Headlines

▌Biden Plans to Tighten AI Chip Export Controls Before Leaving Office

According to foreign media reports, the Biden administration in the US plans to impose a new round of restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips by companies like Nvidia (NVDA.O) before leaving office. According to informed sources, the US aims to restrict the sale of artificial intelligence chips used in data centers at both the national and corporate levels, with the goal of concentrating AI development in friendly countries and encouraging global companies to align with US standards. As demand for AI technology surges, this move will expand semiconductor restrictions to most parts of the world. Insiders say the new regulations will set three-tier restrictions on chip transactions, which could be released as early as Friday. Affected by this news, Nvidia, AMD (AMD.O) and others fell in after-hours trading on the US stock market.

▌Kraken and a16z Executives Among Crypto-Friendly Candidates Vying for CFTC Chair

According to Cryptoslate citing Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett, the transition team of US President-elect Donald Trump is looking for crypto-friendly candidates to serve as the next Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair. Competing for the position include current CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger, a16z's crypto policy head and former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, as well as Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori.

According to informed sources, they say Quintenz and Mersinger are the "frontrunners" for the position, with both reportedly having extensive experience and crypto policy credentials. Mersinger is seen as a thought leader at the intersection of crypto innovation and consumer protection. She frequently speaks at industry events and has advocated for balanced regulation to foster the industry's growth. Meanwhile, Mersinger has actively championed a regulatory environment that can accommodate crypto innovation, a stance she has honed during her time as a CFTC Commissioner and in her current role at a16z. If elected, either of these candidates could steer the agency to prioritize clarity and innovation for the US crypto industry.

While Quintenz and Mersinger are leading, there are several other candidates still in the running, including Republican CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham with a strong regulatory background, Neal Kumar and Josh Sterling who have held senior roles at the CFTC and are seen as regulatory experts. The Trump transition team is reported to have reviewed at least six candidates for the position, reflecting the government's focus on finding a leader aligned with its vision for the crypto industry.

Market

As of the time of writing, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest trading price is $94,861.69, with a daily change of -2.2%;

ETH's latest trading price is $3,323.69, with a daily change of -2.3%;

BNB's latest trading price is $695.47, with a daily change of -1.0%;

SOL's latest trading price is $196.98, with a daily change of -2.9%;

Doge's latest trading price is $0.3422, with a daily change of -2.6%;

XPR's latest trading price is $2.37, with a daily change of +3.1%.

Policy

▌Oklahoma State Senator Introduces "Bitcoin Legal Tender Act" to Allow State Employees to Receive Salaries in Bitcoin

Oklahoma State Senator Dusty Deevers has introduced Senate Bill 325, the "Bitcoin Legal Tender Act", which will allow Oklahoma state employees to choose to receive their salaries in Bitcoin, and allow vendors to accept Bitcoin payments. SB325 ensures participation is entirely voluntary, respects free market principles, and empowers employees, employers, and businesses to choose the payment method most suitable for them. SB325 is eligible for consideration in the 60th legislative session beginning on February 3.

▌Outgoing CFTC Chair Emphasizes Crypto in Farewell Speech, Stresses CFTC's Role as Its Regulator

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam, who will step down as chair on January 20 to make way for a future appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, devoted a significant portion of his final public speech at the Brookings Institution this week to discussing cryptocurrencies and the necessity of the CFTC as their regulator.

Rostin Behnam stated that cryptocurrencies "have dominated every period of my tenure", saying: "In the absence of federal legislation, concerns have intensified around customer protection, the proliferation of fraud and market abuse, broader market resilience, and even financial stability - situations we've seen play out before, where we've placed large swaths of financial activity outside of oversight and accountability, only to see disastrous outcomes time and again." He also urged to protect investors "eager to incorporate digital asset products into their portfolios".

Blockchain Applications

▌Avalanche Foundation Provides Grant to VIA Labs to Develop Cross-Chain Protocol Proto-USD

The Avalanche Foundation has announced that VIA Labs has received a grant through the InfraBUIDL() program. VIA Labs is using the funding to develop the Avalanche ecosystem's cross-chain protocol Proto-USD.

According to the information, Proto-USD simplifies cross-chain liquidity, allowing USDC to move easily between Avalanche L1 and other networks, aiming to improve the accessibility, scalability, and overall connectivity of the Avalanche ecosystem.

▌Solana Urges Validators to Test Early "Firedancer" Upgrade

Solana is accelerating the testing of Firedancer, a software upgrade expected to significantly improve the blockchain's processing speed. According to messages on the Solana Technical Discord server, the Solana core development team hopes to have "the vast majority" of the capacity on the low-risk test network running Frankendancer (an early version of Firedancer) before the end of this weekend. The call to action for Solana validators marks the biggest test Firedancer has faced so far. The upgrade has been in the works since the chain experienced frequent outages in 2022 and is seen as a way to enhance Solana's stability and speed.

On Tuesday, the Solana Foundation used this staking incentive mechanism to directly promote the adoption of Frankendancer. Validators have only a few days to switch their test network systems to the new client, or risk losing their delegated stake.

▌Vitalik: Polymarket is Unique as it Aligns with Actual Existing Social Problems

Vitalik Buterin posted on X stating: "What makes Polymarket unique is that its growth phase aligns with actual existing social problems (in 2024, massive distrust in partisan media across the US and elsewhere).

What specific large-scale social problems can crypto technology help solve now or in the near future? (Ideally, we want to find situations involving the collapse, untrustworthiness or widespread perceived harmfulness of centralized institutions, and large demand to bypass them)."

Cryptocurrencies

▌Fidelity Digital Assets Analyst: BTC Inclusion in Strategic Reserves of Multiple Countries Could Significantly Boost Crypto Market by 2025

Fidelity Digital Assets analysts predict that the inclusion of BTC in the strategic reserves of multiple countries could significantly boost the cryptocurrency market by 2025. They believe that, inspired by the success of El Salvador and Bhutan, governments may secretly start accumulating digital assets to hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

▌CryptoQuant Research Head: Bitcoin Pullback Significantly Shrinks Traders' Unrealized Profits, but Market Adjustment is Healthy

CryptoQuant research director Julio Moreno posted on the X platform that the current Bitcoin price correction has led to a significant drop in the unrealized profit margins of on-chain traders, after Bitcoin had previously surpassed $100,000. The analysis shows that this correction is a normal phenomenon after a substantial increase, and it is conducive to the healthy development of the market. Currently, the realized price of traders (which typically constitutes price support in a bull market) is around $88,000, while the current Bitcoin price is around $93,000.

▌Billionaire Mark Cuban: If the economy collapses, I would rather hold Bitcoin than gold

Billionaire Mark Cuban stated that if the economy encounters problems, he would rather own Bitcoin than gold. Mark Cuban said, "I think Bitcoin has more value."

▌Blast to launch mobile platform and token economics update later this month

The Ethereum Layer2 network Blast announced on the X platform: "Blast's mobile platform will be launched later this month along with the token economics update. All Blast Dapps should ensure the distribution of points and coins to users before these changes. There will be no coin distribution in January. All users should also ensure they log in to the Blast website using their own wallets. The official release date will be announced soon."

▌Galaxy and Agora complete first over-the-counter trade involving AUSD stablecoin

According to the official announcement, asset management firm Galaxy and stablecoin issuer Agora have completed their first over-the-counter trade involving Agora's AUSD stablecoin. Agora CEO Nick van Eck said in a statement: "This transaction marks the transition of AUSD from proof of concept to real-world application."

Agora stated that AUSD is a "builder-centric" stablecoin aimed at attracting traders and developers through "gas-optimized" smart contracts. The company also said the stablecoin is fully collateralized, with the collateral held by one of the world's largest asset managers, and undergoes regular reserve audits.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed mouthpiece: Minutes show officials generally unwilling to cut rates this month

"Fed mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos pointed out that the Fed minutes further indicate that at the upcoming meeting at the end of this month, officials are generally willing to keep rates unchanged. The minutes stated: "Participants indicated that the Committee was at or close to a stance of policy that was appropriately calibrated to slow the pace of policy firming." Officials believe that based on their current outlook for economic activity, the Fed may continue to cut rates at a slower pace than in recent months.

▌Fed minutes: Unemployment rate expected to rise slightly

The Fed's December meeting minutes noted that staff forecast the U.S. economic conditions to remain robust. Real GDP growth is expected to slow slightly from the previous baseline forecast, the unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly but still be close to staff's estimate of the natural rate. In the staff's baseline projection, the 2024 inflation forecast is slightly higher than the previous meeting's projection, reflecting some recent upside surprises in the data, and is expected to decline to 2% by 2027, consistent with the November meeting's projection.

▌Former BOJ board member: Chance of rate hike in March rises

Former Bank of Japan Policy Board member Makoto Sakurai said the possibility of the BOJ delaying a rate hike until March is increasing due to the growing uncertainty brought by U.S. President-elect Trump. "With Trump making comments on all sorts of things, there seems to be too much uncertainty. There may not be enough reason to hike rates in January." As Sakurai gave the speech, BOJ watchers were looking for hints about a potential rate hike this month or later. Sakurai believes the chance of a rate hike in March is as high as 70%, as the BOJ may be more inclined to wait until the first few months of the new Trump administration to get a clearer picture before acting.

Jinse Encyclopedia

▌What is Compressed NFT?

cNFT is a relatively new non-fungible token that uses state compression technology to store data more efficiently on Solana. Unlike traditional NFTs that either store all token metadata directly on-chain or through external links (such as IPFS), cNFT uses Merkle trees to optimize data storage.

Disclaimer: Jinse Finance, as a blockchain information platform, the content published in this article is for informational reference only and does not constitute actual investment advice. Please everyone establish the correct investment concept and be sure to improve risk awareness.