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Andreessen Horowitz Invests $100 Million In ETH Restaking Platform EigenLayer

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Tech-focused venture giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has invested $100 million in the Ethereum-based EigenLayer, suggesting that VC funding in crypto may be on course for a revival.

As reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, a16z was the sole backer of the funding round, which marks the largest investment ever received in EigenLayer by a wide margin.

Restaking With EigenLayer, Explained

The next largest investment in the platform was a $50 million raise in March during a funding round led by Blockchain Capital, a firm that has also supported platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, Aave, and OpenSea.

EigenLayer is a decentralized Ethereum “restaking” protocol, allowing users to repurpose their already staked ETH to also secure Ethereum sidechains. These sidechains may have different scalability and development properties from Ethereum’s base layer.

“It will enable all sorts of new kinds of applications to be built,” said a16z partner Ali Yahya during an interview with Bloomberg. “People will stake capital in order to gain rewards from new services that get spun up on top of EigenLayer.”

Ethereum introduced staking in September 2022, and has since become the most dominant proof of stake blockchain in history. According to Etherscan, over 39.6 million ETH are now staked on Ethereum, amounting to $118 billion worth of economic security at current prices.

Ethereum’s Inherent Security

“The idea is that when you stake on Ethereum, you are promising that you’re going to run the Ethereum network nodes correctly,” said EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan, a former associate professor at the University of Washington.

In return for locking up their ETH, stakers receive periodic ETH-based payouts from the network. Data from ultrasound.money suggests that current rewards provide a roughly 3% APR in ETH terms.

“With restaking, you are taking the same Ether and making additional promises that you will also validate other networks correctly,” continued Kannan.

He added that EigenLayer provides a point system for those who restake using its platform, but that they still have no plans to launch a native token.

A16z raised a whopping $4.5 billion crypto fund in 2022. General Partner Chris Dixon has confirmed that the company is still seeking crypto investments ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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Pi Network Community Grows in These Countries, But When Mainnet?

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TL:DR;

  • Although it’s yet to see the light of day officially, Pi Network continues to attract new users, and its community is growing in many large countries.
  • Nevertheless, a large portion of its user base still wonders when the mainnet will be live, with the latest projections indicating that this will happen by the end of March 2025.

Community Grows

The controversial crypto project has attracted a substantial fan base, with previous estimates suggesting that more than nine million people have completed the KYC verifications and migration process to the mainnet. Perhaps due to its popularity, the number of scams impersonating the protocol is also on the rise, which prompts the team to issue frequent warnings about such frauds.

The official X page focused on Pi Network news, Pi News, outlined a few consecutive developments in different countries that have boosted the project’s popularity even further in those regions. Most recently, the team posted about a Megha Event held on January 26 in India, where a group of supporters gathered to discuss the protocol.

Before that, the team bragged about an event that took place in Nigeria, saying that its presence in the country is “growing stronger every day.” Pi Network’s popularity is also on the rise in another African country – Botswana.

But When Mainnet?

The main criticism against the project has been the lack of an official mainnet launch and token release. Although Pi Network was created years ago, it continues to delay their launch, which has caused some speculation about a potential fraud.

However, the team still maintains that the protocol will see the light of day officially soon. In fact, its most recent publication on the matter indicated that the Open Network will be live this quarter (which ends in March).

Although the news was praised by many, it also faced some skepticism due to the previous delays. Many comments advised people to lower their expectations due to Pi Network’s history.

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Solana Price Surges as New Trump Venture Lifts Market – May Solaxy Pump Next?

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The launch of Truth.Fi has shaken up the crypto market – and Solana (SOL) is capitalizing.

Trump’s newest company is planning a massive $250 million crypto investment.

Some traders are now searching for low-cap coins that could benefit from this potential investment.

Solaxy (SOLX) is one of these coins, having raised more than $16 million in its limited-time presale phase.

Solana Rallies After Trump’s Truth.Fi Prompts Crypto Market Speculation

Solana is trading around $241, marking a 6% jump in the past 24 hours.

It’s now the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptos by market cap and has almost caught XRP in terms of daily trading volume.

SOL is now at its highest price since last Sunday.

This rebound seems linked to Trump Media & Technology Group’s Truth.Fi, a new financial entity that’s got everyone hyped.

Truth.Fi is looking to invest up to $250 million into digital assets, with Bitcoin firmly in its crosshairs.

That’s a considerable portion of the firm’s $700 million war chest.

And everyone’s speculating on which coins Truth.Fi might invest in alongside Bitcoin, with Solana looking like a prime candidate.

This isn’t Trump’s first exposure to the crypto market.

He’s been investing in it through World Liberty Financial and has also promised to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the U.S.

Market Sentiment Flips Bullish Despite Latest Fed Decision

The broader market is recovering, with Bitcoin and Ethereum back in the green – posting 3% and 5% gains, respectively.

But the biggest gainer has been Sui with a 14% rally that’s got everyone talking.

Trading volumes are soaring too, jumping 17% from yesterday’s figure.

Investor sentiment seems to be shifting from cautious to confident, as evidenced by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index returning to 70 – firmly in “Greed” territory.

All of this is despite the Fed keeping interest rates steady at yesterday’s meeting.

Usually, that kind of news would lead to a sell-off, but the market seems calm about it – suggesting expectations were already priced in.

Crypto analyst Rananjay Singh is calling it: “The bull run is taking shape again.”

And he might be onto something, given the climbing trading volumes and positive price action across the board.

Solana looks primed to capitalize, with the next key resistance level around $258.

If SOL can breach that level, there’s a potential path back to all-time highs.

Is This New Layer-2 Project About to Pump? Solaxy Passes $16M in Presale & Receives Influencer Endorsement

All of the buzz around Solana (and crypto in general) is putting the spotlight on Solaxy, a new Layer-2 project in presale.

With over $16 million raised already, Solaxy is positioning itself as the solution to Solana’s scalability issues.

It’s precisely the kind of infrastructure that could catch the eye of big players like Truth.Fi.

What’s interesting about Solaxy is its cross-chain approach.

Solana has always been one of the fastest chains, but Solaxy’s ability to bridge with Ethereum opens up a world of possibilities for traders and developers.

Solaxy promises to easily handle high-volume trading – an interesting pitch as more institutions look to get into crypto.

And there’s more since Solaxy also has a staking protocol built in.

Currently, annual yields are estimated at 243%, encouraging investors to lock up more than 4.7 billion SOLX.

The developers have a clear roadmap for after the presale, beginning with a DEX listing (and a potential CEX listing).

Some popular influencers are already optimistic about these listings.

ClayBro, known for his in-depth crypto analysis, believes that once Solaxy goes live, it could “take over” the meme coin space.

He believes its mix of utility and meme energy could set it apart from all of the useless meme coins launched every week.

Overall, things look promising for this new Layer-2 project – making it one to watch in early 2025.

Visit Solaxy Presale

Disclaimer: The above article is sponsored content; it’s written by a third party. CryptoPotato doesn’t endorse or assume responsibility for the content, advertising, products, quality, accuracy, or other materials on this page. Nothing in it should be construed as financial advice. Readers are strongly advised to verify the information independently and carefully before engaging with any company or project mentioned and do their own research. Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a risk of capital loss, and readers are also advised to consult a professional before making any decisions that may or may not be based on the above-sponsored content.

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Ethereum Could See a Pullback to $2,500 Amid Whale Absence

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After a short-lived rally past $3,700 in early January, Ethereum struggled to sustain its gains and is now 12% below its recently established local top. The leading altcoin’s market sentiment remains muted.

As such, a new analysis suggests that the next significant price shift will largely be influenced by whales.

No Whale Frenzy

Ethereum’s price has stabilized above $3,000, but CryptoQuant analyst ‘IT Tech’ warned that a drop to $2,800-$2,500 remains a possibility if whale activity surges amid price weakness.

Currently, Ethereum’s large transaction volume (LTV) remains low compared to previous bull cycles, indicating a market driven more by retail investors than large institutional players.

Unlike in 2017 and 2021, there is no sign of excessive speculative activity from whales. Such a trend usually indicates a more organic rally driven by retail players instead of speculative mania.

While occasional spikes in LTV have been observed, they are not yet at levels that typically precede major price movements. For Ethereum to continue its upward momentum toward $3,500 and beyond, analysts suggest a sustained increase in LTV is necessary as confirmation of strong institutional interest.

However, if large holders begin distributing ETH while prices weaken, it could trigger a significant correction. Investors should closely monitor LTV trends, as sudden shifts in whale behavior could be an early warning of a price decline to the $2,800-$2,500 range.

Rocky January for Ethereum

The Ethereum ecosystem as a whole has faced significant criticism over co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s ETH sales, centralization fears, and regulatory uncertainty. However, market experts argue that negative sentiment often precedes a rally, with a few projecting the asset to surge from $4,000 to $20,000.

Meanwhile, Vivek Raman, former UBS trader and founder of Etherealize, believes that crypto assets remain undervalued. He cited five key reasons for bullishness.

First, the Trump family’s DeFi project, World Liberty Finance, is heavily invested in Ethereum. Second, he pointed to the rising institutional demand with asset managers and hedge funds embracing tokenization, a movement reliant on Ethereum’s infrastructure.

Third, investment banks are integrating crypto functionality, favoring Ethereum for its security and programmability. Fourth, the repeal of SAB 121 removes regulatory barriers and, in turn, enables banks to hold ETH and other tokenized assets.

Finally, a staked Ether ETF is expected, backed by a more innovation-friendly SEC leadership.

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