confluence of AI and blockchain is changing the way these technologies are produced, accessible, and implemented. Is decentralized AI more than a fad?
Breaking down decentralized AI
Decentralized AI combines artificial intelligence with systems that favor distributed ownership, governance, and cooperation. Unlike traditional AI models, which are frequently centralized, decentralized AI uses trustless frameworks.
Investors are more interested in decentralized AI businesses than ever before, with more money raised this year than in the prior three years combined.
This concept is shown by projects such as SingularityNET, which enable the creation, distribution, and commercialization of AI services. In March 2024, SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol revealed intentions to unite their coins.
This combination intends to accelerate collaborative AI endeavors and broaden access to these technologies. These frameworks can help lessen dependency on centralized institutions, opening the door for more open and equitable AI ecosystems.
Decentralized AI is gaining popularity because to its ability to overcome privacy and ownership problems. These agents can handle wallets, perform transactions, and customize information while keeping user data secure.
“Crypto users are already big on owning their assets and data, so decentralized AI fits perfectly by enabling AI agents that work directly for each user.Even more exciting, in crypto, you can have shared ownership of these AI agents. Imagine a DAO collectively owning an AI that manages its treasury, or a group funding an AI artist to generate unique NFTs. It’s about combining the intelligence of AI with the transparency and fairness of blockchain,” Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Vanar said.
Another important factor is the seamless integration of blockchain and AI. Blockchain provides safe data storage, whereas AI analyzes data and creates insights. Community-driven innovation, as well as the attractiveness of shared ownership, contribute to its widespread acceptance.
Challenges and risks in DeAI
Despite its potential, decentralized AI confronts several hurdles. Scalability remains a technological challenge, with blockchain’s present infrastructure struggling to meet AI’s resource-intensive needs effectively.
Trust and governance are also challenging. Transparency and accountability systems are crucial for building confidence.
“Scaling large datasets and models across decentralized networks without compromising performance is a significant hurdle,” Chi Zhang, CEO of Kite AI, said.
Concerns about data privacy hamper the adoption process. According to a recent Informatica poll, 40% of data executives highlighted data privacy and safety as important hurdles to using generative AI. Frameworks must solve these concerns in order to obtain widespread user confidence.
“Conceptually, one of the toughest issues is trust. Decentralized AI requires people to trust not just the AI but the entire network running it, which means frameworks need clear, transparent mechanisms for accountability and decision-making,” explains Ashraf.
Decentralized AI must demonstrate usefulness in order to progress beyond retail-driven speculation. For example, privacy-preserving AI may securely evaluate sensitive medical data without storing it centrally.
Financial markets provide another practical use. Mark Stokic, Head of AI at Oasis Protocol, emphasizes the need of privacy-enabled AI agents in producing trading signals. These agents secure sensitive information while contributing to collective intelligence. According to him, the objective is to create something that will remain value when the hoopla has subsided.
Moving towards the future
According to Forbes forecasts, the worldwide AI market would be worth $1,339 billion by 2030, up from $214 billion this year. This rise demonstrates the potential for decentralized systems to scale alongside standard AI.
Stokic sees these technologies enabling smart cities, financial tools, and collaborative networks. These use cases have the potential to alter industries by focusing on privacy, efficiency, and user ownership.
“This isn’t just theoretical. We’re seeing real applications where decentralized networks are providing compute power that would be impossible to access otherwise. Also, we finally have some attention from outside the crypto world. We’re seeing AI PhDs as founders of crypto companies. These aren’t just crypto natives trying to jump on the AI bandwagon, they’re AI experts who recognize blockchain’s potential to solve fundamental problems in the field,” Stokic said.
To reach its full potential, decentralized AI must emphasize real-world applications and sustainable infrastructure. Projects like OG Labs and Warden Protocol are leading the way, demonstrating what is possible when usefulness outweighs hype.
“Decentralized AI must prioritize equitable development by tokenizing data and model contributions to incentivize broad participation while reducing reliance on centralized actors. Real-world use cases, such as DeFi strategy execution, decentralized supply chain management, and privacy-preserving healthcare diagnostics, can demonstrate its practical utility. Developing interoperable frameworks that enable seamless AI operations across multiple blockchains is essential for fostering scalability and widespread adoption,” said David Pinger, CEO of Warden Protocol.
Decentralized AI is reaching a watershed point. Its quick expansion and tremendous prospects must face substantial difficulties. It combines a speculative trend and a transformational technology.
Its development is fueled by privacy, openness, and collaborative creativity. The true test for this industry is whether or not it can provide practical and transformational solutions.