U.S. SEC commissioner: The SEC's stance on the crypto industry will undergo a significant shift next year, with reduced enforcement actions.
According to Blockworks, starting next year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will temporarily reduce the size of its commissioner team, awaiting Senate approval of President Donald Trump's nomination. During this time, only Republican commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda will continue to serve after taking office. Peirce revealed that with the departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the agency's stance on the crypto industry will undergo a significant change. At the recent Blockchain Association policy summit held earlier this month, Peirce stated: 'We have strong tools and have always leaned towards enforcement. I believe that when you see changes in the new commissioner members and changes in composition, the types of cases may also change accordingly.' Uyeda noted that due to the uniqueness of federal agencies, most policy discussions occur in closed-door meetings, explaining: '(The Administrative Procedure Act) allows the public to comment on regulations, thereby ensuring transparency.' However, when SEC staff releases guidance that does not align with SEC rules (such as the SAB 121 case), the public has no opportunity to comment. In the SAB 121 case, both houses of Congress attempted to overturn the requirement for digital asset custody institutions to report liabilities and 'corresponding assets,' but President Biden ultimately vetoed this resolution. Uyeda hopes the SEC will increase opportunities for public comments. Peirce emphasized that the SEC has come a long way on this path, and changing it is not easy. She directly told the crypto industry: 'It requires a lot of hard work from both us and you to get back on track, but I believe we can do it.'
Russian Finance Minister: Russia is using Bitcoin in foreign trade
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated today that Russian companies have started using Bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments. This year, Russia has permitted the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to legalize the mining of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Furthermore, Siluanov mentioned that after legislative adjustments allowed the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies in response to Western sanctions, Russian businesses have begun using these currencies for international payments. This year, Russia has allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken measures to legalize cryptocurrency mining, including Bitcoin. Russia is one of the leading countries in Bitcoin mining globally. Siluanov stated: 'Such transactions are already taking place. We believe that such transactions should be further expanded and developed. I believe this will happen next year.' He also added that the use of digital currencies for international payments represents a trend for the future.
Turkey's new anti-money laundering regulations require KYC for crypto transactions exceeding $425.
According to Cointelegraph, Turkey has today released new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations for cryptocurrencies, which will officially take effect on February 25, 2025. According to the Turkish official gazette, users making transactions over 15,000 Turkish lira (approximately $425) must provide identification information to crypto service providers to prevent illegal money laundering and terrorist financing. The regulations require crypto service providers to collect identity information from customers using unregistered wallet addresses; if sufficient information cannot be obtained, transactions may be deemed 'high risk' and could be halted. Additionally, transactions below $425 do not require user information to be collected.
Israel will launch six Bitcoin mutual funds on December 31
According to Calcalist, the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) has approved six mutual funds tracking Bitcoin prices, which will be launched simultaneously on December 31, 2024, by institutions including Migdal Capital Markets, More, Ayalon, Phoenix Investment, Meitav, and IBI. The management fees for the funds range from 0.25% to 1.5%, with one fund being actively managed aiming to outperform Bitcoin's performance. Initially, these funds will trade only once a day, but continuous trading may be possible in the future.
Pump Science: Tokenomics design has been completed, and a BIO airdrop event will be conducted.
Pump Science announced on the X platform that the tokenomics design has been completed, and a BIO airdrop event will take place. Regarding the tokenomics design: 5% of the future issued token supply will be allocated to holders of previous tokens (during migration), and those currently holding more PS tokens (RIF, URO) will receive new tokens in the future; this mechanism will continue as long as there are new issuances (forever). Regarding the BIO airdrop event, BIO Protocol will airdrop BIO to holders of URO and RIF, awaiting governance approval to connect BIO to Solana, with more airdrops being considered.
Runes' share of transactions on the Bitcoin network has dropped to a new low, accounting for only 1.67% of daily trading volume.
According to The Block, Runes' share of transactions on the Bitcoin network has fallen to a new low, accounting for only 1.67% of daily trading volume, contrasting sharply with the dominance it held from April to November, when Runes typically accounted for over 50% of daily Bitcoin trading volume. Meanwhile, Runes' daily transaction fees have remained below $250,000, indicating a substantial decrease in network activity. This change aligns with broader market dynamics and shifts in investor interest. As Bitcoin prices fluctuate, attention has begun to shift away from high-risk experimental protocols like Runes and Ordinals, towards other areas of the crypto market such as AI agents, meme coins, and Ethereum NFTs, potentially leading to a decreased interest in Bitcoin-based token protocols. Data indicates that the Runes ecosystem may be experiencing a cooling period. Its network share has sharply declined from over 50% to below 10%, marking a significant change in Bitcoin network usage patterns. This trend may reflect a shift in speculative interest in the market, with investors turning their attention to other areas of the cryptocurrency landscape.
Several crypto trading firms report that OTC trading volume has surged in recent months.
According to The Block, several crypto trading firms have recently reported that OTC trading volume has surged in recent months, with election results becoming a significant driving force. Tim Ogilvie, head of institutional business at Kraken, stated: 'OTC trading is currently exceptionally active, with volumes surging alongside price increases.' He revealed that Kraken's OTC trading volume has increased by 220% year-on-year, with similar growth reported by other trading firms. Jake Ostrovskis, an OTC trader at market maker Wintermute, pointed out that the market was relatively calm mid-year, but as the election approached and prices rose, market participants began actively preparing for the election results. He stated that Wintermute's negotiations with some clients have been ongoing for years, and the election results became the catalyst for initiating trades. Similarly, trader Embert Lin from market maker GSR noted that trading volumes have significantly increased since the election. With the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins rising, the enthusiasm for managing funds and risks at these price levels among projects and investors has notably increased, and they are also looking for new opportunities to engage with crypto assets beyond BTC and ETH. An OTC trader from a trading firm privately revealed that recent trading volumes have easily reached levels seen during the peak of the cryptocurrency market's enthusiasm in 2021. Additionally, Brett Reeves, head of the Go Network at crypto custody firm BitGo, pointed out that election results have been the primary driver of the recent surge in trading volumes, with two-thirds of the trading volume occurring within three months of the election results being announced.
Bitcoin accumulation addresses saw a net increase of 225,280 BTC in December despite facing significant selling pressure.
According to Cryptoslate, based on data from CryptoQuant, the demand for Bitcoin accumulation addresses significantly increased during December, with these investors net adding 225,280 BTC as of December 23, marking an 82.6% monthly increase. At the same time, the total sell-side liquidity (the amount of Bitcoin available for sale) in exchanges and ETFs decreased by about 590,000 BTC. Notably, this alleviation of selling pressure is closely related to a sharp decline of 520,000 BTC in the amount of Bitcoin prepared for sale between December 22 and 23. The report also noted that the supply of Bitcoin in OTC desks handling large transactions has decreased from 421,000 to 403,000 BTC, indicating that investor demand is effectively absorbing sell pressure. Furthermore, the liquidity inventory ratio decreased from 12 months in December to 5.5 months, further proving that the current supply meets the pace of investor demand. CryptoQuant data also revealed that as of December 23, whale addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC sold nearly 8,600 BTC this month. However, this supply pressure was absorbed by new investors, and the number of short-term holders increased by 3% in the past week. Over the past year, short-term holders have accumulated 641,789 BTC, bringing the total holdings to 3.81 million BTC, only 70,000 BTC lower than the historical high of December 15. Despite Bitcoin retreating 14.2% from its all-time high of $108,000 on December 17, it still aligns with analysts' predictions that it will continue to rise after regaining calm. However, CryptoQuant community analyst Onatt reminds investors to remain cautious, as the supply of USDT on exchanges is decreasing while the supply of Bitcoin is slightly increasing. This trend may not indicate a long-term bearish phase but does highlight the potential for further downside risk in the coming days.
Hashgraph Group has obtained a fund management license in Abu Dhabi and will initiate a $100 million Web3 fund.
According to Bitcoin.com, the Switzerland-based Hashgraph Group has obtained a fund management license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The license obtained by Hashgraph Ventures Manager under Hashgraph Group allows it to launch a $100 million Web3 venture capital fund from ADGM. Hashgraph Group will contribute $20 million, representing 20% of the fund, as seed capital. The fund will focus on investing in startups and established companies within the Hedera ecosystem. Stefan Deiss, co-founder and CEO of Hashgraph Group, stated that the fund has received broad support and attention from co-investors, including government agencies, sovereign wealth funds, venture capital funds, family offices, and other qualified investors; the group will prioritize investments in companies utilizing the Hedera network and promote collaboration among Web3 companies. The fund will strategically invest in companies in the Web3 and deep tech sectors (developing solutions in AI, blockchain, robotics, and quantum computing). Eligible projects will have the opportunity to participate in the Hashgraph association's startup studio program.
Sonic Labs has launched Sonic Gateway, supporting multi-asset cross-chain bridging.
Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) announced that its cross-chain bridging tool, Sonic Gateway, is officially launched, supporting secure bridging of USDC, EURC, WETH, and FTM from Ethereum to the Sonic chain. The tool has been audited by top security firms such as OpenZeppelin, Quantstamp, and Certora, and has launched a $2 million bug bounty program in collaboration with the global developer community through the ImmuneFi platform to further enhance security. Users holding FTM can also upgrade to the Sonic chain via the Gateway.
The Floki ETP may be listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange in Q1 next year, with the DAO community proposing to provide liquidity
According to CoinDesk, Floki plans to launch an exchange-traded product (ETP) based on the FLOKI token on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) in Q1 2025. The development team proposed allocating part of the tokens (worth $2.8 million) from the treasury wallet to provide early liquidity for the ETP, with voting ending on December 27 at 19:00 Beijing time. If the proposal passes, FLOKI will become the second meme token to launch institutional-grade products in Europe, following Dogecoin (DOGE).
Balaji envisions the AI Internet of Things, while Vitalik reminds that ownership of private keys requires effort to secure.
Former Coinbase CTO Balaji tweeted that smart cars, smart watches, and smart homes will be widely adopted in the future, where each object can not only communicate with people but also with each other, recording conversations and coordinating tasks for their private key holders. He referred to this trend as the 'AI Internet of Things.' In response, Vitalik Buterin emphasized that ensuring device ownership belongs to private key holders is not a default outcome and requires human effort to achieve.
In November, the monthly trading volume of BTC and SOL both reached all-time highs, while ETH's monthly trading volume decreased by about 50% compared to its peak in 2021
Token Terminal data shows that the monthly trading volumes of BTC and SOL both hit all-time highs, while ETH is still down about 50% compared to its peak in 2021. In November 2024, the trading volumes for BTC, ETH, and SOL were $2.2 trillion, $1.1 trillion, and $243 billion respectively.
An Ethereum ICO whale deposited 4,160 ETH to Kraken three hours ago, approximately $14.5 million.
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, three hours ago, an Ethereum ICO whale deposited 4,160 ETH (approximately $14.5 million) to Kraken. Notably, this whale acquired 20,000 ETH in the genesis block in July 2015 (then worth $62,000), staked it for rewards, and frequently sold during peak periods. This whale still holds approximately 7,043 ETH (about $24.6 million) staked.
A Nexo-associated whale has again deposited 4,946 ETH to Binance, with total deposits reaching 114,000 ETH.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, a whale associated with Nexo has again deposited 4,946 ETH (approximately $17.2 million) to Binance within the past hour. Since December 2, Nexo has cumulatively deposited 114,262 ETH (approximately $423.3 million) to Binance at an average price of $3,705.
Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of 2,258 BTC today, while Ethereum ETF experienced a net inflow of 12,445 ETH.
According to Lookonchain monitoring data, 10 Bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of 2,258 BTC (approximately $222 million) today, with the iShares (Blackrock) Bitcoin ETF seeing an outflow of 1,933 BTC (approximately $191 million), currently holding 551,122 BTC (approximately $54.31 billion). At the same time, 9 Ethereum ETFs saw a net inflow of 12,445 ETH (approximately $43.27 million), with the iShares (Blackrock) Ethereum ETF inflowing 12,721 ETH (approximately $44.23 million), currently holding 1,056,877 ETH (approximately $3.67 billion).
A whale withdrew 18.49 million PENGU from Binance two hours ago, having accumulated 538 million tokens.
According to Onchain Len monitoring, two hours ago, a whale again withdrew 18.49 million $PENGU from Binance, valued at $655,000. Currently, the wallet holds 538.49 million $PENGU, with a total value of $19.06 million, realizing a profit of $4.39 million.
20,000 ETH transferred out from BTCTurk exchange, worth approximately $69.87 million
Whale Alert monitoring shows that at 22:48 Beijing time, the BTCTurk exchange transferred 20,000 ETH to an unknown wallet, with a total value of approximately $69.87 million.
