FOMC Minutes: Officials Inclined to Slow Pace of Rate Hikes, Upside Risks to Inflation Increase
According to Cailian News, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December monetary policy meeting on Wednesday local time. The minutes show that in view of the still high inflation risks, FOMC officials have taken a new stance on the rate cut issue, deciding to slow the pace of rate cuts in the coming months. The meeting minutes pointed out that participants stated that the Committee believes the level of interest rates is approaching or at the appropriate time to slow the pace of policy rate cuts. They believe that the pace of rate cuts may be slowed in the future, entering a more cautious operational phase. And a series of factors indicate that in the current complex economic environment, FOMC policymakers believe that monetary policy needs to be adjusted carefully to avoid the negative impact of overly aggressive policy adjustments. For example, too rapid rate cuts could lead to a resurgence of inflationary pressures. Participants expect inflation to continue to approach 2%, although they noted that the recent higher-than-expected inflation data and the potential impact of changes in trade and immigration policies suggest this process may take longer than previously expected. Some participants noted that the disinflation process may have stalled temporarily, or pointed to potential risks. "FOMC mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos pointed out that the FOMC minutes further indicate that at the meeting at the end of this month, officials generally want to keep rates unchanged. The minutes stated: "Participants indicated that the Committee was at or near an appropriate level to slow the pace of policy accommodation." 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.
Sources: Trump Considering Declaring a National Economic Emergency to Implement New Tariff Plan
Four people familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for imposing a wide range of across-the-board tariffs. The declaration would allow Trump to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to devise a new tariff plan, which unilaterally authorizes the president to manage imports during a national emergency. One of the sources said Trump likes this law because it gives him broad jurisdiction over how to implement tariffs, without the strict requirement to prove the tariffs are for national security reasons. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the Week Ending January 4 at 201,000, Lower Than Expected
According to Jinshi News, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending January 4 was 201,000, a new low since the week of February 17, 2024. The expected number was 218,000, and the previous value was 211,000.
Kraken and a16z Executives Among Crypto-Friendly Candidates Vying for U.S. CFTC Chair
According to a report by Cryptoslate citing Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett, the transition team of U.S. 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, and Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori.
According to sources, they say Quintenz and Mersinger are the "frontrunners" for the position, and these two purported frontrunners both have 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 growth in the industry. At the same time, Mersinger has been a vocal proponent of 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 U.S. crypto industry in its policymaking.
While Quintenz and Mersinger are leading, there are several other candidates still on the list, 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 administration's focus on finding a leader aligned with its vision for the crypto industry.
Outgoing CFTC Chair Behnam Urges Crypto Innovators to Protect Investors in Farewell Speech
According to CoinDesk, in his final public speech before stepping down, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam focused on cryptocurrencies and their regulation, emphasizing the need to elevate the CFTC's role as a crypto regulator. Behnam, who will step down on January 20 to make way for a future appointee of President-elect Trump, said cryptocurrencies "have been a thread through every stage of my tenure" in a speech at the Brookings Institution. Behnam pointed out that "in the absence of federal legislation, issues of customer protection, fraud and market abuse, market resilience, and financial stability have become increasingly acute." He directly appealed to industry "innovators" to protect those "eager to incorporate digital assets into their investment portfolios," and stressed that "the role of market regulators is critical, ensuring that financial innovation is integrated into a regulatory and compliance culture that protects consumers and provides legal certainty." He also stated that he has never supported an enforcement-first approach to regulation, in contrast to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who has long been criticized by the industry for an "enforcement-first" regulatory approach.
Earlier today, SEC Chair Gary Gensler reiterated that the crypto space is "rife with non-compliance".
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Oklahoma State Senator Dusty Deevers has introduced Senate Bill 325, the "Bitcoin Empowerment Act," which would allow Oklahoma employees to choose to receive their wages in Bitcoin, and allow vendors to accept Bitcoin payments. SB325 ensures participation is completely voluntary, respects free market principles, and gives employees, employers, and businesses the right to choose the payment method most suitable for them. SB325 is eligible for consideration in the 60th legislative session beginning on February 3.
Thailand to Pilot Crypto Payments in Phuket by 2025 to Boost Tourism
Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira announced that Thailand will pilot crypto payments in Phuket by 2025, allowing tourists to use Bitcoin to pay for goods and services, which will then be settled in Thai baht, legally and without the need to amend current laws. The aim is to enhance payment convenience and attract more visitors, while also helping to solve large-scale payment issues such as real estate purchases. The Phuket pilot will strengthen Thailand's crypto economic competitiveness, as small communities like "Bitcoin Village" have already successfully promoted digital currency payments, providing a reference for the project.
Here is the English translation of the text, with the content inside <> not translated:According to Bloomberg, senior EU digital officials have pledged to "actively" pursue an investigation into the X platform (formerly Twitter) to determine if it has violated the Digital Services Act. The law aims to combat illegal and harmful content, with the investigation focusing on whether the X platform has used algorithms to promote far-right political content. If found in violation, the X platform could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. The European Commission said it will reach a conclusion as soon as possible in accordance with the law.
A US judge has set January 26, 2026 as the start date for Do Kwon's trial
According to The Block, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon appeared in court in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, his second appearance, marking the start of the evidence disclosure phase of this high-profile and repeatedly delayed federal case. If found guilty for the TerraUST stablecoin collapse, he could face up to 130 years in prison. Wednesday's "initial conference" was aimed at determining whether the US case can be resolved without a trial and to set other pre-trial details. US District Judge Paul Engelmayer set the trial start date for January 26, 2026 and encouraged plea bargaining. The US government stated that the parties have submitted 6 TB of evidence to be reviewed, including four phones Kwon carried while in prison in Montenegro, social media accounts, and other non-public information, much of which needs to be translated and decrypted. Prosecutors said some of the data may have been collected without a warrant, and the encryption keys appear to be "lost". Prosecutor Jared Lenow noted that the trial could last up to six weeks, with the prosecution alone needing four weeks. The judge also questioned whether securities law will play a significant role in Kwon's case, saying the jury will need "extremely clear understanding".
Trump-themed digital cartoons debut on the Bitcoin network via Ordinals protocol
According to Cryptoslate, an NFT series backed by former US President Donald Trump has launched its first 160 pieces on the Bitcoin network using the Ordinals protocol, called "Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards". Users who obtain 100 NFT cards from the "Mugshot Edition" are eligible to claim them through the NFT marketplace Magic Eden after submitting their Bitcoin wallets. As of press time, users have minted 119 of the available 19 Ordinals. The claiming period will last until January 31. The Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards use "Alpha sats". Users have listed 11 Ordinals inspired by Trump on Magic Eden, with the current floor price at 0.1988 BTC, while the most expensive Ordinal in the series is priced at 20 BTC.
Blast's mobile platform to launch later this month alongside token economics update
The Ethereum Layer2 network Blast announced on X platform: "Blast's mobile platform will launch later this month alongside a token economics update. All Blast Dapps should ensure they distribute 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 launch date will be announced soon."
Solana urges validators to test early "Firedancer" upgrade
According to CoinDesk, 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 that by the end of this weekend, "the vast majority" of the processing power on the low-risk test network will be running Frankendancer (an early version of Firedancer). 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's frequent outages in 2022 and is seen as a way to enhance Solana's stability and speed.
Grayscale updates fund compositions: including adding LPT to AI Fund, etc.
According to Globenewswire, Grayscale has announced updates to the fund compositions and weightings of its products based on the Q4 2024 review. ① Grayscale has added Livepeer (LPT) to the investment portfolio of the AI Fund. ② Grayscale's DEFI Fund has added Curve (CRV) and removed Synthetix (SNX). ③ Grayscale's GDLC Fund has added Cardano (ADA) and removed Avalanche (AVAX). ④ Grayscale has added SUI to the investment portfolio of the GSCPxE Fund.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov reaffirms platform's support for free speech
Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated on his personal channel that Telegram has firmly supported the value of free speech long before it became a political security issue, and emphasized that its core values are not affected by the US election cycle. He also pointed out that while other platforms have recently announced reduced moderation, the real test will come when the political winds shift again. He also said that it is easy to support certain things when there is no risk.
Vitalik urges Ethereum core developers to prioritize "Blob scaling" and other key upgrades
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted that Ethereum core development needs better prioritization. He stated that if he had to choose between "raising the Blob target from 3 to 6" and "other improvements in Pectra", he would prioritize the former. This indicates that data availability scaling (Blob) is his top priority. He also mentioned priority recommendations for projects like Fusaka and G*, stating that "Blob scaling" is still key, but also highlighted the importance of L1 EVM improvements, specifically mentioning complete account abstraction (AA) to 7701, SIMD+EVMMAX optimizations, and moderately increasing the gas limit. Vitalik also mentioned ongoing "peerdas" exploration and suggested trying more ambitious versions to further drive Ethereum's technological innovation and optimization.
Revolut becomes the first bank data publisher to join the Pyth Network
According to The Block, UK fintech company Revolut has announced that it has become the first bank data publisher to join the multi-chain Pyth Network. Revolut will integrate its digital asset quotes and trading data into Pyth's price oracles, supporting decentralized finance (DeFi) developers in applying real-time market data to decentralized applications (dApps). The Pyth network currently provides over 500 real-time data streams to more than 80 blockchain ecosystems (including Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, etc.), with a total trading volume expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2024. Revolut stated that this collaboration will drive financial modernization, providing accurate real-time data for users and developers, while also supporting the development of DeFi applications.
CoinList has removed 2.4 million bot and fraudulent accounts
CoinList has announced that it has removed 2.4 million bots and fraudulent accounts since its inception, ensuring that each user is a unique and genuine individual through device, IP address, and email verification. This measure has helped project parties establish a high-quality, authentic investor community, while also increasing the allocation opportunities for legitimate investors, promoting long-term stable development.
According to the official announcement of the crypto exchange Bullish, its German subsidiary Bullish DE Custody GmbH has obtained a license for crypto asset custody, proprietary trading, and prime brokerage business from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Bullish plans to expand its services in the European Economic Area based on the framework of the Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA) effective on December 30, 2024. The company has appointed Marco Bodewein as the CEO of Bullish DE, who has held important positions at futurum bank AG and Bitcoin Group SE and has rich experience in crypto and financial services. In addition, the crypto trading institution tradias authorized by BaFin has completed the connection with Bullish DE and started trading. Bullish DE is actively attracting professional and institutional investors in Germany to provide secure and compliant digital asset trading services.
Starknet launches the development tool SN Stack to support Appchain development
According to The Block, the Ethereum Layer 2 project Starknet has launched its development tool SN Stack to support developers in creating independent application chains (Appchains). SN Stack includes Starknet OS (blockchain operating system), CairoVM (smart contract execution), Blockifier (block construction), and cryptographic proof and verification tools. SN Stack provides three versions to meet different needs: Madara offers a flexible open-source modular framework; Dojo focuses on games and advanced on-chain applications; and StarkWare Sequencer provides a complete infrastructure for high-performance decentralized applications. The first application chain Paradex has been launched as a design partner.
According to the a16z crypto website, a16z crypto has released 5 frontier trends of the intersection of AI and crypto technology, and explores the possibility of integration. 1. Blockchain empowers AI to reshape the internet: AI has disrupted the traditional internet economy, with generative content replacing user clicks, and deep fakes and misinformation weakening trust. The ownership guarantee, identity authentication, and tamper-resistance features of blockchain can protect the authenticity of content and allow the internet to return to openness and diversity. 2. AI centralization and Crypto decentralization: AI and crypto technology exist in tension between centralization and decentralization, but their combination can achieve innovations that neither can accomplish alone, such as user control, privacy protection, and decentralized governance. 3. The demand for "proving real identity" is surging: The proliferation of AI-generated fake content requires "human identity proof" to ensure the authenticity of interactions. Privacy-based unique identity authentication becomes the key to building trustworthy digital identities and enhancing cyber security. 4. AI wallets drive autonomous behavior: After AI agents have their own crypto wallets, they can participate in market transactions, custody assets, and be applied to decentralized physical infrastructure networks, expanding the roles of AI and the value of the network. 5. Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) guarantees the autonomy of applications: TEE can prove the autonomy of AI systems, allowing them to manage keys and assets, and run on permissionless decentralized networks, paving the way for truly autonomous AI applications.
Binance Alpha adds LMT, PAAL and SNAI
Binance Alpha has announced a new batch of projects, including: LMT, PAAL and SNAI. Project introductions are shown in the image below:
PeckShield: Orange Finance suffers a hacker attack, losing about $787,000
According to PeckShieldAlert, the Arbitrum-based LPDfi liquidity management protocol Orange Finance has suffered a hacker attack, with about $787,000 in crypto assets being transferred from its contract. The official confirmed that the attacker took control of the admin address, upgraded the contract, and transferred the funds to their wallet. Users are strongly advised to immediately revoke all contract authorizations related to Orange Finance to avoid further losses, and to stop any interaction with the affected protocol. Orange Finance has tried to contact the attacker through Arbiscan to negotiate the return of the funds.
According to the official tweet of DuckChain, its governance token $DUCK has been officially released, with a total supply of 10 billion. 77% of which is allocated to the community and ecosystem development, including 50% for airdrops, 4% for liquidity, 3% for marketing, and 20% for ecosystem support. The remaining part includes 10% for investors, 10% for the team, and 3% for advisors. The DUCK TGE will be launched on TON, followed by DuckChain (after the public mainnet release), Arbitrum, Base, etc. $DUCK, as the core token of DuckChain, supports functions such as governance, staking, and gas fee payment. DuckChain aims to provide on-chain support for Telegram's over 1 billion users and dApp developers through AI tools and EVM-compatible technology, promoting the large-scale application of blockchain technology. $DUCK tokens will be listed on centralized and decentralized exchanges on January 16, 2025, with specific platforms to be announced. In addition, DuckChain announced that users can query and claim the airdrop allocation through the MiniApp today at 12 PM UTC and receive it on the OKX exchange.
Movement Labs is about to complete a $100 million Series B financing, with a valuation of $3 billion
According to Fortune, Movement Labs, which focuses on Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain development, is nearing the completion of a $100 million Series B financing, with an expected valuation of $3 billion. This round of financing is jointly led by CoinFund and Nova Fund (Brevan Howard's digital asset division), with investors receiving company shares and its token Move, focusing on the token form. Movement Labs previously completed a $38 million Series A financing in April 2024, led by Polychain Capital. The completion of this round of financing is expected to be realized by the end of January. Movement is based on the Move programming language developed by Facebook, and unlike the independent public chains Aptos and Sui, it adopts a Layer 2 structure, fully utilizing the Ethereum ecosystem. Its mainnet test version and Move token were launched in December 2024, and the Move token currently has a market capitalization of about $2.25 billion, nearly doubling since its launch.
According to Fortune, the AI-driven crypto data platform SoSoValue has announced the completion of a $15 million Series A financing, with a valuation of $200 million. This round of financing was led by Hongshan (Sequoia China), SmallSpark, Mirana Ventures, and Safepal. SoSoValue stated that the financing was completed at the end of December, and the funds will be mainly used for the reserve fund of the SoSoValue Indices (SSI). SSI is an innovative spot crypto index protocol aimed at promoting efficient investment in the crypto market and making SoSoValue the first institution to introduce spot indices in token form. SoSoValue is committed to providing retail investors with real-time market data and ETF fund flow tracking, and has launched four indices at the end of December: MAG7.ssi, MEME.ssi (tracking the top 10 meme coins), DEFI.ssi, and USSI (hedging type). SoSoValue previously completed a $4.15 million seed round in mid-2024, and with this round of financing, the project's total financing has reached nearly $20 million. The registered users of the SoSoValue platform have exceeded 8 million.
A whale transferred 80,000 SOL, worth about $15.56 million, to Coinbase Prime 5 hours ago
PANews, January 9th news, according to on-chain analyst Yu Jian's monitoring, a whale transferred 80,000 SOL (about $15.56 million) to Coinbase Prime 5 hours ago. He obtained $4.63 million (+ 36%) in profits through staking and the appreciation of SOL. This whale withdrew 87,000 SOL ($128.1 million) from Coinbase Prime 6 months ago at a price of $147, and redeemed them 3 weeks ago. After redemption, he transferred his SOL to Binance and Coinbase Prime at an average price of $194, realizing a profit of $4.63 million (+ 36%).
El Salvador has purchased 11 more bitcoins as part of its strategic reserves
According to Cointelegraph, El Salvador has just purchased another 11 Bitcoins as part of its strategic reserves, worth over $1 million.
Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of 2,586 BTC today, while Ethereum ETF saw a net outflow of 20,884 ETH
According to Lookonchain monitoring, Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of 2,586 BTC (about $248 million), with iShares (Blackrock) alone seeing a daily inflow of 6,078 BTC (about $583 million), bringing its total holdings to 559,201 BTC (about $536.2 billion). Ethereum ETF saw a net outflow of 20,884 ETH (about $70.69 million), with Fidelity seeing a daily outflow of 19,999 ETH (about $67.7 million), bringing its total holdings to 460,501 ETH (about $1.56 billion).
Ethereum Foundation sells 100 ETH, receives 336,000 DAI
Arkm data shows that a few minutes ago, the Ethereum Foundation address sold 100 ETH at an average price of $3,363, receiving about 336,000 DAI.
