Good morning, frens! ☕️ 

The vibes are strong this week - markets are moving, plays are brewing, and everyone is feeling the FOMO.

It’s that sweet spot where everything feels up for grabs 👀 

Today we’re discussing:

• 🪙 BTC Crosses $100K - but ETH сan still CATCH UP!

• 👊 2024 FOMO hits HARD: 88% of holders regret missing the gains

• 💎 Countdown to Ambire Legends: are you in?!

• 💩 DUMP Tuah: celebrity rugs didn't go anywhere

• 👴 Trump picks a new SEC Chair: who’s it going to be?

Our W3oF degen porfolio is netting another slight gains this week - nothing too flashy, but progress is progress.

Let’s hope this is just the warm-up before the real fireworks 🤞 

Got ideas or just want to chat about the next moves?

Join the conversation in the #Web3-On-Fire chat on Ambire Discord. Let’s keep the grind going together 💬

Let’s get down to it:

BTC Crosses $100K - but ETH сan still CATCH UP!

Crypto long awaited moon mission is officially here: BTC shattered the $100K barrier, a moment so long awaited and iconic it left the entire crypto space buzzing.

November also saw a monster $10.4 trillion in crypto trading volume, driven by institutional interest and regulatory optimism 🪙 

• Derivatives trading is on fire, with CME Bitcoin options hitting record highs - $55.4 billion in trading volume.

• BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF pulled in $425 million in volume, showing that big money is doubling down.

• Even South Korea stepped into the mix, streamlining regulatory approvals for exchanges and onboarding hundreds of thousands of new users.

The message is clear: the bull market is alive and kicking.

While Bitcoin takes the headlines, Ethereum is positioning itself for the next wave. Ethereum’s fundamentals are stronger than ever, and Bernstein’s Global Digital Assets Managing Director, Gautam Chhugani, sees the bigger picture 👇️ 

• Chhugani highlighted Ethereum’s scarcity mechanics post-Merge as a critical driver for its long-term value. With Ethereum shifting to proof-of-stake, approximately 30% of its total supply is locked up in staking contracts 🔒️ 

• This staking structure creates a self-reinforcing scarcity effect, reducing liquid supply and driving up demand.

• The move to staking has shown that Ethereum holders are playing the long game, locking up assets to earn yield and stabilize the network.

Ethereum’s transaction fees, while reduced by Layer-2 solutions, still serve as a testament to its massive utility 🛠️ 

With 60% of ETH’s transaction fees burned in the past year, the network is consistently deflationary - a feature that adds to its appeal as a store of value.

Combine this with the growing institutional demand for Ethereum-backed ETFs, and you’ve got a recipe for sustained growth.

• One of Chhugani’s most intriguing points is Ethereum’s potential to become a cornerstone for institutional finance 👴 

• He predicts that the long-term adoption of Ethereum ETFs, particularly those that incorporate staking yields, could shift the narrative entirely.

• Instead of being “just another blockchain,” Ethereum is positioning itself as a core financial asset. Chhugani even hinted that Ethereum could eventually rival Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative by offering both utility and value storage 🪙 

Layer-2 and beyond

Layer-2 solutions are another key part of Ethereum’s future.

Networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base are not just scaling Ethereum - they’re reshaping how users interact with the blockchain.

By reducing fees by up to 99% and increasing transaction throughput, these solutions are laying the groundwork for mass adoption. Base recently hit a milestone of over 1 billion transactions, showcasing the growing ecosystem built on Ethereum 🌱 

The question on everyone’s mind: can ETH catch up to BTC’s $100K milestone? 💵 

While Bitcoin’s scarcity and narrative as a hedge against traditional finance give it a unique edge, Ethereum’s blend of utility, deflationary mechanics, and institutional interest might set the stage for a rally of its own, so, it’s becoming increasingly probable.

2024 FOMO hits HARD: 88% of holders regret missing the gains

Apparently, not everyone’s celebrating the market popping off.

According to Kraken’s latest survey, a shocking 88% of crypto holders feel they’ve missed out on major gains during the market’s wild 2024 rally 🤯 

• The Kraken survey highlights the emotional rollercoaster crypto holders face.

• Out of 1,248 participants, 60% admitted their biggest fear is missing a sudden price surge. The rest were torn between catching the dip and a mix of both - classic crypto dilemmas 👇️ 

But the stats don’t lie - 81% said their decisions were swayed by FUD, while 84% owned up to chasing pumps out of pure FOMO 🫠 

Emotions, not logic, were running the show for many, with 63% confessing that impulsive decisions tanked their portfolio performance.

Regret and resilience

Sure, the regret is real, but there’s still a silver lining. Despite the losses, 84% are looking forward to making the most of future opportunities. It’s like the crypto market’s unspoken motto: fall down seven times, get up eight 🫡 

• With emotions running high and market moves catching everyone off guard, this survey is a wake-up call.

• The lesson is a “methodical approach” as Kraken suggests, could save portfolios from emotional wipeouts.

• And for those riding the waves, the key might be patience and a solid strategy, instead of just blindly chasing the next moonshot 💰️ 

Crypto is a wild ride, and FOMO is part of the package. But as they say, no risk, no reward - just keep your wits about you.

The countdown to Ambire Legends begins: are you in?!

The clock is ticking… ⏰ and the Ambire Legends launch campaign is just around the corner 👀 

If you’ve been keeping an eye on Ambire’s ecosystem, now’s the moment to step up and secure your spot:

The team is gearing up to introduce something fresh to the Web3 landscape, and early adopters have one last chance to join the ranks. All you need is the Ambire Wallet browser extension, accessible here 🔌 

Use the W3oF exclusive invite code: 11web3onfire.

This is your ticket to be part of something new in the Web3 space 🤝 

Keep an eye on Ambire’s Twitter channel for updates and announcements in the coming days. With Legends about to be minted, this is the moment to secure your place.

DUMP Tuah: celebrity rugs didn't go anywhere

Ah, the Hawk Tuah meme - a flash of internet absurdity that somehow resonated with the collective madness of social media 😵 

But what makes it worse is how this nonsensical phrase evolved into a crypto project that cost people actual money 🙃 

Yes, Hawk Tuah Girl - aka Hailey Welch - took her fleeting meme fame and turned it into a memecoin rug.

• Hawk Tuah became a meme due to its sheer randomness. Hailey’s over-the-top delivery of the phrase caught fire online, morphing into a cultural inside joke for no particular reason.

• But memes, as it turns out, are powerful currency - literally, in Hailey’s case.

• Armed with her newfound fame, she decided to cash in on her meme status by launching $HAWK, a memecoin as unnecessary as the meme itself.

When HAWK hit the Solana blockchain, it followed the playbook of every other influencer-driven token 🤡 

Big promises? Check. A quirky pitch? Double check. Terms like "Hawkonomics" slapped together to sound vaguely professional but still meme friendly? Oh, absolutely.

Fans flocked to the coin, driving it to a $500 million market cap within hours. The hype was real. And the crash, well, of course it was inevitable 👇️ 

• HAWK’s market cap didn’t just dip - it imploded, shedding 90% of its value in record time.

• Turns out, behind the scenes, a few wallets were controlling 97% of the supply. When the price peaked, those wallets dumped faster than you could say “Hawk Tuah,” leaving the degens to eat the dirt 🙄 

• Even worse? Her defense. Claiming her team didn’t sell tokens and that the coin’s fees were high to deter bots, she doubled down on her innocence. But the blockchain doesn’t lie, and on-chain investigators pointed out the obvious: this was, at best, incompetence and, at worst, a calculated rug pull 🥷 

The space isn’t new to influencer driven disasters, but HAWK stands out for its sheer absurdity.

It wasn’t just a bad idea; it was an idea born from a meme that barely made sense in the first place.

Degens who should’ve known better trusted a half-baked meme and paid the price - some quite literally, with users sharing losses in the tens of thousands.

The takeaway is obvious 🤷‍♂️ 

First, not every meme deserves a coin. Second, the crypto community’s willingness to throw money at anything with a catchy tagline is both its strength and its Achilles’ heel.

Trump picks a new SEC Chair: who’s it going to be?

With the political winds shifting and Trump gearing up for his return to the White House, the space is buzzing the potential appointment of the new SEC Chair 🤔 

Let's break down the intrigue, the implications, and why the crypto community is all ears.

First of all, it seems that Trump has finally made up his mind, the next Chair pick is going to be Paul Atkins - a veteran in the financial world with libertarian leanings.

• Atkins isn’t new to the crypto space. He co-chaired the Token Alliance and has advised financial giants on blockchain adoption through his firm, Potomac Global Partners.

• Known for favoring innovation over overregulation, Atkins has gained a reputation as a regulatory reformist.

• His leadership could pave the way for a more collaborative relationship between the SEC and the crypto industry 🤝 

Why does this matter

• Under Gensler, the SEC has been a nightmare for crypto entrepreneurs.

• Projects and exchanges faced lawsuits for what many saw as unclear or outdated rules.

• Atkins, on the other hand, represents hope for an era of clarity and fairness. For the crypto faithful, his potential appointment feels like a long-overdue course correction 🫡 

As if picking a pro-crypto SEC Chair wasn’t bold enough, Trump has also named David Sacks to oversee U.S. policy on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. The position that Trump dubbed the “crypto czar” will shape the administration’s strategy on two of the most critical technologies of our time 🧠 

• His mission, according to Trump, is going to be defending free speech, protect innovation from Big Tech censorship, and craft a legal framework that helps crypto thrive.

• His track record as a tech investor and blockchain advocate suggests he’s the right person for the job. And Trump didn’t shy away from hyping Sacks' role, calling him essential to “the future of American competitiveness.”

With Sacks driving broader crypto policy and Atkins potentially leading the SEC, the U.S. could finally offer the regulatory clarity that the industry has been begging for. Trump’s picks signal a deliberate effort to embrace innovation. Everyone in the industry stands to gain from this, if everything works out 💲 

This also aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” 🫢 

His administration's early moves - coming just as Bitcoin hits $100K - feel like a statement: it’s time for the U.S. to lead, not stifle, the crypto revolution. And not stifling it would sound great, to be honest, the industry needs a break.

Other worthy reads

Lessons from the last cycle, from Red Phone Crypto:

More of the same, but by DocXBT:

Summary of the new posts by Vitalik, by Wu Blockchain:

MEMES

That's all for now, frens.

We'll meet in a week! And remember, the market conditions are temporary, but our commitment to building a better DeFi is here to stay. Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you back next week. Cheers!

Yours, The 🔥 Team

Brought to you by Ambire: The Only Web3 Wallet That You’ll Need!