AAVE Ready to Leave Polygon Amid New Risks

Aave Ready to Leave Polygon Amid New Bridge Risks

Aave, the largest lending protocol in decentralized finance, is preparing to leave the Polygon blockchain after trading criticisms with Polygon Labs over a $1 billion investment proposal for idle stablecoins on the Polygon-Ethereum bridge.

Two major Aave delegates, Marc Zeller and EzR3aL, plan to vote for the departure, which could significantly impact the Polygon ecosystem. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron accused Aave of anti-competitive behavior, while Aave's leadership argued they are protecting against a risky proposal.

The proposal's controversy has drawn major public and industry scrutiny, leading to heated debates on social media. Despite the conflict, some believe Aave's departure could harm Polygon, while others see it as a necessary stance against high-risk strategies.

Boiron highlighted that Aave has generated over $120 million in revenue on the Polygon network and still generates between $10 million and $20 million annually. He urged the Aave DAO to consider the financial implications of leaving Polygon.

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Legal Battle to Recover $773M Lost BTC in Landfill Continues

James Howells, an IT engineer, is pursuing legal action to access a landfill site in Newport, Wales, where he mistakenly discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin. The Bitcoin, worth an estimated $773 million, has been inaccessible since 2013 due to environmental restrictions from the Newport City Council. Howells has assembled a legal team and advanced AI tools to build his case.

If successful, Howells plans to reinvest in blockchain projects and compensate stakeholders. Despite setbacks, he claims the council has breached environmental regulations, including leaking hazardous substances. Howells remains active in the crypto space and considers tokenizing his lost Bitcoin as a potential venture.

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Shiba Inu Launches Virtual World ‘SHIB: The Metaverse’

Shiba Inu has launched “SHIB: The Metaverse,” a virtual world powered by Shiba's layer 2, allowing users to own, trade, and develop blockchain-recorded virtual real estate. Users can create avatars, build custom environments, and interact globally within the Shiba Inu community. The project is currently in beta, with Shiba Inu’s lead developer describing it as simply beautiful.

Shiba Inu’s ecosystem has expanded beyond its origins as a meme coin, including projects like Shibarium, which has processed over 700 million transactions. Other recent initiatives include Shiba Eternity, a Web3-focused card game, and Shiboshi Rush, which combines gaming with strategic troop deployment mechanics.

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Vitalik Buterin Adopts Viral Pygmy Hippo Moo Deng

Vitalik Buterin adopted Moo Deng, a pygmy hippo from Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, donating 10 million Thai baht ($292,000) through Ethereum. The adoption followed Moo Deng’s rise to fame as a viral internet sensation due to her expressive personality. Buterin expressed the possibility of further donations, stating he had allocated 88 ETH for Moo Deng and other animals.

Earlier, Buterin donated $180,000 worth of ETH received as Moo Deng-themed memecoins to biotech charity Kanro. Meanwhile, the Solana's Moo Deng meme coin generated returns of up to $3.4 million for one investor but later saw a 58% decline from its peak value. Most traders on Solana’s Pump.fun lost money with only one wallet achieving over $10,000 in profit.

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Data of the Day

The Bitcoin Runes protocol, once dominating the Bitcoin network with over 753,000 daily transactions in April, has seen a large decline in activity by December. After recording over 15 million transactions and $160 million in fees in its first four months, interest in Runes dropped sharply mid-year.

By September, its transaction share fell below 10%, with occasional spikes, such as on Christmas Day, reaching a 19.9% share. The protocol’s decline coincides with a broader downturn in NFTs, as monthly sales volumes dropped below $300 million in September for the first time since 2021.

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More Breaking News

• Singapore and Hong Kong led 2024 crypto regulations, focusing on exchanges, stablecoins, asset tokenization, with refinements expected in 2025.
• Ethena's price dropped below $1 after $30 million sell-off by whales amid broader crypto market risk-off sentiment.
• Tether made its first crypto VC investment, allocating $2 million to Arcanum's fund backing decentralized Web3 projects and censorship resistance.
• PENGU overtook BONK as top Solana meme coin with a $2.65 billion valuation, driving Solana's meme market to $18.2 billion.
• Brazil's proposed self-custodial stablecoin ban is expected to accelerate decentralization, with crypto firms anticipating enforcement challenges.

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