Today's news highlights:
U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will officially resign on January 20, 2025.
Four institutions submitted Solana ETF applications, which may be approved in early August next year if the SEC accepts them.
U.S. Court Ruling: The SEC's "Broker Rule" has been revoked for exceeding statutory authority.
Insiders: The Trump crypto advisory council is expected to establish promised Bitcoin reserves.
Trump Media may plan to launch a crypto payment service called "TruthFi."
MicroStrategy completed the issuance of $3 billion in convertible bonds and plans to continue increasing its Bitcoin holdings.
The total assets under management of digital asset ETPs reached $150 billion, setting a new historical high.
Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $1.005 billion yesterday, maintaining a net inflow for four consecutive days.
Regulatory News
U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will officially resign on January 20, 2025.
According to an announcement on the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will officially resign at noon on January 20, 2025. Gensler has promoted several important reforms, including capital market efficiency, resilience, and integrity, since taking office on April 17, 2021. During his tenure, the SEC completed thousands of enforcement actions, recovering about $21 billion in fines and returning $2.7 billion to harmed investors.
Gensler has significantly increased enforcement efforts in the cryptocurrency space, taking action against fraudulent trading and registration violations. According to SEC data, about 18% of reports in the fiscal year 2024 were related to cryptocurrencies. Additionally, he has promoted several rule reforms, including shortening the stock settlement cycle to one day, enhancing disclosures on network and climate risks, and strengthening oversight of investment advisors.
Four institutions submitted Solana ETF applications, which may be approved in early August next year if the SEC accepts them.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that filings from the Cboe BZX exchange show that the exchange has proposed listing and trading four Solana-related ETFs on its platform. These ETFs are initiated by Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Funds, categorized as "Commodity-based Trust Shares," submitted according to Rule 14.11(e)(4). If the SEC formally accepts, the final approval deadline is expected in early August 2025.
Insiders: The SEC is making progress in negotiations with issuers hoping to launch a SOL spot ETF.
U.S. Court Ruling: The SEC's "Broker Rule" has been revoked for exceeding statutory authority.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the SEC's final rule on the "Dealer Rule" (Broker Rule) exceeded its statutory authority and declared the rule invalid. The court pointed out that the SEC's expansion of the definition of "broker" does not align with the text, history, and structure of the Securities Exchange Act, and the scope of the rule is overly broad, potentially unreasonably covering trading activities in DeFi protocols.
The court ruled that the SEC's attempt to simply define trading activity as market liquidity provision and classify it as "broker" fails to reflect the legal distinction between brokers and ordinary traders. Ultimately, the court ruled to revoke the rule and emphasized that the SEC did not follow reasonable decision-making procedures in formulating the rules, violating the Administrative Procedure Act.
Insiders: The Trump crypto advisory council is expected to establish promised Bitcoin reserves.
According to Reuters, multiple crypto companies, including Ripple, Kraken, and Circle, are competing for positions on a crypto advisory council promised by presidential candidate Donald Trump. Sources say the advisory council may belong to the White House National Economic Council or a separate White House department, with primary responsibilities including coordinating digital asset policy, collaborating with Congress on crypto legislation, establishing Bitcoin reserves, and working with agencies such as the SEC, CFTC, and the Treasury. Additionally, the Trump team is considering creating a crypto "czar" role to lead the council. During his campaign, Trump promised to create the image of a "crypto president," ending the current president Biden's strict regulation of crypto companies and ensuring access to banking services for crypto firms through executive order.
Insiders revealed that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently met with Trump, and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also publicly expressed willingness to join the council. Meanwhile, Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)'s crypto division are also expected to have a seat on the council.
AI
OpenAI plans to launch a browser integrated with ChatGPT to compete with Google Chrome.
According to The Information, OpenAI is considering developing its own web browser, planning to compete directly with Google Chrome. This browser will integrate its AI model, ChatGPT.
Project Updates
Trump Media may plan to launch a crypto payment service called "TruthFi."
According to the New York Times, Donald Trump’s social media company Trump Media & Technology Group recently submitted a trademark application to launch a crypto payment service called "TruthFi." The platform will focus on crypto payments, financial custody, and digital asset trading.
"Musk's Life List" on the cover of Time magazine: from rocket recovery to helping Trump get elected.
Charles Schwab plans to launch spot crypto trading after regulatory improvements.
According to Bloomberg, Charles Schwab's incoming CEO Rick Wurster stated that the company plans to launch spot cryptocurrency trading after improvements in U.S. crypto regulations. Wurster mentioned in an interview, "We expect the regulatory environment to change and are preparing for that possibility."
Currently, Charles Schwab offers crypto-related ETFs and crypto futures but has not yet directly entered the spot trading market. Wurster mentioned that cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of attention, but he personally does not have investment plans at the moment, although he supports clients investing in crypto assets. Wurster will take over as CEO in early 2025, succeeding current CEO Walt Bettinger, who will retire.
Coinbase International will launch CoW Protocol perpetual futures contracts.
Coinbase International announced on the X platform that Coinbase International and Coinbase Advanced will add support for CoW Protocol perpetual futures contracts, with the COW-PERP market expected to open at or after 5:30 PM Beijing time on November 26, 2024.
Michael Novogratz: Expect Bitcoin to correct; there is significant leverage in the current crypto market.
According to CNBC, Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Michael Novogratz shared his views on Bitcoin. He stated that Bitcoin is expected to surge past the much-anticipated $100,000 mark in a strong rebound after the U.S. elections, but this does not mean it will continue to rise. Novogratz pointed out on a financial forum show that while reaching a six-figure Bitcoin price is "inevitable" and may continue to climb, a correction will eventually occur. He emphasized that there is a significant amount of leverage in the current crypto market, and the crypto community is highly leveraged, indicating that a market correction is imminent.
However, Novogratz predicts that Bitcoin will not fall below $80,000, the price level before Trump's election. He also warned that stocks like MicroStrategy, which trade similarly to Bitcoin leveraged trading, may face larger adjustments. Additionally, Novogratz advised investors to buy Bitcoin directly rather than through companies like MicroStrategy.
Zircuit's ZRC token will have its transfer restrictions lifted on November 25.
Zircuit announced that its native token $ZRC will officially open for trading on November 25, 2024, and also revealed that significant products will be launched next week.
Binance disclosed that the number of its compliance staff has increased by 34% year-on-year, stating that the industry has entered a new stage of maturity.
According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Binance stated that with the rapid construction of its compliance department, it expects to have 645 full-time compliance staff by the end of this year, a 34% increase from November last year. According to a press release from Binance on Friday, over 1,000 employees, including contractors, are currently focused on compliance work. Binance's Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman stated: "Our industry has entered a new phase of maturity, where regulatory compliance has become an important standard for user experience and protection, business success, and sustainable growth. Binance has grown alongside regulators and other participants over the years, and the continued growth of our compliance team and projects is a testament to this and to the strong sustainable growth phase our industry is destined for." Among the recently hired compliance personnel at Binance are some who have long worked in traditional finance and government sectors. Binance's new Chief Compliance Officer Todd McElduff will be responsible for the exchange's relationships with global law enforcement agencies; he previously led PayPal's global financial crime oversight department. Before that, he was head of Morgan Stanley's financial crime department. Binance also hired two special investigation experts, Céline Inial from France and Caner Akyürek from Turkey, both of whom have worked in their respective countries' law enforcement agencies for nearly 20 years.
Financing News
Bitcoin mining company MARA completed the issuance of $1 billion in convertible preferred notes.
According to official news, Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings, Inc. completed the issuance of $1 billion in convertible preferred notes, including $150 million notes issued according to the purchase agreement granted to initial purchasers, with a 13-day purchase option period from the date of the initial issuance of the notes, fully exercised by the initial purchasers on November 19, 2024, with additional purchases completed on November 20, 2024.
MicroStrategy completed the issuance of $3 billion in convertible bonds and plans to continue increasing its Bitcoin holdings.
According to MicroStrategy's announcement, the company has completed the issuance of zero-coupon convertible senior bonds totaling $3 billion, which will mature in 2029, with a conversion price at a 55% premium to the market price, approximately $672 per share. The net fundraising from this issuance is about $2.97 billion, and MicroStrategy plans to use most of the funds to purchase more Bitcoin and for other company operations.
This bond issuance is only available to qualified institutional investors, is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and can be converted into cash, stock, or a combination of both after conversion. MicroStrategy continues to consolidate its position as "the world's largest Bitcoin treasury company."
The board of directors of U.S. listed company Steakholder Foods approved its purchase of cryptocurrency as reserve assets.
Canaan Inc. raised $30 million through the issuance of preferred shares.
According to Finance Magnates, Bitcoin mining manufacturer Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) recently signed a securities purchase agreement to sell up to 30,000 shares of Series A-1 preferred stock to an institutional investor at a price of $1,000 per share. This agreement will raise $30 million to support the development of digital mining and equipment in North America. Previously, Canaan had completed a Series A funding round in September 2024, selling up to 125,000 Series A convertible preferred shares.
The decentralized gaming player network KGeN completed a $10 million financing round, led by Aptos Labs.
According to official news, the decentralized gaming player network KGeN announced the completion of a $10 million financing round, led by Aptos Labs, with participation from Game7 DAO and Polygon.
KGeN aims to provide more accurate user profiles for gaming projects based on its data collection on gamers, reducing customer acquisition costs. So far, KGeN has mapped over 197 million gaming player attributes based on 10.8 million players, thus gaining insights into gaming behavior.
Galaxy Research: The total financing amount for Bitcoin L2 projects reached $447 million.
According to Galaxy Research data, since 2018, Bitcoin Layer 2 (L2) projects have cumulatively raised $447 million, with more than 36% coming in 2024 alone. The report notes that approximately 0.8% of BTC circulation is locked in L2, wrapped assets, and staking protocols, and this proportion is expected to increase to 2.3% by 2030, corresponding to about $47 billion in BTC liquidity.
The number of Bitcoin L2 projects has increased from 10 to 75 since 2021. The existing L2 solutions mainly include sidechains and Rollups technology, with Rollups significantly improving transaction speed and reducing costs through data compression and batch processing. The report emphasizes that Bitcoin L2 provides more efficient transaction and yield applications for BTC, but the current bridging mechanism and trust issues regarding asset exits still need optimization.
Important Data
Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $1.005 billion yesterday, maintaining a net inflow for four consecutive days.
Data: The trading volume of Hong Kong's virtual asset ETF today is approximately HKD 167 million.
The trading volume of Bitcoin-related assets exceeded $70 billion in a single day.
According to data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the trading volume of Bitcoin-related assets reached a new high today, expected to hit $70 billion, with $50 billion contributed by MicroStrategy ($MSTR) and its related 2x leveraged products, which have all set trading records. Meanwhile, the $IBIT daily trading volume reached $5 billion, setting the second highest record in history, and $MSTZ (inverse 2x leveraged MSTR product) also broke the $1 billion mark for the first time.
AI company Genius Group purchased an additional $4 million worth of Bitcoin, increasing its holding to 153 BTC.
29,000 BTC options and 164,000 ETH options will expire today, with a total nominal value of $3.39 billion.
According to Greeks.live, 29,000 BTC options will expire this week, with a Put Call Ratio of 1.1 and a maximum pain point of $86,000, totaling $2.84 billion in nominal value. Meanwhile, 164,000 ETH options will expire, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.65 and a maximum pain point of $3,050, totaling $550 million in nominal value.
The total assets under management of digital asset ETPs reached $150 billion, setting a new historical high.
CoinShares research director James Butterfill stated on the X platform that the total assets under management of digital asset ETPs have reached $150 billion for the first time, mainly due to the rise in Bitcoin prices.
This month, the monthly trading volume of Solana ecosystem DEXs is close to $100 billion, setting a historical high.
According to SolanaFloor monitoring, the monthly trading volume of Solana ecosystem DEXs is approaching $100 billion this month, setting a new historical high.
A newly created wallet withdrew 309.6 billion PEPE from KuCoin, valued at approximately $6.45 million.
Spot On Chain monitoring shows that a new wallet user created an account 13 hours ago and withdrew 309.6 billion $PEPE from KuCoin, valued at about $6.45 million, with an average purchase price of $0.00002082.
A whale holding nearly 400,000 ETH has cashed out approximately $224 million.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, a whale account recently became active again and started selling its ETH holdings. This account had purchased 398,900 ETH at an average price of about $6 between January 18 and March 10, 2016 (then valued at $2.4 million).
After being dormant for 8 years, this account became active again on November 7 this year, having sold 73,356 ETH for approximately $224 million, with 325,500 ETH remaining (currently valued at about $1.1 billion).
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