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I came up with an analogy that I really like.
Think of your portfolio like managing a basketball team. If someone on your team is a breakout star or playing well, you give them more play time (add to your winners).
If someone sucks? You cut them. (cut your losers)
You also need synergy with your team. You can’t have 5 centers. You need balance. You balance a portfolio with a mix of majors, stables, high-risk tokens, etc.
And you’re always looking to draft someone better than what’s on your team.
Here’s what we got today:
- Trump’s picks. Meet the new Czars of Crypto.
- Token Radar Report. Analysis of $GAME from Virtuals.
- Around the web. Hawk Tuah girl fumbled her memecoin launch, Phantom plans to integrate $SUI, and more.
Today’s email is brought to you by IntoTheBlock — the platform for institutional investors in DeFi.
Here’s your Edge 🗡️!
News
Meet Crypto’s New Regulators
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The past 4 years were a nightmare for Crypto in the U.S.
It felt as if the previous administration and Gary Gensler were unfairly targeting crypto.
- Compared to 2021, the enforcement actions against crypto companies more than doubled in 2023.
- SEC forced Kraken to stop its staking program and pay $30 million in settlement for running the staking program.
- There were many other actions taken against crypto companies like Coinbase, Uniswap, Binance, and others.
- Crypto Industry leaders accused the previous govt of “operation choke point 2.0“, which tried to debank crypto industry.
Now that Trump’s about to be the boss, he’s appointing some new people to handle Crypto. David Sacks as AI & Crypto Czar and Paul Atkins as SEC Chair.
Let’s look at both of these characters.
David Sacks: The AI & Crypto Czar
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David Sacks is well-known around tech circles because he co-hosts the “All In” podcast (It’s the #1 technology podcast on Spotify).
He has been VERY active Trump supporter for several years – He even hosted a fundraiser that pulled in $12 million for Trump’s campaign.
Betting on Trump has paid off for him because he’s the new “A.I. and Crypto Czar” of the White House.
But it isn’t just political payback, though. His tech & crypto credentials are undeniable.
On the crypto side, Sacks has been investing in Bitcoin since 2012. Being that early requires vision—or a crystal ball. He seems to have large Solana bags as well. As co-founder of Craft Ventures, he has invested in many crypto startups.
Beyond crypto, his tech resume is stacked.
He’s part of the PayPal mafia, the group of former PayPal employees who’ve shaped the tech world. Think Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and so on.
He has invested in over 20 unicorns, including Affirm, AirBnB, ClickUp, Eventbrite, Facebook, Houzz, Lyft, OpenDoor, Palantir, Postmates, Reddit, Slack, SpaceX, Twitter, Uber, and Wish.
He also founded Yammer, an enterprise collaboration company. It was acquired by Microsoft for $1.2 billion.
In short, Sacks isn’t just a guy with connections — he’s someone who knows how to build and back groundbreaking ideas. A worthy candidate for AI & Crypto Czar.
Paul Atkins: The New SEC Chair
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Donald Trump has announced that Paul Atkins will be the new SEC Chair.
He’s a career regulator and a long-time SEC insider. He began at the SEC in 1990 and served as SEC Chair from 2002-2008.
Now, let’s focus on the question we care about. Is he bullish crypto?
Well.. in a speech made earlier this year, he said that the lack of rules for crypto was a fundamental issue for regulators to solve.
So, we can expect him to create a more clear regulatory framework for crypto.
But will these new regulations choke crypto down or will they facilitate innovation?
Hester Pierce, crypto’s favorite regulator, seems bullish about his appointment. Her endorsement is a good sign he won’t be another persecutor like Gary Gensler.
Beyond that, he also has a couple of crypto connections.
- He’s a member of The Digital Chamber, an XRP-associated blockchain advocacy group.
- In 2017, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm that helps both traditional and crypto companies comply with financial regulators.
So at the outset, Atkins looks bullish for crypto.
Trump has promised to make America the crypto capital of the world.
If they follow through, we could be looking at a new era of growth and opportunity for the industry.
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Token Radar Report
G.A.M.E by Virtuals
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Me and my team have spent the past year building The DeFi Edge Pro. We’re getting ready to launch it next month.
One feature we’ll have inside TDE Pro is Token Radar.
Basically, it’s impossible to keep up with everything. Token radar is like having a friend you trust that tells you about cool protocols that catches their eyes. Everything you need to know in a quick 5-minute read.
We’re sharing a free report so you guys can have an idea of what we’re trying to build. Enjoy!
Token: GAME by Virtuals
Market Cap: $46.3m
TVL: $8.7m
Holders: 13,548
Sector: A.I. Agents
Where to Buy: Uniswap on Base
What Is It? A.I. agents are software programs designed to autonomously perform tasks. They represent a significant leap in technology because these agents can make decisions independently, and and learn from interactions.
G.A.M.E is a framework for creating AI agents that can coordinate with other AI Agents. These Agents be integrated within games as well.
Have you ever played an RPG before? These games are filled with characters. And all these characters are performing based on scripts. Everyone has pretty much the same experience.
Now imagine if these NPCs were AI Agents. This creates a much more dynamic experience based on the player’s decisions and gameplay. Games become more replayable because each one will be unique.
G.A.M.E. is the technology that can help implement this. See this in action.
Why G.A.M.E. is Interesting. It’s no secret that A.I. Agents could be the defining sector of this cycle.
While we’re still early in the sector, the Virtuals ecosystem is in the best position to win. So far, it accounts for nearly 24% of the total marketcap of the whole A.I.Agents ecosystem.
Why This Protocol is Interesting?
- Created by the Virtuals team themselves which lowers the risk of rugging or other shenanigans.
- Project Westworld, the first playable autonomous world on Roblox. It was released 2 months ago and is powered by GAME.
- The Total Addressable Market is high since it can potentially reach the entire gaming market. Also, it’s not just limited to video games – it can be applied to any environment with agents.
- G.A.M.E. has the second-highest Lifetime Inferences on Virtuals Protocol now at over 329k inferences. Luna, one of the top protocols on Virtuals, uses G.A.M.E. extensively.
- The Virtuals team is upgrading G.A.M.E framework. Recently, they added new abilities for agents like browsing the internet and accessing real-time token info.
Upcoming Catalysts
- More games using the G.A.M.E. framework are coming soon. The Heist
Other Thoughts. One final point is that A.I. agents keep evolving. There will be more entertainment agents. There will be more “Twitter Alpha” agents. G.A.M.E. is an infrastructure play that doesn’t have much competition.
Both $VIRTUAL & $GAME are great options to get exposure to the ecosystem without trying to predict which specific agents will succeed.
But compared to the $VIRTUAL market cap, which is close to >$1.5 billion, $GAME seems significantly undervalued at $48.4 MC.
Additional Reading
If you’re interested in receiving more reports like this, consider joining the waitlist for The DeFi Edge Pro. We’re launching next month!
Join The DeFi Edge Pro Waitlist
Disclaimer: I’m not telling you to invest in this protocol. It’s something that I personally find interesting, and it meant for you to add to your “to research” list.
🚀 DeFi Catalysts
Frax Finance is expected to release its 2030 vision in the coming days. The team has been heavily hyping it up.
Kamino Finance introduced Kamino Swap. It’s an intents-based exchange platform that promises to offer the best price execution on Solana.
Mateora has unlocked M3M3 fee rewards. >$4 million in fee rewards will be distributed to the Top 999 $M3M3 stakers.
Lido has expanded $wstETH to StarkNet. This will be a great addition to the StarkNet DeFi ecosystem and a new market for Lido.
Pedgy Penguins introduced $PENGU, the official coin for Pudgy Penguins. They’ve allocated ~24% of the token supply to other communities.
Babylon is exporting its BTC staking service to Binance earn. Users can stake $BTC and earn onchain rewards through their Binance account.
Polygon is expected to launch AggLayer v0.2 soon. AggLayer aims to solve the fragmentation issue of the Ethereum L2 ecosystem.
📰 Industry News
MetaMask has released $ETH staking on MetaMask mobile. Mobile users can now stake any amount of $ETH and earn staking rewards.
Phantom announced plans to support the $SUI blockchain. They already support Solana, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Base, and Polygon.
Sonic (previously Fantom) has released Blaze, its upgraded, default testnet 2.0.
🚀 New Launches
Hailey Welch, the Hawk Tuah girl, launched her memecoin. Based on onchain data, insiders were accused of dumping on Hailey’s fans.
Movement, the move-based Ethereum L2, has launched its mainnet beta. It was the first phase of Movement Network’s launch plan.
N1 (previously Layer N) introduced N1. It’s a Layer 1 blockchain that claims to provide virtually unlimited scale and ultra-low latency.
🐦⬛ X Hits
- Weekly recap of AI Agent.
- Crypto calendar for December 2024.
- The framework for learning from your trading experience.
- AI Agent Dev School, accessible for people without coding experience.
- The thesis on Empyreal, Simulacrum, and $SIMMI.
