Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary program launched by Golden Finance, covering key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress, and other industry trends. This article is part of the news weekly, bringing you an overview of the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headlines
▌Central Bank: Next year, we will comprehensively use various monetary policy tools, timely reserve requirement ratio cuts, and interest rate reductions to maintain ample liquidity.
The Communist Party of China's Central Bank held a meeting chaired by Pan Gongsheng, the Party Secretary and Governor of the People's Bank of China. The meeting emphasized the need to implement a moderately loose monetary policy effectively. It called for the comprehensive use of various monetary policy tools, timely reserve requirement ratio cuts, and interest rate reductions, maintaining ample liquidity to align the growth of social financing and money supply with economic growth and price level expectations. It directed banks to fully meet effective credit demand and enhance the stability of credit growth. It also stressed strengthening the implementation and transmission of interest rate policies to promote a steady decline in the overall financing costs. The meeting aimed to enhance the resilience of the foreign exchange market, stabilize market expectations, and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level.
▌CZ: Binance holds a small stake in platform X.
Binance co-founder CZ responded to a community question on X, asking, "Can it now be said that Binance owns a stake in platform X?" CZ replied, "Holding a small stake."
▌Craig Wright was sentenced to 12 months in prison, with a two-year probation.
Australian scientist Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was found in contempt of court and sentenced to 12 months in prison, with a two-year probation. He reportedly appeared via video link, refusing to disclose his exact location but stated he would appeal. Previously, Wright initiated a £90 billion 'lawsuit' involving intellectual property. In March of this year, a UK judge ruled that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) first sued Wright in April, attempting to stop him from claiming copyright over the Bitcoin white paper and database. During the trial, two key figures testified, including Adam Back, a pioneer of the Bitcoin proof-of-work consensus system.
▌French regulators authorize BPCE subsidiary to conduct cryptocurrency business.
France's financial market regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has approved BPCE, a French bank, to conduct cryptocurrency business. According to an official notice released by AMF on December 20, BPCE's cryptocurrency subsidiary Hexarq has obtained authorization as a cryptocurrency asset service provider (CASP). With this approval, Hexarq is officially authorized to provide a range of crypto services, including crypto custody, as well as buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies against euros.
▌Central Bank of Russia Governor Nabiullina: We do not plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Central Bank of Russia Governor Nabiullina: We do not plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Policy
▌French Hill: A comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure bill will be introduced within the first 100 days of the legislative session.
French Hill, the new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, stated that the U.S. urgently needs a cryptocurrency market structure bill, which is a "top priority" for the Republican Party, and plans to introduce a comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure bill within the first 100 days of the upcoming legislative session. Approval of the market structure bill will eliminate the regulatory uncertainty that has overshadowed the U.S. crypto industry for years, and supportive legislation for crypto could pave the way for the U.S. to promote digital asset innovation and prevent crypto companies from offshoring. French Hill also criticized the current regulatory approach under SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. He stated, "Under Chairman Gensler's leadership, we haven't established traffic rules. We only have enforcement regulation. This does not help the U.S. succeed or assist technological progress, Web3 innovation, or the application of blockchain in listed companies and financial services."
▌The Ohio House of Representatives has submitted a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
The Ohio House of Representatives has submitted a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state.
▌The U.S. SEC approves Hashdex's application for listing the Nasdaq and Franklin cryptocurrency index ETFs.
According to documents released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it has approved Hashdex's application for listing the Nasdaq and Franklin cryptocurrency index ETFs. These two ETFs will hold both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot assets and will determine their allocation ratios based on market capitalization and free float, listing on the Nasdaq and Cboe BZX exchanges.
▌Bank of America survey: Influenced by factors such as Trump's second term, investor sentiment in December is super optimistic.
A December global fund manager survey by Bank of America found that investor sentiment in December is "super optimistic." The report stated that investors' allocation to cash is at a historical low, while allocation to U.S. stocks is at a historical high. The report noted that the optimism regarding economic growth related to Trump's second term and Federal Reserve rate cuts has pushed global risk appetite to a three-year high.
▌CITIC Securities: It is expected that the Federal Reserve will not be able to introduce a digital dollar during Trump's term.
CITIC Securities stated that looking ahead, Trump may establish a cryptocurrency advisory committee and consider Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. Even if the U.S. Congress advances a Bitcoin reserve plan, we expect its pace to be slow and fraught with challenges, limiting its impact on the global dollar reserve currency system. However, cryptocurrency payments are expected to be promoted, especially as stablecoins may see wider use in cross-border payments. Given the Republican Party's control of both houses and Trump's expressed opposition to the digital dollar in this election, it is anticipated that the Fed will not be able to introduce a digital dollar during Trump's term, focusing primarily on traditional economic indicators, with limited influence from cryptocurrencies on its monetary policy. During Trump 2.0, cryptocurrencies may amplify the volatility of the U.S. stock market to some extent and trigger a redistribution of liquidity among different assets. Cryptocurrencies are expected to take on a more important role in overseas asset allocation, and crypto-related stocks in the U.S. are likely to benefit from policy dividends.
▌Ukraine plans to legalize cryptocurrency in early 2025.
According to the Ukrainian Truth, it is expected that cryptocurrency will be legalized in Ukraine by the first quarter of 2025, but tax exemptions are unlikely to be provided. Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of the Parliament's Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy, stated: "Regarding cryptocurrencies, the parliamentary working group is completing a first reading of a legal draft. I believe the text, developed in collaboration with the National Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will be ready after the New Year. Our goal is to legalize cryptocurrencies through this law by the first quarter of 2025." Hetmantsev stated that cryptocurrencies will not be tax-exempt, and the tax form will resemble that of securities, taxing profits when assets are converted into currency. "After consultations with European experts and the IMF, we have taken a very cautious stance on tax exemptions for cryptocurrency use, as this may exacerbate tax evasion in traditional markets," he said.
Blockchain applications
▌Digital banking and blockchain platform Metallicus acquires Bonifii, connecting over 70 credit unions to the Metal blockchain.
Digital banking and blockchain platform Metallicus announces the acquisition of fintech service company Bonifii, a credit union service operator (CUSO) connected to over 70 credit unions. This acquisition brings the total number of Metallicus's credit union partners to over 80, with more than 16 already utilizing Metal blockchain technology. Before the acquisition, Bonifii had raised approximately $20 million in several rounds of early-stage and seed funding. Details regarding Metallicus's financial condition appear to be undisclosed, with CoinMarketCap reporting that the market capitalization of the Metal blockchain is $13.65 million.
▌Tether CEO: Tether's AI platform website is expected to launch by the end of the first quarter next year.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated on platform X that Tether's AI platform website is expected to launch by the end of the first quarter next year.
▌Binance Wallet launches Binance Alpha to enhance pre-listing transparency and focus on potential projects.
On December 17, Binance announced the launch of Binance Alpha, a new platform within the Binance Wallet (formerly Binance Web3 Wallet), aimed at focusing on promising early-stage blockchain projects and helping users explore Alpha opportunities. Binance Alpha serves as a platform showcasing tokens that may be considered for listing on the Binance exchange in the future, acting as a "pre-listing token selection pool" dedicated to increasing transparency and fairness in the Binance exchange’s token listing process. Relevant information about upcoming listings will be published in advance on the Binance Wallet and Binance’s official social platforms. Users can view countdowns and on-chain details in the "Market" tab of the Binance Wallet and purchase tokens through the "Quick Buy" feature. The "Quick Buy" feature allows users to bypass the existing Swap function in the Binance Wallet for a faster and smoother transaction process, providing a higher success rate for trading and increasing the compensated price. Winson Liu, global head of Binance Wallet, stated, "By publicly showcasing selected early-stage projects, Binance Alpha fosters community trust and provides users with insights into tokens with future growth potential, helping them understand how these tokens can grow within the Binance ecosystem."
▌Deutsche Bank launches Layer 2 network based on ZKsync technology.
German financial giant Deutsche Bank is developing an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain network based on ZKsync technology. This project aims to address compliance challenges in regulated finance by improving transaction efficiency and enhancing regulatory compliance. This development is part of the Project Guardian initiative promoted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Deutsche Bank's L2 network is named Project Dama 2. The project brings together 24 financial institutions to explore the tokenization of blockchain assets.
▌MetaMask expands its cryptocurrency payment card pilot program, allowing U.S. users to pay directly through their wallets.
MetaMask has expanded its cryptocurrency payment card pilot program in the U.S., allowing users to pay directly from their wallets.
Cryptocurrency
▌Coinbase releases its 2025 cryptocurrency market outlook, focusing on five areas including stablecoins, RWA tokenization, and DeFi.
Coinbase recently released its cryptocurrency market outlook, highlighting five areas to watch in 2025: 1. Stablecoins are just getting started 2. RWA tokenization is expected to see significant growth 3. Cryptocurrency ETFs have fundamentally changed the supply-demand dynamics of cryptocurrencies 4. The DeFi revival will propel it into a new era 5. Regulation will eventually shift from headwinds to tailwinds.
▌Since the deployment of EIP-1559, over 4.5 million ETH have been burned, worth over $15.3 billion.
Data shows (as of this weekend) that since the London hard fork activation on August 5, 2021, the Ethereum network has burned over 4.5 million ETH, worth over $15.3 billion at current prices. The EIP-1559 included in this upgrade initiated the mechanism to burn part of transaction fees, effectively reducing the circulating supply of ETH. Although approximately 4.5 million ETH has been burned to date, ultrasound.money data indicates that Ethereum has not become deflationary as some industry insiders predicted. Currently, the network's inflation rate has slightly increased to 0.820%, with an additional 3,245,017.99 ETH entering circulation since the London fork.
▌Last week, NFT collectibles trading volume reached $304 million, with Ethereum NFTs growing 76% month-over-month.
According to CryptoSlam, Ethereum NFTs have grown by 76% month-over-month, with sales reaching $201 million. This accounts for 66% of all NFT sales in the past seven days. Sales of Bitcoin-based NFTs totaled $40 million, while Solana-based collectibles reached $29 million. The weekly trading volume of Mythos Chain, Immutable, Polygon, and BNB Chain totaled $25.9 million. This weekly trading volume also surpassed September’s NFT sales record of $296 million, during which the monthly trading volume of digital collectibles was at its lowest level since 2021.
▌Goldrepublic architect: BRICS countries are interested in gold-backed digital currencies.
Goldrepublic content architect Alexej Jordanov stated that BRICS countries are showing strong interest in developing gold-backed digital currencies, which is part of efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar in international trade. The article was published on Friday by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).
▌Tokens recently purchased by Trump's family cryptocurrency project WLFI are all in a loss, totaling a loss of $6.15 million.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, the tokens recently purchased by Trump's family cryptocurrency project WLFI are all in a loss, totaling a loss of $6.15 million, with the largest loss coming from ETH, amounting to approximately $4.86 million.
Important economic dynamics
▌Central Economic Work Conference: Implement a moderately loose monetary policy, timely reserve requirement ratio cuts, and interest rate reductions.
The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 11 to 12. The conference pointed out the need to implement a moderately loose monetary policy, timely reserve requirement ratio cuts, and interest rate reductions to maintain ample liquidity, aligning the growth of social financing and money supply with economic growth and price level expectations. It aims to explore and expand the macro-prudential and financial stability functions of the central bank. A policy mix will be enacted, strengthening the coordination of fiscal, monetary, employment, industrial, regional, trade, environmental, and regulatory policies and reform measures, perfecting the inter-departmental mechanism for effective communication, consultation, and feedback, and unifying economic and non-economic policies into a consistent assessment of macro policy orientation to improve overall policy effectiveness.
▌The probability that the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates unchanged in January next year is 91.4%.
According to CME's "Fed Watch," the probability that the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates unchanged in January next year is 91.4%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 8.6%. By March next year, the probability of maintaining the current interest rates unchanged is 53%, with the cumulative probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at 43.4% and a cumulative probability of a 50 basis point cut at 3.6%.
▌Federal Reserve's Goolsbee: The inflation rate is still expected to reach 2%.
Federal Reserve's Goolsbee stated that the inflation rate is still expected to reach 2%. Today's data shows that recent inflation increases are merely a "bump." He also mentioned that his prediction is that the interest rate path for 2025 will be slightly lower. In the next 12 to 18 months, interest rates may decline significantly.
▌Powell: The Federal Reserve has no intention of holding Bitcoin.
Currently, there is ongoing debate regarding whether the incoming Trump administration will establish a Bitcoin reserve. Federal Reserve Chair Powell stated that the Fed has no intention of holding Bitcoin. Powell said at the FOMC press conference, "We are not allowed to hold Bitcoin." Regarding the legal issues of holding Bitcoin, Powell stated, "This is something for Congress to consider, but we have no intention of seeking to change the law."
▌Opinion: The Fed's future rate cuts may depend on Trump administration policies.
IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong wrote in a report that the trajectory of the Fed's future rate cuts may depend on Trump's policies, which remain unclear at this stage. Yeap noted that Trump's initial comments on tariffs sounded very aggressive, but the extent to which these measures will be implemented is uncertain. As policies become clearer, the Fed may initially lean towards a shallower rate-cutting cycle. He added that following the conclusion of the Fed meeting, the Bank of Japan is expected to maintain interest rates unchanged, and U.S. stocks may gradually rise in the final weeks of 2024. However, Yeap stated that due to a lack of further catalysts, new record highs may not be reached by year-end.
