VERY Time Sensitive Cosmos NFT Mint: MANTRA OMies - Act Fast

Here's a breakdown of the latest happenings in the Cosmos ecosystem and the broader crypto market, focusing on time-sensitive opportunities and major developments. The crypto space is heating up, with a significant NFT mint in Cosmos happening now, and the macro political landscape, particularly the potential impact of a new US administration, setting the stage for a major market rally in 2025. Beyond that, the Cosmos ecosystem is buzzing with new leadership, an ambitious roadmap for Atom, and a flurry of key projects nearing mainnet launches and integrating with the burgeoning AI agent space.

Here’s a more detailed look at what's going on:

• Time-Sensitive OMies NFT Collection Launch: The OMies NFT collection by Mantra is launching soon, making it a very time-sensitive event. The artist, Sad Sad Story, is well-known for their work on Celestine Sloth and Bad Kids. To be eligible, you needed to stake, bridge, or hold "after the filter," Celestine Sloth, or Bad Kid NFTs. There are multiple phases, and with 65,000 eligible people and only 2,000 NFTs in the first batch, it’s expected to be extremely competitive and mint out in minutes, if not seconds. Cito+ members received exclusive whitelist spots, and Cito+ aims to provide exclusive partnerships, whitelist slots, and potential airdrops, along with real-time information and community support. The public launch for Cito+ is coming in less than two weeks, with a waitlist currently available.

• Donald Trump’s Potential Impact on Crypto: The upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump could trigger the "big 2025 altcoin season and crypto rally." While Bitcoin and Solana are hovering near all-time highs, most other altcoins are still far from their previous peaks. Trump’s administration appears serious about boosting crypto in the US and globally, as he's already designating cryptocurrency as a national priority and reportedly tapped David Sachs to be the "crypto czar." This political shift is seen as a significant bullish signal.

• Gary Gensler's Shifting Stance on Bitcoin: Gary Gensler, head of the SEC, has surprisingly changed his tune on Bitcoin, acknowledging its demand and even drawing an analogy to gold. He stated that despite being a "highly speculative, volatile asset," 7 billion people globally want to trade it, much like gold has been traded for 10,000 years. This shift, combined with BlackRock openly promoting Bitcoin on national TV and significant net inflows into Bitcoin spot ETFs, suggests institutional adoption is strong. While institutions have largely driven the current rally, the presenter believes "the true fun begins" once retail investors enter the market. Furthermore, states like Oklahoma are introducing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Acts, and Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, has purchased a substantial amount of Bitcoin, all indicating a macro environment primed for a very bullish 2025.

• Cosmos Ecosystem Price Movements: The Cosmos ecosystem is seeing a bit of relief and a nice bounce back, with many assets showing green today. While prices like Atom at $7 and Injective at $25 are still considered "very, very low levels," the general sentiment is bullish, and these movements are seen as a recovery rather than a full-blown alt season yet, but the signs are accumulating.

• Cosmos Leadership Announces New Roadmap: Cosmos has new leadership with Mark and Barry, co-CEOs of Interchain Labs, who are proposing concrete action steps and a clear roadmap for the Cosmos Hub and Atom. Key initiatives include "Project Highway," "Permissionless CosmWasm" (Cosmos's EVM equivalent), "Token Factory," "Partial Set Security" (a form of shared security), and "Economic Atom Alignment." A major highlight is the goal for one-second block times for Atom, which would make the Cosmos Hub one of the fastest chains in the industry, significantly improving on the current 6-7 second block times. A detailed plan with timeframes is expected soon. The new leadership has already shifted sentiment, with prominent figures expressing renewed excitement for Cosmos and Atom’s value accrual.

• IBC - The Heart of Cosmos: The Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) is highlighted as the true synonym for Cosmos, representing a neutral interoperability standard for the entire crypto economy. IBC is leading the interoperability space with 119 connected chains, significantly outperforming others. While there's currently no direct value accrual for Atom from IBC, the new leadership is exploring ways for Atom to benefit from facilitating interoperability. They are also investing heavily in CosmWasm, funding its first comprehensive audit in two years, with the goal of implementing a permissionless version on the Cosmos Hub. Interchain Labs will take over CosmWasm development from Confio, signaling strong alignment and a clear direction for the future of Cosmos.

• Babylon Mainnet is Nearing Launch: Babylon, a project that already has nearly $6 billion locked in its Bitcoin staking protocol, is nearing its Token Generation Event (TGE), expected in late Q1 or Q2. Babylon successfully raised $70 million in a funding round led by Paradigm and has seen over 57,000 BTC staked by more than 135,000 stakers. The presenter's company, Stakecito, will be a Genesis validator for Babylon, and the presenter is a private investor in the project, having been in touch with the team since mid-2022.

• Celestia's Critical Role in Modular Blockchains: Celestia, with its TR token live for over a year, is considered a vital "B2B or C2C (chain-to-chain) service provider" in the modular blockchain ecosystem. It acts as a critical infrastructure play, enabling various roll-ups and specialized chains. Eclipse, the largest roll-up on Celestia, leverages the Solana Virtual Machine while operating as an Ethereum L2 and using Celestia for data availability. Other notable projects using Celestia include Equus.fun (an AI agent framework from the Strides team, home to AI agents like Vito and TAS the Mammoth), Formachain (an NFT marketplace), Astria, Movement, and Initia. The presenter is very bullish on Celestia’s long-term importance.

• Thorchain Updates and Integrations: Thorchain has faced some recent underperformance and drama, including its founder JP taking time off due to personal reasons, which the presenter acknowledges is understandable given the intense effort involved. Despite this, ThorChain will continue shipping, with teams like Nine Realms and Strangelove taking over core development. Notably, Base swaps are now live on ThorChain, making it the 10th integrated chain, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Cosmos Hub (Atom). There's also a teaser that XRP will be connecting soon.

• Saga Announces Metropolis for AI Agents: Saga, known as the L1 for launching L1s (called Chainlets), has announced "Metropolis." This new development allows AI agents and frameworks like Virtuals Wayfinder and A16Z DAO to launch their own chains permissionlessly on Saga. This positions Cosmos projects as dominant contenders in the AI agent vertical, alongside Akash Network providing AI infrastructure.

• Story Protocol Integrates for On-Chain IP: Story Protocol, a highly anticipated project for 2025 focusing on on-chain intellectual property (IP), has integrated ElizaOS. This means Story's agent TCP IP now supports AI16Z DAO agents, enabling them to access programmable IP and create their own on-chain IP. This integration is seen as a significant step in the evolution of AI x Crypto, potentially leading to new forms of NFTs or meme coins from Story Protocol's mascot, "IP."

• Milky Way Completes Funding Round: Milky Way, a liquid staking provider that has transitioned into a restaking platform, successfully completed a $1 million funding round on Equo. Milky Way, currently on Osmosis, plans to launch on Initia Mainnet as a roll-up. It's backed by notable investors like Polychain, Binance Labs, and HackVC, and the presenter is also a private angel investor.

• Anoma Updates and Definite Testnet Launch: Anoma, a standalone chain running parallel to Namada (whose mainnet has already launched), has just launched its "Definite" testnet. This allows builders to create the first intent-centric applications on Anoma. While it's unclear if there will be airdrops or incentives, it's definitely a project to keep an eye on. Meanwhile, Namada's NUM airdrop will become IBC transferable in Phase 5, which is coming soon.