Sonic Launch, DEAI Airdrop, More

Several events are in the pipeline for the top crypto news this week, including updates in the Fantom ecosystem, the planned release of Stacks’ network, project listings and airdrops, and key token unlock events.

Traders and investors may consider adjusting their trading strategies based on the following events to capitalize on the associated volatility.

Sonic Layer-1 Mainnet Launch

Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) recently announced that its new blockchain produced its first block of transactions, marking a key step toward its mainnet launch. The team has repeatedly claimed that its Layer-1 mainnet would launch in December.

This EVM platform, also known as Sonic, will offer developers attractive incentives and powerful infrastructure. This expectation, alongside Sonic’s airdrop, continues to drive interest in the network.  

Specifically, their L1 blockchain is going public soon after the s-token airdrop snapshot. With the mainnet launch expected soon, the Sonic community is buzzing with excitement.

Avalanche9000 Upgrade

The Avalanche ecosystem will hold its Avalanche9000 upgrade on Monday, December 16. The upgrade will reduce Avalanche L1 blockchain deployment costs by 99.9%, as well as reduce transaction costs on the established C-Chain by 25X.

The Avalanche9000 testnet also introduces Retro9000, a $40 million retroactive grant program, including $2 million in referral rewards. This is intended to support developers building on Avalanche.

“This growth reflects strong confidence in Avalanche’s technology, evidenced by a $250 million investment from Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly, and ParaFi Capital, amongst others. With the full Avalanche9000 rollout planned for Monday, December 16th, the forthcoming mainnet upgrade will enhance scalability, streamline development, and equip developers with better tools for building decentralized applications,” the project shared in a blog.

Stacks sBTC Release

Another top crypto event this week is the release of sBTC by the Stacks (STX) network on Tuesday, December 17. sBTC is a 1:1 trust-minimized Bitcoin-backed asset on Stacks. It will unlock BTC liquidity into DeFi protocols on Stacks while at the same time unlocking new Bitcoin yield opportunities.

Moreover, sBTC will help accelerate the Bitcoin ecosystem to catch up with Ethereum’s DeFi total value locked (TVL), which sits at over $120 billion.

The imminent launch enables Bitcoin deposits to earn yield and support DeFi on Stacks. This integration enhances liquidity and opens new financial opportunities, like those provided by Zest Protocol.

“Earn more Zest points. Just holding sBTC gives users a 5% yield, thanks to the Stacks rewards program. With Zest, users can supercharge their yield with sBTC,” the Zest Protocol said.

DEAI Listing, Airdrop, and Partnerships

Zero1 Labs is pioneering the future of decentralized AI with its novel platform that leverages fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). This novel technology ensures data privacy and security, allowing AI applications to process encrypted data without exposing sensitive information. The native token, DEAI, facilitates transactions within this ecosystem, creating a seamless economic layer for AI systems.

The DEAI token is due for listing in a tier-one centralized exchange (CEX), likely to be the OKX exchange. Beyond listing, the network is also planning its first airdrop for token stakers. Beyond these, there is also speculation for three new partnerships, including with the Sei ecosystem to accelerate decentralized AI innovation.  

“Zero1 is excited to welcome two new partners supporting early-stage AI teams this month. Two of the most recognizable names in Web 2 and Web 3 AI,” Zero1Labs shared.

Cosmos (ATOM) Announcement

The Cosmos ecosystem is also on the watchlist this week. Between December 17 and 19, it plans to make three major announcements, one of which is expected to concern the role of its native token, ATOM.

“The Cosmos Expansion has started, with a unified vision, strengthened leadership, and a renewed focus on growth. Stay tuned for 3 Spaces next week, and deeper dives,” the project shared.

The updates will follow recent “transformative” developments on the Cosmos network last week. Among the series of events that happened, Skip officially joined the Interchain Foundation as Interchain Inc. This collaboration effectively united the vision and execution of the Interchain Stack and Hub to fuel Cosmos’ growth.

LayerZero’s Fee Switch Proposal

Elsewhere, LayerZero’s fee switch proposal will go live on Friday, December 20, giving community members a chance to vote on the protocol fee.

“On Dec 20, 2024, 00:00 UTC, ZRO holders will vote:  “Yes” to activate the LayerZero protocol fee. “No” to keep the protocol fee inactive Voting ends Dec 27, 2024, 00:00 UTC,” the LayerZero Foundation said.

This marks the first fee switch referendum, with the vote expected to determine whether LayerZero starts charging a protocol fee for each message. It is also worth mentioning that this on-chain vote happens every six months, allowing ZRO holders to decide whether to activate the protocol fee.

“This protocol fee is equal to the total DVN and Executor fees charged for verification and execution of each LayerZero message. The collected protocol fees are used to buy back and burn ZRO, reducing its circulating supply,” the network said in a Medium post.

According to the announcement, failure to meet quorum will see the voting requirement of circulating supply decrease by 5% per subsequent vote (down to a floor of 20%).

The Arbitrum network is also bound for some volatility this week, with 92.65 million ARB tokens due for unlocking on Monday at 01:00 PM UTC. These tokens, valued at around $91.15 million, constitute just over 2% of ARB’s circulating supply and will be allocated to investors, the team, and project advisors.

Traders and investors should brace for volatility, as token unlocks are often bearish catalysts. BeInCrypto recently reported KeyRock research findings on the impact of such events on token prices.

Coinbase WBTC Delisting

Coinbase announced in November that it would suspend WBTC trading on its platform on December 19. The largest US-based exchange cited a careful review amid expectation that its flagship Bitcoin wrapper, cbBTC, would take over.

“Coinbase will suspend trading for WBTC (WBTC) on December 19, 2024, at or around 12 pm ET. Your WBTC funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time. We have moved our WBTC order books to limit-only mode. Limit orders can be placed and canceled, and matches may occur,” Coinbase detailed.

Ahead of this delisting, BiT Global filed a lawsuit against Coinbase over its suspension of the WBTC token on Friday. According to the lawsuit, Coinbase is violating antitrust laws with this move,  which is why BiT Global is suing for $1 billion in damages.

“cbBTC already up to 8.7% of the collateralized BTC market since launching 3 months ago The $1b lawsuit post the wBTC Coinbase delisting tells you everything you need to know. cbBTC will flip wBTC, just a matter of when not if,” a DragonFly XYZ investor quipped.