The Golden Weekly is a weekly summary column launched by Golden Finance covering key news, mining information, project dynamics, technical progress, and other industry trends in the blockchain sector. This article is part of the news weekly, providing an overview of major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌Trump's nominees face violent threats, and the FBI is investigating.
The FBI has stated that it has noticed multiple bomb threats and harassment incidents targeting Trump transition team nominees and is working with law enforcement partners to investigate these incidents. The FBI indicated it would take all potential threats seriously and encourage the public to report any suspicious events immediately to law enforcement. Earlier, President-elect Trump's transition team announced that several of Trump's cabinet nominees faced violent threats from 'non-Americans' on the evening of the 26th and the morning of the 27th.
▌Wall Street is preparing to launch a new generation of cryptocurrency-related ETFs.
With the crypto-friendly Trump returning to the White House, Wall Street is ready to launch a new generation of risk-oriented products to cater to a range of investors from institutional newcomers to stubborn retail traders. Executives and lawyers involved in ETFs say the products they describe include defensive ETFs aimed at professional fund managers curious about cryptocurrencies, as well as comprehensive speculative bets aimed at self-proclaimed degenerate gamblers. Industry investors and lawyers say that riskier crypto ETFs may focus on various digital tokens, sometimes using leverage, options, or quantitative strategies.
▌Putin: Trump is 'smart and experienced', concerned that he is currently not safe.
According to CNN, on Thursday, Russian President Putin praised U.S. President-elect Trump as a 'smart and experienced' politician capable of finding 'solutions'. Putin also condemned Biden for causing 'additional difficulties' for the upcoming Trump administration by allowing Ukraine to launch U.S.-made ATACMS long-range missiles at targets inside Russia. When asked if Biden's decision would affect future U.S.-Russia relations, Putin stated that the situation might improve after Trump takes office in January. Putin also mentioned that Trump has overcome the 'severe test' of returning to the White House, referring to the two assassination attempts he faced during the campaign. Putin stated, 'Absolutely uncivilized means of struggle were used against Trump' more than once, adding that he is concerned Trump is currently not safe. In discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Putin threatened to launch more new Russian medium-range ballistic missiles, warning, 'We will use the means we have available.' 'The use of 'Hazel' missiles against Ukrainian troops, military industrial facilities, or decision-making centers including Kyiv is not excluded, as the Kyiv authorities continue to attempt to attack our important facilities today.'
▌The Trump administration considers letting the CFTC take the lead in digital asset regulation.
According to FOX Business, the incoming Trump administration hopes to expand the powers of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to grant it significant regulatory authority over the digital asset market.
According to sources directly familiar with Trump's team's thoughts, as Trump takes office and the crypto industry's influence in Republican politics grows, the CFTC's responsibilities may soon expand to regulate the crypto spot market (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) seen as commodities and the exchanges that facilitate their trading. Key figures in Trump's team believe that regulatory easing is needed to stimulate innovation in the crypto business, including potentially transformative blockchain technologies that could eliminate costly intermediaries in commercial transactions.
Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo told FOX Business: 'With sufficient funding and the right leadership, I believe the CFTC can begin regulating digital goods on the first day Trump takes office.'
Policy
▌Coin Center's research director: Investor protection and regulatory transparency may foster the development of the cryptocurrency industry.
Coin Center's research director Peter Van Valkenburgh expects a clearer regulatory framework for centralized markets and stablecoin issuers. This optimism stems from the new government potentially focusing on promoting innovation in the traditional financial applications of cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, simplified investor protection and regulatory transparency may foster the development of the cryptocurrency industry. However, he emphasized the need to remain vigilant to ensure that these measures do not inadvertently stifle the rights of developers and users in decentralized systems.
▌French users banned from accessing Polymarket prediction market.
Polymarket has blocked French users and warned against attempts to circumvent the ban. According to a social media post, Polymarket now lists French users on its restricted usernames list. Reports suggest that French users can no longer access Polymarket after the country's gambling regulator reportedly indicated it would ban prediction markets. However, some French Polymarket users on social media platform X have stated that they are still accessing the prediction market through virtual private network (VPN) applications.
▌Wall Street's 'top cop' announces resignation to make way for Trump to regulate.
U.S. Manhattan prosecutor Damian Williams announced he plans to resign on December 13, with his deputy Edward Kim temporarily taking over other duties. After Trump was elected president on November 5, he announced he would nominate former SEC chairman Jay Clayton to manage the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The Southern District of New York is renowned for its independent status, handling many well-known financial fraud cases. During Williams' tenure, he completed prosecutions against former crypto exchange FTX founder SBF and family office Archegos founder Bill Hwang.
▌U.S. special prosecutor withdraws election subversion case against Trump.
According to CNN, U.S. special prosecutor Jack Smith announced on Monday that he would withdraw the election subversion case against President-elect Trump and seek to dismiss the case in a court filing submitted to the judge. Trump has indicated he would fire Smith once he takes office, breaking with the previous norms regarding special prosecutor investigations. In a six-page document, Smith wrote: 'The Department of Justice's position is that, under the requirements of the Constitution, this case needs to be dismissed before the defendant is sworn in.' Smith's criminal pursuit of Trump over the past two years, on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his mishandling of classified documents, stands as a very unique chapter in U.S. history: never before has a former occupant of the White House faced federal criminal charges.
▌Brazilian congressman officially proposed establishing a national strategic Bitcoin reserve.
A Brazilian congressman officially proposed establishing a national strategic Bitcoin reserve - the Bitcoin Sovereign Strategic Reserve. The plan, known as the 'Bitcoin Sovereign Strategic Reserve' (Reserva Estratégica Soberana de Bitcoins, RESBit), aims to diversify the national treasury. According to Brazilian media platform Portal do Bitcoin, Congressman Eros Biondini submitted this proposal on Monday.
▌The New York Stock Exchange submitted Form 19b-4 and S-1 documents to the SEC for the Bitwise BTCÐ ETF.
According to Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, the New York Stock Exchange submitted Form 19b-4 and S-1 documents to the SEC, proposing to list the Bitwise Bitcoin & Ether ETF. This product will hold both spot BTC and ETH, weighted by market capitalization.
Bitwise co-founder Matt Hougan stated: 'Bitcoin and Ethereum are not competitors, like gold and tech stocks.' He believes this ETF will be broadly welcomed by investors.
▌Trump's new government minister nominations are complete, with over 5 being 'crypto traders'.
On November 23 local time, U.S. President-elect Trump announced the nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. Thus, all cabinet minister candidates for Trump's new government have been confirmed. In addition, Trump has nominated several high-level officials in recent weeks. From the new government's list, aside from 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 their 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.
▌Cryptocurrency supporter Paul Atkins becomes a top candidate for SEC chairman.
According to informed sources, President-elect Trump's transition team has interviewed senior financial regulators and conservative financial backroom figure Paul Atkins as a candidate for the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Sources said Atkins is the top contender to succeed the outgoing Gensler. They said Trump is expected to make a choice in the coming days, with no decision made yet. Atkins served as an SEC commissioner during the George W. Bush administration and later founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm for major financial industry clients. He is a strong supporter of digital assets and fintech companies. He has also testified before Congress on how to restructure the agency's operations and reduce what some in the industry consider redundant or overly burdensome regulations.
▌Switzerland's Bernese State approved a study on Bitcoin mining utilizing surplus energy.
Switzerland's Bernese State parliament passed a proposal to study Bitcoin mining as a method of utilizing surplus energy and stabilizing the grid. The parliament will conduct a feasibility study to assess energy availability, environmental impact, and regulatory issues. Supporters argue that Bitcoin mining could attract investment, create jobs, and promote renewable energy development.
Blockchain Applications
▌UK (The Times) discusses whether pensions should invest in Bitcoin.
According to Bitcoin News, a plan in the UK will allocate 3% of pension funds to Bitcoin, but many people argue that Bitcoin's volatility is too high for it to be suitable as a retirement fund, while many others believe that Bitcoin is 'digital gold' and worth investing in.
For the above reasons, (The Times) published an article discussing whether pensions should invest in Bitcoin.
▌Ripple and Archax launched the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger.
Ripple announced the launch of the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger, marking the beginning of Ripple's tokenization of abrdn's $4.77 billion liquidity fund.
Ripple has partnered with Archax, the UK's first cryptocurrency exchange, broker, and custodian regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which can use abrdn's money market fund.
Ripple stated in a statement on November 25 that the tokenization of abrdn's $4.77 billion money market fund on XRPL indicates that RWA is being transferred on-chain to achieve operational cost savings and improved settlement efficiency.
▌Avalanche launched the Avalanche9000 upgrade on its testnet and introduced a $40 million funding program.
The team behind the first-layer blockchain network Avalanche launched its significant upgrade, named 'Avalanche9000', on the testnet on Monday. This upgrade includes several technical improvements aimed at reducing blockchain deployment costs by 99.9%. These improvements include community proposals ACP-77 (to make Avalanche's first-layer validators more flexible) and ACP-125 (aimed at reducing Avalanche's base fees by 96%).
The press release stated that along with this upgrade, Retro9000 was launched, a $40 million funding program aimed at rewarding builders developing first-layer blockchain and other tools on the Avalanche9000 testnet.
▌Kraken will close its NFT marketplace on February 27, 2025.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced it will close its NFT marketplace on February 27, 2025. After November 27, 2024, users will no longer be able to list, bid, or sell items on Kraken's NFT marketplace; they will only be able to withdraw their assets.
Kraken stated: 'We have decided to close our NFT marketplace to redirect more resources to new products and services, including undisclosed plans currently in development. Customers have been informed of these changes, and our team will assist them in transferring their NFTs to their Kraken wallet or their chosen self-custodial wallet.'
Earlier reports indicated that Kraken first revealed plans to launch its own NFT marketplace in December 2021 and went live with a beta version in November 2022.
▌The European Parliament approved a new list of commissioners, including those who may oversee cryptocurrency regulations.
The European Parliament approved the list of commissioners on Wednesday, which includes personnel responsible for overseeing digital asset regulation, with commissioners Stephane Sejourne, Maria Luis Albuquerque, and Henna Virkkunen potentially including cryptocurrencies within their jurisdiction.
In September, European Parliament President Ursula Von der Leyen presented a list of commissioners. Although cryptocurrency is not a core theme of these positions, the commission will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of digital asset rules. Additionally, the EU's crypto asset market legislation MiCA will come into full effect by the end of December, so more work may be needed to ensure implementation.
▌SingularityNET partners with Mina to promote privacy-focused decentralized AI.
The decentralized AI platform SingularityNET announced a partnership with the Mina Foundation to leverage zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology to advance the development of privacy-preserving decentralized general artificial intelligence (AGI). The two parties plan to develop secure AGI applications, such as decision-making AI agents and knowledge sharing ecosystems, to ensure that user data is not exposed during verification.
By combining SingularityNET's AI technology with Mina Protocol's ZK-SNARK technology, this collaboration will balance privacy and innovation while supporting the development of decentralized applications such as personalized governance tools, aiding in the construction of a secure AI ecosystem.
Cryptocurrency
▌Bitcoin ETF sets new record in Brazil.
As Bitcoin prices approach $100,000, demand and prices for Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares on the Brazilian stock exchange have surged. The first cryptocurrency ETF launched on B3, Hashdex, has reached a historic high with a net asset value nearing $689 million. BITH11 is the ETF offered by Hashdex that provides 100% exposure to Bitcoin, also reaching a historic high with a net asset value nearing $259 million. Every cryptocurrency ETF containing Bitcoin has set a historic high. Only seven ETFs failed to achieve this, focusing instead on ETH and other areas of cryptocurrency, such as decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3.
▌Analysts: Long-term BTC holders are showing increasingly greedy signs.
According to crypto analyst Ali (@ali_charts) on social media platform X, long-term BTC holders are showing increasingly greedy signs, which historically indicates that BTC may take 8-11 months to reach market peaks. If the trend continues, a potential peak may be seen between June and September 2025.
▌Online video platform Rumble plans to purchase $20 million in Bitcoin.
Online video platform Rumble adopts a Bitcoin financial strategy, planning to purchase up to $20 million in Bitcoin.
▌BlackRock and Fidelity's spot Bitcoin ETF traded a total of $4.37 billion on November 25.
BlackRock and Fidelity's spot Bitcoin ETF had a total trading volume of $4.37 billion on November 25.
▌Wintermute analysts: Funds are shifting from BTC to ETH, with a surge in derivatives market activity.
Wintermute analysts stated that funds are shifting from BTC to ETH, with a surge in derivatives market activity. Over the weekend, Ethereum's open contracts surged, while implied volatility also increased, with demand for call options significantly rising, indicating growing confidence among derivatives traders.
Analysts indicate that the shift from Bitcoin to Ethereum is characterized by a sharp rise in Ethereum's implied volatility, with put-call skew reaching the highest level in 12 months, indicating a very strong preference for upside risk among investors. According to Wintermute analysts, traders are actively pushing the market higher through upward buying. Wintermute analysts noted in their weekly cryptocurrency market update: 'In recent trading days, funds have flowed into Ethereum as the open contracts on exchanges surged to record highs over the weekend.'
▌Standard Chartered analyst: The short-term bottom for BTC is between $85,000 and $88,700.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Asset Research, attributed the recent market turmoil (including Bitcoin's drop and the rise in US long-term Treasury bonds) to a decline in the US Treasury term premium. The term premium is the extra yield demanded by investors for holding long-term bonds instead of rolling over short-term bonds. As Bitcoin is often seen as a hedge against instability in traditional financial markets, the increased confidence in US Treasuries may temporarily weaken Bitcoin's appeal, leading to a drop in its price.
Kendrick stated: 'There are no signs of MicroStrategy slowing down their purchases, and they are unlikely to sell, but since the election, the average purchase price for the ETF and MSTR has been $88,700, which may become a short-term bottom, with Bitcoin potentially consolidating in the $85,000 to $88,700 range before resuming an upward trajectory.'
▌Nasdaq ISE excludes Bitcoin trust products from FLEX options trading.
Nasdaq ISE LLC submitted a rule change proposal to exclude Bitcoin-related trust products such as Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust from FLEX options trading. This proposal has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is effective immediately, aimed at ensuring that options positions and exercise restrictions are consistent with existing rules. The SEC is also soliciting public comments on this proposal, which can be submitted in various ways.
▌Cipher Mining announced the acquisition of a new mining site in Texas, signing an expansion agreement for 100 megawatts of facilities.
Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) announced it has completed a deal to acquire a new power plant in West Texas named Stingray for $4.1 million in cash and an initial floating fee of $1.5 per megawatt hour for the first five years after the plant is energized. The 250-acre site has been approved and has signed an expansion agreement for up to 100 megawatts.
Cipher CEO Tyler Page stated: 'With the addition of this site, we now have a data center planned for 2026, which will complement the other new data centers we plan to put into operation in 2025 and 2027,' With the addition of this new site, Cipher's active portfolio and development pipeline will total 2.6 GW across 11 sites.
Important Economic Dynamics
▌Federal Reserve's Kashkari: A rate cut in December is a reasonable consideration.
Federal Reserve's Kashkari stated that a rate cut in December is a reasonable consideration. The neutral rate may be higher, and policy constraints may not be as stringent. Geopolitical risks are the primary concern for the economic outlook. No comments were made on the Treasury nominee.
▌Federal Reserve mouthpiece: The Federal Reserve's meeting minutes suggest that if inflation stagnates, rate cuts will become cautious.
'Federal Reserve Mouthpiece' Nick Timiraos wrote that Federal Reserve members discussed at a meeting earlier this month the possibility of slowing or pausing rate cuts if progress in reducing inflation stagnates. According to the Federal Reserve meeting minutes released on Tuesday, officials believe it may be appropriate to gradually move towards a more neutral interest rate setting if economic performance meets their expectations that inflation will continue to decline steadily. The minutes show that all 19 officials involved in the discussion agreed to lower the Federal Reserve's benchmark short-term interest rate by 25 basis points. Some policymakers believe that the risks of a more pronounced slowdown in the job market or the economy have diminished since the September meeting. Many of them also indicated that there is greater uncertainty about where to set interest rates for an economy that does not need stimulus or monetary restraint. The minutes state that these considerations 'make it appropriate to gradually reduce policy constraints.'
▌The Federal Reserve is considering a 5 basis point cut to the reverse repo rate as a technical adjustment.
The Federal Reserve's meeting minutes show that the Fed is considering a 5 basis point cut to the reverse repo rate as a technical adjustment. Some participants indicated it might be appropriate to reset the overnight reverse repo rate to the bottom of the federal funds rate target range in the future.
▌Bernstein: MicroStrategy's stock price could rise another 49%.
Bernstein stated that MicroStrategy's 'unprecedented' move to purchase Bitcoin could drive its stock MSTR price up by another 49%.
▌Report: North Korean hackers expand attack range, targeting IT and crypto sectors.
According to TechCrunch, the North Korean hacker group 'Lazarus Group' has expanded its social engineering attacks to multinational IT companies to steal cryptocurrency. Research found that the 'Sapphire Sleet' and 'Ruby Sleet' organizations spread malware through fake recruitment and infiltrate to steal secrets. North Korean IT personnel also used false identities and technical means to infiltrate.
