Today's news tips:
1. The U.S. SEC announced the establishment of a cyber and emerging technology department to protect retail investors and combat crypto asset fraud
2. Canary Fund’s “Litecoin ETF” has been added to the DTCC website
3. Grayscale’s XRP ETF has been published in the Federal Register, and the US SEC needs to make a decision before October 18
4. Hong Kong will promote the use of tokenization technology in the capital market
5. Kaito AI releases KAITO token economics: total supply of 1 billion, the foundation holds 10%
6. Story releases latest roadmap: plans to launch new features such as IP portal and certification services in Q2
7. Argentine Senate asks government to provide report on LIBRA token scandal
8. CoinList will launch Obol token sale on February 25
9. The top whale on the PAIN pre-sale list has not sold its tokens yet, with a floating profit of $2.39 million
Regulatory/Macro
According to Jinshi.com, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending February 15 was 219,000, in line with expectations of 215,000. The previous value was revised from 213,000 to 214,000.
Fox reporter: The US SEC is very interested in "pledge" and is expected to issue relevant guidance
According to a post by Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett on the X platform, sources revealed that the US SEC is very interested in "staking" and even asked the industry to provide a memorandum detailing the different types of staking and their benefits. The source expects that in the near future, the US SEC will issue some kind of guidance on staking because it is a topic they are passionate about.
According to an official announcement, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the establishment of the Cyber and Emerging Technology Unit (CETU), which focuses on combating cyber-related misconduct and protecting retail investors from bad actors in the emerging technology field. Led by Laura D'Allaird, CETU replaces the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and is composed of about 30 fraud experts and lawyers from multiple SEC offices.
Specifically, CETU will leverage its staff’s extensive fintech and cyber-related experience to combat securities trading-related misconduct in the following priority areas:
- Fraud using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Using social media, the dark web or fake websites to commit fraud
- Obtaining material non-public information through hacking
- Takeover of Retail Brokerage Accounts
- Fraud involving blockchain technology and crypto assets
- Compliance by regulated entities with cybersecurity rules and regulations
- Fraudulent disclosure of cybersecurity by listed companies
Figure receives SEC approval to issue first interest-bearing stablecoin
According to Fortune, Figure has obtained approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to issue the first interest-bearing stablecoin, but a spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stablecoin is reportedly called YLDS and was developed by digital asset company Figure Markets. It will be pegged to the U.S. dollar and provide users with a 0.5% yield, similar to cash in a savings account.
Canary Fund’s ‘Litecoin ETF’ Added to DTCC Website
Canary Fund's Litecoin (LTC) ETF has been confirmed to be registered with the US Deposit Insurance Corporation (DTCC) with the code LTCC. Earlier, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had officially received Canary Fund's LTC ETF 19b-4 filing.
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted that Grayscale's XRP ETF (19b-4 submission) has been officially published to the Federal Register. This means that the US SEC will enter the review stage from now on and approve or reject it on or before October 18.
Utah Bitcoin Reserve Bill Enters Second Senate Reading
Legislation allowing Utah to invest in Bitcoin has been approved by a state Senate subcommittee. The bill, HB230, “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments,” passed the Utah Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee on February 20 with a 4-2-1 vote and is currently undergoing second and third readings before a final Senate vote. The Bitcoin Reserve Act has already passed the House, so if it is approved in the Senate, Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox only needs to sign the bill for Bitcoin to become a state reserve asset.
Hong Kong to promote capital markets using tokenization technology
According to Hong Kong media Ming Pao, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said that the Hong Kong government will further improve the supervision and framework of virtual assets, continue to promote the wider application of tokenization technology in the capital market, improve the development of relevant systems and formulate industry standards. In addition, Hong Kong is active and proactive in the development of financial technology, such as publishing the "Policy Declaration on the Responsible Application of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Markets" in October last year and supervising the issuers of legal currency stablecoins and submitting the "Stablecoin Bill" in December last year.
AI
According to The Verge, Microsoft is preparing for OpenAI's latest model, GPT-4.5 is expected to be released as early as next week, and Microsoft expects GPT-5 to be released in late May. The updated GPT-5 will make major improvements to the way ChatGPT is used, unifying OpenAI's o-series and GPT-series models to reduce user confusion in choosing models.
DeepSeek will open source 5 code libraries next week
DeepSeek announced today that it will source five code repositories over the next week, unlock new content every day, and further share new progress.
DeepSeek introduced that the current online service modules have been tested and deployed fully and can be put into production environment. The company defines itself as a small company and also said that every sharing will become a powerful potential energy to accelerate the development of the industry. It also said that there is no high ivory tower in this field, only the pure garage entrepreneurial spirit and the innovation power built by the community.
OpenAI launches AI broker Operator in several regions
According to Jinshi, OpenAI said on Friday that it is launching the so-called artificial intelligence broker "Operator" to ChatGPT Pro users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and other places, which can perform tasks on behalf of users. OpenAI said that Operator will provide services in most regions that support ChatGPT, except for the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. "Operator", launched in the United States in January this year, is one of several "artificial intelligence broker" tools on the market. It can accept instructions to do things such as booking tickets, booking restaurants, submitting expense reports or shopping on e-commerce websites.
Project News
Kaito AI releases KAITO token economics: total supply 1 billion, foundation holds 10%
Kaito AI releases KAITO token economics, with a total supply of 1 billion, including:
- 25%-core contributors;
- 32.2%-Ecosystem and network growth;
- 2% - Binance holders;
- 10% - Initial community and ecosystem claims;
- 7.5%-long-term creator incentives;
- 5%-Liquidity incentives;
- 8.3%-Early Supporters;
- 10% - Foundation.
Deribit is evaluating acquisition offers that could value it at $4-5 billion
According to Coindesk, cryptocurrency options exchange Deribit is working with FT Partners to evaluate an acquisition offer, and Bloomberg revealed that the company's valuation could reach $4 billion to $5 billion or even higher. Deribit currently refuses to comment on the relevant information.
According to @ai_9684xtpa’s monitoring, Wintermute is one of the market makers of the new currency KAITO. Three hours ago, Wintermute received 1.2 million KAITO (accounting for 0.5% of the initial circulation) from the project’s multi-signature address. Currently, 400,000 KAITO have been deposited into CEX.
Binance will launch KAITO 1-75x U-margin perpetual contracts
According to the official announcement, Binance Financial Management, One-Click Coin Purchase, Flash Exchange, Leverage, and Contracts will be launched on KAITO. It is expected that the KAITO 1-75x U-based perpetual contract will be launched at 21:00 on February 20, 2025 (Eastern Time Zone 8).
Coinbase will list Kaito (KAITO)
Coinbase announced that it will add support for Kaito (KAITO) on the Base network. Please do not send this asset through other networks, otherwise funds may be lost. Trading will start later today if liquidity conditions are met. Once the supply of this asset is sufficient, the KAITO-USD trading pair will be launched in stages. Support for KAITO may be limited in some supported jurisdictions.
Crypto exchange Kraken is considering launching a stablecoin
Kraken is exploring the development of its own stablecoin, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The move is partly due to the competitive gap created by new European regulations that require crypto service providers to delist Tether's USDT and other unlicensed tokens. The person said the token would be pegged to the U.S. dollar and issued by Kraken's Irish unit.
The exchange announced this month that all non-compliant currencies held on Kraken’s European platform will be converted to “equivalent stablecoins” starting March 31. If all goes well, the token won’t be Kraken’s first foray into the digital dollar space. Late last year, the exchange joined a consortium called the Global Dollar Network, which partnered with Paxos to launch a stablecoin called USDG. Other members, like Robinhood and Galaxy Digital, are also developing their own stablecoins.
Meanwhile, Crypto.com unveiled its stablecoin plans in its 2025 roadmap last November, aiming to launch it in the third quarter. In addition, the exchange plans to launch the token in Europe, having informed customers last month that Tether would exit trading in the region at the end of March, another person familiar with the matter said.
SBF changes political stance to support Trump in first interview in prison, seeks pardon
In his first interview at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he is serving a 25-year sentence for perpetrating one of the largest cryptocurrency scams to date, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried criticized the Biden administration’s “destructive” politicization of the justice system and sought a pardon from President Trump. Bankman-Fried reiterated his claims that FTX was solvent but illiquid, and that law firm Sullivan & Cromwell mishandled the bankruptcy proceedings.
Argentina Senate Asks Government for Report on LIBRA Token Scandal
According to TASS, the upper house of the Argentine Congress (Senate) approved a motion asking the government to provide a report on the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal. But the proposal to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate the scandal was rejected. The initiative was supported by 47 senators, but 48 votes are needed to start the process.
CoinList to Launch Obol Token Sale on February 25
CoinList announced that it will start the Obol token sale at 1:00 am (Beijing time) on February 25, with a 30% discount compared to the previous round of VC investment. Obol is the foundation of the L1 blockchain and decentralized infrastructure network. The sale details are as follows:
For normal users:
- FDV is $125 million
- Token price is $0.25
- 33% will be unlocked 6 months after TGE, and then linearly unlocked over the next 12 months.
For wstETH or weETH holders:
- FDV is $115 million
- Token price is $0.23
- 33% unlocked 6 months after TGE, then unlocked linearly over the next 12 months
- At the same time, users need to hold at least $20 worth of wstETH or weETH on CoinList between 1:00 on March 4 and 1:00 on March 11 to enjoy lower prices and FDV.
Both options have a minimum purchase limit of $100 and a maximum purchase limit of $250,000. After the subscription period ends, users who are not selected for an allocation will receive the funds in their CoinList wallet by 1:00 am on March 13. This public sale is not available in the United States, China, Canada, and certain other jurisdictions.
L1 Intellectual Property Blockchain Story released a roadmap, with two major technology releases in 2025:
Late Q1/early Q2: Will launch IP Portal, a home for Story that allows users to seamlessly register IPs and browse IPs registered in any app on Story. Will also launch Attestation Service, a decentralized oracle network that brings IP verification signals (creator identity, infringement detection, etc.) on-chain.
The network will be fully upgraded in the third quarter, and L1 will be enhanced in three dimensions:
- Performance: Faster transactions, higher throughput, more validators
- Products: IPKit Frontend SDK, large file storage, etc.
- Governance: Decentralized, transparent, frictionless upgrades
Musk changed the X account profile picture, and "The Doge Father" appeared in the background
Musk changed the profile picture of his X account to a picture of a man holding a "golden chainsaw" with "The Doge Father" in the background. It is reported that the "golden chainsaw" was a gift from Argentine President Milley.
Yu Hu, founder of AI-based crypto search engine Kaito AI, posted on the X platform that KAITO staking rewards have been launched, and currently about 10% of tokens have been staked, with an annualized yield of 70%. It is expected that in the next few days, this yield will gradually return to normal, including locked tokens of investors/foundations/teams cannot be staked. The current source of rewards is liquidity incentives, but starting next week, as network fees increase, this will turn into net consumption, and more practical information about staking will be released soon.
According to the official announcement of BNB Chain, BNB Smart Chain (BSC) will conduct a Pascal hard fork. The fork is scheduled to be carried out on the test network on February 25, 2025, and the main network is scheduled to be carried out in mid-March 2025. The Pascal hard fork enhances the compatibility of BSC with Ethereum by integrating the key functions of Ethereum Pectra upgrade.
Binance Alpha Launches B3, FLUID, VVV, TOKEN, DRIFT, and CPOOL
According to the official page, Binance Alpha has newly launched B3, FLUID, VVV, TOKEN, DRIFT, and CPOOL.
Viewpoint
QCP Capital posted on the TG channel that there is strong demand for high Delta Bitcoin call options from February to April, which may be due to short-term bullish sentiment driven by Trump's statements and speculation around potential strategic Bitcoin reserves. In addition, the 25 Delta implied volatility has shifted to a bullish tilt for call options of all maturities, indicating that the market is preparing for the second phase of the bull market. As inflation concerns ease, the S&P 500 hit a new high, and the US dollar index (DXY) fell back to the 107 level, the macro background seems to be increasingly supportive of risky assets.
Since Trump took office, altcoins have attracted widespread attention, and multiple altcoin-related ETF applications have been submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including an ETF application for XRP. Notably, Brazilian regulators have approved the world's first spot XRP ETF. It is unclear whether this will provide a catalyst for Trump's ambition to position the United States as a global cryptocurrency hub and pave the way for further ETF approvals in 2025.
Vitalik Buterin said that Argentina's Ethereum community is full of outstanding builders who have contributed some of the most important software to the Ethereum ecosystem. Argentina does have the determination and energy to continue the current momentum and build a prosperous 21st century society using cryptocurrencies and other new technologies. Recent news should not be seen as a reason to give up, but as an example of why education is so important. We are still very optimistic about Argentina and Latin America's contribution and role in the crypto field.
Bybit CEO: The PI project is a scam, Bybit will not list any suspected scam projects
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou tweeted that in 2023, Chinese police issued an official warning about PI, warning the public that it was a scam targeting the elderly, leaking personal data and causing the loss of pensions, and that there were multiple other reports questioning the legitimacy of the project. Bybit has not made any listing requests to PI, and claims that PI refused Bybit to list or that Bybit did not pass some kind of PI KYB are completely nonsense. If the PI project is real and legitimate, it should actively respond to these questions, but it chooses to make up lies and make unfounded and naive attacks; I still think PI is a scam, and Bybit will not list any suspected scam projects.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju tweeted that the alt season has begun. There is no direct BTC to alt rotation, but stablecoin holders favor alts. Alt trading volume is 2.7 times that of BTC. BTC dominance no longer determines the alt season, trading volume does. However, this is a very selective alt season, DYOR.
Important data
According to the monitoring of on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the whale who topped the PAIN pre-sale list has not sold any tokens yet, with a floating profit of $2.39 million. The whale invested 20,000 SOL in the pre-sale two weeks ago (actually invested 4,000 after the refund, about $860,000); after receiving 215,327 PAIN yesterday, he transferred 30,145 to two new addresses and did not sell any of them, which is the current TOP1 address of his personal holdings.
A trader bought 6783 $SHADOW 17 days ago and currently has a floating profit of $1.15 million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, 17 days ago a trader spent 150,300 S tokens (US$70,500) to buy 6,783 $SHADOW. The current value of these tokens is approximately US$1.22 million, and the current floating profit has reached US$1.15 million.
According to ai_9684xtpa monitoring, the LayerZero Foundation multi-signature address transferred 1 million ZRO to Coinbase 7 hours ago, worth $3.06 million. The address currently holds 77.91 million ZRO, with a total value of up to $238 million.
A whale earned $1.72 million by trading Sonic Ecosystem DeFi token SHADOW
According to lmk.fun (formerly Scopescan), a whale has earned $1.72 million by trading Sonic ecosystem DeFi token SHADOW. 20 days ago, the whale spent $100,700 to buy 10,324 HADOW, with an average purchase price of $9.75. Today, 9,300 tokens were sold for a total value of $1.629 million, with an average selling price of $175. Currently, the whale still holds 1,000 tokens, worth about $190,000.
