The main perpetrator in the Bitfinex hack case has been released early.
According to DL News, Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2024 for hacking Bitfinex and laundering stolen funds, has been released early after receiving a reduced sentence under the First Step Act, which aims to promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of federal prisoners. He is the husband of rapper Heather Morgan and was involved in the 2016 theft of $4.5 billion worth of Bitcoin from Bitfinex and subsequent money laundering.
Bitfarms sells Paraguayan mining farm…exiting South American business
According to GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms announced it will sell its 70-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility in Paso Pe, Paraguay, to Sympatheia Power Fund for $30 million. This sale marks Bitfarms' complete exit from mining operations in Latin America. The proceeds will be reinvested in the construction of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence energy infrastructure.
CEX spot trading volume hit a 15-month low in December last year.
According to The Block, citing its own data, monthly spot trading volume on major centralized exchanges hit its lowest level since September 2024 in December. Spot trading volume during this period was approximately $1.13 trillion. This represents a 32% decrease from November ($1.66 trillion) and a 49% decrease from October ($2.23 trillion). In terms of trading volume, Binance held the largest share with approximately $367.35 billion, followed by Bybit, Gate.io, and Bitget.
Analysis: "CME BTC futures formed a $655 gap on the first trading day of the new year...be aware of volatility."
Daan Crypto Trades, analyzing on its X platform, stated: "Data shows that a gap of $655 formed in the CME Bitcoin futures market on the first trading day of the new year. This gap, formed during the year-end and new year market closure, is an area of short-term investor focus. This gap could lead to increased market volatility." A CME futures gap refers to the price difference between futures and spot prices for Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange during non-trading closure periods due to changes in the spot market price.
Binance delists 9 spot trading pairs, including AI/BNB.
Binance announced that it will delist the following spot trading pairs at 17:00 Beijing time on January 3: AI/BNB, ETC/BNB, FLOW/BTC, LPT/BNB, SFP/BTC, VET/BNB, WCT/FDUSD, WIF/BRL, and WLFI/BRL.
Binance has placed ACA, D, DATA, and FLOW on its watch list.
Binance has announced that it has placed ACA, D, DATA, and FLOW on its watch list.
Binance delists FLOW/BTC margin trading pair
Binance announced that it will delist the FLOW/BTC margin trading pair at 13:00 Beijing time on January 3.
US stocks opened higher
The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher.
S&P 500: +0.63%
Nasdaq Composite Index: +1.06%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.19%
BTC breaks $90,000
BTC has broken through $90,000. According to Binance USDT market data, BTC is trading at $90,040.
