Introduction

This report summarizes significant events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field in December 2024. These events highlight both the crypto market’s vibrancy and emerging trends. Key developments include the StakeStone DeFi platform launch, EigenLayer’s staking service expansion, Magic Eden’s token generation event, Stacks network’s Bitcoin deposit feature, Sophon’s blockchain entertainment ecosystem mainnet launch, LayerZero’s fee voting mechanism, and Sophon’s mining activities. These milestones demonstrate the industry’s innovative spirit and signal technological progress and growing community participation—key drivers of the sector’s continued growth and maturation.

TL;DR

• Restaking protocol and yield optimization solution: EigenLayer launches Season 2 Stakedrop token claims.
• Cross-chain communication solution, Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) conducts blockchain snapshot.
• Frames v2 debuts with simplified DeFi transaction and management capabilities.
• Magic Eden, the Solana-based NFT marketplace, initiates Token Generation Event (TGE).
• Stacks, a smart contract platform that scales Bitcoin’s capabilities, launches its Bitcoin deposit feature.
• Sophon, a scalable DeFi and governance solution, launched its mainnet and began mainnet mining on 12/28.
• Cross-chain interoperability protocol: LayerZero conducts protocol fee voting.

Timeline

Key Developments and Updates

12/01 EigenLayer Season 2 Stakedrop Token Claim
EigenLayer offers an innovative restaking solution, allowing users to restake Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) such as stETH and rETH to participate in the restaking and validation process of Actively Validated Services (AVS) to earn additional rewards.

The EigenLayer Season 2 Stakedrop focuses on rewarding key participants within its ecosystem, including stakers, node operators, partners, and community members. This reward program allocates 86 million EIGEN tokens, accounting for 5% of the total supply, to incentivize active participants. Of these, 70 million tokens are distributed based on staking proportions to stakers and operators, 10 million tokens are allocated to contributors such as AVS and Rollups, and 6 million tokens are reserved for community members.

Despite EigenLayer’s efforts to boost staking participation through its Stakedrop initiative, its total value locked (TVL) fell from $20.1 billion in June to $16.4 billion—a trend reflected across other platforms including Renzo, Puffer, Kelp, and Swell. Though Season 2 Stakedrop may provide a short-term boost to staking activity, overall market liquidity and participation depend on market sentiment, the longevity of incentive programs, and competition from other platforms. [1]

12/01 Sonic Labs Snapshot
Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) is a high-throughput, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain platform. On December 1, it conducted a snapshot of wallets holding six different types of Sonic Shards in preparation for an upcoming airdrop of 200 million S tokens. This initiative aims to reward holders and further increase community engagement.

Throughout 2024, Sonic Labs has improved its platform through rebranding, network upgrades, and token swap mechanisms to enhance performance and smart contract efficiency. Their new Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM) surpasses the traditional Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), offering faster execution, quicker transactions, and better resource management while maintaining Solidity language support. Additionally, their Carmen storage solution improves network efficiency and scalability by reducing node storage needs, allowing Sonic Labs to process more transactions at reduced costs.

Despite these technological advancements, Sonic Labs faces challenges such as declining TVL, controversies over token issuance, and cross-chain security issues, which may affect user confidence and its market position. [2]

12/06 Frames v2 Launch
Frames v2 is an upgraded version of the Farcaster decentralized social media protocol, introducing features such as interactive applications, on-chain transactions, and user notifications. Developers can use the Frames SDK to create and operate various applications directly in the browser, including saving frames and initiating on-chain transactions. The official release of Frames v2 is expected in early 2025, enabling mobile apps to function as frames, facilitating fast and reliable transactions through mobile wallets, and supporting native mobile notifications. This release is anticipated to drive innovation in Web3 social applications.

The launch of Frames v2 aims to enhance user engagement and strengthen Farcaster’s leadership in the Web3 social media space. Although Frames initially gained popularity, user activity has since declined. Frames v2 is expected to rekindle user interest with its new features and improvements. [3]

12/10 Magic Eden TGE
Magic Eden is a multi-chain NFT trading platform initially developed for the Solana blockchain, later expanded to support Ethereum and Polygon. On December 10, 2024, Magic Eden launched its Token Generation Event (TGE) for its native token, ME. While the initiative aimed to expand its user base and strengthen its platform ecosystem, it encountered several challenges. The ME token debuted at $6.70 and quickly rose to $13.10, but technical issues soon emerged. Users faced difficulties claiming their airdrops due to application glitches and a complex claim process, resulting in error messages and delayed token distributions. Though the initially fully diluted valuation (FDV) was at $15 billion in early trading, the token’s FDV settled at approximately $5 billion as airdrops were distributed. Despite these technical hurdles, the ME token airdrop generated widespread interest.

Throughout 2024, Magic Eden implemented various updates to enhance platform functionality, positioning itself as the “on-chain Binance” and supporting cross-chain transactions. Additionally, it introduced an incentive system based on the ME token, designed to reward users for daily platform activity. However, Magic Eden still faces challenges such as application stability, user interface friendliness, and ensuring the security and privacy of the airdrop process to improve user experience and maintain its reputation. [4]

12/16 Stacks Bitcoin Deposit Feature
On December 16, 2024, the Stacks blockchain achieved a major milestone by launching its Bitcoin deposit feature, marking a significant advancement for its network. As a blockchain designed to scale the Bitcoin network, Stacks incorporates smart contracts that let users convert Bitcoin into SBTC, a tokenized version on the Stacks network. This expands Bitcoin’s utility while making Stacks more attractive. The feature is part of the Stacks Nakamoto Upgrade, which aims to improve transaction processing speed and provide a foundation for smart contract execution. After the upgrade, Stacks separated its block generation from the Bitcoin network and introduced a new block production mechanism, improving network performance and making it easier for developers to participate. The deployment of SBTC is divided into two phases: the first phase, Bitcoin deposit functionality, is live, with the second phase, Bitcoin withdrawal functionality, expected to launch in 6-8 weeks. This demonstrates Stacks’ commitment to network expansion and user convenience. [5]

To maintain user trust and prevent potential attacks, Stacks must ensure the security and decentralization of its smart contracts. Additionally, with the introduction of SBTC, addressing interoperability issues with the Bitcoin network is critical to ensure smooth and secure cross-chain transactions. Stacks also faces the challenge of attracting more users and developers to its ecosystem while preserving its unique value proposition in a competitive blockchain market.

12/18 Sophon Mainnet Launch and Mining Activation on 12/28
Sophon, a modular blockchain built on ZKsync that focuses on on-chain entertainment ecosystems, launched its mainnet on December 18, 2024. This milestone indicates the project is ready for public use and reinforces its dedication to advancing on-chain entertainment and gaming. Sophon’s network architecture handles high-throughput applications like social entertainment and gaming. Through seamlessly integrated cryptographic technology, it offers a simplified user experience while maintaining on-chain benefits. Using Avail’s modular application development stack, Sophon created “light nodes” that deliver high performance and full decentralization while ensuring data availability—setting a new benchmark for modular blockchain design. The platform also uses Account Abstraction (AA) to streamline account management and transactions, converting all native accounts to smart accounts to improve user convenience and security.

Sophon launched mainnet mining on December 28, 2024, allowing users to earn tokens by contributing computational resources to validate and record transactions. This initiative aims to attract miners, increase decentralization, and strengthen the network’s security while providing a potential new revenue stream for miners. Sophon’s mining migration plan includes closing new deposits for L1 mining, opening withdrawal windows, and transitioning to the second phase of mainnet mining. [6]

12/27 LayerZero Protocol Fee Voting
On December 27, 2024, LayerZero held a critical community vote to determine whether to activate the fee switch on its cross-chain interoperability protocol. LayerZero enables seamless communication and asset transfers between different blockchains, aiming to provide efficient and low-cost cross-chain transactions. The outcome of this vote directly impacts the usage costs and economic model of the LayerZero network, potentially influencing the adoption and cost-effectiveness of cross-chain transactions. The vote did not meet the quorum requirement, so the protocol’s fee switch will remain inactive. The next vote is scheduled to occur in six months. In the short term, LayerZero will continue to offer its services for free, but the eventual introduction of fees could impact users and developers in several ways in the long run: it may affect user experience and the protocol’s adoption rate, alter economic incentive structures to provide funding for the protocol’s sustainability, influence the cost-effectiveness of cross-chain transactions, particularly in the DeFi space, drive the development of decentralized governance and fee management, and impact the vitality and scalability of the LayerZero ecosystem. [7]

Summary

In December 2024, the blockchain and cryptocurrency space witnessed numerous significant events demonstrating the market’s dynamism and emerging trends. Projects like StakeStone, EigenLayer, Magic Eden, Stacks, Sophon, and LayerZero achieved major milestones through platform launches, service expansions, token generation events, feature rollouts, mainnet deployments, fee governance, and mining initiatives. These developments showcased the industry’s innovative spirit while driving technological advancement and community engagement, ultimately propelling the sector’s continued evolution.


References:

1. Eigen Layer, https://economy.eigenlayer.xyz/
2. Sonic Insights, https://blog.soniclabs.com/sonic-shard-snapshot-on-december-1-what-you-need-to-know/
3. Farcaster Docs, https://docs.farcaster.xyz/developers/frames/v2/
4. Magic Eden, https://magiceden.io/
5. Stacks Foundation, https://stacks.org/sbtc-nakamoto
6. Sophon network, https://www.sophonnetwork.com/
7. Layerzero Foundation, https://layerzero.foundation/fee-switch

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