FTX Repayments Are Finally Coming
Plus PENGU is coming today and it has a shot to open as the top memecoin on Solana if pre-market prices hold.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news:
Crypto majors green as Bitcoin touches $108k
FTX re-org to come Jan 3, repayments to follow
Ripple soars after RLUSD stablecoin launch
ai16z's Eliza Labs lands partnership with Stanford
PENGU trades at $3.7B FDV on pre-market ahead of TGE
💰 FTX Gives Timeline for Re-Org, Repayments
The darkest chapter of this past crypto cycle is about to come to a close.
And it's going to end on a good note - stimulus payments for affected customers, coming in Q1.
What Happened?
FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, will begin repaying customers and creditors in early 2025.
The first distributions are expected within 60 days of January 3, 2025, the date when FTX’s court-approved reorganization plan takes effect.
Kraken and BitGo will facilitate the recovery process for users, who do have required actions to take.
Key Details for FTX Users
Repayment Process:
FTX users must complete KYC verification, submit tax forms, and onboard to either Kraken or BitGo, the platforms facilitating the repayments.
Initial payouts will focus on creditors with claims $50,000 or less, representing over 90% of all claims.
Distributions for larger claims will follow, with details announced later.
Repayment Amount:
Creditors will receive the U.S. dollar value of their crypto holdings based on prices from November 2022, when FTX filed for bankruptcy.
FTX’s bankruptcy plan could allocate up to $16.5 billion to creditors, with 98% of claimants expected to recover 118% of their claim values.
Why It Matters
This repayment timeline offers long-awaited relief for FTX users who have been in limbo since the exchange collapsed in 2022.
Those with smaller claims will benefit first, with most receiving their funds within two months of January 3.
Users need to act quickly to ensure they are verified and onboarded to Kraken or BitGo to avoid delays in receiving their funds.
Of course, the amount recovered will be significantly less than these users would have at current prices (they're getting paid out at the 2022 lows), but it's still better than nothing and adds up to a big total in aggregate.
Now the question becomes - where will the FTX money go?
We will find out soon...
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Ethereum led NFT trading volume with $85M on the day; Solana was next with $5.9M and then Bitcoin with $3.3M
ETH NFT leaders were mixed ahead of the PENGU airdrop; Punks +3% at 39.1 ETH, Pudgy +5% at 32.8, BAYC -4% at 18.7 ETH, Azuki even at 10.75
Wonderpals (+100%) & InfiniGods (+75%) led notable top movers
BTC NFT leaders were mixed; Bitcoin Puppets +6% at 0.159 BTC, NodeMonkes -2% at 0.136, OMB +1% at 0.147, Quantum Cats -3% at 0.20
The Runes leaders were mostly red; DOG -6% at $900M mc, PUPS -1% at $190M, BDC -1% at $75M, GIZMO -11% at $23M
CyberKongz received a Wells Notice from the SEC regarding their blockchain game having a token, cause for more potential concern for broader web3 gaming projects
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:
PENGU goes live for claim and trading at 8 am ET today, with it trading at $3.7B fdv on pre-markets; see new details in the post from Luca Netz
Nifty Island's ISLAND token goes live at 10 am ET for its eligible users
M3M3 teased an airdrop for Vector users
Blast teased their mobile app launch coming soon, along with tokenomics updates and other announcements
Monad announced the creation of the Monad Foundation as it prepares for its decentralization journey (i.e. token)
Binance announced Binance Alpha, a new platform within their wallet spotlighting early crypto projects with growth potential
🤖 AI x Crypto
New section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:
Overall market cap jumps held steady at $10.6B, though most leaders red
VIRTUAL briefly hit $3.2B before retracing (now $2.7B); ai16z +7% to $876M
TANK, OPAIUM, KEKE, & DEGENAI were top movers jumping 20-60%
GRIFFAIN, VIRTUAL & AI16Z see biggest mindshare growth
ai16z and its Eliza Labs announced a partnership with Stanford, focusing on agent trust mechanisms, multi-agent economic system and decentralized agent governance
Moemate introduced a new ecosystem roadmap
Eternal AI added BNB as its latest chain for decentralized AI agents
MemesAI launched a new swarm featuring Sercy and Aletheia
Alchemy rolled out new v2 model, will be $ALCH gated soon
🌎 Macro Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
Crypto majors are green again this morning; BTC +3% at $106,800, ETH +2% at $4,000, SOL +4% at $222, XRP +14% at $2.68; Bitcoin reaches highest-ever ratio to Gold
BGB, XRP, XLM, CRO and RUNE led top alts, up 10-20%
Memecoin majors are finally green again; DOGE +3%, SHIBA +2%, PEPE +2%, WIF +5%, BONK +6%, MOG -3%
FTX announced its reorg will come on Jan 3, 2025, with initial repayments coming within 60 days
Avalanche's AVAX9000 officially went live
The UK issued a warning against Solana's RETARDIO memecoin, saying its not authorized in the country
Ripple announced the launch of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin going live today
Ethena announced its USDtb stablecoin, backed largely by BlackRock's BUIDL
Anchorage Digital secured a BitLicense from the NYDFS, allowing it to offer secure crypto trading services to institutions in 2025
The GOD ticker on HyperLiquid sold for $975k as the daily auctions continue to increase in closing price
🚀 Memecoin Movers
$BENJI (+84% to $41M market cap, Base)
$PATRIOT (+70% to $38M market cap, ETH)
$h2w6 (+70% to $12M market cap, SOL)
$TANK (+63% to $34M market cap, SOL)
$OCTO (+62% to $22M market cap, SOL)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase (ETH)
Persona (200%, 0.18 ETH Floor)
WonderPals (170%, 0.07 ETH Floor)
Keepers v2 (65%, 0.08 ETH)
Infinigods (63%, 0.16 ETH)
Wassies (50%, 0.74 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming Mints and Events
Folks - my source for daily mints and events has shut down operations.
Given the general lack of interest in new mints on a daily basis, I'll be discontinuing this section of the newsletter, at least for now.
If I can find a good source for daily events, I will look at turning it back on.
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