Global Hive Buzz

X discontinues NFT profile pictures: What implications does this hold for crypto art?

On January 10, X discontinued its support for NFTs nearly a year after its initial introduction. Launched on January 20, 2022, the feature allowed paid subscribers to connect their NFTs to their Twitter profile pictures, transforming the image into a hexagonal shape and serving as a verification mechanism for the NFT status.

The removal of NFT profile pictures sparked various reactions, with some expressing concerns about the increased difficulty in identifying fake accounts. Others speculated that this move could potentially pave the way for the platform to sell exclusive X NFTs in the future.

Meanwhile, the X community is engaging in speculation about the plans of billionaire Elon Musk. On Reddit, users theorized that this move might precede the platform offering exclusive X NFTs. Another user supported this idea by referencing Reddit's success with digital collectibles, which successfully introduced 10 million users to the NFT space.

Preorders for Solana's new phone surpass Saga's first-year sales within a single day.

Solana Mobile's latest web3 smartphone, the "Chapter 2" device, is experiencing remarkable demand. According to Solana's co-founder, Raj Gokal, pre-orders for this new phone have surpassed the first-year sales of its predecessor, Saga, within the initial day of pre-order availability, as reported by TechCrunch.

The pre-orders opened, and within the first 24 hours, Solana received over 25,000 pre-orders. By the 30-hour mark, this number had escalated to 30,000 units. In contrast, Solana's initial web3 phone, Saga, managed to sell fewer than 2,500 units during its first year after its launch in mid-2023.

Solana Mobile is gearing up to ship its new Chapter 2 phone in the first half of 2025. The Chapter 2 phone, introduced earlier in the week with a more affordable price tag of $450, stands in contrast to the initial $1,000 price of the Solana Saga phone. Although Solana later reduced the Saga's price to $599, sales remained sluggish for most of 2023.

The turning point came when the dog-themed memecoin BONK announced that Saga owners would receive 30 million BONK tokens for free, triggering a surge in demand. This arbitrage opportunity resulted in Saga's limited stock of 20,000 phones quickly selling out, despite some orders being canceled and refunded due to inventory issues.

Bets on Bitcoin's bullish trajectory increase as implied volatility declines.

Bitcoin (BTC) options are currently deemed cost-effective, leading some traders to capitalize on the opportunity by increasing bullish bets.

Following the peak in Bitcoin's implied volatility (IV) during the launch of spot ETFs in the U.S. last week, IV has now dipped below realized volatility. This trend has triggered heightened interest in calls at strikes $45,000 and $46,000 during Thursday's North American trading hours, as reported by the over-the-counter institutional cryptocurrency trading network, Paradigm.

Paradigm noted a substantial buyer of Feb $44k straddles and observed outright call buying in the $45k/$46k strikes. The broadcast on Telegram mentioned, "BTC implied volatility now trades well under-realized volatility, so we are not surprised to see Paradigm customers playing for a sharp rally back in spot and vol."

Bitcoin has experienced a decline of over 15% since the ETF debuted on January 11, with prices briefly dipping below $41,000 late Thursday.

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