RaaS #596: X Launches Grok Imagine Contest!

Payy Launches Ethereum’s First Privacy L2, BTC ETFs Post $545M Outflows, And Moar!

Espresso launches the ESP token to power its proof-of-stake network for rollups like RARI, ApeChain, and Celo. ESP will secure HotShot consensus, pay protocol fees, and support staking rewards. Airdrop registration is live, with 1M+ eligible wallets.

Cognition Labs brought on Nader Dabit as growth lead to expand its agentic coding platform, which includes tools like Devin, Windsurf, and Devin Review. Backed by Fortune 500 adoption and usage-based growth, the team is focused on scaling developer productivity with AI.

Payy Network launches as Ethereum’s first privacy-enabled EVM L2, offering private-by-default ERC-20 transfers with no changes to wallets or contracts. Powered by native privacy pools and offchain vaults, it brings invisible, compliant privacy to both crypto users and institutions.

When was the last time you went to the sauna?

Silhouette launches shielded spot trading on Hyperliquid, starting with HYPE/USDC. Traders can now choose between standard execution or shielded mode via a TEE-secured contract. Encrypted balances, sovereign withdrawals, and compliance policy engines set the stage for private, programmable liquidity.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $545M in outflows on Wednesday, led by BlackRock’s IBIT ($373M), amid BTC dropping below $70K, its lowest since Oct 2024. It’s the second straight day of withdrawals, totaling $817M.

Your daily dose of bite-sized crypto news.

1. ElevenLabs raised $500M at an $11B valuation to expand its voice AI stack.

2. Bhutan moved $22M worth of Bitcoin.

3. Ethereum scalers vow to soldier on after Vitalik’s about-face on Ethereum growth.

4. The odds on Polymarket of Jesus Christ returning this year have doubled overnight.

5. Coinbase is targeting RIAs, family offices, and wealth managers as it builds out its asset management arm.

Binance refuted claims that it issued a cease-and-desist letter to an X user alleging the exchange is insolvent. The user’s post, which gained traction, included a legal notice. Binance called it a “forgery with a very active imagination,” as insolvency rumors persist following the October 10 crash.

X is awarding $1M, $500K, and $250K to the top three Grok-themed videos created with Imagine 1.0. Submissions must be under 30 seconds and judged by impressions on the Verified Timeline.

Vitalik sharpens his L2 stance: most rollups are just cheap copies with no meaningful infra or L1 contribution. If you’re not building toward Ethereum’s roadmap, you’re not an L2; you’re an alt-L1 in disguise.

Some propaganda.

Top Gainers: WHITEWHALE, C98, 我踏马来了, ENSO, WMTX.

High-signal reads are worth your time, all in one place.

1. Cap’s ICO is live via Uniswap’s new Continuous Clearing Auction. Pre-bidding opens February 9 at 9 AM EST in USDC, with dynamic pricing and no bid caps. Early access requires a Frontier NFT. KYC/KYB is mandatory via Predicate. All bids clear at the same block price.

2. Zama launched its ZAMA token after rolling out its FHE-powered protocol through a testnet, mainnet debut, community sales, and a $44M public auction at a $550M FDV. By 2026, Zama aims to scale privacy in payments, capital formation, and asset management.

3. Aztec’s TGE goes live February 12 with 4,234 ETH in its Uniswap V4 pool. By denominating the CCA sale in ETH, Aztec reinforced its Ethereum alignment; privacy infrastructure built to last, with ETH as its backbone and block-by-block burn.

4. HYPE Engine is HyperEVM’s new treasury protocol, aligning rewards with user behavior. Instead of issuing native tokens, users dump for HYPE, protocols now distribute MEGAHYPE, a treasury-backed token with amplified HYPE exposure and accretive NAV growth.

5. HIP-4 brings prediction markets into Hyperliquid’s $225B/month perp engine, letting outcome trades share margin and risk with perps. That unlocks portfolio-level hedging, drives deeper liquidity, and shifts prediction markets from narrative bets to financial primitives.

The claim that Vitalik dumped $6.7M in ETH doesn’t hold up, according to Star Platinum. His known wallets show zero outflows. No matching sales, no exchange activity, just a $500K donation to a charity. The narrative is fake; the onchain data says otherwise.

RISE has launched its mainnet, optimized specifically for trading. It offers a hyper-tuned EVM that enables performant orderbooks to share execution and state with Ethereum-native DeFi. This unlocks new yield sources and atomic structured products.

That’s all for today!