Author | Wu Blockchain
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Top 10 News of the Week
1. Donald Trump Elected 47th President of the United States link
Donald Trump was effectively elected the 47th President of the United States on Wednesday. With a victory in Wisconsin, Trump secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
CCTV-2 (CCTV Finance Channel) reported in the Economic Information Broadcast that "the price of Bit has soared to a new historical high, reaching $75,000 at one point, with an increase of more than 8%". The report also stated that Trump had previously promised to make the United States the world capital of Bit and cryptocurrencies, and to establish a strategic Bit reserve. Rune Christensen, the founder of Sky (formerly MakerDAO), posted on social media that Trump's victory would drive a true and sustained revival of DeFi, with the possibility of a tenfold increase in user numbers, as DeFi benefits the most from the reduced uncertainty of US regulation compared to other aspects of the crypto space.
2. Trump Team Considers Robinhood Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Dan Gallagher as SEC Chair Candidate link
On Friday, Reuters reported that the Trump transition team is considering nominating Robinhood's Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher as Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gallagher, a former Republican SEC Commissioner (2011–2015), is known for supporting financial innovation and market liberalization, particularly with a lenient approach to cryptocurrency regulation. He advocates for treating cryptocurrencies as a distinct asset class rather than strictly classifying them as securities. In addition to Gallagher, the Trump transition team is also considering former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and Robert Stebbins, who previously served as the SEC's General Counsel. Crypto-friendly Hester Peirce is another strong candidate, but she has indicated that she does not wish to take on the role. The team is expected to submit the candidate list to the President-elect in the coming weeks.
3. Federal Reserve Announces Interest Rate Decision (Ceiling) of 4.75%, a 25bps Decrease link
The Federal Reserve announced an interest rate decision (ceiling) of 4.75%, in line with expectations of 4.75%, down from the previous 5.0%. According to the Fed's statement, the overall labor market conditions have eased somewhat since the beginning of the year, with the unemployment rate rising slightly but still at a relatively low level. Progress has been made towards the Committee's 2% inflation target, but it remains slightly above the target. The pace of balance sheet reduction will remain unchanged. The Committee members unanimously agreed on this interest rate decision. In the press conference, Powell stated that high inflation has eased significantly, the labor market remains robust, and the overall economy is performing strongly, expressing confidence that inflation will continue to decline to 2%. Powell also said that "the election in the near term will not affect our policy decisions. We do not guess, speculate, or assume" what policies will be implemented. Regarding the removal of the language about being "more confident" about inflation in the Fed statement, Powell said the change was not intended to provide forward guidance. The current rate cut is aimed at reaching a neutral rate, and once that is achieved, the pace may be appropriately slowed. When asked if he would resign if requested by the President, Powell said he would not resign.
4. Bit Spot ETF Total Net Inflows Reached a Single-Day High of $1.376 Billion on November 7 link
On Thursday, the total net inflows of Bit spot ETFs reached $1.376 billion, a new single-day high. On Thursday, the Grayscale (GBTC) ETF had a net inflow of $73.09 million, and the Grayscale Bit Mini Trust ETF (BTC) had a net inflow of $203.787 million. The single-day net inflow leader was BlackRock's ETF (IBIT) with $1.12 billion, reaching a new single-day net inflow high. The second-highest was Fidelity's ETF (FBTC) with $191 million in net inflows.
5. Detroit to Become the Largest US City to Accept Crypto for Tax and Fee Payments link
Detroit city officials announced on Thursday that the city will become the largest US city to accept cryptocurrency payments. Residents will be able to use crypto to pay taxes and other city fees through a secure platform managed by PayPal. Finance Director Nikhil Patel stated that this option will be launched in mid-2025, and the city will also make further improvements to its payment services. This is part of a larger strategy in Detroit to explore innovative technologies that can enhance public services, strengthen civic engagement, and promote economic growth. Currently, three US states (Colorado, Utah, and Louisiana) accept crypto as a payment method for state government fees.
6. AC Refers to Coinbase Demanding Exorbitant Listing Fees link
Moonrock Capital CEO Simon stated that he recently learned about a top project that had raised nearly nine figures in funding. After wasting over a year on due diligence with Binance, they finally received a listing invitation, with Binance demanding 15% of the total token supply. Coinbase CEO Brian stated that Coinbase's listings are free. However, Andre Cronje refuted this, saying that Binance did not charge them any fees, but Coinbase requested $300 million, $50 million, $30 million, and most recently $60 million (suspected to be for the Fantom FTM token). He Yi said that if a project does not pass the screening process, no matter how much money or what percentage of tokens, it cannot be listed on Binance. It does not mean that all projects willing to airdrop to Binance Web3 wallet can be listed. If a project has 20% of its tokens to cooperate with Binance for an airdrop, they are welcome to collaborate with Binance's Web3 wallet.
7. Kraken, Paxos, Robinhood, and Others Announce the Launch of the Global Dollar Network link
Anchorage Digital, Bullish, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Nuvei, Paxos, and Robinhood have announced the launch of the Global Dollar Network. The network aims to accelerate the adoption of global stablecoins through an open platform, foster innovation, and reward qualified enterprise participants. The new stablecoin USDG is issued by Paxos in Singapore and runs on the Ethereum blockchain. USDG was approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in July this year and fully complies with the stablecoin regulatory framework established by MAS in August 2023.
8. Circle Co-Founder: Intends to Hire More Employees and Establish a Presence in Hong Kong link
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that Hong Kong is an important market for USDC, and the company intends to hire more employees and establish a presence in Hong Kong. They are currently waiting for the new Hong Kong stablecoin regulations to be released and will consider applying for a license after understanding the requirements. Additionally, Circle's Asia-Pacific Vice President Chen Qinqi said that Hong Kong has significant advantages in developing stablecoins, including the ability to settle US dollars on the same day, and is the largest capital market in the Asia-Pacific region. He believes there will be substantial market demand for a Hong Kong-based stablecoin.
9. Tether CEO: No plans to build an official blockchain link
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino tweeted that he has heard rumors about Tether Chain again, but Tether currently has no plans to build an official blockchain. There are just some independent L2 solutions working to support the use of USDt as gas fees. One of the main reasons Tether won't launch its own blockchain for now is that neutrality is very important. "Unstoppable TogETHER" is our motto, and we prefer to collaborate with other companies and communities rather than try to centralize everything.
10. Ethereum Foundation 2024 Report: 99.45% of crypto holdings are ETH, asset reserves around $970.2 million link
The Ethereum Foundation has released its 2024 report. The report shows that as of October 31, 2024, EF's (Ethereum Foundation) asset reserves were around $970.2 million, with $788.7 million in crypto assets and $181.5 million in non-crypto investments and assets. The majority of the crypto holdings (99.45%) are held in the form of ETH. These ETH represent 0.26% of the total ETH supply as of October 31, 2024. The goal of EF's asset reserves is to provide funding for important public goods in the Ethereum ecosystem for the coming years. To achieve this, a conservative fiscal management policy must be followed to ensure adequate resources even in the event of a multi-year market downturn. This requires regular ETH sales to ensure sufficient reserves for the coming years, and planned increases in fiat reserves during bull markets to fund expenditures during bear markets.
Key Funding Events
- Pond raised $7.5 million to build a decentralized AI model ecosystem link
- L1 blockchain Cytonic announced $8.3 million seed round funding link
- Blockchain startup VLayer completed $10 million pre-seed funding round link
- Solana staking project Fragmetric announced Builders round funding link
- Blockchain game developer Delabs Games completed strategic funding, with TON Ventures as an investor link
- Blockchain content verification platform OpenOrigins announced $4.5 million seed round funding link
For more industry funding events, please check crypto-fundraising.info.
