IRS again insists in lawsuit that crypto staking is taxable
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has again insisted that cryptocurrency staking is taxable, saying that staking rewards incur a tax liability once they are received, according to Bloomberg. The news comes amid a legal battle between Tennessee couple Joshua and Jessica Jarrett and the IRS over the taxation of staking. The couple, who stake on the Tezos network, argue that staking rewards should not be taxed until they are sold. In a court filing on Dec. 20, the IRS rejected the Jarretts’ claim that staking creates “new property” and is taxable only when it is sold. The government said that “once the staking of cryptocurrency is completed, the tax liability immediately arises.” The case is currently being closely watched by the cryptocurrency industry and could have a significant impact on how staking rewards on all proof-of-stake blockchains in the United States are taxed. According to guidance released by the IRS in 2023, block rewards earned from staking or mining are considered taxable income when they are generated, and the tax liability is based on their market value at the time of generation.
South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo plans to promulgate a tax amendment at a cabinet meeting on Dec. 24 that would include postponing the taxation of virtual assets by two years, according to Yonhap News Agency Infomax.
According to CoinDesk Japan, in response to the theft of 4,502.9 BTC from the crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin in May, the Japanese National Police Agency reported on December 24 that the incident was committed by Trader Traitor, a subsidiary of the North Korean-based hacker group Lazarus Group. The Japanese National Police Agency said it will continue to work with the FBI, other U.S. government agencies and international partners to investigate illegal activities by North Korean hackers, including cybercrime and theft of crypto assets. At the same time, the Japanese National Police Agency, the Cabinet Cybersecurity Center, and the Financial Services Agency issued documents on the means and countermeasures of the attacking groups, calling on crypto-related companies to be cautious. In response to the attack, DMM Bitcoin decided to close its exchange. Assets and customer accounts will be transferred to SBIVC Trade, and the transition is expected to be completed in March 2025.
MicroStrategy purchased 5,262 Bitcoins for $561 million last week
According to MicroStrategy's announcement, the company purchased 5,262 bitcoins with approximately $561 million in funds between December 16 and December 22, 2024, at an average price of $106,662. As of December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held a total of 444,262 bitcoins, with a cumulative purchase cost of approximately $27.7 billion and an average price of $62,257 per bitcoin. The company said that the funds for this bitcoin purchase came from the proceeds of its stock issuance (1,317,841 shares have been sold through the sales agreement, and there are still approximately $7.08 billion in shares available for sale). From January 1 to December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy's BTC yield was 73.7%; from October 1 to December 22, 2024, this indicator was 47.4%.
Later in the day, it was reported that MicroStrategy will hold a special shareholders meeting to vote on key proposals such as accelerating the 21/21 plan ; MicroStrategy's stock price has fallen 38.81% from its high on November 21.
Hyperliquid: No North Korean hacking, user funds are properly handled
According to Bloomberg, crypto derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid has experienced its largest single-day outflow of funds in history as traders rushed to withdraw funds due to concerns that North Korean hackers were trading on the exchange. Taylor Monahan, a security expert at digital wallet provider MetaMask, said that digital wallets associated with these hackers began trading on Hyperliquid as early as October. On Monday, she shared the addresses of these suspicious wallets and their activities on the social media platform X. Monahan pointed out that transactions are often a way for North Korean hackers to test potential security vulnerabilities on platforms such as Hyperliquid. The Hyperliquid core development team said in a statement: "Hyperliquid Labs has noticed reports of alleged North Korean address activity. Hyperliquid has not been exploited by North Korea or any other party. All user funds have been properly handled. Monahan’s post sparked widespread discussion on social media, with some Hyperliquid supporters criticizing her for creating unnecessary panic. More than $112 million in the stablecoin USDC flowed out of the exchange on Monday, according to data collated by venture capital fund Hashed on Dune Analytics. The exchange’s token HYPE fell 20%, according to tracking platform Coingecko.
MoonPay in talks to acquire crypto payment platform Helio for $150 million
According to Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett, crypto payment service provider MoonPay is in talks to acquire Helio for approximately $150 million, which would be MoonPay's largest acquisition to date. It is reported that Helio is an alternative to Coinbase Commerce, providing a self-service crypto payment platform that enables content creators and e-commerce merchants to receive payments in the form of cryptocurrencies. It currently offers a "white label solution" that includes the trading infrastructure of Solana Pay and DEX Screener.
Robinhood CEO: The company currently has no plans to hold Bitcoin for investment purposes
According to The Block, in an interview published on Monday, Vladimir Tenev, CEO of stock and cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood, said that despite the growing importance of cryptocurrencies to the company, Robinhood currently has no plans to hold Bitcoin for investment. Tenev pointed out that due to Robinhood's growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the idea of holding Bitcoin "has been mentioned from time to time." But he added that in addition to holding some cryptocurrencies to meet customer trading needs, Robinhood has no plans to hold Bitcoin as an investment. He said: "We have not ruled out this possibility, but we haven't done it yet. After all, we are not in the business of investment management." Tenev went on to say that although Robinhood has not included Bitcoin in its balance sheet like companies such as MicroStrategy and Tesla, its stock price "is already highly correlated with Bitcoin, and we don't even hold it financially yet"; if Robinhood holds Bitcoin for investment, it may "complicate" investors' views on the company, making them likely to view it as a "company similar to Bitcoin holders."
Aerodrome: Acquired and locked 16 million AERO tokens as veAERO
According to Aerodrome official news, since its launch, the Aerodrome Public Material Fund has continued to support the development of the Base ecosystem and incentivize high-impact funding pools through voting. The latest announcement shows that the fund has acquired and locked 16 million $AERO as $veAERO, of which 8.4 million $veAERO will be used to support public material voting, and 7.6 million will be used to enhance the Flight School Program, further enhancing the compounding ability and rewards of lockers.
According to Sina Technology, green energy service provider GCL Energy and Ant Digital have signed a strategic cooperation agreement and successfully completed the first RWA (real world asset) based on photovoltaic physical assets in China, involving an amount of more than 200 million yuan. It is reported that this is the first RWA of photovoltaic physical assets in China, which helps domestic green assets to efficiently connect with overseas funds and realize the empowerment of the real industry by digital technology. The cooperation aims to improve asset transparency and transaction efficiency through blockchain and smart contract technology, while reducing transaction costs and realizing efficient connection between green assets and overseas funds. It was reported earlier this month that Sui reached a cooperation with Ant Digital to promote the tokenization of ESG-supported RWA.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted on his personal channel that Telegram will make a profit for the first time in 2024, marking an important milestone in its three-year commercialization history. This year, the number of Telegram Premium subscribers has tripled to over 12 million, and advertising revenue has also increased several times. Total annual revenue exceeded US$1 billion, and year-end cash reserves exceeded US$500 million (excluding crypto assets). In the past four years, Telegram has issued approximately US$2 billion in bonds and repaid part of the debt this fall, taking advantage of favorable bond prices. A number of commercialization innovations launched this year, such as Stars, Gifts, Giveaways, Mini Apps, Affiliate Platform, Telegram Business, and Telegram Gateway, have proven that social media platforms can achieve financial sustainability while maintaining independence and respecting user rights. Durov emphasized that the goal of commercialization is to ensure that users are always Telegram's top priority.
BIO Protocol: The total supply of BIO is 3.2 billion, and the initial circulation is 39.05%
According to the official Twitter account of BIO Protocol, BIO is the native governance token of the BIO protocol, with a total supply of 3.2 billion, of which the initial circulation (excluding the protocol treasury) is 24.05%. The token allocation is 56% for the ecosystem and community, 25.4% for early contributors (linear unlocking over 6 years, locked in the first year), and 18.6% for early supporters (linear unlocking over 4 to 6 years, locked in the first year). $BIO will be gradually unlocked over the next 6 years. The Genesis Auction raised more than $33 million from the community in November, achieving 100% community ownership in the first year. Holders can participate in governance, support new BioDAO projects, and allocate network resources through tokens. It is worth noting that the token allocation is slightly in conflict with what Binance announced on Launchpool. Subsequently, its team members told PANews that the actual initial circulation supply was 39.05%. The 24.05% shared previously did not include BIO in the protocol treasury, which needs to be unlocked through governance voting.
Binance Labs announces investment in Usual
According to Binance Labs' announcement, it has invested in Usual, a decentralized RWA (real world asset)-backed stablecoin issuer that focuses on redefining stablecoins through community-first innovation. Usual redistributes value and ownership through $USUAL governance tokens, with 90% of tokens allocated to users, promoting a decentralized and fair financial model. The new stablecoin issued by Usual is backed by real-world assets and combines the security and liquidity of DeFi, which can reduce bank risks while providing opportunities for users through shared rewards and governance.
Stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs completes $10 million Series A financing, led by Framework Ventures
According to CoinDesk, Avalon Labs, the issuer of the Bitcoin-backed stablecoin USDa, has completed a $10 million Series A financing to expand its Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from UXTO Management, Presto Labs, and Kenetic Capital. Avalon Labs is committed to transforming Bitcoin from a digital storage tool to a more active financial tool, providing users with services including stablecoin USDa, Bitcoin-backed lending, income-generating savings accounts, and credit cards. Users can obtain USDa tokens by pledging BTC at a fixed 8% lending rate. Currently, the total locked volume (TVL) of USDa has reached US$700 million.
Usual Completes $10 Million Series A Funding, Led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures
RWA stablecoin protocol Usual announced the completion of a $10 million Series A financing round, led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures, with support from many well-known institutions including Galaxy Digital, OKX Ventures, Wintermute, Amber Group, GSR, Fasanara Digital, etc. Usual is committed to promoting new developments in the stablecoin field through innovative stablecoin solutions and decentralized finance (DeFi) models. This round of financing will lay a solid foundation for its construction of a decentralized ecosystem and promotion of the "stablecoin revival" plan.
CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $308 million last week
According to the latest weekly data from CoinShares, digital asset investment products had a net inflow of $308 million last week, but a huge net outflow of $576 million was recorded on December 19, resulting in a total outflow of $1 billion over the weekend. Affected by the hawkish policy of the FOMC, the total assets under management (AuM) of digital asset ETPs decreased by $17.7 billion, accounting for 0.37% of the total AuM. Despite this, Bitcoin still achieved a weekly net inflow of $375 million, and short investor activity was limited. Ethereum had an inflow of $51 million, while Solana had an outflow of $8.7 million. Multi-asset investment products had a net outflow of $121 million, but some altcoins such as XRP ($8.8 million), Horizen ($4.8 million), and Polkadot ($1.9 million) still recorded net inflows.
According to Cryptoslate, according to a report released by CoinGecko, Meme coins have become an important narrative in the cryptocurrency field in 2024, accounting for 31% of the share, nearly four times the previous year. Last year, Meme coins accounted for only 8.32% of investors' attention in 25 narrative themes. The rise of Meme coins was initially driven by dog-themed cryptocurrencies, but has now expanded to areas such as animal and personality-themed tokens. This reflects investors' strong interest in speculative opportunities, who value the viral spread of culture more than traditional fundamentals. Pump.fun, as a Meme coin Launchpool platform, has deployed nearly 5 million new coins on the Solana blockchain this year, with platform revenue exceeding US$335 million. In the cryptocurrency narrative, the Meme coin narrative occupies a leading position, attracting 14.36% of investors' attention. In addition, Solana Meme Coin (7.65%), Base Meme Coin (2.13%), AI Meme Coin (1.49%) and Cat Theme Meme Coin (1.19%) are also among the top 20 narratives. In addition, according to Artemis data, Meme Coin is the third most profitable narrative in 2024, with an average annual return rate of 201%, far exceeding the market average return rate of 128%.
Data: 110,000 ETH transferred from Bithumb to an unknown wallet, about $368 million
According to Whale Alert data, at 20:10 Beijing time, 110,000 Ethereum (about US$368 million) was transferred from Bithumb to an unknown wallet.
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