Firoza Finance Launches Shariah-Compliant DeFi Pilot Program

The blockchain investment landscape has shown signs of recovery, with venture capital funds investing a total of $1.576 billion in crypto startups in December 2024, marking the highest monthly financing amount since October 2022. According to PANews, there were eight investment events in the global blockchain sector from December 30 to January 5, totaling over $40 million in funding. Although this represents a decrease from the previous week, significant developments occurred within various sectors, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, and centralized finance. In the DeFi sector, AlloyX, a stablecoin aggregation platform, successfully completed a $10 million Pre-A round of financing, with notable participation from the Arbitrum Foundation and others. This funding aims to enhance global stablecoin infrastructure, particularly in regions like the UAE, ASEAN, and Africa. Additionally, Binance Labs announced an investment in THENA, a decentralized exchange on the BNB Chain, to bolster its development and security measures. Meanwhile, Haedal Protocol, focused on liquidity staking in the Sui ecosystem, secured seed funding from prominent investors including Hashed and Animoca Ventures, although the specific amount remains undisclosed. The infrastructure and tools sector also witnessed significant funding activities. Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon received $5.3 million from BingX Labs, while JAN3, a Bitcoin technology firm, completed a $5 million seed round led by Fulgur Ventures, with participation from Tether and others. Furthermore, Fold, a Bitcoin financial services company, finalized $20 million in convertible bond financing to support its merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. These developments indicate a resilient interest in blockchain technology and its potential for innovation and growth in the financial sector.

The global cryptocurrency market has shown positive momentum as Bitcoin (BTC) aims to reclaim the significant $100,000 threshold. Among the notable gainers is Filecoin (FIL), which has experienced a substantial increase following a week of market turbulence. The total market capitalization of digital assets has seen a slight rise, now standing at approximately $3.51 trillion. Filecoin's price surged by 12% within 24 hours, primarily driven by a major announcement from Bithumb, South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange. This excitement has also led to a 20% increase in FIL futures open interest. Bithumb's announcement on January 6 regarding the listing of Filecoin in the KRW market set an initial reference price of 8,680 KRW, along with guidelines for safe trading. As a result, FIL's price reached $6.23, marking a 21% increase over the past week despite a 23% decline in the previous month. The trading volume for FIL spiked by 180%, totaling $524 million. Furthermore, futures trading for Filecoin has seen a remarkable increase, with CoinGlass reporting a 200% rise in futures volume to $712 million and a 20% increase in open interest. In addition to its market performance, Filecoin has been recognized by Messari as a leader in the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) category for 2024. The report highlights a significant rise in storage utilization, climbing from 18% in Q4 2023 to nearly 30% by Q3 2024. Filecoin has also introduced the Filecoin Web Services (FWS) framework and implemented upgrades to enhance scalability and efficiency. Notably, the Filecoin Fast Finality (F3) upgrade drastically reduces transaction finality times, enhancing the overall user experience. Collaborations with SingularityNET and Theoriq AI further position Filecoin as a key player in decentralized AI infrastructure, paving the way for new applications and expanding its ecosystem.

2024 has been a transformative year for the Titan Network, characterized by significant testnet launches, global events, and a rapidly expanding community across over 130 countries. The year kicked off with the Huygens Testnet, which ran from March 11 to April 22, achieving remarkable milestones such as 129,629 nodes and 642 TB of storage provisioned. This testnet aimed to enhance decentralized computing and storage, introducing points-based incentives for users to contribute idle resources, optimizing scheduling systems, and deploying smart contracts to improve transparency and trust within the network. Following this, the Herschel Testnet showcased further advancements, including the integration of WASM/JS environments and a Titan Test Chain based on the Cosmos SDK, which significantly broadened Titan's commercial capabilities. The Cassini Testnet, launched on June 28, 2024, continued the legacy of exploration, introducing a Layer 1 public chain utilizing a DPoS consensus mechanism. This testnet aimed to enhance user engagement through new wallet functions and a rental-based incentive model for nodes. Throughout the year, Titan Network participated in numerous global events, including the Web3 Summit in Dubai and the Singapore FinTech Festival, where they received the Silver Partner Award for contributions to Web3 innovation. These events provided platforms for Titan to showcase its decentralized infrastructure solutions and engage with industry leaders, further solidifying its presence in the blockchain space. As the year concludes, Titan Network has made significant strides in decentralized infrastructure, launching a mobile application and enhancing Titan Storage. The successful seed round fundraising led by Arrington Capital has fueled further innovations, while strategic partnerships with organizations like SFT Protocol and Filecoin Station have strengthened its ecosystem. Looking ahead, Titan Network is poised to continue its mission of building a more inclusive Web3 ecosystem, with gratitude to all participants who contributed to its journey in 2024. The future looks promising as Titan Network aims to push the boundaries of decentralized technology even further.

As we step into 2025, the Anyone project has made significant strides in its technical developments throughout December. The completion of the AO distribution and its transition to testing marks a pivotal moment in the project’s evolution. Key features such as access control have been integrated into the new distribution logic, enhancing the Smartweave implementation. This allows for a more granular definition of roles within contracts, including Owner, Admin, and Operator, thereby enabling detailed permissions management. The internal running of the AO version of the distribution, alongside the modifications to the dashboard for the new relay rewards contract, sets a strong foundation for future enhancements. In addition to protocol advancements, the Anyone project has made substantial progress in architecting a delegated staking mechanism. Collaborating with Austin Seiberlich from CoinCraft, the team has developed a model to counter economic attacks on the network, leading to the creation of a delegated family staking system. This innovative approach not only enhances security but also allows the AO processes to deliver staking rewards in various currencies. The merger of the registrator and facilitator smart contracts, along with the development of a new staking controller, exemplifies the project’s commitment to versatility and adaptability. On the hardware front, the manufacturing of customized encryption chips is underway, and partnerships with Freshminers aim to broaden distribution channels. The Forte Group's network team has successfully implemented a metrics service to gauge active user numbers while maintaining anonymity, showcasing the network's global reach. Furthermore, the release of the Android Maven repository marks a significant step towards a comprehensive mobile SDK offering. As the project continues to evolve, its focus on censorship resistance, economic value, and revenue generation positions it for robust adoption in the coming year. The Anyone protocol is indeed shaping up to be a transformative platform for all users.

The DIMO Ignite Grants Program has been launched to enhance the DIMO ecosystem by providing milestone-based funding to developers creating infrastructure and applications that improve the platform's utility and scalability. The program aims to attract builders who may lack capital and encourages open-source contributions, thereby fostering resilience within the DIMO network. The initiative emphasizes efficiency, aiming for a swift review process of 2-3 weeks for grant applications, with payments arranged within a week upon milestone completion. The grant program categorizes funding into several areas, including application developers, hardware product development, and data integrators. Developers can receive Data Credits to cover costs associated with using the DIMO Protocol, as well as retroactive grants for successful app launches. Specific bounties are also available for innovative applications, such as a vehicle NFT sharing social network or a trip tracking app, with rewards ranging from $20,000 to $15,000. Additionally, DIMO builders can benefit from incentives offered by Base, a low-cost Ethereum layer 2 incubated by Coinbase, which includes opportunities for seed investment and retroactive funding. DIMO is committed to decentralization and enhancing its developer tools, encouraging contributions that expand the platform's capabilities. The program is not an investment fund, and its success will be measured by the growth and resilience of the DIMO network rather than traditional ROI metrics. By broadening the pool of vehicles and data sources, DIMO aims to increase accessibility for drivers and value for app developers, ultimately enriching the connected car experience and beyond. The Ignite Grants Program represents a significant step towards realizing these goals, fostering a vibrant community of developers and innovators within the DIMO ecosystem.

Solana has emerged as a leading player in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, showcasing a remarkable recovery since the FTX exchange downfall in 2021. By 2024, Solana has solidified its position as one of the most popular blockchain networks, hosting a multi-billion dollar total value locked (TVL) and supporting a vast array of decentralized applications (dApps). The network is celebrated for its scalability, speed, and low transaction costs, making it an attractive platform for various projects, including lending, liquid staking, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Among the standout projects on Solana, Phantom Wallet has become the largest self-custody wallet, facilitating safe cryptocurrency storage for millions of users. Jupiter, the top DEX on Solana, has gained traction with features like limit orders and dollar-cost averaging, while Marinade Finance leads in lending with its innovative liquid staking model. Magic Eden has established itself as the go-to NFT marketplace, and the meme coin Dogwifhat has captured significant attention in the crypto community. Other notable projects include Render Network, which focuses on decentralized GPU cloud rendering, and Ondo Finance, which tokenizes real-world assets to enhance liquidity and efficiency. The importance of decentralized exchanges within the Solana ecosystem cannot be overstated, as they drive economic growth and uphold the principles of decentralized finance. As Solana continues to attract innovative projects and a growing user base, its resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges position it as a formidable player in the blockchain space. With billions in TVL and a diverse range of applications, Solana's DeFi ecosystem is poised for further expansion and success in the coming years.