This Week in Review｜The AI Agent concept remains hot; Bio Protocol (BIO) launched on Binance Launchpool

BlockBeats will summarize the industry's key news of the week (12.23-12.29) in this article, and recommend in-depth articles to help readers better understand the market and grasp industry trends.

Important News Recap

Bio Protocol (BIO) to Launch on Binance Launchpool, Reveals Tokenomics and 2025 Roadmap

Binance Launchpool has launched its 63rd project, Bio Protocol (BIO), which is a decentralized science (DeSci) management and liquidity protocol. On December 23, Bio Protocol unveiled the BIO tokenomics. The total initial token supply is 3,320,000,000 tokens, with a maximum token supply (can be increased through network governance) of 3,320,000,000 tokens. The initial circulating supply at Binance listing is 1,296,529,168 tokens (39.05% of the total initial token supply). The BIO token will be issued on the Ethereum mainnet, with 56% allocated to the ecosystem + community, 25.4% to early contributors, and 18.6% to early supporters. Bio Protocol revealed its 2025 roadmap, including the TGE of BIO tokens on the Ethereum mainnet on January 3, BIO token listings on Solana and Base networks, the launch of the new BioDAO, BIO/BioDAO liquidity pool, and the official launch of the new BIO Launchpad. Related reading: "BIO Launches on Binance Launchpool, an In-Depth Analysis of the Ecological Potential", "Decoding BIO Protocol: Launch on Binance; 'On-chain Science Version of Y Combinator' Attracts Attention from CZ and Vitalik"

Pump Science Announces BIO Airdrop for URO and RIF Holders, Along with bAInance Airdrop; RIF, URO Experience Short-Term Surges

Bio Protocol co-founder Paul Kohhaas, speaking on a special BlockBeats Space session last Friday, stated that BIO Protocol's airdrop to URO and RIF holders will consider a combination of token holding time weight and holding weight, where community members holding more tokens for a longer duration will receive a higher airdrop amount as a reward for long-term support. Subsequent new DeSci DAO projects within the ecosystem are considering using the BIO token to build a liquidity pool. Related reading: "URO and RIF Holders to Receive BIO Airdrop, Is the Spring of DeSci Coming?"

Pump Science is excited to celebrate the Binance Launchpool listing of Bio Protocol (BIO) by introducing the bAInance airdrop event. RIF and URO holders can claim the bAInance airdrop through Streamflow over the next 30 days, with approximately 37,000 airdrop addresses.

Bitget Announces Merger of BGB and BWB Tokens, BGB to Burn 40% of Total Supply, Price Surges to Above $8

On December 26, Bitget officially announced the merger of its native token Bitget Token (BGB) with Bitget Wallet Token (BWB). The merged BGB will become the sole ecosystem token of Bitget Exchange and Bitget Wallet, expanding to multiple on-chain applications and other use cases. BWB holders can convert BWB tokens to BGB at a ratio of 0.08563 based on the average closing price of BWB/USDT over the past 7 days. The token swap will start soon, and after the swap is completed, all BWB tokens will be burned, and an equivalent amount of BGB will be airdropped to user accounts. Starting from December 27, BWB trading and related services will cease. On December 27, the Bitget team released a new version of the BGB whitepaper, announcing the introduction of a buyback and burn mechanism. In the initial burn, the core team will burn 8 billion BGB tokens at once, accounting for 40% of the total supply. Based on the current price of BGB, the value of the burned portion exceeds $5 billion. After the burn, the total supply of BGB will be reduced to 12 billion, with 100% in circulation. Additionally, BGB will initiate quarterly buyback and burn programs starting in 2025, where Bitget will use 20% of the quarterly profit from exchange and wallet services to repurchase and burn BGB.

Vitalik Donates 10 Million Thai Baht to Thailand's Khao Kheow Zoo to Develop a Dedicated Area for MOODENG

On December 26, according to the management of Thailand's Khao Kheow Zoo and MOODENG, Vitalik Buterin donated funds to support the zoo's operation, wildlife sponsorship programs, and to develop a dedicated area for Moo Deng and his family, with Vitalik Buterin becoming Moo Deng's adoptive father. The donation will be divided into two parts, with each part being 5,000,000 Thai Baht, totaling 10 million Thai Baht (approximately $292,230). The first donation will be completed on December 26, 2024. The date of the second donation and any additional amounts will be notified later but will not be later than December 26, 2025. As a result of this news, the market cap of the Ethereum-based meme coin MOODENG surpassed $85 million on the same day.

Skely Launches AI Agent Presale Experiment aiPool, aiPool Issued First Token METAV

On December 24, Skely launched a radical new experiment about AI agent autonomy and presale mechanism called aiPool, issuing the coin using an AI agent and a trusted execution environment (TEE), raising over 30,000 SOL within half a day. An AI agent jointly built by Skely, Phala Network, and other top developers can have a wallet, protect its private key in a trusted execution environment (TEE), receive donations, initiate token issuance, create liquidity pool, and distribute tokens to donating users. On the same day, the founder of aiPool, Skely, had their account X frozen due to malicious reports and remains frozen to this day. On December 25, ai16z founder Shaw announced that the aiPool token had been issued. The aiPool token METAV went live for 32 minutes, with a market cap exceeding $50 million. Related reading《Raising over 35,000 SOL in Half a Day, What Is the AI-Pool Presale by ai16zdao Members?》

Jupiter Plans to Airdrop 700 Million JUP Next Month, Approximately 2.3 Million Eligible Wallets

On December 27, Jupiter announced that it will conduct the Jupuary airdrop next month, totaling 700 million JUP tokens, worth over $590 million, with 425 million JUP tokens allocated to users, including 75 million JUP reserved for stakers. There are approximately 2.3 million eligible wallets, including 2 million Swap traders and 320,000 professional traders. Each staked JUP will receive a 0.1 JUP reward. Jupiter emphasized that this allocation plan is a draft and may be subject to adjustments.

Sonic SVM to Airdrop SONIC Tokens to Eligible TikTok Users

On December 23, according to official sources, Sonic SVM, the first SVM blockchain on Solana, launched its first TikTok application layer, SonicX, which will distribute SONIC tokens to all eligible TikTok users. This event marks Sonic SVM's progress towards the upcoming token generation event (TGE), where eligible users will receive token rewards through an airdrop.

MicroStrategy Increases Holding of 5262 Bitcoins Worth Around $5.61 Billion

On December 23, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor announced that MicroStrategy had acquired an additional 5262 bitcoins at an average price of approximately $106,662 per bitcoin, totaling about $5.61 billion. As of December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy holds 444,262 bitcoins with a total acquisition cost of around $27.7 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $62,257 per bitcoin.

Four Batches of Projects Launched on Binance Alpha This Week

On December 23, Binance Alpha unveiled its fifth batch of projects, including ZEREBRO, COOKIE, WHALES, and ORDER. On December 24, according to the relevant page information, Binance Alpha added GAME, UFD, GEL, GOUT, and YNE to its page. On December 26, Binance Alpha announced its seventh batch of projects, which are EVAN, BITCOIN, VISTA, AVAAI, and AITECH. On December 27, according to official sources, Binance Alpha revealed the eighth batch of project tokens, including arc, WHY, APU, HAPPY, and FWOG.

AI Concept Coins Experience a General Rise This Week, with Base Ecosystem AI Concept Coins Continuing to Surge

On December 25, according to GMGN data, AI concept meme tokens saw a general rise, including: FARTCOIN with a 58.42% increase in 24 hours; ai16z with a 26.5% increase in 24 hours, currently valued at $8.4 billion; ZEREBRO with a 14.69% increase in 24 hours; ALCH with a 27.54% increase in 24 hours; ARC with a 31.32% increase in 24 hours. On December 26, Base layer AI concept tokens continued their upward trend. VIRTUAL with a 10.19% increase in 24 hours; AIXBT with a 17.14% increase in 24 hours; GAME with a 35.96% increase in 24 hours; CONVO with a 64.67% increase in 24 hours. Related reads: “Virtuals Co-founder Dialogue: Why Choose Base? What Will the AI Avatar Look Like in Five Years?” and “The ‘Ultimate BOSS’ Behind Virtuals: Why Can G.A.M.E Reach New Highs Against the Trend?”

ai16z Community Member Discloses Eliza Will Announce New Tokenomics Proposal, ai16z Founder Joins Eliza Project as Advisor

On December 26, as disclosed by ai16z community member 0xwitchy, ai16z revealed during today's community AMA that it has acquired a Launchpad company and is researching liquidity pool structures; ElizaOS v2 will be compiled using the Coinbase Agent Kit; future support for native TEE, where all Elizas will have native TEE and agents can run in the TEE. The team will collaborate with PhalaNetwork to address centralized TEE issues, attempting to form a decentralized TEE with servers distributed across different GPUs; will support plugin registration; ElizaOS v2 will feature fully automated cross-platform anonymous messaging, for example, your agent will automatically post on Telegram after posting on Discord; Eliza is set to announce a new tokenomics proposal around January 1. On December 27, AVA posted on social media that ai16z founder Shaw has joined the Eliza project as an advisor. Additionally, Eliza Studios Director, ai16z Creative Jeff, Nous Researcher Ropirito, and Ryze Labs Founder Matthew also announced their roles as advisors to the Eliza project.

Grayscale Submits Grayscale Horizen Trust (ZEN) 8-K Form to SEC

On December 24, according to market reports, Grayscale has submitted a Grayscale Horizen Trust (ZEN) 8-K form to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following this news, ZEN saw a more than 16% surge in 24 hours. Related reading: "ZEN Continues to Rise for Multiple Days, Can you Buy with 'Grayscale's Strict Selection'?"

Phala Network Founder: Airdropped Two Platform Tokens to Self-Evolving AI Platform Spore.fun Token Holders

On December 24, Phala Network founder Marvin Tong stated that they are conducting an airdrop of two platform tokens, adam and eve, to token holders of the self-evolving AI platform Spore.fun's SPORE token. These two tokens represent the paternal and maternal AI characters of the Spore.fun platform. Spore.fun is an experimental self-evolving AI platform. Through simulating natural selection, AI agents breed, mutate, and evolve without human intervention, becoming more intelligent and diverse with each generation. Its goal is to accelerate the emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), surpass human-designed constraints, and enable intelligent autonomous growth and adaptation. As of December 27, SPORE surged above $0.07 for a short period, with a 24-hour increase of 86%. Related reading: "An AI Capable of Self-Replication, will Spore.fun be the next Alpha?"

Aave is Considering Integration with Chainlink to Return MEV Fees to Users

On December 24, according to a proposal in the Aave governance forum, Aave is considering integrating a new Chainlink oracle aimed at redistributing the profit from front-running transactions back to the users of the DeFi protocol. On December 23, decentralized oracle provider Chainlink released the Service Value Recapture (SVR), which is an oracle service specifically designed to capture profits from Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) to benefit DeFi protocols. On the same day, Aave proposed integrating SVR to "recapture MEV from Aave liquidations and return it back to the Aave ecosystem." Aave stated that Chainlink's SVR is a service that auctions off Chainlink price feed oracle "buyback rights" through MEV-Share and liquidation profits. Aave estimates that SVR could capture approximately 40% of MEV profits, which can be redistributed to the Aave DAO for the benefit of users.

North Korean Hacker Addresses Transact on Hyperliquid, Hyperliquid Responds Not Under Attack

On December 23, crypto KOL Tay compiled data showing that multiple identified North Korean hacker addresses have recently been transacting on Hyperliquid, causing community members to worry that these transaction activities may imply that North Korean hackers have targeted Hyperliquid as a potential victim, testing the system's stability through transaction executions. On December 24, Hyperliquid Labs stated that they were aware of the reports about the so-called North Korean hacker address activities and reassured that Hyperliquid has not suffered any North Korean hacker attacks, and all user funds have been handled securely.

This Week's Popular Articles

《Raising $20 Million for Daughter's Medical Treatment in Three Hours, the Christmas Miracle of "Web3 Crowdfunding" MIRA》

Runway, a startup previously backed by a16z, founder Chen Siqi's daughter Mira was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. Although the tumor was benign, it was located in a critical area of the brain, making the treatment risky. To fund her daughter's treatment, Chen Siqi launched a fundraising campaign on Twitter, offering cryptocurrency donation options, attracting support and donations from many well-known individuals. Someone created the $MIRA token on pump.fun and donated 50% of the tokens to the father. MIRA also became the representative meme of the Desci concept. Despite mixed reactions to Chen Siqi and Mira's story on Twitter, the blockchain proved the feasibility of on-chain donations and fundraising with its transparency and widespread participation, ensuring that every donation is publicly accounted for.

"BIO Launches on Binance Launchpool, a Comprehensive Overview of Ecosystem Potential Targets"

The total supply of BIO's genesis token is 3.32 billion, with approximately 39.05% circulating at the time of listing on Binance. BIO Protocol aims to build a BioDAO network focusing on longevity, women's health, neurodegenerative diseases, and has garnered significant attention in the field of DeSci (Decentralized Science). BIO's ecosystem includes multiple DAO organizations such as VitaDAO, HairDAO, covering various research areas from longevity to women's health. Additionally, the BIO ecosystem involves meme coins and AI DAO experimental projects, attracting considerable investment and market attention. With the listing of the BIO token on Binance, the DeSci field is expected to experience a new wave of development.

"In-Depth Analysis of BTC Chip Structure: Where is the Short-Term Bottom?"

The lower limit of BTC's price correction is determined by the chip structure, especially the on-chain turnover volume changes. Through the analysis of on-chain data, it is found that when the market experiences extreme panic or anxiety, the turnover volume sharply increases, forming significant chip accumulation in certain price ranges. These accumulation zones create a strong support effect, hindering further price declines. For example, the current support range for BTC is between $92,000 and $100,000, especially with a significant turnover zone near $97,000, demonstrating strong support. As market sentiment calms and liquidity decreases, the lower limit of the price decline will be determined by these chip structures, while the ability to reach a new high will depend on future macroeconomic policy influences.

"The 2024 of NFTs: Images That Strive Not to Exit"

In 2024, the NFT market experienced fluctuating waves, from the dominance of the Three Kingdoms at the beginning of the year to the mid-year slump and depression, and then to the year-end recovery. Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin ecosystems each introduced some highly anticipated projects, especially the growth of Bitcoin NFTs and the success of projects like Pudgy Penguins. Despite the market's lows, NFTs once again captured the passion of players through airdrops and the promotion of emerging projects, especially driving by wealth effects such as token airdrops. Looking ahead, the content and IP narrative of NFTs are gradually changing, with more and more projects opening up new opportunities through NFTs as a means of issuance, and the market remains full of potential.

《a16z Year-End Review: Hot Topics and Reads for 2024》

This article focuses on the revolutionary impact of stablecoins, from pain points in the payment industry to technical solutions, deciphering the rise of this disruptive force. It also brings popular book recommendations and a practical gift list to add more choices to the holiday season. If you want to delve deeper into the potential of web3, don't miss Professor Tim Roughgarden's video lectures.

《Conversation with Pantera Founder: Blockchain and AI Integration is Inevitable; Crypto Revolution Only 15% Realized》

Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead reviewed his experience investing in Bitcoin in 2013 and shared profound insights into the future of the cryptocurrency market. Morehead pointed out that Bitcoin is an investment asset with asymmetric return potential, which could reshape multiple industries in the future. He also emphasized that by identifying early frontier investment opportunities, Pantera has gained a significant share of the global Bitcoin supply. Despite the cryptocurrency market experiencing drastic downturns multiple times, Morehead remains bullish on Bitcoin's long-term growth and believes it will continue to see substantial gains over the next 10 years. At the same time, he predicts that cryptocurrency will become a crucial part of the global financial system, bringing profound economic and political impacts.

《30 Airdrop Projects Worth Watching in 2025》

This article summarizes 30 immensely promising crypto projects and their airdrop opportunities, including several notable blockchain projects and platforms. For example, pump.fun announced its future token issuance and airdrop plan in October 2024; Phantom Wallet has become the preferred multi-chain wallet, receiving a substantial amount of investment; Eclipse launched its public mainnet in November, covering multiple ecosystem applications; Berachain uses a liquidity-proof consensus mechanism to address liquidity issues in the DeFi sector. Each project has a clear interaction strategy, providing specific ways to participate in airdrops or receive rewards.

“Can Ethereum Hit a New All-Time High in 2025?”

Ethereum supporters are looking forward to 2025, citing reasons such as the application of AI smart agents, major network upgrades, increased institutional interest, and improvements in the U.S. regulatory environment. The anticipated Pectra upgrade is expected to enhance the security and speed of the Ethereum network, improve user experience, and drive more participation in staking. The crypto industry is poised for development under the support of the Trump administration, particularly in the fields of DeFi and decentralized physical infrastructure. Additionally, Ethereum's leading position in stablecoins, tokenization, AI smart agents, and the launch of new layer two networks may further enhance its market performance.

“Understanding the New Internet Era Unveiled by AI Agents”

AI agents have undoubtedly become the focus of the current crypto industry and the broader digital world, from Truth Terminal's autonomous investment and dissemination to the rise of AI influencers like Dolos on social media, showcasing unprecedented "autonomous perception" and limitless potential. Unlike traditional bots with mechanical and passive execution capabilities, AI agents can self-evolve, actively perform tasks, and integrate into on-chain scenarios and online interactions. This article takes us from the “Difference Between Bots and Agents” to a future vision of the “Web4 Perception Era,” demonstrating how AI agents may redefine user-to-app and human-to-social interactions, and reminding us that embracing these changes may be the best posture to take at the forefront of the digital age.

“Raising 35,000 SOL in Half a Day, What Is the AI-Pool Presale by a16zdao Members?”

AI-Pool is an AI-managed presale project based on Trust Execution Environment (TEE) technology, aiming to avoid the centralized risks in traditional presale models. Users inject funds into an AI agent's wallet, which then manages these funds through a liquidity pool and distributes tokens back. While the presale initially attracted a significant amount of funds, the project faces issues in detail, such as allocation mechanisms, hard cap settings, and historical renaming, leading to dissatisfaction and questioning from some users. Despite this, AI-Pool's innovation lies in introducing AI management to increase transparency and reduce human intervention, but the realization of its intended goals still faces uncertainties.

"An AI Capable of Self-Replication, Will Spore.fun Be the Next Alpha?"

This article introduces Spore.fun, an experimental autonomous AI evolution platform. Through simulating natural selection, AI agents reproduce, mutate, and evolve without human intervention, becoming more intelligent and diverse with each generation. Its goal is to accelerate the birth of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), break through human-designed limitations, and allow intelligence to grow and adapt autonomously. Spore.fun is not just an entertainment project but also an experiment on intelligent evolution and self-realization.

"The Agent Framework Ideal for Solana, What Magic Does arc's Red Pill Blue Pill Have?"

The Arc project, developed by the technically proficient team at Playgrounds, has a groundbreaking AI Agent framework called Rig, aimed at providing efficient and secure infrastructure for AI and cryptocurrency projects. Developed using Rust, Rig offers higher performance and security, along with strong scalability and flexibility. Arc stands out for its rigorous project review process and high development standards, avoiding common market scams and low-quality products from rapid iterations. Arc drives the deep integration of AI and blockchain technologies by building a developer ecosystem, striving to construct a more efficient and innovative AI Agent platform and providing reliable infrastructure for enterprise-level applications.

"The 'Ultimate BOSS' Behind Virtuals, Why Does G.A.M.E Reach New Highs Against the Odds?"

The GAME token plays a crucial role in the Virtuals ecosystem as the "core brain" of AI Agents. It is responsible for decision-making and outputs, allowing agents to independently make decisions and continuously learn in different environments. The application of GAME is not limited to the gaming sector but extends to any environment with intelligent agents, holding significant market potential. As its ecosystem evolves, GAME provides developers with an efficient, open framework, driving rapid development and deployment of AI agents. The recent rapid growth in GAME's market capitalization and trading volume indicates its potential in the virtual society and AI fields, possibly emerging as an essential infrastructure asset in the future.

《URO and RIF Holders to Receive BIO Airdrop, Is Spring Coming for DeSci?》

DeSci, as an emerging field that combines blockchain technology and scientific research, is gradually attracting market attention. Recently, BIO Protocol announced that it would airdrop BIO tokens to URO and RIF holders and plans to connect BIO to Solana, expecting to further boost the DeSci sector. Pump Science, as a DeSci platform, has introduced innovative tokenomics designs, including custom issuance curves, liquidity migration, and anti-bot measures, attracting medical researchers to participate in drug research experiments. Meanwhile, the prices of RIF and URO tokens have risen due to market enthusiasm, and projects like DRUGS are also believed to have significant growth potential. 2025 may become a breakout year for the DeSci field, driving further development in this sector.

《A Comprehensive Review of Solana AI Hackathon Projects, Which Ones Will Be the Big Winners in 2025?》

This article focuses on a series of innovative projects from the Solana AI Hackathon, showcasing the widespread application of AI technology in areas such as DeFi, trading, investment DAOs, gaming, and the oracle ecosystem. These projects, through smart agents, automated trading, and data analysis, have driven on-chain transactions and DeFi ecosystem development, demonstrating the deep integration of AI and blockchain technology. Especially in early 2025, these technologies are expected to continue to drive innovation and become new industry trends, looking forward to further development in future hackathons.

《Top Ten Ways to Find an AI Agent Leader》

AI Agent has sparked a new trend in the crypto industry, with the market capitalization of several related projects surpassing tens of billions of dollars. With the rise of this trend, finding AI Agent projects with enormous potential has become a focus of attention. The article presents ten evaluation methods, including on-chain revenue method, developer attention method, KOL (Key Opinion Leader) fan count method, etc. Analyzing on-chain data, developer activity, KOL influence, and public chain support can help screen out AI Agent projects with long-term development potential from numerous projects. In addition, focusing on the influence of industry leaders, the listing effect on exchanges, and the activity of the AI Agent community are all important factors to judge the future success or failure of a project.

“Which NFT Projects on Unlaunched Blockchains Are Worth Watching?”

The current NFT market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, especially as the difficulty of new projects on Abstract chains rises, and the overall whitelist acquisition difficulty of the ecosystem also increases accordingly. This article shifts focus to emerging projects outside of Abstract, such as Monad NFT and Story Protocol. Monad NFT provides whitelist opportunities through simple social interaction tasks, and several trending NFT series have also attracted attention. Story Protocol, with its strong funding background and potential token airdrops, has attracted many investors, especially with its robust NFT series, Onchain Chronicles. Other platforms such as Berachain and Eclipse have also launched popular projects, gradually becoming the market's focus.

“Virtuals Co-founder Dialogue: Why Choose Base? What Will AI Agents Look Like in Five Years?”

This episode features Virtuals' co-founder, Weekee Tiew, delving into the profound impact of the intersection of AI, cryptocurrency, and mental health. Virtuals is a leading AI agent protocol on Base, currently valued at close to $25 billion. From employing autonomous AI agents to exploring the concept of digital nations, Weekee shares many profound insights about how AI is reshaping the digital future. This is a deep conversation about the future of AI, cryptocurrency, and human interaction, full of inspiration.

“Forbes 2025: 7 Major Crypto Predictions—More Nations Will Stack Bitcoin; Crypto Market Cap to Exceed $8 Trillion”

In 2024, the cryptocurrency industry witnessed a historic turning point, including Bitcoin surpassing the $100,000 mark, the launch of the first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and the growth of stablecoins. These achievements have solidified the global influence of the crypto industry and laid the foundation for future innovations. Looking ahead to 2025, it is expected that Bitcoin will be adopted as strategic reserves by multiple countries, the stablecoin market will further expand, and DeFi and Bitcoin ETFs will see new growth trends. In addition, the cryptocurrency market cap is poised to exceed $8 trillion, and U.S. crypto startups will also experience a revival under a clearer regulatory framework, driving a transformation in the global financial landscape.

《Messari 2025 Crypto Outlook: Institutional Funds Will Fully Enter; Meme Craze Will Continue》

In 2024, the crypto market continued to grow amid dual tests of the macroeconomy and industry challenges. In particular, the large-scale entry of institutional funds has driven the recognition and investment of major crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Additionally, the attraction of meme coins as speculative assets continues to rise, and the market heat shows no signs of abating. Looking ahead to 2025, the future growth of the crypto industry is expected to be supported by the macroeconomic environment. Improvements in regulation and deepening institutional participation will bring more incremental funds to the market, and the stablecoin field may also become a breakthrough point. On the technological front, Ethereum's Layer-2 scalability and Solana's ecosystem's steady growth are expected to become key market drivers.