The Daily Degen - January 4th, 2026
All of today's news/data/alerts...
Happy Sunday friends! Tradfi markets closed but crypto never sleeps!
Let’s dive in!
As always… stats/alerts/etc at top and tweets/news/links/videos/etc at bottom… and all tweets are hyperlinked so just click on them to pull them up on Twitter/X!
Market Update
Crypto (from @CryptoBubbles)
Total Crypto Market Cap: $3.20T
QQQ (Nasdaq 100): $611.53
Gold: $4,330.30
Oil (WTI): $57.32
US 10Y Treasury: 4.195%
Crypto Fear & Greed Index (from coinmarketcap(dot)com): 40
Altcoin Season Index (from coinglass(dot)com): 39
Biggest Price Movers
(From @coingecko top 1000, by 24 hour change)
Spotlight
While sentiments in crypto-land are down at the moment, many agree we are entering a veritable defi renaissance under the surface…
And within that nascent renaissance the idea of “vaults” has been generating massive attention! (see example tweets below)
This is what @RockSolidHQ is focused on, and they are one of the coolest new crypto projects to pop up in recent months!
RockSolid’s inaugural RocketPool $rETH vault (the first and official rETH vault with Rocket Pool) helps $rETH holders increase their returns via various professionally curated and resolutely gigabrained defi strategies, and is the first of many vaults they plan to launch…
They just crossed 6,000 $rETH in deposits in it and they continue to generate all sorts of excitement within the world of EVM defi!
Deposit into their $rETH vault now by clicking here and start earning yield immediately!
And make sure to follow RockSolid on Twitter for more updates, and stay tuned as we continue banging the drum on everything they are doing going into 2026!
Biggest TVL Movers + Other Interesting Data
Chains are quite green today. Only top 25 chains red on all three timelines (daily, weekly, monthly) are Polygon (#12), Berachain (#18), and Linea (#23).
Protocols are quite green today. Only top 25 protocol red on all three timelines (daily, weekly, monthly) is Ethena (#9).
Here’s The Top 12 Fastest-Growing Chains By TVL On The Weekly With At Least $10M TVL (from @DefiLlama):
Here’s The Top 12 Fastest-Growing Protocol By TVL On The Weekly With At Least $10M TVL (from @DefiLlama):
Here’s The Top 12 Chains By 7 Day Stablecoin Inflow % (from @DefiLlama):
New Projects
(note: this includes new projects we find through combing Twitter each day and going through newly launched protocols added by @DefiLlama, limited primarily to new projects that have at least some TVL or are followed by at least some of our mutuals… Disclaimer: these are not pre-vetted by us so make sure to DYOR!)
-Something new called @tradeonCipher. Twitter bio states “Trade. Earn. Win.” Followed by 8 of our mutuals. h/t @holly_web3:
-Something new called @ValenceTrade. Twitter bio states “Unified & Advanced Trading Platform…” Followed by 3 of our mutuals. h/t @holly_web3:
-Mantle’s new dex @Fluxion_dex has been added to @DefiLlama. Twitter bio states “Full Stack DEX native on @Mantle_Official V3 introduced | Mainnet Launched”. Followed by 2 of our mutuals.
Top Stablecoin Yields
(note: these are the top Stablecoin Yields, sourced from @DefiLlama (no yield tokens, single-exposure, $10M+ TVL only) - note: these lists are just raw data, make sure to always DYOR before interacting with any/all protocols)
Important News And Analysis
-Bitcoin and the rest of crypto all up over the first few days of the year, but still considerably below prior ATH’s from back in early October, h/t @DaanCrypto:
-All eyes on the situation in Venezuela and what it will mean for markets, h/t example from @KobeissiLetter:
-A number of confirmed or speculative TGE’s this month including Infinex, Superform, and MegaETH, h/t @TheDeFinvestor:
-More upcoming potential TGE’s, such as Solstice, Ranger Finance, and Arcium… h/t @jussy_world:
-ETH Mainnet led for total TVL inflows over the last year, while Arbitrum came in last, h/t @LeonWaidmann:
-Tokenless perps dex meta rolls on, example below from @stacy_muur:
-Lots of debate about token buybacks and whether they are worth it, given the poor performance of many such tokens, example below h/t @NPC_68:
-Another example of the debate, from @smyyguy QT’ing Helium CEO @amirhaleem (Helium is ending buybacks apparently):
-Good list of crypto projects currently hiring, along with more in the QT’d tweet, h/t @flb_xyz:
-Are most perps farmers better off going delta-neutral? Interesting thoughts also h/t @flb_xyz:
-Reminder from @pythianism of the very interesting macro variable that is a potential re-privatization of Fannie Mae + Freddie Mac via IPO later this year:
-Weekly macro summary from Joseph Wang:
-New yield-maxxing video for New Years from @phtevenstrong (just published yesterday):
-New Pomp x Jordi Visser video on crypto + macro + AI:
-New video from @thebellcurvepod of 2026 predictions:
-New Arthur Hayes interview from Wealthion:
-“Rough times make millionaires. Good times just reveal them.” - parting wisdom from @TheDeFinvestor:
Conclusion
Have a great Sunday and stay alert out there friends!
And please RT/subscribe/etc if you found this valuable!
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Note
Once again, @Mantle_Official had an absolutely massive 2025!
The bullish developments were legion, including:
- Huge defi ecosystem growth
- Huge @mETHProtocol success
- Token outperformance and massive treasury with which to fuel future growth
- Significant RWA + institutional expansion
- MI4 Fund + Anchorage Digital partnership + FunctionBTC
- Huge expansion into the fintech space, via @UR_global + more
- And serious initiatives in a host of other areas that would be far too numerous to mention!
We will be documenting their news and updates so stay tuned for that and make sure to follow them on Twitter for more info!
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***Note On Material: The ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Note’ sections are the only parts of The Daily Degen that are sponsored/promotional. Everything else is chosen 100% organically based on what info/stories/etc seem likely to be the most newsworthy/important/valuable to readers.