Today's news tips:
1. Kenya prepares legislation to legalize cryptocurrency
2. New Hampshire proposes bill to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve”
3. Dakota State of the United States proposes to establish digital assets and precious metal reserves
4. Aiccelerate DAO is online. Its website is temporarily inaccessible due to heavy traffic. The official is working hard to solve the problem.
5. Nasdaq-listed spirits company Heritage Distilling plans to build Bitcoin reserves and accept it as a payment method
6. Genius Group purchased an additional $5 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $94,047
7. Trump's "hush money" case verdict: 34 charges found guilty, no punishment
8.Bybit announced that it will temporarily restrict services to Indian users from January 12
9. The multi-signature wallet associated with the Cookie project deposited 20 million COOKIES to Binance 8 hours ago
Regulatory/Macro
Kenya prepares legislation to legalize cryptocurrencies
Kenya is preparing legislation to legalize cryptocurrencies, John Mbadi, cabinet secretary for finance, said on Friday, marking a major shift in the government's stance. Cryptocurrencies are banned in Kenya but are still widely used underground by the public to circumvent restrictions. "The emergence and development of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers have brought innovation, dynamic opportunities and challenges to the local and international financial systems," Mbadi said in a statement outlining the new policy.
The seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls in the United States in December were 256,000, significantly exceeding the market expectation of 160,000, and hitting a new high since March 2024. The U.S. unemployment rate in December was 4.1%, a slight decline from the previous month and lower than the market expectation of 4.2%.
According to the Financial Times, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed subjecting digital wallets to the same protection standards as bank accounts, requiring service providers to compensate customers when hacking or unauthorized transactions result in the loss of customer funds.
The CFPB plans to expand the scope of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to include stablecoins and other digital assets, emphasizing that "any assets used like currency" will be protected. The CFPB hopes to strengthen consumer protection through this rule while setting higher compliance standards for the cryptocurrency industry.
The rule change could have a significant impact on U.S. companies that hold customer crypto assets, such as exchanges and custodians, because these businesses need to maintain sufficient reserves to cover potential losses. The CFPB said it will focus on virtual currency wallets used to purchase goods or services, as well as video game virtual item accounts and credit card reward points accounts.
The CFPB is seeking industry input until March 31 before deciding whether to issue a final rule.
New Hampshire introduces bill to create ‘strategic bitcoin reserve’
Dennis Porter, co-founder and CEO of Satoshi Action Fund (SAF), posted on the X platform that New Hampshire State Representative Keith Ammon submitted a bill proposing the establishment of a "strategic reserve" to allow the state treasury to invest in precious metals (such as gold, silver, platinum) and digital assets (including Bitcoin).
The bill will introduce new regulations to clarify the definitions of “qualified custodian” and “secure custody solution” to ensure the safe custody of digital assets and operate through regulatory-approved trading products.
Dakota State proposes digital asset and precious metals reserves
The North Dakota Legislature in the United States has introduced a resolution to "invest a portion of state funds in digital assets and precious metals." Resolution 3001 aims to curb the impact of inflation on finances by diversifying the assets invested by the state. The resolution states: "In view of the changing economic conditions and emerging investment opportunities that require prudent investment of state fiscal resources." It is worth noting that although the resolution encourages digital asset investment, it does not specifically mention Bitcoin. North Dakota Representatives Nathan Toman, Matthew Heilman, Jared Hendrix, Daniel Johnston, SuAnn Olson and Todd Porter and Senators Jeff Barta and Bob Paulson introduced the resolution.
Blender and Sinbad operators charged with money laundering and unlicensed remittance business
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has charged three Russian citizens with crimes related to operating two cryptocurrency mixers. According to an announcement released by the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendants Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov allegedly operated two mixing companies called Blender.io and Sinbad.io. They were charged with conspiracy to launder money and operating an unlicensed money transmission business.
In May 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on Blender after it was discovered that North Korean hackers used Blender to launder $20.5 million from the Axie Infinity hack, which was worth about $600 million. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic noted in 2023 that Sinbad was likely a rebranded version of Blender, operated by the same organization. Blender adhered to a "no logs policy" and deleted user transaction details. The company operated from 2018 to 2022, and its successor Sinbad came out a few months after Blender shut down. On November 27, 2023, law enforcement took action to shut down Sinbad. If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and up to five years in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmission business. Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested on December 1, 2024. Tarasov remains at large.
Ian McGinley, the executive director of the U.S. CFTC, will resign on the 17th local time
Ian McGinley, the enforcement director of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will resign on the 17th (local time). Ian McGinley joined the agency in February 2023, a month after the CFTC sued Binance and then-CEO Zhao Changpeng for violating U.S. commodity laws. During his tenure, he also oversaw enforcement efforts against the collapsed global platform FTX, which he called the largest dollar recovery for victims in the history of the CFTC. Since then, the agency has taken action against projects such as KuCoin and Falcon Labs.
Trump's "hush money" case verdict: 34 counts found guilty, no punishment
According to CCTV News, a judge of the New York State Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the "hush money" case of President-elect Trump, finding Trump guilty of 34 counts in the case, but given that he is at an important stage in the presidential power transition process, he was released unconditionally and will not be punished.
Project News
Binance Alpha Adds VADER Token
The App page shows that Binance Alpha has added the VADER token. According to reports, VaderAI aims to become the BlackRock of the "AI agent economy" era.
Bybit announced that it will temporarily restrict services to Indian users from January 12
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced that due to the latest policy of Indian regulators, it will temporarily restrict Indian users from using all transactions and products on the platform from 8AM UTC on January 12, 2025. The only exception is the withdrawal function, which can still be used normally.
Specific restrictions include:
- Trading and deposits: New orders are stopped, and existing derivatives positions are adjusted to "close only" mode, and positions cannot be added or modified. Cryptocurrency and fiat currency deposit functions are temporarily suspended, and withdrawal functions are not affected.
- Copy Trading and Trading Robots: All master-slave relationships and trading robots will be terminated by 5AM UTC on January 13th.
- P2P Ads: All Indian Rupee (INR) ads will be removed on January 12th at 8AM UTC.
- Event Missions: Starting January 12th at 8AM UTC, users will not be able to complete any new or ongoing event missions.
- Bybit Card: All transactions will be restricted.
Sam Altman-backed World project completes 10 million human verifications, covering 160+ countries
The digital identity project World (formerly known as Worldcoin) supported by Sam Altman has verified more than 10 million users, the World App has been downloaded more than 20 million times , and has covered more than 160 countries.
Tim Kotzman, founder of Jubilee Royalty, tweeted that Ethan Peck, an employee of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), submitted a shareholder proposal to Meta regarding Bitcoin reserves on behalf of his family's Meta shares. The proposal mentioned that Meta should consider replacing some or a certain proportion of its assets with assets that appreciate faster than bonds, even if these assets are more volatile in the short term. Due to its verifiable fixed supply, Bitcoin is the most inflation-resistant means of storing value.
TON Ecosystem MEME Project DOGS Releases Development Roadmap for the First Half of 2025
TON Ecosystem MEME Project DOGS released a roadmap for the first quarter to the second quarter of 2025. The roadmap outlines plans for DOGS-themed games, community engagement through local philanthropy, and expanding the payment use cases of DOGS tokens. Later this year, users will have the option to use DOGS tokens for online and offline purchases, such as gift cards and travel reservations.
Aiccelerate tweeted that Aiccelerate DAO is officially online, but the website is temporarily inaccessible due to heavy traffic, and is currently working to resolve the issue. In addition, updates will be made in the following areas in the next 1-2 weeks:
- Initial investment in the team
- Strategy and roadmap of internal development teams (agents and infrastructure being built)
- Build key partnerships with leaders to advance investment objectives and development goals
Yesterday , Coinbase, Google, ai16z and other team members jointly launched the DAO organization Aiccelerate to accelerate the integration of encryption and AI. AICC briefly broke through $0.25 and rose by about 60% in the past hour.
Financing
Confidential AI project Privasea completed its Series A financing with a valuation of US$180 million, and has raised a total of US$15 million in three rounds. Investors include GSR, Amber and Echo. Early investment institutions include Binance Labs, OKX Ventures, Nomura's Laser Digital and Gate Labs.
Privasea released the DeepSea testnet Beta on January 6. The financing will be used to accelerate the deployment of the mainnet DeepSea and the research and development of related intelligent agents, and promote the development of areas such as human-computer interaction and intelligent agent interaction.
Viewpoint
FDIC Vice Chairman Calls for More Open Attitude toward Crypto
Travis Hill, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), expressed the hope that federal agencies would take a more "open attitude" toward encryption technology and called for more guidance on digital assets. Hill also mentioned "Operation Choke Point" and called for an end to such practices. And re-evaluate the implementation of the Bank Secrecy Act to reduce the phenomenon of banks closing accounts due to high fines for insufficient compliance.
Important data
AICC briefly broke through $0.25 and rose by about 60% in the past hour
Market data shows that Aiccelerate (AICC) briefly broke through $0.25 and is now trading at $0.23, with a market value of $256 million. It has risen by about 60% in the past hour, and its trading volume reached $4.5 million in 1.5 hours after it went online.
Genius Group purchased an additional $5 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $94,047
Artificial intelligence company Genius Group (NYSE American: GNS) announced that its Bitcoin reserves have increased by $5 million, reaching 372 Bitcoins, with a total value of $35 million, and the average purchase price is $94,047 per Bitcoin. This amount accounts for 30% of the company's initial target of $120 million in Bitcoin reserves and has completed the planned progress ahead of schedule.
Genius Group, which has a market value of $42 million and 83% of its Bitcoin reserves, has also increased its cryptocurrency loan limit on Arch Lending from $10 million to $14 million, with a loan-to-value ratio of 40%.
In addition, Genius Group approved a founder compensation plan with the goal of achieving a $1 billion market value in the next 10 years and driving Bitcoin reserves to $1 billion in net assets.
Genius Group is an education group focused on a "Bitcoin First" strategy, using artificial intelligence technology to provide personalized education and acceleration solutions for individuals, businesses and governments, serving 5.4 million users in more than 100 countries around the world.
Heritage Distilling, a Nasdaq-listed spirits company (CASK), said it would begin holding cryptocurrencies as "strategic assets" and accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. The company said the plan is subject to approval and Heritage will first develop a policy plan for board approval before taking action.
“Heritage has always been an innovator, and we are once again leading the way in the craft spirits space as we prepare to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for online e-commerce sales and to acquire and hold Bitcoin as an asset,” Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel said in a statement.
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, 8 hours ago, after the Binance listing news was released, the multi-signature wallet associated with the Cookie project deposited 20 million COOKIEs (US$12.55 million) into Binance. The multi-signature received a total of 75 million COOKIEs from Cookie's Deployer wallet on June 13, 2024, and now still holds 20 million COOKIEs (US$11.33 million).
Earlier news , Coinbase, Google, ai16z and other team members jointly launched the DAO organization Aiccelerate to accelerate the integration of encryption and AI.
According to @ai_9684xtpa, "The whale who made a profit of 1.808 million USD in nine PEPE waves since March 2024" added PEPE worth 1.01 million USD again after a week. 19 hours ago, he withdrew 57.2 billion PEPE from Binance. As of now, he has built a position of 248 billion PEPE (about 4.36 million USD) in the tenth wave, with a cost of 0.00002003 USD, and has now suffered a floating loss of 603,000 USD.
A whale sold 5 million swarms 2 hours ago for profit and currently still holds 15 million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, 2 hours ago, a swarms whale sold 5 million swarms for 7,232 SOL ($1.35 million) for profit. This whale spent $458,000 to buy 20 million swarms 14 days ago and currently holds 15 million swarms ($4.02 million), with a total profit of $4.9 million.
