$1B Venice VVV Token Launch

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Good Morning.

MicroStrategy adds $1.1B in BTC, while ETH activity jumps 37% as institutions and DeFi ramp up. ETF filings keep coming, with Bitwise targeting Dogecoin and Cboe pushing for Solana. On the legal side, KuCoin settles for $300M, and Binance faces French scrutiny. Ripple secures key US licenses, Meteora hits $33B in volume, and OpenSea launches an XP system. With Scott Bessent confirmed as Treasury Secretary, pro-crypto momentum is building.

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In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Erik Voorhees’ Venice Launches 🚀 

• Case Study: Healthcare Data & Hippocrat 💊 

• Governance & Features: Symbiotic’s Permissionless Restaking 📢

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WHAT MATTERS

Erik Voorhees’ Venice Launches VVV Token on Base

State of play: Privacy-focused AI platform Venice, founded by Erik Voorhees, has launched its VVV token on Base. Half of the 100M token supply will be distributed via an airdrop to Venice users and decentralized AI communities.

• 50M VVV distributed to users and AI community projects. 35M VVV allocated to Venice, including 10M for the team (vesting over 24 months), 10M VVV reserved for the Venice Incentive Fund and 5M for liquidity.

• Venice will provide liquidity via Base DEX Aerodrome, allowing staking for yield and access to its AI inference API at zero-marginal cost.

• 14M VVV tokens will be emitted annually, with an initial 14% inflation rate, decreasing over time.

Founded in May 2024, Venice is an open-source, censorship-resistant AI platform with 450,000+ users and 50,000 daily active users. It provides uncensored AI inference without centralized control.

• The platform offers access to open-source LLMs, PDF analysis, image, and code generation, with revenue from a pro version.

Why it matters: Voorhees emphasized the importance of decentralized AI, stating that Venice ensures private interactions with AI and eliminates reliance on centralized entities.

Our take: Venice is pushing for decentralized, censorship-resistant inference. Its vision aligns with Web3 ideals, but long-term success depends on sustained adoption and real developer engagement beyond early hype.

For builders and investors: The project’s user growth (450K+ registered users) and Voorhees’ backing are strong signals, but token dilution risks and lack of governance utility may limit direct value accrual.

CASE STUDY

The Future of Healthcare Data: How Hippocrat is Leading the DeSci Shift

Decentralized Science (DeSci) leverages blockchain technology to address scientific challenges such as bureaucratic funding hurdles and limited collaboration caused by siloed data.

According to Kaito AI, DeSci's narrative mindshare surged by 2,640% in 2024, making it the fastest-growing crypto trend. Many prominent figures have been actively involved in promoting this narrative due to its potential.

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub to revolutionize peer review.

• Binance invested in and listed the BIO Protocol to promote open funding for research.

• CZ and Vitalik Buterin expressed strong support for DeSci, at Devcon Thailand

Among DeSci projects, data infrastructure solutions stand out due to their ability to securely store and tokenize data, contributing not only to research but also serving as real-world assets (RWA) with both practical and financial utility.

• The risks of centralized data storage have become increasingly evident.

• In October 2023, a 23andMe hack exposed the data of 6.9M users, underscoring the urgent need for decentralized alternatives.

• Healthcare data, often called "the new oil," is immensely valuable, yet individuals rarely benefit from it and remain vulnerable to security threats.

Hippocrat: Decentralized Healthcare Data Ownership

Recognizing the limitations of centralized healthcare data storage, Hippocrat set out to build a self-sovereign data protocol that allows individuals to securely share their healthcare data while maintaining full control.

• Founded in 2018, Hippocrat has been developing real-world applications for decentralized healthcare data.

• Today, its secure data-sharing protocol is being integrated with healthcare institutions and is rapidly expanding.

• In the growing DeSci sector, Hippocrat is gaining prominence as a key enabler of secure, incentivized data sharing—bridging the gap between scientific research, healthcare providers, and individual data ownership.

Hippocrat supports this edition to share its vision for decentralized healthcare data.

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INSIGHTS

OpenSea’s OS2 with XP System & Priority Access

OpenSea has launched OpenSea 2.0 (OS2), featuring a redesigned UI and a new experience points (XP) system to incentivize user engagement.

• The platform is currently in private beta, with priority access granted to Gemesis NFT holders, while others remain on a waitlist.

• Gemesis NFTs were airdropped in 2023 to users

  of Gem, the NFT platform OpenSea acquired and rebranded as OpenSea Pro.

• A blockchain snapshot of 49,785 wallets determined early access eligibility.

The XP system allows users to earn points by listing NFTs, making offers, and providing feedback in Discord.

• Speculation suggests these points may later be convertible into tokens, though OpenSea has not confirmed this.

• The move mirrors competitor Blur's strategy, which has helped it surpass OpenSea in monthly trading volume—hitting $317M in January 2025, more than double OpenSea’s $152M.

• Amid declining market share (from 90% in 2022 to 33% today) and a major layoff in November 2024, OpenSea is positioning OS2 as a strategic pivot to regain dominance.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Symbiotic Launches First Permissionless Restaking Protocol on Ethereum

Symbiotic has gone live on Ethereum mainnet, introducing the first fully permissionless and modular restaking protocol. Unlike EigenLayer, it allows users to restake any ERC-20 token, enhancing capital efficiency and network security.

Key features includes:

• Restaking Mechanism: Boosts capital utilization by securing multiple networks.

• Modular “Vaults” Design: Customizable smart contracts for flexible staking.

• Fully Implemented Slashing: Strengthens network integrity and penalizes bad actors.

• Credible Neutrality: Protocols set their own slashing rules without external interference.

Several projects are integrating Symbiotic to enhance security and decentralization:

• Chainbound’s bolt network and Router are leveraging it for improved network security.

• Ethena plans to unify its oracle network, DAO token, stablecoin, and L2 under a single security framework.

• Additionally, rollups, data availability layers, and oracle networks are adopting Symbiotic’s infrastructure to optimize capital efficiency and network reliability.

Other notable feature updates:

• LayerZero V2 is now live on Aptos.

• Circle has launched Circle Paymaster.

• Liquity V2 now live on Ethereum Mainnet.

• Moonwell has introduced physical Moonwell Cards.

• Lido has expanded Aave v3.2 Liquid eModes to Base and Arbitrum.

QUICK BITES

• French authorities investigate Binance.

• OpenSea releases points system for ‘OS2’ platform.

• MicroStrategy buys another 10,107 bitcoin for $1.1B.

• Bitwise files S-1 registration with the SEC for a Dogecoin ETF.

• Cboe BZX files again on behalf of firms for a spot Solana ETF.

• KuCoin pleads guilty to US charges and agrees to pay $300M.

• Meteora hits unprecedented $33B in trading volume in January.

• Tuttle Capital files for 10 leveraged crypto ETFs, including TRUMP.

• Ripple secures Money Transmitter Licenses in New York and Texas.

• US Senate confirms pro-crypto Scott Bessent as new Treasury secretary.

• ETH's active addresses surge 37% as institutional & DeFi interest grows.

• MicroStrategy launches 2.5M perpetual preferred share offering called STRK.

• WLFI purchases $2M in MOVE tokens as protocol unveils a developer mainnet.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Teng Yan’s read on Weekly AI Edge.

• Checkmate’s read on The Law of Large Numbers.

• Alex Cheema’s read on Why is DeepSeek great for Apple?

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.