1. Elon Musk's xAI completes $6 billion Series C funding, with participation from a16z, Blackrock, and others.
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI completed a $6 billion Series C funding round, which was participated in by a16z, Blackrock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Nvidia, AMD, among others.
2. MoonPay is negotiating to acquire the crypto payment platform Helio for $150 million
Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted that crypto payment service provider MoonPay is negotiating to acquire the crypto payment platform Helio for approximately $150 million, which would be MoonPay's largest acquisition to date. Helio is an alternative to Coinbase Commerce, providing a self-service crypto payment platform that enables content creators and e-commerce merchants to receive payments in cryptocurrency. It currently offers white-label solutions, including trading infrastructure for Solana Pay and DEX Screener.
3. U.S. listed company La Rosa Holdings supports Bitcoin as a payment method
U.S. real estate brokerage listed company La Rosa Holdings Corp. (stock code: LRHC) will offer its real estate agents Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment options. La Rosa Holdings will charge a 2% fee to agents who choose to receive payments in cryptocurrency.
4. The Philippines SEC issued comprehensive regulations on the supervision of crypto assets
According to Crowdfund Insider, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued comprehensive regulations on the supervision of crypto assets, covering disclosure, public offerings, trading, and marketing activities. These regulations aim to enhance investor protection and promote transparency in the burgeoning digital asset market. Under the new guidelines, crypto asset issuers must submit disclosure documents to the Philippine SEC at least 30 days before any marketing activities or public sales. The document must detail the provider, issuer, main features, risks, and underlying technology of the crypto asset, as well as explicitly state potential risks, including value loss and limited transferability. Crypto assets classified as securities must obtain an SEC-approved registration declaration before public issuance. Entities issuing or trading crypto assets must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) laws and SEC reporting requirements. The SEC emphasizes that non-compliance may result in fines, suspension, or revocation of licenses.
5. MicroStrategy plans to conduct shareholder voting on increasing the authorized share count of common stock to support its '21/21 Plan'
MicroStrategy submitted a preliminary notice to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting shareholders to vote on a series of proposals, including increasing the authorized share count of Class A common stock from 330 million shares to 10.33 billion shares; increasing the authorized share count of preferred stock from 5 million shares to 1 billion shares; and stipulating that new directors automatically receive equity awards upon being appointed to the board.
Documents show that in October this year, MicroStrategy announced a three-year $42 billion capital plan, known as the '21/21 Plan', to raise $21 billion in equity capital and $21 billion in fixed-income instruments, including debt, convertible notes, and preferred stock. This special meeting aims to support the further implementation of this plan and broader future capital market activities, as well as other corporate purposes. Recently, MicroStrategy added three new board members, including former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks, Galaxy Digital board member Jane Dietze, and Fanatics' Chief Legal Officer Gregg Winiarski.
6. Yesterday, the net redemption amount for Bitcoin spot ETFs in Hong Kong was 333.69 coins, marking three consecutive trading days of net redemptions.
According to iChainfo data, on December 23, the net redemption amount for Bitcoin spot ETFs in Hong Kong was 333.69 coins, marking three consecutive trading days of net redemptions. The net subscription and redemption amounts for Ethereum spot ETFs were both zero.
Currently, the total assets held by Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong are approximately 4,320 coins, with total net assets of about $410 million. The total assets held by Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong are approximately 18,910 coins, with total net assets of about $62.15 million.
7. The Bank of Italy lists Bitcoin P2P services as 'crime as a service'
The Bank of Italy recently released a report outlining the techniques individuals use to cover up illegal sources of funds. Among these, the bank listed Bitcoin P2P services as 'crime as a service'. The report emphasizes that while blockchain technology itself has transparency, it is not immune to illegal activities.
8. Russia will ban cryptocurrency mining in 10 regions starting January 1 next year, for a period of over 6 years
According to TASS, the Russian government has approved a list of 10 regions where cryptocurrency mining will be banned starting January 1, 2025, including Dagestan, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Donetsk. The ban's deadline is March 15, 2031.
