Industry News

Tracks company news, strategic changes, funding activities, and personnel adjustments across the blockchain and crypto industries, delivering a full-spectrum industry overview for our users.

Musk's Million-Dollar Creative Bounty: The Revival of Long-Form Content and the Ambition for an Everything App

Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) has launched a "$1 Million Article Challenge" in early 2026, aiming to incentivize long-form content creation on the platform. This move comes amid growing competitive pressure from Meta’s Threads, which has surpassed X in global daily active users (DAU) and is rapidly closing the gap in the U.S. market. X’s advertising revenue has also significantly declined since Musk’s acquisition. The push for long-form content is strategic: X’s algorithm favors content that increases "user time well spent," and long articles naturally keep users engaged longer. This approach supports Musk’s vision of making X the "earth’s first news source" and provides high-quality training data for his AI project, Grok. Despite global trends toward fragmented reading, X is betting on a revival of in-depth content to boost platform stickiness and attract professional creators. This effort is part of a broader ambition to transform X into an "Everything App" like WeChat. However, X still lags far behind in user base, engagement time, and functional diversity. Musk’s anxiety is palpable as he races to enrich X’s ecosystem and realize his super-app vision.

marsbit01/19 11:11

Musk's Million-Dollar Creative Bounty: The Revival of Long-Form Content and the Ambition for an Everything App

marsbit01/19 11:11

Single Post with 150 Million Views: Dan Koe and His Super Individual Business

Dan Koe, a prominent figure in the "one-person business" space, recently achieved 1.5 billion views on X with a post titled "How to fix your entire life in 1 day." Despite the massive reach, he earned only $4,495 from the platform in two weeks. His real income comes from his broader business: Koe made over $4 million in 2024 through paid newsletters, books, and digital products aimed at teaching people how to build personal brands and escape traditional employment. His success is built on years of content creation, a large following (750k on X, 1.2M YouTube subscribers), and a trusted brand. The viral post served as a top-of-funnel tool to attract potential customers into his paid ecosystem, rather than a direct revenue source. The "super individual" trend reflects a growing desire for self-directed work, but the market is increasingly crowded. While AI tools allow easy imitation of high-engagement content, established creators like Koe retain advantage through authenticity and timing. X's recent push for long-form content, including a $1M incentive program, benefits top creators most, reinforcing a cycle where platforms and influencers mutually profit—while most followers remain consumers, not successful creators.

marsbit01/19 09:38

Single Post with 150 Million Views: Dan Koe and His Super Individual Business

marsbit01/19 09:38

Pantera: The Year of Ups and Downs in 2025, The Projects We Invested In

Pantera Capital's 2025 Investment Report highlights a record year with 31 investments, 85% of which were led by the firm. Four portfolio companies went public, reaching a combined market cap of ~$33 billion. Key investment areas included Infrastructure (38.71%), Internet Capital Markets (16.3%), Stablecoins (12.9%), Consumer (12.9%), AI & Robotics (12.9%), and Enterprise Solutions (6.45%). Geographically, 64.52% of investments were in North America. The year saw significant developments like $46T in stablecoin volume, BlackRock’s IBIT surpassing $100B AUM, and increased regulatory clarity. Pantera emphasizes that 2025’s volatility helped distinguish real value from hype, setting the stage for a stronger 2026.

marsbit01/19 08:38

Pantera: The Year of Ups and Downs in 2025, The Projects We Invested In

marsbit01/19 08:38

Ethereum Reaches Record Daily Transactions as Gas Fees Fall to Lows

Ethereum has achieved a record high of 2.88 million daily transactions, while average gas fees have fallen to lows around $0.15. This surge in network activity, combined with reduced costs, is attributed to recent protocol upgrades like the Fusaka hard fork and the Blob Parameters Only upgrade. These improvements have enhanced scalability and lowered data costs for Layer-2 rollups. Vitalik Buterin has emphasized the importance of maintaining protocol simplicity and reducing complexity to ensure the network's long-term security and decentralization, rather than adding new features.

TheNewsCrypto01/19 08:30

Ethereum Reaches Record Daily Transactions as Gas Fees Fall to Lows

TheNewsCrypto01/19 08:30

Weekly Funding Roundup | 11 Projects Secured Investments, Total Funding Reaches $232 Million (Jan 12-18)

According to Odaily Planet Daily, from January 12 to 18, 2025, the global blockchain sector saw 11 funding rounds, a slight increase from the previous week, though the total funding amount decreased to $232 million from $332 million. The largest single funding round was secured by fintech infrastructure provider Alpaca, which raised $150 million in a Series D round led by Drive Capital, achieving a valuation of $1.15 billion. The second largest was a $20 million investment in Project Eleven, a crypto security startup focused on protecting cryptocurrencies from quantum attacks, valuing the company at $120 million. Other notable funding includes: VelaFi, a stablecoin financial infrastructure provider, raised $20 million in a Series B round; Singapore-based crypto financial platform Veera raised $10 million; Noise, building a prediction market information platform, raised $7.1 million; and stablecoin service provider Meld raised $7 million. Additional investments were made in BeatCoin ($5 million), Neuramint ($5 million for a Web3 AI agent platform), Slips ($3.5 million for a decentralized prediction market), Titl ($2.5 million for blockchain real estate tech), and AGGX ($2 million for AI and GPU infrastructure).

marsbit01/19 08:25

Weekly Funding Roundup | 11 Projects Secured Investments, Total Funding Reaches $232 Million (Jan 12-18)

marsbit01/19 08:25

2025 Trading Platform Rankings: CEX Spot Trading Volume Sees Slight Increase, Binance Maintains Absolute Dominance

In 2025, the cryptocurrency market saw a reshuffle in its competitive landscape. Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEXs) increased slightly by 3.6% year-over-year, while derivatives trading volume rose more significantly by 27%, with HTX and Kucoin each growing over 60%. Binance maintained its dominant position as the industry leader, with a spot trading volume of approximately $7.3 trillion and a derivatives trading volume exceeding $27 trillion—nearly equivalent to the combined total of the second to fourth-ranked exchanges. Derivatives trading continued to outpace spot trading as the core business of CEXs. However, user engagement metrics such as app downloads and web traffic did not fully align with trading volumes. Overall, app downloads for major CEXs declined by 35.47% year-over-year. Despite this, Binance led in both app downloads (around 50.52 million) and web traffic (over 600 million visits), reflecting its broad global user base. Coinbase, though lower in trading volume, ranked second in both app downloads and web visits, indicating strong influence in regulated markets and among new users. In the Perp DEX sector, trading activity and user traffic showed asymmetry. Hyperliquid led in perpetual contract trading volume (close to $3 trillion) but had relatively low web traffic, suggesting a user base dominated by high-frequency and professional traders. While Perp DEX user numbers remain smaller than those of CEXs, they saw significant growth compared to the previous year.

marsbit01/19 07:40

2025 Trading Platform Rankings: CEX Spot Trading Volume Sees Slight Increase, Binance Maintains Absolute Dominance

marsbit01/19 07:40

Behind Gas's 80% Plunge: Why Focusing on Work Became a Reason to Sell?

Recent discussions have been dominated by BAGS, a Solana-based token launch and trading platform built on Meteora. The project gained significant attention after veteran engineer Steve Yegge—formerly of Amazon and Google—shared his experience of unexpectedly receiving funds through the platform, shifting his initial skepticism to support. BAGS allows creators to receive a 1% transaction royalty on tokens, enabling passive income even without holding or issuing tokens. It also includes a profit-sharing mechanism for top token holders and integrates social features with token ownership. Two major meme tokens in the BAGS ecosystem are RALPH, a tribute to an AI-assisted coding method, and Gas, linked to Yegge’s AI coding coordinator project Gas Town. Gas notably routed 99% of its $270k in transaction fees back to Yegge. However, when Yegge recently announced he would focus on development rather than community engagement, the token’s market cap plummeted over 80%. This reaction highlights a core tension in Web3: the conflict between rapid speculative trading and the slow, focused work required for genuine technical development. While BAGS presents an innovative model for creator monetization, it also reveals a market preference for hype over substance. The incident underscores the need for greater alignment between long-term building and crypto market dynamics.

marsbit01/19 07:11

Behind Gas's 80% Plunge: Why Focusing on Work Became a Reason to Sell?

marsbit01/19 07:11

Kickstart 2026 Trading at Bitrue

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue has launched a "Make Every Trade Count" event to kickstart trading in 2026, featuring a total prize pool exceeding 200,000 XRP. The event, running until the end of the month, rewards users who trade at least $100 in spot trading pairs. Rewards are distributed based on cumulative trading volume, with the top trader winning 20,000 XRP. Bitrue selected XRP as the prize to acknowledge the XRP community's longstanding support. The exchange remains committed to engaging traders through various incentives and offers a wide range of services including spot, futures, and staking.

TheNewsCrypto01/19 06:55

TheNewsCrypto01/19 06:55

Mapping the New Finance Ecosystem: Nine Major Sectors in a 'Hundred Regiments Battle', with Tokenization, Stablecoins, and Neo-Banks as the Main Battlefields

Andy, founder of The Rollup, outlines the landscape of Neo Finance in 2026, identifying it as the fastest-growing sector in the global financial system. The ecosystem comprises nine major segments, including over 100 projects, with tokenization, stablecoins, and neobanking highlighted as the primary growth areas. Tokenization of real-world assets like bonds and commodities is gaining significant traction. Stablecoins remain the top entry point for new users, with yield-bearing variants growing exponentially. Neobanks are leveraging DeFi infrastructure to offer consumer-friendly banking experiences with superior yields. The article emphasizes that outdated crypto practices are fading, and a new financial era driven by utility and adoption is emerging.

marsbit01/19 06:25

Mapping the New Finance Ecosystem: Nine Major Sectors in a 'Hundred Regiments Battle', with Tokenization, Stablecoins, and Neo-Banks as the Main Battlefields

marsbit01/19 06:25

Hiring Plummets by 80%, Is the Crypto Talent Market Saturated?

The cryptocurrency job market in early 2026 has seen a significant slowdown, with an 80% year-on-year decline in new job postings during the first two weeks of January compared to the same period in 2025. Only 85–90 new roles were detected across major crypto-focused job platforms, excluding direct corporate pages. Despite this sharp drop, the market isn't entirely saturated. Most openings (60%) are technical or engineering roles, with a strong preference for experienced professionals—65% of positions target mid-to-senior level candidates, often requiring 5+ years of experience (7+ for management roles). Key hiring is concentrated in infrastructure, stablecoins, and fintech/payment startups, with growth-stage companies (Series A and beyond) leading recruitment efforts. A notable shift is the rising competition for talent between ecosystems, particularly Solana’s growing challenge to Ethereum’s long-standing dominance. In 2024, Solana attracted a larger share of new developers (22%) than Ethereum (16%) for the first time since 2016, fueled by increased funding and ecosystem growth. The author suggests that 2026 will favor projects with strong fundamentals, real users, and sustainable revenue models, as the industry moves away from speculative token launches and focuses on tangible value creation.

比推01/19 05:13

Hiring Plummets by 80%, Is the Crypto Talent Market Saturated?