This week’s featured events top the list of top crypto news, providing an opportunity for traders and investors to stay abreast of developments in their respective ecosystems.
From upcoming Jupiter airdrop news to the launch of the Dusk mainnet, this week in crypto promises to be exciting.
THORChain Integrates Base L2
In October, Nine Realms, which supports the THORChain ecosystem, revealed a network roadmap, showing plans to begin supporting Base L2 for cross-chain swaps.
“Base could be the next main chain connected to THORChain. The Nine Realms team is working to bring it to mainnet,” reads an excerpt from the Medium article read.
This integration expected will take place in the 2nd week of January. In 2025 Predictions, Jade is famous for its THORChain ecosystem updates speak clearly that it was near.
THORChain uses IBC (Inter-Chain Communication Protocol) to inject additional assets into the Application Layer. Connecting to more chains, THORChain improves liquidity and enhances the experience for Liquidity Providers (LPs).
Activate USUAL Fee Conversion
The fee migration mechanism for Usual (USUAL) will be activated on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Usual, a real-world asset (RWA) stablecoin protocol, shared this news in a post on January 1 on X (Twitter).
“The era of fee switching begins. 2025 marks a turning point for DeFi: real value, real distribution. Prepare your USUAL for January 7. Here’s to a new year, a new standard. Make 2025 the year of USUAL,” network said.
Fee switching is becoming popular in the DeFi industry, turning passive Token ownership into a more rewarding experience. They enable the redistribution of collected fees to key stakeholders such as liquidity providers, stakers, and Token Holders.
Activating the USUAL fee migration on January 7 could signal a new era for the ecosystem, prioritizing real value and fair distribution. This change could set a new benchmark for success in the DeFi sector.
At the same time, the activation could also affect competitive dynamics among decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Leading DEXs can be seen consolidating their positions by retaining the majority of their fees. However, there are still questions about how high these fees can be without sacrificing liquidity and trading volume.
ZKSync Incentive Program
ZKsync’s incentive program begins on January 6, with up to 300 million ZK Tokens expected to be distributed to DeFi users.
“The official launch of Ignite has been set for Monday, January 6, 2025 at 13:00 UTC,” ZKNation share in a recent forum post.
In this first phase, the network will incentivize similar groups and assets across protocols to participate. It will use a standard structure to identify high growth candidates. The network will evaluate group performance. Key strengths include comparable group APR, TVL growth per $1 incentive, fee generation, and aggregator swap link rates.
Besides the main asset pools, ZKNation will also allocate ZK to incentivize bridging the fund to the ZKsync era. Specifically, it will use Jumper Exchange allocation to incentivize users to transfer funds to the ZKsync era and deposit them into incentivized pools.
At the same time, LayerSwap allocation will target users holding funds on ZKsync Lite, incentivizing them to transfer these funds to the ZKsync era.
“Most people will go after stable pairs or deposit into lending protocols, but they don’t maximize their capital,” an airdrop hunter on X wrote. smirk speak.
Released Jupiter Airdrop Testing Tool
Jupiter’s initial airdrop is one of the most successful on Solana to date, deserving of the spotlight on this week’s list of top crypto news. This makes its next airdrop a notable one, with Jupiter expected to release the testing tool this week. This is a preparation step for the airdrop worth 700 million JUP.
“Jupiter will distribute 700 million Tokens via Airdrop. Expect the first decentralization to change significantly” Jussy.Sol, a DeFi and airdrop researcher speak.
Details for the 2025 airdrop, including dates, times and eligibility criteria, have not yet been publicly announced. To increase future JUP rewards, participants must actively increase buying, selling, and trading on Jupiter platforms, because airdrop rewards are often tied to user activity.
After the success of its initial distribution, Jupiter’s second airdrop is shaping up to be one of the largest in cryptocurrency history. However, the price impact on the JUP Token remains a matter of discussion.
“Does it affect the Token price? ARE NOT. There is a big difference between an aimless airdrop and an airdrop linked to a strong DAO with a 30% Token burn. The team has not created a selling incentive yet, you can stake and earn +20% in the last 4 months of voting. So, the Token price should not be heavily affected. When Kamino launched Season 2, Token prices even increased,” Jussy.Sol more.
Second Hearing of the Do Kwon Case
The second US trial in the case of Terra founder Do Kwon will take place on January 8, adding to this week’s list of top crypto news. This development comes just days after Do Kwon pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in the United States related to the $40 billion collapse of TerraUSD and Luna in 2022.
Wednesday’s trial will see the defense and prosecution debate the moves and evidence leading up to the trial. As TinTucBitcoin reported, even if the famous cryptocurrency executive pursues a plea deal similar to his agreement with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), the possibility of a fine prison is still high.
Despite growing pro-cryptocurrency sentiment within the US government, prosecutors remain passionate about convicting major fraudsters like Sam Bankman-Fried. Therefore, a prominent case like Do Kwon’s is expected to attract attention.
Launch Dusk Mainnet
Dusk, the ZK-friendly L1 blockchain, will launch mainnet on January 7 as part of the Token Generation Event (TGE). Along with the mainnet launch, Dusk will also produce its first immutable block, facilitating a blockchain-based financial system.
“Starting today, we officially enter the Mainnet Release Phase, starting with the on-ramping of DUSK and ending on January 7 with the first unchanged blocks produced, ” Dusk Foundation state in a December post.
Notably, the Dusk Mainnet allows organizations of all sizes to use blockchain for managed assets. It also allows blockchain-based stock exchanges to issue assets directly on-chain. Additionally, other RWA projects can use DUSK for their own protocols and applications, with peace of mind that they are compliant. It also allows developers to create privacy-friendly protocols.
Dusk has attracted attention for its $5 million licensing program and “Succinct Attestation” consensus mechanism, which helps issue on-chain management assets.
