Jan 20, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly Highlight — Cooling CPI Relieves Market

Recent data indicated a stagnation or potential reversal in inflation progress, with a key measure of underlying price hikes — the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) — remaining unchanged for months. However, this trend shifted on Wednesday, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a slowdown in the core CPI for the first time in months.

The CPI, which tracks price changes for commonly purchased goods and services, showed an overall increase of 0.4% from November 2024, lifting the annual rate to 2.9%. This rise was primarily driven by surging gas and food prices, with energy costs alone contributing to 40% of the monthly increase. Food prices also remained high, impacted by weather conditions and disease affecting key staples like meat and eggs.

Excluding volatility for food and energy prices, the core CPI only rose 0.2% from November, easing to 3.2% after being stuck at 3.3% since September 2024. Market reactions were positive, as traders hoped the Federal Reserve would continue its rate-cutting campaign.

While inflation has slowed since peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, the journey back to normalcy has been bumpy. Everyday item prices are now 21% higher than in 2021, straining household budgets, particularly for lower-income Americans. Though wages have risen faster than inflation over the past 20 months, they still lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

This latest CPI report, the last before President Biden transitions power to president-elect Trump, underscores the ongoing challenges in managing inflation, particularly for essential goods and services.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — Crypto Cases Drop Before Trump’s Inauguration

Digital Currency Group and its subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital, reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, indicative of a broader trend among cryptocurrency firms resolving regulatory issues as the Biden administration approaches its conclusion. Over the past week, multiple U.S. regulatory agencies — including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Justice Department and the SEC — have announced various settlements and charges across at least six cases involving digital assets, signaling a renewed focus on enforcement as the administration winds down.

During Biden's term, more than 100 enforcement actions were filed against crypto companies, reflecting heightened scrutiny of the industry. However, with president-elect Donald Trump set to take office, there’s an expectation of a paradigm shift in regulatory approaches. Trump, once a critic of cryptocurrencies, has appointed crypto-friendly officials to key positions and intends to prioritize legislation that supports the industry.

For many crypto firms, settling with regulators is seen as a strategic move. Legal experts note that such settlements allow these companies to close contentious chapters and redirect their efforts in a potentially more favorable regulatory environment. Jonathan Groth, a partner at DGIM Law, commented on the implications of the incoming administration, suggesting that support for extensive enforcement actions may diminish.

Recent high-profile cases include a $5 million fine against Gemini for regulatory violations and a $100 million penalty for BitMEX due to failures in 

 measures. Additional actions have targeted fraudulent schemes, and individuals involved in illegal cryptocurrency activities. As the regulatory landscape shifts, firms settling with agencies may be positioning themselves for a fresh start under a more accommodating regime.

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Cooling CPI Relieves Market; Bitcoin Regains $100K Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

Dive into HeyAnon, an innovative protocol launched by experienced DeFi builder Daniele Sesta, and merging DeFi interactions with AI agents.

 (DeFi) protocol designed to simplify DeFi interactions. By integrating conversational artificial intelligence (AI) with real-time data aggregation, HeyAnon empowers users to manage DeFi operations seamlessly. From 

 to tracking project updates and analyzing trends, HeyAnon combines natural language processing and actionable insights to redefine the DeFi user experience.

This article explores the emergence of DeFAI (DeFi + AI), HeyAnon’s groundbreaking features and its role in shaping the future of DeFi.

DeFAI is the birth child of DeFi and AI. It represents a groundbreaking evolution in blockchain technology, whereby AI agents are integrated into DeFi. This emerging sector goes beyond traditional AI applications, focusing on automating on-chain activities through autonomous trading agents, abstraction layers and AI-driven DApps.

The term gained traction during the rise of the AI agent meta, beginning with projects like 

 (GOAT), an innovation born from Andy Ayrey’s Truth Terminal experiment. 

This movement has spurred the creation of numerous AI agents and frameworks, eventually pushing the AI agent market to a peak 

 (as of Jan 15, 2025). Despite its overlap with AI agent concepts, DeFAI has carved out a distinct niche valued at $1 billion, emphasizing deeper blockchain integration. 

Unlike early AI agents, which primarily operated as bots posting on social media with limited on-chain utility, DeFAI agents can participate in blockchain activities. This shift indicates the prioritization of tangible applications, such as automated trading, staking and 

 is an AI agent network built to simplify DeFi interactions while providing users with unparalleled access to real-time information. By combining conversational AI with robust data aggregation capabilities, HeyAnon creates a seamless interface for managing DeFi operations.

Designed with user experience in mind, HeyAnon leverages natural language processing (NLP) to allow users to execute complex DeFi tasks through simple conversations. From automating bridging, swapping, staking and borrowing to monitoring market trends, HeyAnon streamlines operations that typically require advanced technical knowledge.

HeyAnon’s strength lies in its ability to aggregate data from diverse sources, such as X (Twitter), Telegram, Discord, GitHub and GitBook. It provides insights into project updates, community sentiment, development activity and price fluctuations, enabling users to make informed decisions with ease.

Essentially, HeyAnon aims to bridge the gap between technical complexity and user accessibility, improving the way we experience DeFi.

, a renowned figure in DeFi and the crypto market. Sesta is widely recognized for his past projects, including Wonderland (TIME), a decentralized reserve currency protocol that made waves during the DeFi 2.0 era.

HeyAnon empowers users to streamline their DeFi experience with the following features, while remaining informed, efficient and in control.

By leveraging advanced natural language processing (NLP), HeyAnon enables conversational interactions for managing DeFi operations. Users can perform tasks such as staking, swapping tokens or borrowing simply by engaging in a natural conversation with the platform. This intuitive interface eliminates the steep learning curve often associated with DeFi, making it accessible to both newcomers and seasoned users.

HeyAnon excels at consolidating real-time data from diverse sources, including X (Twitter), Telegram, Discord, GitHub and GitBook. By aggregating project updates, community sentiment, development activity and market data, HeyAnon provides users with actionable insights at a glance. For instance, it can monitor GitHub commits or X (Twitter) sentiment to keep users informed about a project’s health and progress.

Automation lies at the core of HeyAnon’s utility, simplifying the following complex DeFi tasks.

, in which several innovative projects are also making their mark. Following is an overview of some key players.

 is a prominent competitor that focuses on leveraging AI to simplify on-chain interactions.

 specializes in providing crypto market intelligence and automating the process of tracking market trends and interpreting data. 

 is an AI agent that aims to transform the way users interact with DeFi. It’s developed by 

, a company that builds infrastructure merging AI and blockchain capabilities. Orbit is available on over 100 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, and across thousands of DeFi protocols.

The ANON token is central to HeyAnon’s ecosystem, serving governance, community benefits and treasury purposes. As the governance token for the Anon DAO, ANON grants holders voting rights to shape HeyAnon’s development, influence agent skills and determine platform features. Holders enjoy free and/or discounted AI agent services, and can actively participate in shaping the project's road map and priorities.

, ensuring transparent fund use within the DAO’s treasury. Further details can be found in 

HeyAnon is one of the most promising projects in the emerging DeFAI market, combining advanced AI capabilities with actual utility. Its innovative features — automation, cross-chain interactions and data aggregation — could position it as a leader in DeFi and AI innovation.

With a strong team and an experienced DeFi founder in Daniele Sesta, HeyAnon’s road map is set to drive community-led development and enhanced DeFi solutions.

Intermediate

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HeyAnon (ANON): Daniele Sesta’s New DeFAI Platform

Swiss bank PostFinance has partnered with Sygnum to launch Ethereum staking, allowing customers to earn passive income via Ethereum blockchain integration into its e-finance platform.

Daily Top Performer — Morpho Protocol (MORPHO)

The S&P 500 dropped 0.21%, ending a three-day rise, with tech losses offset by gains in utilities, real estate, and industrials. Gold prices rose above $2,700, driven by weak US retail sales, rising jobless claims, and dovish comments from Fed Governor Waller, which fueled expectations of rate cuts. Falling bond yields further supported the uptrend, with gold targeting $2,750. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.10%, with Bitcoin rising by 0.69% and Ether dropping by 3.34%, in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is MORPHO, which surged nearly 37.1% following the launch of Coinbase's seamless crypto-backed loans powered by Morpho infrastructure.

Morpho Protocol (MORPHO), founded in 2021, is a decentralized Ethereum-based lending platform with a P2P order matching system. It offers customizable markets and Morpho Vaults for various risk levels. Initially launched in 2022 for Aave and Compound, it introduced Morpho Blue in 2024 for flexible lending. Morpho Labs continues to develop Morpho while supporting the original Morpho Optimizers. 

, allowing users to borrow USDC against BTC via the Coinbase app. The product offers competitive rates, flexible terms, and a seamless experience. This move highlights the growing use of Morpho's infrastructure for onchain finance, with more institutions expected to follow suit.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 with Sygnum to launch Ethereum staking, allowing customers to earn passive income via Ethereum blockchain integration into its e-finance platform. Customers can start staking with a minimum deposit of 0.1 ETH, and rewards will be displayed alongside other crypto assets. The service is currently limited to Ethereum, with plans to expand to other cryptocurrencies in the future.

Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETF flows totaled $98.2M, driven by $168.2M inflows from non-GBTC products, offset by a $70M outflow from GBTC.

. Wave 1 eligibility is now live, limited to specific Quai Discord roles, with more waves to follow. NFT holders might qualify for allocations, though it's not yet confirmed.

Beginner

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PostFinance Launches Ethereum Staking for Passive Income on E-Finance Platform

Top Hat is an AI-based token launchpad built on the Solana blockchain. Learn about how this project works in this article.

There’s currently a huge demand for token launchpads that allow everyday consumers to create their own 

 plans to meet this demand by pairing classic launchpad design with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This exciting new product has the potential to make token creation more accessible and convenient than ever. If you're interested in learning more about Top Hat's design, check out this helpful guide.

Top Hat is an AI-based token launchpad built on the 

 blockchain. This user-friendly system requires no coding ability, and allows people to create personalized tokens and 

Not much is known about the team behind Top Hat. The project is a fairly new one, having just started in October 2024 and being made available to the public the next month. As of January 2025, its creators haven’t announced their identities. Instead, all of the communication from the Top Hat team 

 a Twitter/X account. Though this account hasn't revealed much about the creators' motivations or experience, it has disclosed that its team is focused on promoting AI and making Solana development fun and accessible.

Top Hat's goal is to provide the most user-friendly and low-effort experience possible. There’s a huge demand for launchpads, but many companies struggle to create one that can handle all of their potential users. By incorporating AI design, Top Hat hopes to reduce the burden of running a launchpad.

Top Hat’s other primary goal is to create a convenient space for people designing new cryptocurrencies and AI agents. Traditional web3 launches often require users to have advanced technical knowledge — such as the ability to code. Top Hat does away with such requirements, and instead guides users through a convenient interface. AI prompts, simple wording and clear menus make it much easier for the average person to create their own Solana-based token.

Top Hat runs on a Solana base integrated with Telegram, X and other social media sites. Solana is used to manage the cryptocurrency side of the website, generate tokens and keep track of individual transactions. 

Meanwhile, generative AI is used to create social media posts for each AI agent. This allows users' agents to develop their own personalities and socialize with each other. To guide users through the process of making AI agents, Top Hat employs the following mechanisms.

The manual build process allows people to create a customized, blockchain-based AI character. Simply link a Solana wallet, and follow the prompts from Top Hat as it asks for details about your desired personality, culture and goals for your character. A manual build also lets you create a new token and specify details such as token supply.

For those with a less defined concept, Top Hat also features a 

 setting. A user simply inputs their token contract address, and Top Hat's AI system will fill in all the details of the character for them. This can be useful for those who want to work with an AI agent but don't want to spend time designing the agent themselves.

Top Hat's creation options also include the ability to clone a public personality. Instead of defining a character themselves, users can simply enter the X account of a person, and the AI launchpad design will analyze and mimic that person's account. 

In just a few months, Top Hat has launched the public version of its site and acquired over 2,000 users. In 2025, Top Hat hopes to capitalize on its success by launching 

. This new and improved version of the site will include a full rebrand and more features for users to try out:

The HAT token plays a critical role in the Top Hat ecosystem. It's currently the native token for the site. Top Hat plans to add additional utilities in the future, such as fee payments and/or voting usage. The HAT token is 

, and the project’s owners plan to use the resulting revenue to buy back and burn 

There’s a maximum supply of 1 billion HAT tokens and a current total/circulating supply of just under 990 million. Because HAT is meant to be as accessible as possible, it features no predetermined distribution. Instead, anyone who wishes to acquire HAT can buy it directly from the market.

Looking to trade Top Hat tokens? Bybit now offers the HAT/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll need to first create a Bybit account, fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

The Top Hat project is an exciting look at how crypto, AI and web3 technologies can be combined. It's grown rapidly, and has already acquired many users. This optimistic outlook is supported by HAT’s performance. Since its debut, its price has primarily stayed in the $0.05 to $0.10 range. There have been some notable price spikes, and a steady price increase that indicates opportunities for investors to profit. 

HAT certainly has some positive qualities, but keep in mind that this product is lacking in a lot of detail. Without knowing much about the team, or having a clearly defined idea of how the project’s technology runs, it's hard to say whether Top Hat is set up for long-term success. Therefore, it's a somewhat risky investment that investors need to approach cautiously. For best results, HAT should only be a small part of a diverse portfolio. Always 

 carefully before buying cryptocurrencies.

Through the power of AI, Top Hat makes it quick and easy to design custom, blockchain-based agents. These characters are capable of engaging with others on social media and managing complex plot lines. Thus, they have numerous applications for entertainment and meme coins. While Top Hat is still a new project that needs to fully prove its utility, it's already done a great job of appealing to a select group of web3 AI enthusiasts.

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Top Hat (HAT): Solana's First No-Code AI Agent Launchpad

Bybit Learn

Bybit Trading Bot

Interested to get started on futures trading? Find out how you can do so with a futures grid trading bot and the best futures grid trading bots to use.

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The basic economic principle of buying assets at a low price and selling them at a higher price is easy to understand. However, adopting the principle in practice can be more challenging. It requires you to consistently monitor the market and act promptly when the price reaches the desired level. 

 have been in use to some degree for several hundred years to facilitate trading gains, but they’ve only been used for trading in financial markets for a few decades. Now, futures grid trading bots are taking the use of futures contracts to the next level.

Futures grid trading bots are automated systems that regulate futures trading activities based on a grid trading strategy, in which a set of orders is placed both above and below a specific reference market price for the asset. Specifically, this strategy automatically executes trades that the investor has preplanned, based on the established parameters.

Many investors have emotional ties to money. Their investment decisions may be swayed by greed, regret and/or other strong emotions. Even an investor who has a solid strategy in mind can be deterred due to these emotions. Futures trading is rooted in leverage, so even a subtle shift in the price of the commodity can dramatically impact the investor’s available capital. By automating transactions, trading bots help investors separate their emotions from their strategies and activities.

Futures grid trading bots can be used to trade in rising, falling, flat or sideways markets, depending on the mode or strategy used. 

Long futures trading can produce a profit when the price remains flat or rises; the trading bot will create a buy position for a portion or all of the invested funds. It will then incrementally close the investor’s position by placing grid orders. 

Short futures trading yields profits if the price remains flat or declines. The trading bot will create a sell order for some or all of the invested funds. Grid orders will be executed incrementally. The process of automated trading for both long and short futures can be repeated by the grid bot.

Depending on the settings and features of your selected futures grid trading bot, you may set the trading leverage. This enables you to potentially optimize gains. However, leveraging futures can also yield losses. You can mitigate your exposure to risk and loss by carefully researching and selecting your commodities.

Benefits of Using Futures Grid Trading Bots

It isn’t necessary to use futures grid trading bots to capitalize on futures trading. The process can be completed manually at your discretion. However, once you learn about the important benefits provided by futures grid trading bots, you may understand why many savvy investors choose to use them.

Emotionally-driven investment decisions can dramatically reduce the profitability of your activities. For example, due to fear, some investors may hesitate to act on a great opportunity that they’ve identified. Others may make poor decisions to buy or sell that are based on greed. Futures grid trading bots are automated according to your predetermined settings. By using them, you’re assured that your thoughtful trading plan will be executed as intended, without susceptibility to emotion.

Many aspects of futures trading are tedious and repetitive. For example, to profit from market volatility, you need to run numbers to determine the limit for each order, and then manually place the order. With a futures grid trading bot, however, the bot will quickly run all calculations, monitor the market and place orders. By doing so, it removes an investor’s fatigue or boredom from the equation to optimize profits. Futures grid trading bots are designed to be easy to use and customizable so that your trading strategy can be effectively implemented.

The cryptocurrency market is open around the clock, every day of the year. Constant monitoring is required to identify and seize opportunities. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible for an investor to monitor the markets non-stop. Futures grid trading bots will work for you 24 hours a day to ensure that you don’t miss potentially lucrative opportunities.

With futures grid trading bots, you can trade with leverage, a feature that other types of bots don’t offer. Leverage allows you to borrow a multiplied amount of your investment, so you can open a much larger position. This gives you the opportunity to amplify your profits with a relatively small amount of capital. 

The futures grid trading bot that you use can impact your trading experience in several ways. For example, it can affect your ability to leverage your trades. It may also limit your trading activities to specific assets. Let’s look at some of the most popular futures grid trading bots.

Bybit is one of the top derivatives exchanges, known for supporting low slippage and deep liquidity. The 

 is among the most well-designed and functional futures grid trading bots available, offering a clean, easy-to-use interface that’s just as well-suited for beginners as it is for more advanced futures traders. 

Its many features, available via both app and desktop platform, are accessible for free. Its automated platform has been designed for use on the Bybit exchange and offers five trading modes. 

Beginning futures traders can take advantage of the automated 

 parameters, which pre-fill all information such as 

. Simply input the contract pair, choose which position you’d like — 

 — and the amount you intend to invest. 

Additionally, you can choose to manually set 

In the near future, you’ll also be able to 

Meanwhile, experienced traders can choose the 

 option instead and set their own parameters, such as price range, number and type of grid, as well as leverage. 

 parameters for long, short and neutral positions. If you don’t set any parameters, the leverage will have a default setting of 10x. You can set up to a maximum of 100x leverage for all trading pairs in neutral order direction and 50x for long or short order directions. 

The Bybit Futures Grid Bot also has customization options under 

that allow you to configure and automate your trades according to your 

Bybit provides automatic alerts for margins when a bot is running out of your price range, as well as for when your SL/TP triggers. 

You can create and manage up to 50 Futures Grid Bots simultaneously.

Other than the Bybit Futures Grid Bot, beginning and experienced traders alike can take advantage of other bots offered by Bybit, such as 

Interested in beginning futures trading with Bybit? Get started by 

 provides its users with 16 free built-in trading bots that cater to different risk appetites. Notably, Pionex charges a standard 

 of 0.1% on all Leveraged trades. In addition, it offers a Leveraged Grid Bot. However, the amount of leverage available is variable, based on several factors.

 is a fee-based futures grid trading bot. The three available plans are Basic, Advanced and Pro, with prices ranging from $23 to $119 per month. The plan you select places a limit on the number of active grid bots available to you, with a maximum of 20 for the most advanced and expensive plan. A free trial is available for seven days. The platform is available exclusively via desktop, with no mobile app. Using the desktop platform, you can configure settings, track bot activity and manage your account.

 offers grid trading bots for futures and spot trades. It features an easy account setup process, and its bots are available without cost. This platform works with more than 600 popular cryptocurrencies. While this platform offers high leverage for futures automated trading activities, it’s important to note that there are greater risks with higher leverage. Because of this, only experienced futures traders should use this feature.

 cryptocurrency exchange offers traders several pairing options and five grid trading bots, including a futures grid trading bot and a spot grid trading bot. While the futures grid trading bots are available without cost, there is a 

 that can eat into your profits. A limited amount of leverage is available, which varies by trading pair.

 provides its users with both a futures bot and a spot grid bot. It delivers an easy-to-use interface for trades, and a more complicated candlestick chart. Numerous trading pairs are available. However, be aware that new users are subject to a 

, during which a limit of 10,000 USDT will be enforced on some pairs..

BingX charges a range of fees to its users, including withdrawal fees, conversion fees, standard futures trading fees and perpetual futures trading fees. The maximum leverage available for cryptocurrency trading is 50x, but this varies considerably based on the pairs.

, as well as accessibility on both a mobile app and a web-based platform. The Pro plan has a reasonable annual fee of $49.50 and places no limits on grid bots, options bots or 

. There’s also a free plan available that offers only one grid trading bot. 

Trading strategies are customizable, based on 20 indicators. The platform supports trades on 18 exchanges. When a trade is completed, a notification is automatically sent to the user. While there is an annual fee, there are no commissions. Leverage is available only up to 3x.

 — previously known as Napbots — supports activities on Kraken, Binance and other popular platforms, and is only accessible via its website. A free trial is offered for the first 15 days. After that, investors are required to pay a monthly $19.50 fee to continue using HAL’s trading bots. It’s important to note that HAL only allows users to trade up to $100,000.

 provides traders with several paid plans, as well as a free option. The free plan for its crypto grid trading bots offers seven template strategies. The most advanced paid plan, on the other hand, has unlimited template strategies, charting options and tutorials, and is available for roughly $450 per year. This platform currently supports the customization of more than 150 templates, and more will be added soon. Twelve exchanges are supported. In addition, the amount of leverage depends upon the pairings.

Are Futures Grid Trading Bots Worth Trying?

While trading can be highly lucrative, it comes with several risks and challenges. For example, it requires traders to constantly keep an eye on the markets, and crypto markets (unlike traditional  financial markets) are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Calculations must constantly be made. In addition, emotions can pull traders away from their strategies. 

Futures grid trading bots can be customized to automatically execute your trading strategy. They monitor the market and act automatically, based on the predetermined triggers that are in place. In this way, they eliminate emotion from the equation. They also obviate the need to constantly monitor markets and make complicated calculations.

While it’s clear that futures grid trading bots are beneficial, the specific features of bots can vary, and will impact these benefits. Bybit is widely regarded as the best overall platform for both beginning and experienced traders. It has an easy-to-use interface on both its mobile app and desktop platform. With everything from spot grid trading and 20x leverage, to three trading modes, automated alerts and more, Bybit is a platform worth trying. Furthermore, if you ever face any issues, you can always rely on Bybit’s 24/7 live customer support for assistance.

To get started with futures trading today, 

Automated trading using futures grid trading bots offers extensive benefits. While all trading activities come with risks, trading bots reduce the risks — and could yield greater profits. If you’ve been looking for a better way to manage cryptocurrency trades, it could be worth your while to try one of the top futures grid trading bots available today.

9 Best Futures Grid Trading Bots to Use in 2024

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards