Solana developers create quantum-resistant vault against quantum computing threats

Solana (SOL) developers have announced the development of the Solana Winternitz Vault, a quantum-resistant vault on the Solana blockchain to protect user assets from potential threats posed by quantum computers, according to Cointelegraph. Dean Little, lead developer of the Solana-Bitcoin ecosystem communication protocol Zeus Network (ZEUS), said on GitHub: “The Solana Winternitz Vault implements a complex hash-based signature system that generates a new key for each transaction. Generating a new key each time makes it more difficult for quantum computers to plan attacks against a specific set of public keys.”

Ethena USDe-USDT pegging discussed...community skeptical

A proposal to hardcode the Ethena (ENA) stablecoin USDe to be pegged to USDT on the AAVE price feed has been met with community backlash, Cointelegraph reports. The proponents explained that unlike USDT, USDe is a synthetic dollar stablecoin backed by on-chain assets and derivatives, so a 5% drop in price could put more than $300 million in USDe-backed loans on Abe at risk of liquidation. However, Abe users are skeptical of the proposal, saying it's not a fundamental de-pegging solution. The proposal is in the early stages of discussion and has not yet been scheduled for an official vote.

“ETH Futures Sentiment Improving...$4000 Breakout Key”

“Ethereum is finding support at $3500 and a break above $4000, an important psychological and technical resistance level, will unleash a fresh rally,” says CryptoPotato. As Ethereum bounced back near the $3000 support level, there was a noticeable increase in the market's bid/ask ratio, one of the indicators that measures investor sentiment in the futures market. This suggests that investors are optimistic about the short-term price trend.

BTC daily trading volume down 91% from early December

Bitcoin needs increased trading volume if it is to rise above $105,000 this month, Cointelegraph reports. Currently, daily trading volume is 91% lower than the $7.43 billion on Dec. 5, when BTC broke $100,000 for the first time. Meanwhile, Bitfinex said that Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20 will not be a bullish event, predicting that Bitcoin will trade between $95,000 and $110,000 by the end of January.

Bitcoin technology company Jan3 raises $5 million in seed funding

Bitcoin technology company Jan3 announced that it has raised $5 million in seed funding. Fulger Ventures, Grupo Salinas, Tether, East Ventures, and NYDIG participated in the round.

Average daily volume of CME crypto contracts increased 203% last year

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reported average daily volume of 26.5 million contracts in 2024, with cryptocurrency contracts trading up 203% to 117,000 contracts ($6.8 billion), according to PRNewswire.

Chinese company executive "share price rises after BTC mining foray... Increased Interest"

Chinese car trading service platform Cango has entered the bitcoin mining industry, and the strategy appears to have played a big role in the company's share price rise, according to a Cango executive. According to CoinDesk, Juliet Ye, senior director of communications at Cango, said, "As a Chinese SME listed on the NASDAQ, it's not easy to raise the company's profile. With our bitcoin mining strategy, suddenly a lot of people are interested in Kango." Kango's stock price closed at $4.56 in 2024. That's up more than 362% from the beginning of the year.

Van Eck CEO Recommends Expanding BTC, Gold Investments as Hedges This Year

According to Cryptoslate, Van Eck CEO Jan van Eck has released his 2025 outlook report, recommending that investors maintain or increase their exposure to Bitcoin and gold as hedges this year. "Bitcoin and gold are essential hedges against inflationary pressures, fiscal uncertainty, and a weakening dollar on a global scale. They have already proven to be resilient stores of value amidst global economic turmoil. They are essential for any inflation-proof portfolio."

Fox Business reporter "FDIC obtains 25 letters asking banks to stop crypto activities"

Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reports that she has obtained 25 letters from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) asking banks to stop certain cryptocurrency product-related activities. The letters were dated about 2-3 years ago, and Eleanor Terrett said, "This seems fair enough considering that nothing unusual has happened to the bank in terms of cryptocurrency custody and product offerings since then. Regulatory clarity remains opaque at best, and it will be interesting to see what happens under an administration that is open to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology."

MicroStrategy Plans to Raise Up to $2 Billion in Preferred Stock Offering

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ ticker: MSTR), the US technology company that holds the most BTC of any single company, announced on its official website that it plans to raise up to $2 billion in capital through a preferred stock offering. The purpose is to strengthen its balance sheet and purchase more bitcoin, which is expected to happen in the first quarter of 2025. Microstrategy previously announced its so-called 21/21 plan to raise $21 billion worth of additional equity and debt over the next three years and use the additional capital to purchase BTC.

Anthony Scaramucci "Predicts BTC to hit $200,000 in 2025 due to supply shock"

According to the Daily Hoosier, Anthony Scaramucci, founder of US hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, predicted in an interview that the price of Bitcoin will more than double in 2025. He said, "The demand for Bitcoin is likely to continue to grow in 2025. This could lead to a supply shortage, which could cause a price spike. A supply shock could push the price of Bitcoin to $200,000. There's no reason why this won't happen. There is simply not enough bitcoin in the market."

US ETH Spot ETFs See $53 Billion in Net Inflows

on the Previous Day According to Farside Investor, US ETH spot ETFs saw $36 million in net inflows on the previous day (local time). Fidelity FETH saw $31.8 million in net inflows and Grayscale Mini ETH Trust saw $9.8 million. On the other hand, there were $5.6 million in net outflows from Grayscale ETHE. The remaining ETFs saw no net inflows or outflows.

U.S. Internal Revenue Service Issues Temporary Tax Relief

for CeFis According to Bitcoin.com, Shehan Chandrasekera, a tax accountant at CoinTracker, a U.S. accounting firm specializing in cryptocurrencies, told X. "The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2025-7, a temporary relief for centralized exchange (CeFi) cryptocurrency holders that could reduce their tax burden," he said. "Previously, the IRS required CeFi brokers to automatically sell assets on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis unless they chose a specific accounting method, such as higher-income-first-out (HIFO) or specific identification (Spec ID). However, most CFi brokers are not currently ready to support HIFO or Spec ID accounting methods. If the FIFO method is automatically adopted, it could inadvertently lead to the sale of lower-cost assets first, resulting in higher capital gains and a larger tax burden. The IRS has addressed this issue by allowing you to manually designate the units of assets you sell." However, starting in 2026, CFi will need to pre-select the accounting method it will use, which will default to a first-in, first-out method.

Coinbase's Top Cryptocurrency Market Trends for 2025

According to Cryptoslate, Coinbase has released its top trends for the cryptocurrency market in 2025.

1. Changes in the U.S. regulatory landscape: favorable regulatory environment and the introduction of BTC strategic reserves
2. Tokenization of real-world assets: $2 trillion to $30 trillion in the next five years
3. DeFi: Changes in the U.S. regulatory environment will increase institutional access to DeFi
4. Stablecoins and spot ETFs: Stablecoin market capitalization is expected to reach $3 trillion by 2030

US 'crypto czar' nominee Sachs to transition from leader to general advisor

David O. Sacks, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for crypto czar, is planning to serve as a general advisor instead of a leader, according to China's leading local blockchain publication Wuxuo Blockchain, citing Fortune. This is because Sacks did not want to leave his venture capital (VC) firm, Craft Ventures, and go through the formal process for the position. As a result, the tech policy work that was originally Sacks' responsibility will be led by Michael Kratsios, former chief technology officer in the first Trump administration, with Sacks providing policy ideas.

SpaceCoin's first satellite launches today

SpaceCoin, the world's first satellite-based internet decentralization project, has announced on its official X that its first satellite, CTC-0, will be launched into space. CTC-0 is a low-earth orbit satellite for building a blockchain-based 5G internet network, and will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. In a recent whitepaper, SpaceCoin announced that it will be airdropping SpaceCoin to CTC holders.

Mara Holdings uses BTC mining surplus heat to heat Finnish homes

US cryptocurrency mining company Mara Holdings (formerly Marathon Digital) has announced that it has utilized surplus heat from Bitcoin mining to heat 80,000 homes in the Satakunta region of Finland, according to Cryptoslate.

Franklin Templeton Files S-1 for BTC-ETH Index ETF with SEC

Global asset manager Franklin Templeton has filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an ETF that will track a Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) index, according to reports.

Security firm says “59% of new cryptocurrencies launched this year are malicious tokens”

Coindesk cited data from Web3 security firm BlockAid, which found that 59% of newly launched cryptocurrencies this year are malicious in nature. “Of these, rug-pulls (scams) account for 27%,” BlockAid said. “This year's cryptocurrency fraud losses amounted to $1.4 billion, a significant decrease from the previous year ($5.6 billion).”

#btc #bitcoin

El Salvador's President “Plans to Continue Buying BTC Despite IMF Agreement”

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele “will continue to stockpile BTC as a strategic reserve asset and plans to purchase BTC at a faster pace than previously,” according to cryptocurrency media watchdog Guru. Previously, El Salvador announced that it was easing its Bitcoin-related policies and curtailing Bitcoin-related trading activity in the public sector as part of a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).