Q1 Crypto Market Recap: Summary of Key Developments in 11 Top Projects
Original Title: "Q1 Superstar Project Pile-Up TGE? A Quick Look at 11 Major Project Updates"
Original Author: Nan Zhi, Odaily Star Daily
According to @layerggofficial's statistics and disclosure, there will be dozens of projects conducting TGEs or launching mainnets in the first quarter of 2025, including top-tier projects such as Berachain, Linea, OpenSea, and more.
However, through Odaily's investigation, most of the projects disclosed have not actually received official endorsements for their TGE/mainnet schedules. Many are merely community rumors or even lack any relevant information.
So, which key projects have explicitly or implicitly hinted at upcoming launches? What recent important updates or participation opportunities do these projects have? Odaily will review and summarize these in this article.

Berachain
· Launch Time: Potentially in Q1 2025, but no official announcement has been made.

· Funding Amount: Series B - $1 billion, valuation at $15 billion; Series A - $42 million, valuation at $4.2 billion.
· Recent Developments: Conducted pre-deposit activities with multiple projects and offered early rewards, including Ethena, StakeStone, etc. As of January 8th, the total deposit amount reached $1 billion.
Monad
· Launch Time: Rumored to release a public testnet in Q1, with no official announcement yet.
· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - Undisclosed Amount (OKX Ventures); Undisclosed Round - $225 million, valuation at $30 billion; Seed Round - $19 million.
· Recent Developments: Started rolling out the testnet in November in phases, established the Monad Foundation on December 17th. Early January series of articles hinted at an upcoming event.
Abstract
· Launch Time: Official announcement states the mainnet will go live in January 2025

· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - $11 Million.
· Recent Developments: Participants can now engage in social media tasks, NFT minting, testnet interactions, etc. See "How to Participate in the Abstract Airdrop Closely Related to Fat Penguin?" "Fat Penguin's Coin Launch Drives NFT Boom, How PENGU, Abstract, OpenSea Benefit All?" for more details.
Nillion
· Launch Date: Officially announced to launch the mainnet in February 2025.
· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - $25 Million; Series A - $20 Million, Valuation $4 Billion.
· Recent Developments: Participants can engage in staking and validator node interactions. See "Interactive Guide: Nillion, the 'Global Blind Computer,' Raises Another $25 Million" for more information. Collaborating with numerous AI projects, including Build On Nillion, Thales_ai, Four Pillars, etc.
Story
· Launch Date: Official hints suggest the mainnet will launch soon.
· Funding Amount: Series B - $80 Million, Valuation $22.5 Billion; Series A - $25 Million; Undisclosed Round - $29.3 Million.
· Recent Developments: Launched a joint task with Binance Wallet lasting three weeks with token rewards. Other interactions include testnet airdrops, ecosystem project check-ins, NFT purchases, etc. Readers can find detailed operation guides on social media.

Initia
· Launch Date: Rumored to launch the mainnet in Q1, with no official announcement. The latest official mainnet progress update was released on December 19, 24, stating 78% progress and undergoing security audits.
· Funding Amount: Community Round - $2.5 Million, Valuation $2.5 Billion; Series A - $14 Million, Valuation $3.5 Billion; Seed Round - $7.5 Million; Undisclosed Round - Undisclosed Amount (Binance Labs).
· Recent Developments: Current testnet activities are still ongoing, including XP, Swap, Sake, and VIP modules. Readers can find detailed operation guides on social media.
OpenSea
· Launch Date: To be confirmed
· Funding Amount: Series C - $3 billion, valuation $13.3 billion; Series B - $1 billion, valuation $15 billion; Series A - $23 million; Strategic Funding - $2.1 million; Seed Round - $2 million.
· Recent Developments: On December 20, the OpenSea Foundation's official Twitter account went live and posted its first tweet "ocean enters the chat." On December 28, an OpenSea Foundation spokesperson responded to token issuance rumors: "More information coming soon," but no further information has been provided since then.

StakeStone
· Launch Date: Rumored to be in Q1 TGE. StakeStone officially responded to Layergg's launch schedule form.
· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - $22 million; Undisclosed Round - Undisclosed amount (Binance Labs).
· Recent Developments: Partnered with Berachain to launch the beraSTONE staking event, emphasizing that participants will receive STO (StakeStone Token) rewards.
Particle Network
· Launch Date: Product is already live, and V2 is expected to be released soon, with no official TGE announcement yet.
· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - Undisclosed amount (Binance Labs); Series A - $15 million; Strategic Funding - Undisclosed amount; Seed Round - $7 million, valuation $1.5 billion; Pre-Seed Round - $1.5 million, valuation $30 million.
· Recent Developments: Launched the UniversalX trading platform on December 4, with an upcoming upgrade to V2.
Lens
· Launch Date: Official announcement that the mainnet is about to launch, specific date yet to be released.
· Funding Amount: Undisclosed Round - $31 million; Seed Round - $15 million; Undisclosed Round - Undisclosed amount.
· Recent Developments: Apart from the announcement of the upcoming mainnet, there have been no other significant updates.

Orbiter Finance
· Launch Date: Rumored to be in Q1 TGE. On January 14, the official Twitter account posted a long-awaited tweet with the content "20," but it is currently unclear whether it is a countdown or has other significance.
· Funding: Series A - Undisclosed amount, $2 billion valuation; Seed Round - $3.2 million, $40 million valuation.
· Recent Developments: No significant updates.
You may also like

Mastercard Launches Agent Pay for AI, Plans to Record AI Agent Payment Authorizations on Polygon
Mastercard launched Agent Pay for AI, a new payment protocol designed to help AI agents make small payments such as pay-per-use access to data and APIs. The system plans to record human-granted AI agent permissions on Polygon, focusing on verifiable authorization, identity, and payment controls.

Curve Deploys Llamalend v2 on Optimism With 250,000 OP Incentives
Curve launched Llamalend v2 on Optimism with 250,000 OP incentives from the Optimism Foundation. The upgrade expands Llamalend beyond its earlier crvUSD-focused model, adding broader collateral support, LlamaRisk market reviews, and the ability to use Curve LP tokens as collateral.

Raydium Old Liquidity Pool Reportedly Exploited, With $1.34 Million Moved to Ethereum and Tornado Cash
An old Raydium liquidity pool was reportedly exploited for around $1.34 million in USDC, RAY, and wSOL, with the stolen funds bridged to Ethereum and deposited into Tornado Cash. The incident highlights the tail risks of legacy DeFi pools, old contracts, and cross-chain fund laundering paths.

Kalshi Executive Challenges “SBF Backed AI Unicorns” Narrative, Says Leopold Aschenbrenner Was Key Figure
Kalshi executive John Wang questioned the “SBF backed AI unicorns” narrative, saying Leopold Aschenbrenner was the key figure behind major AI investment decisions.

Pantera Capital Partner: How Tokenization is Restructuring the Private Equity and Early Investment Ecosystem?

New York Proposes Stricter Stablecoin Issuer Rules Aligned With Federal GENIUS Act
NYDFS proposed stricter stablecoin issuer rules aligned with the GENIUS Act, covering reserves, custody, redemption timelines, audits, and capital buffers.

Every exchange is a "Universal Exchange."

The counterattack of traditional finance: Alliance chains are quietly reviving

CryptoQuant Says Bitcoin Profitable Supply Is Near 45% Pressure Zone as On-Chain Data Points to Market Repricing
CryptoQuant said Bitcoin’s profitable supply is nearing the 45% pressure zone, signaling rising market stress, unrealized losses, and a possible on-chain repricing phase.

Bitcoin Falls Below 200-Week Moving Average as On-Chain Data Shows Over Half of Supply in Loss
Bitcoin dropped below its 200-week moving average as on-chain data showed over 50% of circulating supply is now in loss, signaling rising market stress.

CFTC Reportedly Plans New Prediction Market Rules Focused on Manipulation Risk and Public Interest Review
The CFTC is reportedly preparing new prediction market rules focused on manipulation risk, public interest review, and retail trader protections.

Meet the new WEEX trial fund—your gateway to greater profits

WEEX Labs Lands at Dutch Blockchain Week: A Disruptive Crypto × AI Conversation Sets Sail in Amsterdam

SK Hynix Reportedly Plans U.S. ADR Listing as Early as August, With SEC Approval Possible in Late June
SK Hynix may pursue a U.S. ADR listing as early as August, with SEC approval reportedly possible in late June amid strong AI chip supply chain demand.

SpaceX vs Tesla vs xAI: Which Elon Musk Trade Has the Biggest Upside in 2026?

OpenAI Reveals It Has Confidentially Submitted an S-1 to the SEC, Keeping the Door Open for a Future IPO
On June 9, according to an OpenAI announcement, the company recently confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), beginning the preliminary compliance process for a potential initial public offering. OpenAI said it chose to disclose this proactively because it expected the news might leak; however, the company has not yet set a specific listing timeline, and related arrangements may still take some time.

Latest research from 13 top universities including Cornell University: The current state, challenges, and misconceptions of the fusion of Crypto and AI

Deconstructing Anthropic: The Best AI Company, Possibly Also a Type of Organizational Invention
Mastercard Launches Agent Pay for AI, Plans to Record AI Agent Payment Authorizations on Polygon
Mastercard launched Agent Pay for AI, a new payment protocol designed to help AI agents make small payments such as pay-per-use access to data and APIs. The system plans to record human-granted AI agent permissions on Polygon, focusing on verifiable authorization, identity, and payment controls.
Curve Deploys Llamalend v2 on Optimism With 250,000 OP Incentives
Curve launched Llamalend v2 on Optimism with 250,000 OP incentives from the Optimism Foundation. The upgrade expands Llamalend beyond its earlier crvUSD-focused model, adding broader collateral support, LlamaRisk market reviews, and the ability to use Curve LP tokens as collateral.
Raydium Old Liquidity Pool Reportedly Exploited, With $1.34 Million Moved to Ethereum and Tornado Cash
An old Raydium liquidity pool was reportedly exploited for around $1.34 million in USDC, RAY, and wSOL, with the stolen funds bridged to Ethereum and deposited into Tornado Cash. The incident highlights the tail risks of legacy DeFi pools, old contracts, and cross-chain fund laundering paths.
Kalshi Executive Challenges “SBF Backed AI Unicorns” Narrative, Says Leopold Aschenbrenner Was Key Figure
Kalshi executive John Wang questioned the “SBF backed AI unicorns” narrative, saying Leopold Aschenbrenner was the key figure behind major AI investment decisions.
Pantera Capital Partner: How Tokenization is Restructuring the Private Equity and Early Investment Ecosystem?
New York Proposes Stricter Stablecoin Issuer Rules Aligned With Federal GENIUS Act
NYDFS proposed stricter stablecoin issuer rules aligned with the GENIUS Act, covering reserves, custody, redemption timelines, audits, and capital buffers.
