1. President-elect Trump's transition team is looking for pro-cryptocurrency candidates to serve as the next CFTC chairman. Several cryptocurrency-friendly individuals, including executives from Kraken and a16z, are competing for the position.

2. The Federal Reserve may not place too much emphasis on inflation caused by Trump's tariff policy. Wells Fargo economists believe the Fed will be more patient in responding to tariff-induced inflation and expect three more rate cuts this year, each by 25 basis points.

Trump's administration's radical tariff policies could lead to further inflation, but economic models indicate this will be a one-time increase in price levels rather than a long-term inflation spiral. Wells Fargo economist Jay Bryson said this could persuade the Fed to be more patient in dealing with tariff-induced inflation, especially in light of the ongoing slowdown in the labor market. His view supports Wells Fargo's baseline expectation that the Fed will cut rates three more times this year, each by 25 basis points. However, Bryson warned that if the trade war becomes more protracted, such as through a series of retaliatory measures, the Fed may have to take the inflation consequences more seriously. - Original

3. CFTC Chairman Benham called for investor protection before leaving office, noting that cryptocurrencies could play a more significant role in regulation in the future.

Although CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam never successfully achieved this goal, the derivatives regulatory agency is likely to play a more significant role in regulating cryptocurrency trading in the future. After his departure, he will 'continue to advocate' for this. Behnam is set to resign on January 20, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump's future appointee. He stated that cryptocurrencies 'dominated every quarter of my term', which was his last public speech as chairman at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday. 'In the absence of federal legislation, concerns over customer protection, fraud, and market abuse are increasing, as well as broader market resilience and even financial stability,' Behnam said. 'We have seen this historically, and we have placed large parts of the financial sector outside of regulation and accountability, and we have seen time and again that the ultimate outcome is bad.' He directly addressed 'innovators', urging protection for those 'eager to incorporate digital asset products into their portfolios'. 'Market regulators play a crucial role in ensuring that financial innovation is integrated into a regulatory and compliance culture, protecting consumers and providing legal certainty,' he said, arguing that he has never favored an enforcement-driven approach. In contrast, the industry has long criticized Behnam for being less enforcement-driven compared to his counterpart at the SEC, Gary Gensler. On Wednesday, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Gensler - who will also resign on January 20 - reiterated his view that enforcement is a good way to deal with the crypto business, following in the footsteps of his Republican predecessor Jay Clayton. 'This is a field built around non-compliance, and I am proud of everything we have done, and we are building on the foundation laid before Chairman Clayton and others,' Gensler said. 'I think there is still a lot of work to be done.' Behnam has long disagreed with Gensler on cryptocurrency issues, including the view that existing laws are sufficient to regulate the industry. Trump has identified Gensler's successor at the SEC, nominating former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins. Although the CFTC may have greater cryptocurrency trading authority than the SEC in the future, the new president has yet to appoint Behnam's successor. - Original

4. Billionaire Mark Cuban stated that if the economy falters, he would prefer to hold Bitcoin over gold, believing Bitcoin is more valuable.

5. Fidelity, which manages $5.4 trillion in assets, stated that nation-states and governments will become important investors that may add Bitcoin to their portfolios.

6. Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum should prioritize scalability, supporting the increase of blob target values and EVM improvements.

Vitalik posted, 'We indeed need to better define priority reasons in Ethereum core development. Like, if I had to choose between (i) increasing blob targets from 3 to 6 and (ii) everything else in Pectra, I would choose (i). What are the equivalents of Fusaka and G*? (A large part of the answer is: blobs and blobs, although I think L1 EVM improvements are also important, my favorite is EOF -> full AA with 7701 and SIMD+EVMMAX plus moderate gas limit increase) We are doing peerdas. Maybe exploring a more ambitious version of peerdas.' - Original

7. The Salvadoran government address transferred 11 BTC, worth approximately $1.0472 million.

AICoin monitoring showed that the Salvadoran government address transferred a total of 11 BTC just 2 minutes ago, worth approximately $1.0472 million. Data is for reference only. - Original

8. MicroStrategy announced a partnership with STACKIT to launch the MicroStrategy Sovereign European Cloud, providing AI-driven business intelligence solutions for highly regulated industries in Europe.

MicroStrategy announced a partnership with STACKIT, a cloud service provider under the Schwarz Group, to launch the MicroStrategy Sovereign European Cloud. This platform offers AI-driven business intelligence (BI) solutions compliant with GDPR and local data sovereignty requirements, helping companies achieve data-driven decision-making. - Original

9. Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori and current CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger are considered top candidates for the CFTC chair position.

10. Movement Labs is nearing the completion of a $100 million Series B funding round, led by CoinFund and Nova Fund.

According to people familiar with the matter, Movement Labs is nearing the completion of a $100 million Series B funding round. This round is reportedly co-led by CoinFund and Nova Fund, part of Brevan Howard's digital asset division. - Original

11. HyperLiquid responded to criticism about insufficient decentralization, stating there will be a 'foundation delegation plan' to support high-performance validators and enhance decentralization.

HyperLiquid is a Layer 1 blockchain known for its derivatives exchange, responding to criticisms of its apparent lack of decentralization and validator issues. These concerns were initially raised by ChorusOne employee Kam Benbrik, who operates multiple nodes across different blockchains. Many issues stem from HyperLiquid's use of 'closed source code', which Benbrik claims 'imprisons' node operators. HyperLiquid also controls 81% of staked HYPE, which could lead to a series of negative outcomes. 'If one entity controls 1/3 of the stake, they can stop the chain. If they control 2/3 of the stake, they have complete control over the network,' Benbrik wrote. HyperLiquid responded on X, addressing concerns about decentralization, stating that there will be a 'foundation delegation plan' to support high-performance validators, thereby enhancing decentralization. Regarding the closed-source code topic, HyperLiquid added: 'The node code is currently closed-source. Open-source is important. Once development is stable, the project will be open-sourced. HyperLiquid's delivery speed is several orders of magnitude faster than most projects. The scope is also several orders of magnitude larger than most projects. The code will be open-sourced when it is secure.' The discussion led to the first negative sentiment towards HyperLiquid, starkly contrasting with the weeks following the launch of its native token HYPE. Driven by a surge in trading volume, the price of HYPE rose from $3.57 to $33.5. According to data, HYPE has since fallen to $21.49, down 15.37% in just the past 24 hours. - Original

12. US employment data exceeded expectations, Bitcoin retraced to a support level of $95,000. QCP Capital believes Trump's inauguration will boost optimism, and the current pullback may be a buildup for a bullish rebound.

QCP Capital's latest analysis points out that, influenced by better-than-expected US employment data, Bitcoin has retraced to the support level of $95,000. JOLTS job vacancies surged to 8.1 million, exceeding the expected 7.74 million. The unexpected strength in the labor market has triggered risk aversion, leading to a sell-off in risk assets as long-term bond yields rise. Bitcoin ETF inflows plummeted from $987 million to $52.9 million, a decrease of 94%. Among them, BlackRock's IBIT recorded a significant inflow of $596 million, while ARK and 21Shares' ARKB saw an outflow of $213 million. QCP Capital believes that this week's FOMC meeting and non-farm payroll data will further influence Bitcoin's trajectory. The market expects Trump's inauguration to boost optimism, and the current pullback may be a buildup for a bullish rebound. - Original

13. Canadian listed company Sol Strategies has acquired on-chain validator service provider Orangefin Ventures, increasing the number of staked SOL tokens to 1,505,145.

According to official news, Canadian-listed Solana blockchain and ecosystem infrastructure company Sol Strategies announced the acquisition of on-chain validator service provider Orangefin Ventures, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. After the completion of this acquisition, the number of SOL tokens staked by Sol Strategies in its validator business has increased to 1,505,145, valued at over CAD 400 million. - Original

14. Bitfinex Derivatives has moved its operations from Seychelles to El Salvador, where it obtained a DASP license in 2023.

Bitfinex Derivatives has moved its business from Seychelles to El Salvador. Previously, the company obtained a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license in El Salvador in 2023. - Original

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