According to Blockworks, starting next year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will temporarily reduce the size of its commissioner team while awaiting Senate approval of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees. During this period, only Republican commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda will continue to serve after taking office. According to Peirce, with the departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the agency's stance on the crypto industry will undergo a significant change. At the Blockchain Association's policy summit earlier this month, Peirce stated: "We have powerful tools and have tended to use enforcement actions. I think when you see changes in the membership and composition of the commission, the types of cases may also change." Uyeda pointed out that due to the unique nature of federal agencies, most policy discussions take place in closed-door meetings, and he explained: "The Administrative Procedure Act allows the public to comment on regulations to ensure transparency." However, when SEC staff guidance is inconsistent with SEC rules (as in the case of SAB 121), the public has no opportunity to comment. In the SAB 121 case, both houses of Congress had tried to overturn the policy requiring digital asset custodians to report liabilities and "corresponding assets," but President Biden ultimately vetoed the resolution. Uyeda hopes the SEC will provide more opportunities for public comment. Peirce emphasized that the SEC has come a long way on this path, and it is not easy to change. She directly told the crypto industry: "It's going to take a lot of hard work for us and for 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 said today that Russian companies have started using Bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments. This year, Russia has allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to legalize the mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. In addition, Siluanov said that after legislative adjustments to allow the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies to counter Western sanctions, Russian companies have started using these currencies in international payments. This year, Russia has allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken steps to legalize the mining of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Russia is one of the leading countries in Bitcoin mining globally. Siluanov said: "Such transactions are already underway. We believe they should be further expanded and developed. I believe this will be the case next year." He also added that the use of digital currencies for international payments represents a future trend.
Turkey's new anti-money laundering regulations require KYC for crypto transactions over $425
According to Cointelegraph, Turkey has issued new cryptocurrency anti-money laundering (AML) regulations that will come into effect on February 25, 2025. According to the official Turkish gazette, users who make single transactions exceeding 15,000 Turkish lira (about $425) will need to provide identity information to crypto service providers, aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The regulations require crypto service providers to collect customer identity information for unregistered wallet addresses, and transactions may be considered "high risk" and potentially stopped if sufficient information cannot be obtained. Transactions below $425 do not require customer information collection.
Israel to launch six Bitcoin mutual funds on December 31
According to Calcalist, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has approved six mutual funds that track the price of Bitcoin, which will be launched simultaneously on December 31, 2024, by institutions such as Migdal Capital Markets, More, Ayalon, Phoenix Investment, Meitav, and IBI. The fund management fees range from 0.25% to 1.5%, with one fund being actively managed with the goal of outperforming Bitcoin's performance. Initially, these funds will only trade once a day, but they may be able to trade continuously in the future.
Pump Science: Token economics design completed, will conduct BIO airdrop
Pump Science announced on the X platform that the token economics design has been completed and a BIO airdrop will be conducted. Regarding the token economics design: 5% of the future token supply will be allocated to previous token holders (at the time of migration), and those who currently hold more PS tokens (RIF, URO) will receive more of the new tokens in the future; this mechanism will continue as long as there are new issuances (forever). Regarding the BIO airdrop, BIO Protocol will airdrop BIO to URO and RIF holders, pending governance approval to connect BIO to Solana, and more airdrops are being considered.
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 transaction volume, in stark contrast to its dominant position from April to November, when Runes typically accounted for more than 50% of Bitcoin's daily transaction volume. At the same time, Runes' daily transaction fees have remained below $250,000, indicating a significant reduction in network activity.
This change is in line with broader market dynamics and shifts in investor interest. As Bitcoin prices fluctuated, attention has started to shift away from experimental Bitcoin-based protocols like Runes and Ordinals to other cryptocurrency areas such as AI agents, MEME coins, and Ethereum NFTs, which may have led to a decline in investor interest in Bitcoin-based token protocols.
The data suggests that the Runes ecosystem may be experiencing a cooling-off period, with its network share plummeting from over 50% to less than 10%, signaling a significant change in the patterns of Bitcoin network usage. This trend may reflect a shift in speculative interest, as investors turn their attention to other cryptocurrency domains.
Multiple crypto trading firms report a surge in crypto OTC trading volume in recent months
According to The Block, multiple crypto trading firms have recently reported that over-the-counter (OTC) trading volume has surged in recent months, with the election results being a significant driving force. Tim Ogilvie, head of institutional business at Kraken exchange, stated: "OTC trading is currently exceptionally active, with trading volume surging along with price increases." He revealed that Kraken's OTC trading volume has grown by 220% year-over-year, and other trading firms have reported similar growth.
Jake Ostrovskis, an OTC trader at market maker Wintermute, noted that the market was relatively calm mid-year, but as the election approached and prices rose, market participants became more proactive in preparing for the election results. He said Wintermute's collaboration with some clients has been ongoing for years, and the election results have provided the impetus to initiate trades. Similarly, Embert Lin, a trader at market maker GSR, said the company's trading volume has increased significantly since the election.
With the rise in prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins, projects and investors have shown increased enthusiasm in managing their funds and risks at these price levels, while also seeking new opportunities to gain exposure to assets beyond BTC and ETH.
A trader at an OTC firm privately revealed that recent trading volumes have easily reached the levels seen at the peak of the 2021 crypto market frenzy. Additionally, Brett Reeves, head of Go Network at crypto custodian BitGo, pointed out that the election results are the primary driver of the recent surge in trading volume, with two-thirds of the volume generated within three months of the election results being announced.
According to Cryptoslate, based on CryptoQuant data, the demand for Altcoin addresses has grown significantly during December, with these investors net accumulating 225,280 BTC as of December 23, a monthly increase of 82.6%. At the same time, the total selling liquidity (i.e., the amount of Bitcoin available for sale) in exchanges and ETFs has decreased by about 590,000 BTC. Notably, this easing of selling pressure is closely related to a sharp 520,000 BTC reduction in the amount of Bitcoin prepared for sale during the period of December 22-23. The report also points out that the supply of over-the-counter (OTC) Bitcoin, which handles large transactions, has decreased from 421,000 to 403,000, indicating that investor demand is effectively absorbing the selling pressure. Furthermore, the liquidity inventory ratio has decreased from 12 months in December to 5.5 months, further demonstrating that the current supply is meeting investor demand at a faster pace. CryptoQuant data also reveals that as of December 23, "whale" addresses holding more than 1,000 BTC have sold nearly 8,600 BTC this month. However, this supply pressure has been absorbed by new investors, with the number of short-term holders increasing by 3% in the past week. Over the past year, short-term holders have accumulated a total of 641,789 BTC, reaching a total holding of 3.81 million BTC, only 70,000 BTC lower than the historical high on December 15.
Hashgraph Group Obtains Fund Management License in Abu Dhabi, Launching $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) in the United Arab Emirates. Hashgraph Ventures Manager, a subsidiary of Hashgraph Group, has been granted the license to launch a $100 million Web3 venture capital fund from ADGM. Hashgraph Group will contribute $20 million, or 20% of the fund, as seed capital. The fund will focus on investing in startups and established companies within the Hedera ecosystem. Hashgraph Group co-founder and CEO Stefan Deiss 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 focus on investing in companies leveraging the Hedera network and promoting collaboration among Web3 companies.
Sonic Labs Launches Sonic Gateway, Supporting Multi-Asset Cross-Chain Bridging
Sonic Labs (formerly Fantom) has announced the official launch of its cross-chain bridging tool, Sonic Gateway, which supports securely bridging USDC, EURC, WETH, and FTM from Ethereum to the Sonic Chain. The tool has been audited by top security firms, including OpenZeppelin, Quantstamp, and Certora, and has collaborated with the global developer community to launch a $2 million bug bounty program through the ImmuneFi platform to further strengthen its security. Users can also upgrade their held FTM to the Sonic Chain through the Gateway.
Floki ETP May Launch on Swiss Stock Exchange in Q1 2023, DAO Community Proposes Providing Liquidity
According to CoinDesk, Floki plans to launch a FLOKI token-based Exchange Traded Product (ETP) on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) in the first quarter of 2025. The development team has proposed allocating a portion of tokens (worth $2.8 million) from the treasury wallet to provide early liquidity for the ETP, with the vote ending at 19:00 (Beijing time) on December 27. If the proposal is approved, FLOKI will become the second Meme token, after Doge, to launch an institutional-grade product in Europe.
Former Coinbase CTO Balaji tweeted that the future will see widespread adoption of smart cars, smart watches, and smart homes, where every object can not only communicate with people but also with each other, recording conversations and coordinating tasks for their private key-holding owners. He termed this trend 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 deliberate effort to achieve.
Token Terminal data shows that BTC and SOL's monthly trading volumes have reached new highs, while ETH's volume is still down by around 50% from its 2021 peak. In November 2024, the trading volumes for BTC, ETH, and SOL were $22 trillion, $11 trillion, and $243 billion, respectively.
An Ethereum ICO Whale Deposited 4,160 ETH, Worth Around $14.5 Million, into Kraken 3 Hours Ago
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, 3 hours ago, an Ethereum ICO whale deposited 4,160 ETH (around $14.5 million) into Kraken. Notably, this whale received 20,000 ETH (worth $62,000 at the time) in the Genesis Block in July 2015, staked them to earn rewards, and frequently sells during peak periods. The whale still has approximately 7,043 ETH (worth around $24.6 million) staked.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, a whale associated with Nexo has deposited another 4,946 ETH (around $17.2 million) into Binance in the past hour. Since December 2, Nexo has cumulatively deposited 114,262 ETH (around $423.3 million) into Binance, at an average price of $3,705.
According to Lookonchain monitoring data, 10 Bitcoin ETFs saw a net outflow of 2,258 BTC (around $222 million) today, with the iShares (Blackrock) Bitcoin ETF outflowing 1,933 BTC (around $191 million), currently holding 551,122 BTC (around $543.1 billion). Meanwhile, 9 Ethereum ETFs saw a net inflow of 12,445 ETH (around $43.27 million), with the iShares (Blackrock) Ethereum ETF inflowing 12,721 ETH (around $44.23 million), currently holding 1,056,877 ETH (around $36.7 billion).
According to Onchain Len monitoring, 2 hours ago, a whale withdrew 18.49 million $PENGU, worth $655,000, from Binance. The wallet currently holds 538.49 million $PENGU, with a total value of $19.06 million and a realized profit of $4.39 million.
20,000 ETH, Worth Around $69.87 Million, Transferred Out of BTCTurk Exchange
Whale Alert monitoring shows that at 22:48 Beijing time, BTCTurk exchange transferred 20,000 Ethereum (ETH), worth around $69.87 million, to an unknown wallet.
