Article reproduced from: PA Daily

Today's News Highlights:

Trump's team considers former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler

Russia redefines digital currency rules through cryptocurrency tax law

Binance: The BNSOL super staking will launch the first phase project Pyth Network

Movement co-founder accuses the Scroll team of multiple misconducts that have harmed the reputation of the EVM L2 ecosystem

Celsius will distribute a second round of $127 million to eligible creditors

Chinese concept stock SOS announces it will purchase $50 million worth of Bitcoin, opening with a surge of 47.19%

The Genesis event for Hyperliquid's native token HYPE will take place on November 29

Japanese listed company Metaplanet plans to raise about $62 million to accelerate the accumulation of Bitcoin

Regulation & Policy

Trump's new government cabinet nominations are complete, with over five being 'crypto traders'

According to Jinshi reports, on November 23 local time, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of Brook Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. With this, all cabinet candidates for Trump's new government have been confirmed, in addition to which Trump has also nominated several senior officials in the past few weeks. From the list of the new government, in addition to well-known names in the crypto market such as Musk and Howard Lutnick, several cabinet officials are staunch supporters of cryptocurrency and have publicly disclosed cryptocurrency holdings, including the nominated Vice President, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Director of National Intelligence.

Trump's team considers former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler

According to Bloomberg, informed sources revealed that President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has interviewed senior financial regulator and conservative financial insider Paul Atkins as a candidate for Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sources say Atkins is one of the strongest contenders to replace the outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Trump is expected to make a choice in the coming days, but no decision has been made yet. According to previous reports, Atkins is not only well-versed in cryptocurrency technology, but also has a deep understanding of the SEC's internal workings, having served as a commissioner and staffer for two former SEC Chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt.

Russia redefines digital currency rules through cryptocurrency tax law

According to Bitcoin.com, on Wednesday, the upper house of the Russian parliament approved a government-initiated bill outlining the tax framework for digital currencies. The day before, the bill had received preliminary approval in the State Duma (lower house) and was finally passed in the plenary session on Wednesday. The new law categorizes digital currencies (including digital currencies used as payment tools under experimental legal frameworks) as property according to the Russian Federal Tax Code. This classification exempts digital currency mining and sales transactions from value-added tax (VAT), alleviating the financial burden on participants in this field. Additionally, services provided by authorized organizations facilitating transactions under these experimental frameworks will also be exempt from taxation. An important provision requires mining infrastructure operators to report personal data of individuals using their systems to tax authorities. Income from digital currency mining will be considered taxable income, forming the basis for personal income tax. According to Danil Volkov, head of the relevant department of the Russian Ministry of Finance, enterprises engaged in mining activities will pay taxes at the standard corporate income tax rate. The law stipulates that mining income will be taxed based on the asset values of international exchanges. For most digital currency earners, the personal income tax rate will remain at 13%, with the rate increasing to 15% for those with annual income exceeding 2.4 million rubles starting in 2025. During the legislative process, the bill must undergo multiple reviews in the State Duma, receive approval from the Federation Council, and be signed by the President to become law. With President Putin's anticipated support, the legislation will formally establish a detailed tax framework for Russian digital currencies.

AI

AI company Databricks raised $5 billion in its latest funding round, reaching a post-money valuation of $55 billion

According to Bitcoin.com, San Francisco-based data analytics and AI company Databricks raised $5 billion in its latest funding round, bringing the company's valuation to $55 billion. Sources indicate that Databricks plans to raise a total of $8 billion and is expected to become the largest funding round of the year. Reports suggest that the latest funding round aims to allow employees to sell shares, thereby reducing the demand for an immediate IPO. However, while an IPO may not come soon, it could still happen in the second half of 2025. Although the report did not disclose the identities of the investors participating in the latest funding round, it revealed the company’s well-known supporters, including Nvidia, Capital One, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Insight Partners, and Tiger Global. In the September 2023 funding, Databricks raised $500 million, valuing the company at $43 billion. OpenAI currently holds the record for the largest funding round of 2024, having raised $6.6 billion in October. Billionaire Musk's xai also secured $5 billion in funding, bringing its valuation to $50 billion. Another AI startup, Anthropic, received $400 million in funding from Amazon, bringing its total funding to $8 billion.

Project Dynamics

Binance: The first phase of the BNSOL super staking project will launch Pyth Network (PYTH)

According to Binance's official announcement, BNSOL super staking will launch the first phase project - Oracle Network Pyth Network (PYTH). From 08:00 on December 2, 2024, to 07:59 on December 17, 2024 (Beijing time), users holding BNSOL in Binance accounts and Web3 wallets, or staking SOL to BNSOL, will receive PYTH APR Boost airdrop rewards. These PYTH APR Boost airdrop rewards are additional token airdrops provided on top of Binance's annualized interest rate for SOL staking, offering users higher returns. The BNSOL super staking reward pool: open from December 2, 2024, to December 17, 2024; the total reward pool contains 1,428,571.43 PYTH, with a daily reward amount of 95,238.095 PYTH. PYTH APR Boost airdrop rewards can be claimed daily starting from December 3, 2024, around 13:30 (Beijing time).

a16z general partner Sriram Krishnan announced he will leave at the end of the year

a16z general partner Sriram Krishnan announced on the X platform: 'After working at a16z for 4 years, I will leave the company at the end of the year. I will discuss my future plans in detail later, and I will share more information in the coming months.' Additionally, according to The Information, Krishnan has discussed joining the government efficiency department run by Elon Musk.

Celsius will distribute a second round of $127 million to eligible creditors

According to Beincrypto, Celsius is preparing for a second round of $127 million distribution to eligible creditors from its litigation recovery account. Funds will be distributed in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USD based on eligibility. According to the latest bankruptcy court documents, after deducting fees and expenses, the litigation administrator has allocated about $127 million for this round of payments. This money will be paid to 'effective date debtors' among Celsius creditors, who have recovery rights over non-liquid assets under the company's bankruptcy plan. A portion of the funds specified in the plan will be retained as reserves. Notably, creditors wishing to receive distributions in BTC or ETH must have an active Coinbase account, and their account information must match the records of Celsius. Celsius stated on X: 'According to the Coinbase agreement, non-corporate creditors who have not received Celsius distributions through Coinbase after November 9, 2024, will automatically be handled by U.S. dollar distribution partners.'

Movement co-founder accuses the Scroll team of multiple misconducts that have harmed the reputation of the EVM L2 ecosystem

Rushi Manche, co-founder of Movement Labs, publicly accused the Scroll team of numerous issues on the X platform, including: 1. After years in the community, they launched a predatory incentive program that ultimately shifted the burden onto ordinary investors. 2. The team has been selling secondary market shares for years before launch. 3. Other team members were forced to buy in at an $18 billion valuation, while senior leadership was selling at the same time. 4. The Scroll team directly allocated airdrops to their own wallets and then cashed out. 5. Designed the most predatory token economic model aimed at harming every community member. Manche accused the Scroll team's actions of damaging the reputation of the EVM L2 ecosystem and called for improvements to avoid 'making it look like a complete scam.'

Later reports indicate that Scroll co-founders responded to concerns: they will improve project design issues, and the team is undergoing structural adjustments.

The Aave community initiated an ARFC proposal for 'establishing a strategic partnership with Instadapp by investing in INST tokens'

The Aave community initiated an ARFC proposal for 'establishing a strategic partnership with Instadapp by investing in INST tokens.' The proposal includes Aave DAO investing $4 million in INST tokens at a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $350 million to establish a strategic partnership with the multi-chain DeFi management protocol Instadapp, aiming to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two protocols. Aave DAO will allocate up to 1/3 of the INST tokens to support GHO trading pairs on Fluid through Merit. The DAO will also support and promote Instadapp products utilizing Aave protocols (including GHO and Fluid integration). The remaining tokens will have a one-year vesting period, authorized to the Aave Protocol Embassy.

Coinbase: Pepe (PEPE) is now available for users in New York

According to Coinbase Assets announcement, Pepe (PEPE) is now available for users in New York, who can buy, sell, convert, send, receive, or store PEPE assets through Coinbase's official website and its iOS and Android applications. Coinbase obtained a virtual currency business license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on January 17, 2017, ensuring compliant operation. Additionally, NYDFS also approved Coinbase to establish Coinbase Custody Trust Company LLC in 2018. However, due to failure to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Plan (BSA/AML Plan), as well as trading monitoring and cybersecurity plans, Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement agreement with NYDFS in 2023.

Chinese concept stock SOS announces it will purchase $50 million worth of Bitcoin, opening with a surge of 47.19%

Chinese company SOS Ltd. listed on the New York Stock Exchange announces that its board has approved a plan to invest $50 million in Bitcoin (BTC) to strengthen its blockchain industry layout. SOS stated that this plan not only reflects long-term confidence in Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset but also aims to optimize the investment portfolio and enhance the company's competitiveness in the digital asset sector. SOS will adopt a diversified quantitative trading strategy, including investment, trading, and arbitrage, to reduce market volatility risks and achieve stable returns. SOS's market capitalization is approximately $9.16 million, and after today's opening, it surged by 47.19% possibly due to this news.

Tether stops issuing EURT due to the European regulatory environment; users have one year to complete redemption operations

Tether announced it will stop supporting its euro stablecoin EUR₮ and has stopped processing new minting requests since 2022. This decision is based on the increasingly complex regulatory environment of the European stablecoin market, while Tether will prioritize supporting new projects, such as the new stablecoins EURQ and USDQ launched in partnership with Quantoz Payments in compliance with MiCAR regulations. Tether will also provide efficient compliance support for asset issuance, including stablecoins, through its technology platform Hadron. Existing EUR₮ users must complete redemption operations by November 27, 2025.

Binance will launch MORPHO and CHILLGUY USDT perpetual contracts

Binance's contract platform will launch perpetual contracts at the following times, with a maximum leverage of 75 times: November 27, 2024, at 22:30 (Beijing time): MORPHOUSDT perpetual contract; November 27, 2024, at 22:45 (Beijing time): CHILLGUYUSDT perpetual contract.

Clanker co-founder: After the Clanker contract upgrade, users can receive a 40% fee sharing

According to Clanker co-founder proxystudio.eth, the team is upgrading the contract to allow users to directly receive a 40% fee sharing (including ETH and tokens). MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay previously mentioned that testing of the meme coin CONSENT has been conducted on Base and Solana chains, with data showing that the market capitalization on Solana chain reached $2.8 million, and $2 million on Base chain. Clanker is an AI-driven token deployment tool that allows users to submit token ideas through Farcaster clients such as Warpcast and quickly launch tokens on the Base chain. Related reading: clanker: 'Pump.fun' on the Base chain

Hyperliquid reminds users to accept the Genesis Event terms as soon as possible

According to the Hyper Foundation announcement, users who have recently started using Hyperliquid L1 and those who missed it previously must review and accept the terms and conditions of the Genesis Event by 23:59 UTC on November 28 (07:59 on November 29 Beijing time). Failure to complete this on time may affect participation eligibility, so relevant users should act promptly.

Japanese listed company Metaplanet plans to raise about $62 million to accelerate the accumulation of Bitcoin

According to the official news, Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced the issuance of mobile execution stock subscription rights to raise up to 9.5 billion yen ($62 million) to accelerate the accumulation of Bitcoin.

The Genesis event for Hyperliquid's native token HYPE will take place on November 29

According to the official blog, the Hyper Foundation announced that the Genesis event for the decentralized derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid's native token HYPE will occur at 15:30 on November 29 (Beijing time). The maximum supply of HYPE is 1 billion, distributed as follows: 38.888% for future emissions and community rewards; 31.0% for the genesis allocation; 23.8% for current and future core contributors; 6.0% for Hyper Foundation budget; 0.3% for community grants; 0.012% for HIP-2. Tokens will be issued over time, with 76.2% allocated to the community. Qualified participants in the Genesis event will receive 310 million tokens, which will be fully unlocked. Unallocated tokens will be transferred to future emissions and community rewards. 60 million HYPE are allocated to the Hyper Foundation budget, 300 HYPE are allocated to grants, and 120,000 HYPE are allocated to Hyperliquidity (HIP-2). 388,880,000 unmined HYPE are reserved for future emissions and community rewards. Core contributor tokens will be locked for one year after the Genesis. Most vesting schedules will be completed between 2027-2028; some will continue beyond 2028. The genesis allocation strictly excludes core contributors. No allocations are provided for private investors, centralized exchanges, or market makers.

Slow Fog: The JUMPFUN project has evident violations, beware of risks

Slow Fog founder Yu Xian stated: 'According to feedback from Slow Fog's area intelligence officers, the JUMPFUN project (@jumpdotfun) is suspected of having suspicious behavior. After analyzing the project's contract and transaction records, we discovered the following suspicious situations: The JUMPBonusPool contract originally designed two core mechanisms: 1. Bonus pool mechanism: the last 5 users participating in donations can share the accumulated ETH bonus; 2. Time extension mechanism: every time a user donates, the game time is automatically extended by 30 seconds. Yesterday, the project party used owner permissions to modify the JUMP Bonus Pool contract twice through the setEmergencyBonusPool function, which prevented users from participating in the previous accumulated bonus competition through normal donations to the JUMP Bonus Pool contract. Notably, the newly replaced JUMP Bonus Pool contract has not been open-sourced. These actions are in serious violation of the rules previously publicly described by the project party, indicating clear violations. We remind all participating users to be aware of the risks and participate cautiously.'

Previous news from Slow Fog indicated that attackers exploited an XSS vulnerability on the Cointelegraph website to carry out phishing.

Telegram founder: Received a 1% donation of MAJOR from the founder of Major, will not sell it for the next 10 years

Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated on his personal TG channel: 'Major mini-program is one of my favorite success stories in the Telegram ecosystem. Major was launched by 27-year-old entrepreneur Roxman, who achieved over $10 million in revenue and 70 million users in just five months. I love Major because it quickly adopts new possibilities of the mini-program platform and adds features that feel natural to Telegram. I also like Roxman; I have been following him since he launched Fabrika and Major. Roxman generously donated 1% of MAJOR tokens to me, and I will not sell these tokens for the next 10 years. I heard that the Major team is preparing many innovations (such as username NFT leasing and digital IDs). Tomorrow is a big day for them as MAJOR tokens will be listed on six exchanges. I wish them good luck.'

Robinhood launches Ethereum staking service for European users

According to Crowdfund Insider, Robinhood announced the launch of Ethereum staking services, allowing European users to earn yields on their ETH holdings. Additionally, earlier this year, Robinhood Crypto launched Solana staking services in Europe. Johann Kerbrat, General Manager and Vice President of Robinhood Crypto, stated that staking services are a highly demanded feature among users, but may be complex for cryptocurrency newcomers. Robinhood has simplified the staking process, allowing users to efficiently contribute to the security of the ETH network while earning returns.

Tether CEO: Tether's liquidity fund for commodities could reach $5 billion by 2026

BitWise submitted an ETF application tracking an index of 10 cryptocurrencies to the U.S. SEC

According to Beincrypto, BitWise has submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an ETF based on its 10 cryptocurrency index fund. If this application is approved, it would become the most diversified and comprehensive cryptocurrency ETF in the U.S. market. According to the documents, the fund includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Chainlink, Bitcoin Cash, Polkadot, and Uniswap. BitWise has maintained this initial fund since 2018 and has linked its value to the ten most valuable cryptocurrencies. The SEC has officially confirmed receipt of this application, marking the beginning of the countdown for the Commission to decide whether to reject or approve the application. However, the deadline for the approval of this application has not yet been determined.

Mining News

Bitcoin mining company MARA has again increased its holdings by 703 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 34,794 BTC

According to an official announcement, Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings, Inc. announced that it has acquired an additional 703 bitcoins through the issuance of $1 billion zero-interest convertible preferred notes, bringing the total amount of bitcoins purchased through this preferred note issuance to 6,474, at an average price of $95,395 per bitcoin. The year-to-date yield per bitcoin is 36.7%. Currently, the company holds approximately 34,794 bitcoins, valued at around $3.3 billion based on the current spot price of Bitcoin at $95,000. MARA has repurchased part of a $200 million bond maturing in 2026; after deducting transaction costs, the remaining proceeds of about $160 million can be used for future Bitcoin purchases when prices drop.

Tether-supported Northern Data received acquisition offers for its cryptocurrency mining division

According to Bloomberg, Northern Data AG is nearing a deal to sell its cryptocurrency mining business, hoping to take advantage of the rising Bitcoin price in November for profit. According to Northern Data's CFO Elliot Jordan, the company has hired bankers and invited bidders to submit offers, and is currently reviewing various proposals. Jordan stated during his speech at the German equity forum on Wednesday: 'It is most accurate to describe it as 'ongoing'; we are currently receiving offers from multiple different sources, and progress is smooth.' Jordan noted that Northern Data has not valued the business, but reports suggest a valuation of $300 to $500 million prior to the Bitcoin price surge. He told investors: 'Clearly, now is the best time to sell this business.' Northern Data's main shareholder is stablecoin issuer Tether, which is seeking to release funds to expand its AI service business. This is a transition that many mining companies are exploring after the Bitcoin software update in April, which halved their main source of income. Previously, in October, Northern Data planned to sell its cryptocurrency mining division, Peak Mining.

XT Exchange: The platform's own funds have experienced unusual movements, which will not affect user interests

According to the XT official announcement, the XT exchange detected abnormal transfers from the platform's wallet, involving the on-chain address 0xdb3ded7731c781224ec292e2163d9554c094fd7c, totaling approximately $1 million, involving 12 different token assets. XT stated that the assets involved in this incident are the platform's own funds and will not affect user interests.

Currently, the technical team is conducting an emergency investigation into this incident. They plan to launch the Merkel Tree asset proof system in mid-December.

Earlier reports indicated that the crypto exchange XT.COM was suspected to have been hacked and has currently suspended withdrawals for all tokens.

Important Data

The total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S. reached $103 million yesterday, with the ETF net asset ratio at 5.46%

The Base network reached a single-day trading volume of 11.4 million yesterday, setting a historical high

According to UnChained, Coinbase-incubated L2 network Base reached a single-day trading volume of 11.4 million yesterday, setting a historical high for the Base network and establishing a new record for all Ethereum L2s. Analysts noted that although meme coin activity mainly occurs on Solana, the AI agent Clanker on the decentralized network Farcaster is helping to grow both the meme season and on-chain activity on Base. The large language model Clanker has currently deployed about 4,700 tokens.

Stablecoin transaction volume has surged to $1.8 trillion so far in November

According to Cointelegraph, based on CCData's report on November 27, as of November 25, the transaction volume of stablecoins has sharply increased by 77.5%, reaching $1.81 trillion. This increase is expected to set a new annual high for monthly trading volume on centralized exchanges. The total market capitalization of stablecoins continues its upward trend for 14 months, increasing by 9.94% in November to reach $190 billion, surpassing the historical high of $188 billion before the collapse of Terra's algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD in April 2022. Despite this growth, the market share of stablecoins has decreased from 7.22% in October to 5.54%, as investors and traders have diversified their investments into Bitcoin and altcoins. USDT continues to perform strongly, with its market capitalization growing by 10.5% to $133 billion. USDT accounts for 69.9% of the overall market, followed by Circle's USDC, which saw a 12.1% increase in market capitalization in November to $38.9 billion, the highest level since February 2023. Ethena Labs' USDe also showed growth momentum, with its market capitalization increasing by 42.2% to $3.86 billion.

Deribit: A nominal value of approximately $10.85 billion in BTC options and ETH options will expire tomorrow

According to Deribit data, a nominal value of approximately $10.85 billion in BTC options and ETH options will expire tomorrow. Among them, the nominal value of expiring BTC options is $9.4 billion, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.83 and a maximum pain point of $80,000; the nominal value of expiring ETH options is $1.45 billion, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.73 and a maximum pain point of $2,900.