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HTX Ventures Identifies Five Rapidly-Growing Sectors in 2024, Expects Positive Crypto Regulations Driven by Trump Next Year

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SINGAPORE, Dec. 16, 2024 /CNW/ — As Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark on December 5, 2024, this landmark year for the crypto industry is closing on a high note. It has also been a fruitful year for HTX Ventures, the global investment division of HTX, which supported a total of 28 leading crypto projects and funds, continually exploring new frontiers of crypto utility. Recently, HTX Ventures released its 2024 Year In Review, highlighting this year’s key developments in the crypto industry and forecasting market trends for the upcoming year.

Within this report, HTX Ventures highlighted five key sectors that showed encouraging progress in 2024 – the Bitcoin Ecosystem, Infrastructure, Meme Coins, AI, and the TON Ecosystem – and will continue to closely monitor these areas in 2025.

Bitcoin Ecosystem

With Bitcoin dominance reaching 56.81% and Bitcoin spot ETFs now accounting for 5.3% of the total Bitcoin supply, a new market trend has emerged. Bitcoin has solidified its position as the core asset, with spot ETFs acting as liquidity channels, and U.S. listed companies such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) serving as the vehicles to absorb unlimited dollar liquidity.

As a result, it is increasingly essential to further develop Bitcoin‘s ecosystem and enhance capital utilization efficiency. It has driven infrastructure projects, including Layer 2s, execution layers, interoperability solutions and security layers, to continuously emerge.

With strong support from macro markets and infrastructure support, HTX Ventures anticipates a further surge in Bitcoin demand over the next two years.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure remained a cornerstone in this year’s crypto investments and funding. The synergy between capital and technology has driven the rapid development of Layer 1, Layer 2,  and middleware projects, among others.

Through ongoing upgrades and construction, the Ethereum ecosystem has improved Layer 2s’ performance and reduced network fees. Other Layer 1s, such as Solana and TRON, achieved active on-chain transactions, attributable to the development of meme coins, and infrastructure like Pump.fun and Sunpump. Layer 0 and cross-chain middleware have made breakthroughs in interoperability, expanding the multi-chain landscape. Modular public blockchains, like Celestia and Monad, offered exceptional performance and flexibility, thus attracting diverse applications. Restaking projects, which aim to enhance network security and capital efficiency, has seen speedy development and gained market attention. Bitcoin Layer 2 has emerged as a new focus in the primary market for its attempt to combine Bitcoin‘s security with high-performance scaling solutions.

As HTX Ventures stated, infrastructure is still imperative in this year’s crypto investments and funding. Layer 1 solutions, in particular, now represent the focal point of technical development and exploration within the crypto space, and it is expected to remain a priority for development resources and capital investment in the future.

Meme Coins

The Meme coin sector emerged as a hotspot in the crypto market in 2024, fostering community consensus while integrating with fields like DeFi and GameFi to create new use cases. For example, Solana has actively championed the innovation and growth of meme projects, successfully energizing its ecosystem. As the crypto market environment grows increasingly favorable, more retail investors are expected to enter the market, positioning Meme projects as vital channels for capital inflows.

The Meme coin fair launch sector has gained significant market attention and attracted substantial participants this year. Infrastructure projects such as Pump.fun and SunPump have emerged as top-performing cash flow generators, injecting fresh momentum into Meme coin development. As multi-chain ecosystems mature and real-world use cases expand, Meme coin infrastructure will continue injecting more vitality into this sector.

AI

In 2024, the intersection of Crypto and AI sector has been driving the exploration of several segmented fields such as ZK/OPML for enabling AI on-chain, AI data crowdsourcing, decentralized computing power rental, AI data trading, AI games, and AI agents.

One of the hottest segmented fields is AI agents, which are put on chains to take advantage of the token mechanism to incentivise and bootstrap certain behaviors with the agents, including interacting with smart contracts, trading and querying on behalf of users. In the future, AI agents will gradually become personal butlers and assistants for users, serving them with comprehensive capabilities, such as independent asset issuance, initiation of viral marketing campaigns, formation of DAOs, and even fund management and investment decision-making. Over time, they may develop unique cultures and religions. This deep integration of AI and encryption technology is a groundbreaking evolution that is unattainable within Web2 and cannot be achieved by Web3 relying solely on encryption technology.

TON Ecosystem

Attributable to Telegram’s hundreds of millions of users and robust technical support, the TON (The Open Network) ecosystem has progressively developed into a multi-layered blockchain ecosystem. In 2024, it experienced a full-scale boom in its ecosystem and market presence. From DeFi and meme coins to NFTs and gaming, TON leveraged its massive user base to achieve significant milestones in various fields, pioneering the monetization of Web2 social applications through crypto.

One standout success was the adoption of “tap-to-earn” games with token airdrop incentives, which effectively onboarded a large number of Web2 users. However, as the TON ecosystem moves into 2025, it must explore and find new business models to improve user retention and identify its next growth curve.

2025 Outlook

Donald Trump’s expected repeal of SAB 121 after his inauguration on January 20, 2025, would allow traditional financial institutions to hold crypto assets on their balance sheets, further accelerating the institutionalization of crypto assets. The repeal will not only open up more financing options for crypto but also make spot cryptos more accessible through existing institutional exchanges and partnerships.

At the same time, this regulatory easing is poised to enhance the overall maturity of the institutional crypto market. With the entry of traditional financial institutions, Bitcoin is anticipated to gain stronger support and gradually establish itself as a core dollar-denominated asset, alongside others tied to the dollar industry cycles, such as AI.

HTX Ventures points out that the market is still far from its bull market peak. Against the backdrop of Trump’s fiscal expansion policies and unprecedented crypto-friendly signals, a robust bull market is expected.

To learn more, please visit: https://square.htx.com/htx-ventures-2024-year-in-review/

About HTX Ventures

HTX Ventures, the global investment division of HTX, integrates investment, incubation, and research to identify the best and brightest teams worldwide. With more than a decade-long history as an industry pioneer, HTX Ventures excels at identifying cutting-edge technologies and emerging business models within the sector. To foster growth within the blockchain ecosystem, we provide comprehensive support to projects, including financing, resources, and strategic advice.

HTX Ventures currently backs over 300 projects spanning multiple blockchain sectors, with select high-quality initiatives already trading on the HTX exchange. Furthermore, as one of the most active Fund of Funds (“FOF”) investors, HTX Ventures invests in 30 top global funds and collaborates with leading blockchain funds such as Polychain, Dragonfly, Bankless, Gitcoin, Figment, Nomad, Animoca, and Hack VC to jointly build a blockchain ecosystem. Visit us here.
Feel free to contact us for investment and collaboration at VC@htx-inc.com

Contact Details
Ruder Finn Asia
htx@ruderfinn.com 

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MITTI LABS & SALESFORCE PARTNER TO SCALE WATER-SAVING RICE FARMING PRACTICES THAT REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS

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Salesforce will purchase 500,000 high-integrity, data-backed methane reduction credits from Mitti Labs by 2030, bringing water resilience to India’s smallholder farmers. 

SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALURU, India, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Deep-tech company Mitti Labs today announced a five-year carbon credit offtake agreement with Salesforce to scale Climate-smart rice farming across tens of thousands of smallholder farms in India. Coming just weeks after Mitti Labs’ offtake agreement with Google, this new partnership shows the growing corporate demand for satellite-verified rice methane credits as a scalable offset solution with near-term impact. 

Climate-smart rice farming replaces traditional continuous irrigation with alternate irrigation, where farmers let their fields dry out during safe windows in the growing cycle. This low-cost practice shift helps the world grow more rice with less water, while abating methane emissions derived from microbe growth in oxygen-free soils. Alternate irrigation can cut methane emissions by up to 50% and water usage by up to 40%, without affecting yields. 

Agriculture is responsible for 40% of all human-induced methane emissions, which are a powerful driver of climate change. Methane traps 85 times more heat than CO₂ but only stays in the atmosphere for a decade, meaning that every ton that is not emitted today delivers a fast, tangible reduction in near-term warming. 

Commitments from companies like Salesforce are helping Mitti Labs scale these practices. Mitti Labs plans to scale its operations to meet this demand: by 2028, it plans to issue 2 million credits per year from its projects located in India and Southeast Asia. 

“Salesforce is a founding member of the Beyond Alliance’s Superpollutant Action Initiative. We know that superpollutant reduction is one of the best ways to slow near-term warming, and we are committed to directing capital toward high-impact mitigation efforts. Reducing methane emissions from rice farming is a scalable climate solution that also helps preserve water resources for future generations,” said Jamila Yamani, PhD., Director of Climate & Energy at Salesforce.

Every credit delivered under the agreement will be backed by field-level evidence and satellite-verified field dry-downs. Mitti Labs’ GeoAI platform, developed with support from NASA, fuses high-resolution satellite radar with field-collected ground truth to track flooding, soil moisture and crop health across individual smallholder plots. This provides credit buyers with transparent, independently verifiable proof of impact at a scale that manual monitoring is not able to match.

Beyond reducing methane emissions, the partnership is projected to save 700 billion liters of water, or roughly eighteen months of Bengaluru’s annual supply, easing pressure on groundwater retrievals in regions where rice farming competes with urban and industrial water usages. 

“Carbon credit buyers are increasingly asking not just what impact a project delivers, but how they can see it for themselves. Having Salesforce join Google in backing rice methane reductions shows that high-integrity, data-verified agricultural credits are becoming a core part of serious climate offsetting strategies. This agreement lets us reach tens of thousands more farmers with practices that cut emissions, save water and strengthen livelihoods,” said Xavier Laguarta, co-founder at Mitti Labs.

With Salesforce’s support, Mitti Labs will deepen its engagement with rice farming communities and expand the ‘digital twins’ GeoAI datasets that support the roll-out of its programs. As demand for the world’s staple crop continues to grow and rainfall patterns become less predictable, the next five years in the partnership offer a chance to strengthen food security and realize the full potential of rice farming as a climate solution. 

About Mitti Labs

Mitti Labs combines satellite technology, AI and field operations to create a water and climate resilient future for rice farming. To date, its programs have saved 500 billion liters of water — the equivalent of Bengaluru’s annual supply. In July 2026, Mitti Labs received an ‘A’ rating from leading ratings agency Sylvera in recognition of its rigorous implementation and measurement protocols. 

Mitti Labs customers include global technology, service, food and agriculture businesses such as Google, Cool Effect, Ebro Foods, and Syngenta. Since launching in 2023, Mitti Labs has grown to 150 employees and secured $12.5 million from investors such as Lightspeed India, Aramco Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Godrej Industries Group, Cisco Foundation, Francis Family Fund, and Volta Circle. Visit mittilabs.earth to learn more.

 

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Xobin Introduces AI Interview Auditor to Make AI-Led Hiring More Trustworthy

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A new AI agent designed to review AI-conducted interviews, identify evaluation inconsistencies, and help organizations make more reliable hiring decisions.

CHENNAI, India, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Xobin, a talent intelligence platform, today announced Xobin AI Interview Auditor, a new AI-powered solution designed to independently review interviews conducted by AI.

As more organizations adopt AI interviews to screen and evaluate candidates, a new challenge is emerging: How can companies be confident that the AI interviewer is making reliable assessments?

Xobin aims to address this challenge with an AI agent that reviews the interview itself.

Who Is Checking the AI Interviewer?

AI interviews are helping companies evaluate candidates at scale. But organizations also need a way to check whether those interviews were conducted and evaluated appropriately.

Xobin AI Interview Auditor is designed to examine AI interview conversations and help organizations answer important questions:

Did the AI ask relevant questions for the role?Did it properly evaluate the candidate’s answers?Did it overlook important information?Was the evaluation consistent with the interview conversation?Are the final scores and recommendations supported by evidence?

The goal is simple: AI interviews should be auditable, not just automated.

An Independent Review of AI Interviews

Xobin AI Interview Auditor introduces an additional layer of review to the AI hiring process.

Instead of relying entirely on the conclusions generated by an AI interviewer, organizations can use the auditor to identify potential inconsistencies and areas requiring human attention.

Each AI interview report now carries a quality badge, a short scorecard and plain-language flags. These show hiring teams at a glance whether the interview met Xobin’s quality standards and which sessions need a closer look, such as “this interview had long delays” or “the candidate tried to steer the AI off topic.”

Xobin’s in-house team also reviews all flagged audit reports to keep improving how the auditor and AI interviewer perform.

This approach is intended to improve transparency and give hiring teams greater confidence in AI-assisted hiring decisions.

Building on Xobin’s Existing AI Interview Capabilities

Xobin already offers Guided AI Interviews, enabling organizations to evaluate candidates through structured, interactive AI-led conversations.

These interviews also support the evaluation of emerging AI-era skills, including AI fluency, prompt engineering, and vibe coding.

Through Xobin’s existing real-time prompt editor, candidates can demonstrate how they interact with AI, construct and refine prompts, and approach practical problem-solving challenges.

For software development roles, this enables employers to assess how candidates use AI-assisted coding tools, rather than relying exclusively on traditional coding questions or theoretical knowledge.

With the introduction of AI Interview Auditor, Xobin is adding an independent review capability to its existing AI interviewing technology.

While Guided AI Interviews assess candidates, AI Interview Auditor assesses the quality and reliability of the AI interviewer’s evaluation.

Building Trust in AI Hiring

“AI is increasingly being trusted to interview candidates and recommend who should move forward. But who is checking whether the AI got it right?” said Guruprakash Sivabalan, Founder and CEO of Xobin.

“We believe the future of AI hiring requires more than automation. It requires accountability. Every AI interview should be explainable, reviewable, and supported by evidence.”

About Xobin

Xobin is a talent intelligence platform used by 5000+ organizations in 55+ countries, helping organizations make evidence-based decisions across hiring, talent development, and workforce management. Its solutions include AI interviews, skill assessments, psychometric assessments, and talent intelligence.

Website: https://xobin.com

Media contact
Guruprakash Sivabalan
Founder and CEO, Xobin
Email: guru@xobin.com 
Website: www.xobin.com

 

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Inntot Recognized as an official STMicroelectronics Authorized Partner for Software-Defined Radio Digital Radio Receiver Solutions

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Collaboration brings together STMicroelectronics’ automotive tuner technology and Inntot’s Software-Defined Radio IP to support cost-effective, multi-standard digital radio solutions

KOCHI, India, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Inntot Technologies, a leading provider of Software-Defined Radio (SDR) and in-cabin audio technologies, today announced that it has been recognized as an official STMicroelectronics Authorized Partner. The collaboration combines STMicroelectronics’ high-performance automotive radio tuners with Inntot’s highly competitive and optimized SDR software IPs, offering global Automotive Tier-1 suppliers and automakers a complete, cost-effective digital radio receiver solution.

The combined solution enables automakers and Tier-1 suppliers to support multiple digital radio standards, including Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB/DAB+) and China Digital Radio (CDR), within automotive infotainment systems without the need for dedicated hardware decoders.

As the global automotive industry shifts toward integrated cockpits and Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), Tier-1 suppliers face increasing pressure to lower Bill of Materials (BOM) costs while maintaining high audio performance.

By pairing STMicroelectronics’ RF tuner ICs (such as the STA709/STA710 series, TDA7707/TDA7708 series) with Inntot’s high performing, lightweight, low-CPU-usage SDR stacks, the solution offers several benefits:

Reduced Hardware Complexity: Eliminates dedicated baseband Integrated Circuits (ICs), minimizing board space, power consumption, and thermal dissipation.Multi-Standard Global Coverage: Supports key broadcast standards across global regions (Europe, APAC, GCC, India, and the Americas) via software configuration.Faster Time-to-Market: Pre-validated middleware, hardware abstraction layers and OS abstraction layers accelerate system integration for Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), Android Automotive OS, and RTOS environments.Seamless Switching and Rich Data Services: Fully supports advanced features including seamless blending from analog to digital and vice-versa, alerts including emergency warning, album art/slideshows, Service and Program Information (SPI) and TPEG traffic notifications.

“Automotive radio is increasingly becoming a software-defined experience, giving automakers greater flexibility to address different standards and markets through software,” said Rajith Nair, CEO of Inntot Technologies. “Our partnership with STMicroelectronics is an important step in advancing that transition and bringing scalable digital radio solutions to more vehicle platforms globally.”

The joint STMicroelectronics and Inntot SDR receiver solutions supporting DRM, DAB/DAB+, CDR standards are now available for evaluation, sampling, and integration into automotive Tier-1 infotainment programs.

About Inntot

Inntot is a leading Software-Defined Radio (SDR) and In-Cabin Audio Technology company. Inntot’s SDR IP portfolio supports Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB/DAB+), Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), China Digital Radio (CDR), HD Radio, DTS AutoStage, and RadioDNS. With SDR deployments in more than 2.6 million cars and deployment underway in 4.4 million cars, the company holds 13 granted patents in the digital radio domain. Inntot is a member of WorldDAB and its technical committee and DRM Consortium and its technical committee. Inntot is also the winner of Digital Radio Mondiale Enterprise Award 2020.

Inntot Contacts

Media: info@inntot.com

Website: www.inntot.com

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