Today's news tips:
US Justice Department approves sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road bitcoins
Oklahoma lawmaker proposes Bitcoin Freedom Act to allow employees to receive wages in Bitcoin
LLM briefly broke through $0.1, rising 58.88% in 1 hour
El Salvador buys another 11 Bitcoins for its strategic reserve
Analog Announces 1:100 Split of ANLOG Tokens
Binance will launch Dar Open Network (D) perpetual contract, supporting up to 75x leverage
Regulatory/Macro
IMF recommends Kenya to develop clear cryptocurrency regulatory framework
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommends that Kenya create a clear and predictable regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency market to protect consumers and address risks related to anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). The IMF pointed out that Kenya currently relies on outdated regulations in traditional markets and lacks legally binding regulation of the crypto market, leading to an increase in crypto-related fraud and criminal activities. The IMF recommends that Kenya develop a crypto regulatory environment that is consistent with international frameworks and standards, while taking into account the unique challenges and opportunities of the local market to ensure that the regulatory framework can protect consumers, maintain financial stability, and promote innovation.
"Musk unfollowed Zhao Changpeng again" is untrue, it is an error in the follow system of X platform
According to the relevant information of X platform, Musk has unfollowed Zhao Changpeng on X platform again. Last December, Zhao Changpeng interacted with Musk on the acquisition of Twitter platform. Musk thanked Zhao Changpeng for his investment in supporting the acquisition of Twitter and followed Zhao Changpeng again after replying to Zhao Changpeng's tweet. Update: Musk did not unfollow Zhao Changpeng on X, it was an error in the follow system of X platform.
HKMA launches supervisory incubator to promote responsible use of distributed ledger technology
According to a Hong Kong government news release, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a Distributed Ledger Technology Regulatory Incubator (Incubator) to help banks responsibly explore the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT), aiming to help banks fully tap the potential of DLT and effectively manage related risks. It is reported that the incubator will enhance the risk management capabilities of individual banks and the banking industry as a whole, especially the risks that may arise when banks launch services that involve both DLT banking infrastructure and traditional banking infrastructure (such as deposits and loans). For individual banks, the incubator will provide a one-stop regulatory platform, allowing banks to confirm that relevant risk management measures have been fully implemented before fully launching DLT projects, communicate with the HKMA's dedicated team and obtain regulatory advice, and choose to conduct real-world testing as needed to verify and improve risk management measures in a pragmatic and evolving manner. The incubator will also launch a series of targeted measures to promote the banking industry's awareness and understanding of DLT risk management best practices, including regulatory guidelines, industry sharing sessions and forward-looking research projects, which will help enhance the banking industry's ability to introduce DLT solutions in the long run.
According to information shared by eric.eth, co-author of EIP-1559, on the X platform, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the Biden administration is subpoenaing Coinbase regarding the Polymarket case, requiring Coinbase to provide information related to some customers. Coinbase said in an email to customers: "You do not need to take any action, but Coinbase may need to send information related to your account to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in accordance with the subpoena, unless Coinbase formally receives a motion to revoke the subpoena or other legal documents that prevent Coinbase from sharing such information before the end of business on January 15, 2025."
FTX says Backpack's acquisition of EU subsidiary has not yet received court approval
According to Cointelegraph, the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX said that the acquisition of its European division FTX EU by the crypto exchange Backpack has not been approved by the bankruptcy court, and Backpack has not been authorized to distribute funds to FTX creditors. Backpack announced on January 7 that it had acquired FTX EU and said it would assume responsibility for repaying debts to EU customers as part of the court-approved bankruptcy process. Backpack founder Armani Ferrante said his exchange would not conduct any transactions in the EU until it was able to repay FTX creditors, adding that it could be ready as early as February. However, in a statement on January 8, FTX said that Backpack's "claimed" acquisition of FTX EU has not yet occurred and has not been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, adding that all statements issued by Backpack were made without FTX's knowledge. FTX said that the FTX debtors had previously agreed to sell FTX EU to some "former insiders" of FTX Europe under a settlement agreement supervised by the bankruptcy court, but only said that it was told that these former insiders had agreed to indirectly transfer FTX EU to Backpack. FTX also noted that Backpack was not authorized to manage creditor repayment matters.
A federal judge ruled on Dec. 30 that the Department of Justice can sell 69,370 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road darknet marketplace, a U.S. official confirmed, according to DB News. The years-long dispute over ownership of the seized bitcoins finally came to an end after Battle Born Investments’ attempt to delay the sale failed. The group had claimed the bitcoins belonged to its bankruptcy estate and lost a recent Freedom of Information Act case. Battle Born’s lawyers called this “another egregious example of the Department of Justice abusing the civil asset forfeiture process” and claimed the government “relies on procedural shenanigans to ensure the facts are never known.” The Justice Department cited bitcoin’s price volatility in its fight for permission to sell the assets. When asked about next steps, a Justice Department spokesperson said: “The government will proceed based on the ruling in this case.” The seized bitcoins are currently worth about $6.5 billion.
According to CoinDesk, Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), focused on cryptocurrencies and their regulation in his last public speech before leaving office, and emphasized the need to promote the CFTC as a cryptocurrency regulator. Behnam will step down on January 20 to make way for future appointees of President-elect Trump. In his speech at the Brookings Institution, he said that cryptocurrencies "run through every stage of my tenure." Behnam pointed out: "In the absence of federal legislation, customer protection, increased fraud and market abuse, market resilience, and financial stability are becoming increasingly serious. History has repeatedly proved that placing a large amount of financial activities outside of regulation will ultimately lead to bad results." He directly called on industry "innovators" to protect investors who "are eager to include digital assets in their portfolios" and emphasized: "The role of market regulators is crucial. They ensure that financial innovation is integrated into a regulatory and compliance culture that protects consumers and provides legal certainty." He also said that he has never supported a law enforcement-led regulatory approach. In contrast, Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. SEC, has long been criticized by the industry for taking the approach of "replacing regulation with law enforcement." Earlier today, U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reiterated that the crypto space is "full of bad actors."
US judge sets start date for Do Kwon's trial as January 26, 2026
According to The Block, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon appeared in court at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday. This was his second appearance, marking the entry of this high-profile and repeatedly postponed federal case into the discovery phase. If he is convicted of the collapse of the TerraUST stablecoin, he will face up to 130 years in prison. Wednesday's "initial meeting" is intended to determine whether the U.S. case can be resolved without trial and to determine other pre-trial details. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer set the trial start date for January 26, 2026, and encouraged plea negotiations. The U.S. government pointed out that both parties to the lawsuit submitted 6 TB of evidence to be examined for evidence discovery, including four mobile phones, social media accounts and other non-public information that Kwon carried while in prison in Montenegro, Montenegro, most of which need to be translated and decrypted. Prosecutors said that some of the data may have been collected without a search warrant and that the encryption key seemed to be "lost." Prosecutor Jared Lenow pointed out that the trial could last up to six weeks, and the prosecution alone would need four weeks. The judge also questioned whether securities laws would play a significant role in Kwon's case, saying "the jury needs extreme clarity." Prosecutors said whether Bitcoin or USDT are commodities is not important to their case, noting that District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled in a previous case that "Terraform's crypto assets are investment contracts."
Trump-themed digital card debuts on Bitcoin network via Ordinals protocol
According to Cryptoslate, the NFT series supported by US President-elect Donald Trump has launched the first 160 works on the Bitcoin network using the Ordinals protocol, called "Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards". Users who receive 100 NFT cards from the "Mugshot Edition" are eligible to claim them through the NFT marketplace Magic Eden after submitting their Bitcoin wallet. As of press time, users have minted 19 of the 119 available Ordinals, and the claim period will last until January 31. Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards use "Alpha sats". Users have listed 11 Trump-inspired Ordinals on Magic Eden, with the lowest reserve price currently at 0.1988 BTC, while the most expensive Ordinals in the series cost 20 BTC. Although this is the first Ordinals series related to Trump, the president-elect has a track record in the NFT field, launching multiple series over the years, including four sets of "Trump Digital Trading Cards" series, showing photos of him holding BTC and performing his signature dance.
Oklahoma lawmaker proposes Bitcoin Freedom Act to allow employees to receive wages in Bitcoin
According to Bitcoin Magazine, U.S. Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers submitted the "Bitcoin Freedom Act" numbered SB325, which will allow Oklahoma employees to choose to receive wages in the form of Bitcoin and allow suppliers to accept Bitcoin payments. The SB325 bill ensures that participation is completely voluntary, respects free market principles, and gives employees, employers, and businesses the right to choose the payment method that best suits them. The SB325 bill is eligible for consideration in the 60th legislative session that begins on February 3.
According to Cailian Press, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December monetary policy meeting on its official website on Wednesday local time. The minutes show that considering that inflation risks are still high, Federal Reserve officials have taken a new stance on interest rate cuts and decided to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts in the coming months. The minutes pointed out that participants said that the committee believed that the interest rate level was close to or at a time when it was appropriate to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts. They believe that the pace of interest rate cuts may be slowed down in the future and enter a more cautious operation phase. And a series of factors indicate that in the current complex economic environment, Federal Reserve policymakers believe that monetary policy needs to be adjusted carefully to avoid the negative impact of overly aggressive policy adjustments. For example, too fast interest rate cuts may lead to a resurgence of inflationary pressures. Participants expect inflation to continue to move closer to 2%, although they point out that recent higher-than-expected inflation data and the impact of potential changes in trade and immigration policies indicate that this process may be longer than previously expected. Some participants pointed out that the anti-inflation process may have temporarily stalled or pointed out possible risks. Nick Timiraos, the "Federal Reserve mouthpiece," pointed out that the Federal Reserve minutes further showed that officials were generally willing to keep interest rates unchanged at the upcoming meeting at the end of this month. "Participants indicated that the committee was at or near levels appropriate to slow the pace of policy accommodation," the minutes said. Officials believed that based on their current outlook for economic activity, the Fed was likely to continue cutting interest rates at a slower pace than in recent months.
AI
Kava plans to become a DeAI blockchain and will announce its AI development roadmap in January
L1 blockchain Kava officially announced that it plans to become the first DeAI (decentralized artificial intelligence) blockchain in 2025, and will launch relevant important updates in January 2025, including DeAI Lightpaper, 2025 AI development roadmap, and a product that supports users to embed AI functions into dApps. Earlier news, Kava launched the decentralized Memecoin Launchpad platform HARD.fun.
Project News
Analog Announces 1:100 Split of ANLOG Tokens
Analog, a full-chain interoperability protocol, announced that it will implement a token split, increasing the total supply from 90,579,710 to 9,057,971,000 $ANLOG tokens. Officials said that this adjustment will not affect the value distribution of existing token holders and is intended to support the sustainable development and expansion of the ecosystem. It said that by increasing the token supply, Analog can achieve low-cost cross-chain transaction fees, which is more in line with user needs. Earlier news, Analog, a full-chain interoperability protocol, completed a $16 million financing, led by Tribe Capital.
Binance will launch Dar Open Network (D) perpetual contract, supporting up to 75x leverage
Binance will launch Dar Open Network (D) leverage, contracts, financial management, one-click coin purchase, and flash exchange functions. In addition, D's USDⓈ-M perpetual contract will be launched at 18:00 (Beijing time) on January 9, 2025, supporting up to 75 times leverage.
The meme project BABYSHARK officially released a video on the X platform, suggesting that it may reach a strategic cooperation with Pinkfong, a world-renowned children's entertainment IP company. It is understood that Pinkfong is a global family entertainment company with many world-renowned IPs, including Pinkfong, Baby Shark, Hogi, Ninimo, etc. Among them, the original nursery rhyme video "Baby Shark Dance" has been played more than 10 billion times on YouTube, making it one of the most watched videos in the world. In addition, the meme project BABYSHARK will be launched on Kucoin at 8 pm today, and has been launched on many mainstream exchanges such as Gate Pilot and MEXC. According to CoinMarketCap data, as of press time, BABYSHARK's market value is currently about US$140 million, with a maximum market value of US$240 million.
Stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs announced in its official blog that the TGE event for its governance token AVL will be held in early Q1, and the claim process will be open shortly thereafter. AVL will be launched on centralized exchanges (CEX) at the same time as TGE. The circulating supply of AVL will continue to evolve based on strategic factors to ensure consistency with the growth of the platform and the expansion of the ecosystem. The main drivers of AVL supply include: token redemption plans, protocol growth, revenue incentives, strategic partnerships, and growth-oriented funding. The total supply of AVL tokens is capped at 1 billion, of which 30% is allocated to community incentives, 20% is allocated to airdrops, 16% is allocated to the ecosystem and treasury, 10% is allocated to the team, 4% is allocated to consultants, 2% is allocated to initial liquidity, and 18% is allocated to investors. Earlier in December last year, it was reported that stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs completed a $10 million Series A financing round, led by Framework Ventures.
Blast’s mobile platform to launch later this month alongside token economics updates
Ethereum Layer2 network Blast announced on X Platform: "Blast's mobile platform will be launched later this month along with the token economics update. All Blast Dapps should ensure that points and coins are distributed to users before these changes. There will be no coin distribution in January. All users should also ensure that they log in to the Blast website with their own wallets. The official launch date will be announced soon."
According to Cryptoslate, citing Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett, the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump is looking for a cryptocurrency-friendly candidate to serve as the next chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Competing for this position include current CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger, Brian Quintenz, director of crypto policy at a16z and former CFTC Commissioner, and Marco Santori, chief legal officer of Kraken. According to people familiar with the matter, they called Quintenz and Mersinger the "hot candidates" for the position, and both of these alleged hot candidates have extensive experience and crypto policy qualifications. Mersinger is considered a thought leader in the intersection of crypto innovation and consumer protection. She often speaks at industry events and has been advocating for balanced regulation to promote the growth of the industry. At the same time, Mersinger has been actively advocating for a regulatory environment that can accommodate crypto innovation, a position he honed during his tenure as a CFTC Commissioner and in his current position at a16z. If elected, either of these two candidates could lead the agency to formulate policies that prioritize clarity and innovation in the U.S. crypto industry. , Although Quintenz and Mersinger are leading, several candidates remain on the shortlist, including Republican CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham, who has a strong regulatory background, Neal Kumar, who has held senior positions at the CFTC and is regarded as a regulatory expert, and Josh Sterling. The Trump transition team has reportedly reviewed at least six candidates for the position, reflecting the administration's focus on finding a leader who aligns with its vision for the crypto industry.
Viewpoint
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele commented on the X platform that "the US Department of Justice was approved to sell $6.5 billion worth of Bitcoin related to the Silk Road case" and said that perhaps we all have the opportunity to buy Bitcoin at a discount.
Regarding the "U.S. Department of Justice has been approved to sell the $6.5 billion of seized dark web Silk Road Bitcoin", BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes posted on the X platform that Diamond Hand is ready to buy at the bottom.
Regarding the "US Department of Justice was approved to sell the $6.5 billion of seized dark web Silk Road Bitcoin", CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju wrote on X: "Last year, based on realized market value, $379 billion entered the market, about $1 billion a day. The $6.5 billion (Bitcoin) sold by the US government may be absorbed within a week. Don't panic."
Ripple President: XRP ETF is expected to be launched in the United States soon
According to Bitcoin.com, Ripple President Monica Long said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday that as favorable U.S. cryptocurrency legislation could bring huge benefits to domestic companies, the XRP ETF may soon become a reality. Long said: "I think we will see more spot ETFs launched in the United States this year, and I think XRP is likely to be the next after Bitcoin and Ethereum. We believe that the approval of these applications will accelerate, especially with the change of government." In addition, Long also revealed that Ripple's new RLUSD stablecoin will be listed on more exchanges, and the company expects it to play an important role in its currency and payment business.
Opinion: It may take months for the US government to start selling BTC seized from Silk Road
Trader T, an analyst on the chain, said on the X platform that it may take several months from approval to actual sale of the 69,370 BTC seized from the dark web Silk Road. In addition, according to Spot On Chain, the US government currently holds about 197,000 BTC. Because the previous sale was completed through over-the-counter transactions, it did not directly affect the price, but the market panic caused may cause a short-term drop in prices. HODL15Capital also issued a statement saying that it has confirmed on the chain that the BTC held by the United States has not been transferred or sold.
Important data
LLM briefly broke through $0.1, rising 58.88% in 1 hour
According to GMGN.AI market data, Solana ecosystem Meme coin Large Language Model (LLM) briefly broke through $0.1, rose 58.88% in one hour, and is currently quoted at $0.0939. Its market value briefly broke through $100 million and then fell back to $93.9 million.
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, just before the news of the US government's approval of the sale of BTC came out, a whale with a portfolio of $234 million deposited 300 WBTC ($28.5 million) into Binance, allegedly making a profit of $9.98 million. The whale has been trading WBTC since March 2023, often buying low and selling high. Currently, the whale holds 195 WBTC ($18.4 million) on Aave, with an estimated total WBTC profit of $33.7 million (+33.2%).
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (January 8, Eastern Time), the total net outflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs was US$583 million. Yesterday, Grayscale ETF GBTC had a single-day net outflow of US$8.9376 million, and the current historical net outflow of GBTC is US$21.58 billion. Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF BTC had a single-day net outflow of US$0.00, and the current historical total net inflow of Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust BTC is US$924 million. As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is US$106.815 billion, and the ETF net asset ratio (market value to total Bitcoin market value) is 5.74%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$36.366 billion.
PANews reported on January 9 that according to the monitoring of on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the "giant whale who bought low and sold high PEPE and made a profit of $6.24 million" added another $7.14 million of PEPE 12 hours ago. The number of positions this time has reached 791.3 billion, about $14.23 million. During the period from December 20, 2024 to January 3, 2025, the giant whale withdrew 610.6 billion tokens from Kraken at an average price of $0.00001732; the average cost of the current position is $0.00001769, with a floating profit of $103,000.
El Salvador buys another 11 Bitcoins for its strategic reserve
According to Cointelegraph, El Salvador has just purchased another 11 Bitcoins as its strategic reserve, worth more than $1 million.
