Jinse Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Jinse Finance, covering key news of the week, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is the news weekly, taking you through the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌Trump's nominee faces violent threats, FBI launches investigation
The FBI said it has noticed multiple bomb threats and harassment incidents targeting Trump's transition team nominees, and is working with law enforcement partners to investigate these incidents. The FBI said it will take all potential threats seriously and encourages the public to immediately report to law enforcement any incidents they believe to be suspicious. Earlier, the Trump transition team announced that several of Trump's cabinet nominees faced violent threats from "non-Americans" on the evening of the 26th and the morning of the 27th.
▌Wall Street prepares to launch new generation of crypto-related ETFs
With crypto-friendly Trump back in the White House, in an industry worth $3.2 trillion, Wall Street is preparing to launch a new generation of risk-based products to fully meet the tastes of investors ranging from institutional newcomers to die-hard retail traders. Executives and lawyers involved in ETFs say the products they describe include defensive-leaning ETFs aimed at professional fund managers curious about crypto, as well as all-out speculative bets targeting self-proclaimed degenerate gamblers. Industry investors and lawyers say high-risk crypto ETFs are likely to focus on various digital tokens, sometimes using leverage, options or quantitative strategies.
▌Putin: Trump is "smart and experienced", concerned he is currently not safe
According to CNN, on Thursday, Russian President Putin praised US President-elect Trump as a "smart and experienced" politician who can find "solutions". Putin also condemned Biden for creating "additional difficulties" for the incoming Trump administration, as Biden allowed Ukraine to fire US-made ATACMS long-range missiles into targets within Russia. When asked if Biden's decision would affect future Russia-US relations, Putin said the situation could improve after Trump takes office in January. Putin also said Trump has overcome the "severe test" of returning to the White House, referring to the two assassination attempts Trump faced during the campaign. Putin said "absolutely uncivilized methods of struggle" were used against Trump more than once, and added that he is concerned Trump is currently not safe. On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Putin threatened to launch more new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles, warning: "We will use the means we can use." "The use of 'Yars' missiles against Ukrainian army, military-industrial facilities or decision-making centers, including Kyiv, cannot be ruled out, as the Kyiv regime continues to try to attack our critical infrastructure."
▌Trump administration considers letting CFTC lead digital asset regulation
According to FOX Business, the incoming Trump administration wants to expand the powers of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to give it significant regulatory authority over the digital asset market.
According to sources familiar with the Trump team's thinking, as Trump takes office and the crypto industry gains more influence in Republican politics, the CFTC's responsibilities may soon expand to regulating the crypto spot market (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) and the exchanges that facilitate their trading, which are seen as commodities. Key figures in the Trump team believe that deregulation is needed to stimulate innovation in the crypto business, including potentially transformative blockchain technology that can eliminate expensive middlemen in commercial transactions.
"With adequate funding and the right leadership, I believe the CFTC could begin regulating digital commodities on the first day of the Trump presidency," said former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo to FOX Business.
Policy
▌Coin Center Research Director: Investor protection and regulatory transparency may promote the development of the crypto industry
Coin Center Research Director Peter Van Valkenburgh expects that centralized markets and stablecoin issuers may see clearer regulatory frameworks. This optimism stems from the new administration likely focusing on fostering innovation in crypto's traditional financial applications.
Simplified investor protection and regulatory transparency may also promote the development of the crypto industry. However, he stressed the need to remain vigilant to ensure these measures do not inadvertently stifle the rights of developers and users in decentralized systems.
▌French users banned from accessing Polymarket prediction market
Polymarket has blocked French users and warned against attempting to circumvent the block. According to a social media post, Polymarket has now added French users to its restricted user list. Following reports that the French gambling regulator was set to ban prediction markets, French users are now unable to access Polymarket. However, some French Polymarket users on the social media platform X said they are still accessing the prediction market through virtual private network (VPN) applications.
▌"Top cop on Wall Street" announces resignation, paving the way for Trump's deregulation
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced he plans to resign on December 13, with his deputy Edward Kim temporarily taking over his other duties. After Trump was elected president on November 5, he announced he would nominate former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to run the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office. The Southern District of New York is known for its independent status and has handled many high-profile financial fraud cases. During his tenure, Williams completed the prosecutions of FTX founder SBF and Archegos founder Bill Hwang.
▌US Special Counsel drops case against Trump for election subversion
According to CNN, U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith said on Monday that he will drop the case against President-elect Trump for election subversion, and is seeking to dismiss the case in a court filing. Trump had previously said he would fire Smith if he took office. In a six-page document, Smith wrote: "The Department of Justice's position is that, as required by the Constitution, this case must be dismissed before the defendant is sworn in." Smith's criminal pursuit of Trump over the past two years, on charges of attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election and his mishandling of classified documents, is a highly unique chapter in American history - no former White House occupant has ever faced federal criminal charges before.
▌Brazilian lawmaker formally proposes establishing a national strategic Bitcoin reserve
A Brazilian congressman has formally proposed establishing a national strategic Bitcoin reserve - a "Bitcoin Sovereign Strategic Reserve" (Reserva Estratégica Soberana de Bitcoins, or RESBit). The plan aims to diversify the country's finance ministry. According to Brazilian media platform Portal do Bitcoin, Congressman Eros Biondini submitted the proposal on Monday.
▌NYSE files 19b-4 and S-1 with SEC for Bitwise BTCÐ ETF
According to The ETF Store President Nate Geraci on the X platform, the New York Stock Exchange has filed 19b-4 and S-1 documents with the US SEC to list the Bitwise Bitcoin & Ether ETF. The product will hold both spot BTC and ETH, weighted by market cap.
Bitwise co-founder Matt Hougan said: "Bitcoin and Ethereum are like gold and tech stocks, not competitors." He believes this ETF will be widely welcomed by investors.
▌Trump's new cabinet picks are mostly "crypto enthusiasts", over 5 positions filled
On November 23, local time, US President-elect Trump announced the nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. With this, all cabinet members of Trump's new administration have been determined. In addition, Trump has nominated several high-level officials in the past few weeks. From the list of the new government, in addition to well-known names in the crypto market such as Musk and Howard Lutnik, several cabinet members are staunch supporters of cryptocurrencies and have publicly disclosed their cryptocurrency holdings, including the nominated Vice President, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Director of National Intelligence.
▌Crypto supporter Paul Atkins emerges as top candidate for SEC chair
According to insiders, the transition team of US President-elect Trump has interviewed veteran financial regulator and behind-the-scenes figure in the conservative financial world, Paul Atkins, and is considering him as a candidate for chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Insiders say Atkins is the top contender to replace the outgoing Gensler. They say Trump is expected to make a decision in the coming days, but no decision has been made yet. Atkins served as an SEC commissioner during the George W. Bush administration, and later founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm for major financial industry clients. He is a staunch supporter of digital assets and financial technology companies. He has also testified in Congress on how to restructure the agency's operations and reduce some of the regulatory requirements that some in the industry consider redundant or overly burdensome.
▌The canton of Bern, Switzerland approves research on using excess energy for Bitcoin mining
The Bern cantonal parliament has passed a proposal to study Bitcoin mining as a way to utilize excess energy and stabilize the power grid. The parliament will conduct a feasibility study to assess energy availability, environmental impact and regulatory issues. Supporters say Bitcoin mining can attract investment, create jobs and promote the development of renewable energy.
Blockchain Applications
▌The Times of London discusses whether pensions should invest in Bitcoin
According to Bitcoin News, a UK plan will allocate 3% of pension funds to Bitcoin, but many say Bitcoin's volatility is too high for pension funds, while others believe Bitcoin is "digital gold" worth investing in.
Based on the above reasons, The Times of London has published an article discussing whether pensions should invest in Bitcoin.
▌Ripple and Archax launch the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger
Ripple announced the launch of the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger, starting with the tokenization of abrdn's $4.77 billion liquidity fund.
Ripple has partnered with Archax, the UK's first crypto exchange, broker and custodian regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which can use abrdn's money market fund.
Ripple said in a statement on November 25 that the tokenization of abrdn's $4.77 billion money market fund on XRPL shows that real-world assets are moving on-chain to achieve operational cost savings and settlement efficiency improvements.
▌Avalanche launches Avalanche9000 upgrade on testnet and introduces $40 million grant program
The team behind the Layer 1 blockchain network Avalanche launched a major upgrade called "Avalanche9000" on the testnet on Monday, which includes multiple technical improvements aimed at reducing the cost of deploying blockchains by 99.9%. These improvements include community proposals ACP-77 (making Avalanche Layer 1 validators more flexible) and ACP-125 (aimed at reducing Avalanche's base fees by 96%).
The press release also said that a $40 million grant program called Retro9000 is being launched alongside the upgrade to reward builders developing Layer 1 blockchains and other tools on the Avalanche9000 testnet.
▌Kraken to shut down its NFT marketplace by February 27, 2025
Crypto exchange Kraken has announced that it will shut down its NFT marketplace by February 27, 2025, and after November 27, 2024, users will no longer be able to list, bid on or sell items on Kraken's NFT marketplace; they can only withdraw their assets.
Kraken said: "We have decided to shut down our NFT marketplace in order to redirect more resources to new products and services, including unannounced plans we are developing. Customers have been notified of these changes, and our team will support them in transferring their NFTs to their Kraken wallets or self-custody wallets of their choice."
Previously, Kraken had first revealed plans to launch its own NFT marketplace in December 2021 and launched a beta version in November 2022.
▌The European Parliament approves the new college of commissioners, including officials who may oversee crypto rules
The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the college of commissioners, which includes individuals who may oversee digital asset regulation, with Commissioners Stephane Sejourne, Maria Luis Albuquerque and Henna Virkkunen likely to have cryptocurrencies within their remit.
In September, European Parliament President Ursula Von der Leyen proposed a slate of commissioners. While cryptocurrencies are not a core focus of these positions, the commission will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of digital asset rules. Additionally, the EU's Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) legislation is set to fully take effect by the end of December, so more work may be needed to ensure its implementation.
▌SingularityNET partners with Mina to advance privacy-preserving decentralized AI
Decentralized AI platform SingularityNET has announced a partnership with the Mina Foundation to leverage zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to drive the development of privacy-preserving decentralized general artificial intelligence (AGI). The two parties plan to develop secure AGI applications such as decision-making AI agents and knowledge-sharing ecosystems that ensure user data is not exposed during verification.
By combining SingularityNET's AI technology with Mina Protocol's ZK-SNARK technology, this collaboration will balance privacy and innovation, while also supporting the development of decentralized applications such as personalized governance tools, to build a secure AI ecosystem.
Cryptocurrencies
▌Bitcoin ETFs in Brazil set new records
As Bitcoin prices approach $10,000, demand and prices for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the B3 stock exchange in Brazil have surged. The first cryptocurrency ETF launched by Hashdex on B3 has reached a new all-time high in net asset value, close to $689 million. BITH11, the ETF offered by Hashdex, which provides 100% Bitcoin exposure, has also reached a new all-time high in net asset value, close to $259 million. Every crypto ETF containing Bitcoin has set new highs, with only seven ETFs failing to do so, instead focusing on ETH and other crypto areas such as decentralized finance, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Web3.
▌Analyst: Long-term BTC holders show increasingly greedy behavior
According to crypto analyst Ali (@ali_charts) in a post on X platform, long-term BTC holders are showing increasingly greedy behavior, which historically indicates that BTC may take 8-11 months to reach a market peak. If the trend continues, a potential peak could be seen between June and September 2025.
▌Online video platform Rumble to purchase $20 million in Bitcoin
Online video platform Rumble is adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy and will purchase up to $20 million in Bitcoin.
▌BlackRock and Fidelity's spot Bitcoin ETFs trade $4.37 billion on November 25
BlackRock and Fidelity's spot Bitcoin ETFs had a combined trading volume of $4.37 billion on November 25.
▌Wintermute analyst: Funds are shifting from BTC to ETH, derivatives market activity surges
Wintermute analyst says funds are shifting from BTC to ETH, and derivatives market activity has surged. Over the weekend, Ether's open interest spiked, with implied volatility also rising, and demand for call options increasing, indicating growing confidence among derivatives traders.
Analysts say that the shift from Bitcoin to Ethereum is characterized by a sharp rise in Ethereum's implied volatility, with the put-call skew reaching the highest level in 12 months, indicating that investors have a very strong preference for upside risk. According to Wintermute analyst, traders are actively driving the market higher through upside buying. Wintermute analyst noted in its weekly cryptocurrency market update: "Over the past few trading days, flows have been directed towards Ethereum, as weekend exchange open interest has surged to all-time highs."
▌Standard Chartered Analyst: BTC's Short-Term Bottom is in the Range of $85,000 to $88,700
Geoff Kendrick, Head of Global Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, attributed the recent market turmoil (including the decline in Bitcoin and the rise in US long-term Treasury yields) to the decline in the US Treasury term premium. The term premium is the additional yield that investors require to hold a long-term bond rather than rolling over short-term bonds. As Bitcoin is often seen as a hedge against instability in traditional financial markets, the increased confidence in US Treasuries may temporarily reduce the appeal of Bitcoin, leading to a price decline.
Kendrick said: "There is no sign of MicroStrategy slowing down their purchases, and they are unlikely to sell, but since the election, the average purchase price of ETFs and MSTR has been $88,700, which could be a short-term bottom, and Bitcoin may consolidate in the range of $85,000 to $88,700 before resuming an upward trajectory."
▌Nasdaq ISE Excludes Bitcoin Trust Products from FLEX Options Trading
Nasdaq ISE LLC has submitted a rule change proposal to exclude Bitcoin-related trust products such as the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust from FLEX options trading. The proposal has been approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is now effective, aimed at ensuring that option positions and exercise limits are consistent with existing rules. The SEC is also seeking public comments on this proposal, which can be submitted in various ways.
▌Cipher Mining Announces Acquisition of New Texas Mine, Signs 100MW Facility Expansion Agreement
Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) announced that it has completed a transaction to acquire a new power plant called Stingray, located in West Texas, for $4.1 million in cash and a variable fee of $1.5/MWh for the first five years after the plant is energized. The 250-acre site has been approved and a contract has been signed for up to 100MW of facility expansion.
Cipher CEO Tyler Page said: "With the addition of this site, we now have a plan for data centers that will be operational by 2026, complementing the other new data centers we plan to bring online in 2025 and 2027. With this new site, Cipher's active portfolio and development pipeline will total 11 sites and 2.6GW."
Important Economic Dynamics
▌Fed's Kashkari: Cutting Rates in December is a Reasonable Consideration
Federal Reserve's Kashkari said that cutting rates in December is a reasonable consideration. The neutral rate may be higher, and policy restraint may not be as tight. Geopolitical risks are the primary consideration for the economic outlook. He declined to comment on the Treasury Secretary nominee. The government needs to put the US on a sustainable fiscal path.
▌Fed Mouthpiece: FOMC Minutes Suggest Caution on Rate Cuts if Inflation Stalls
Fed mouthpiece Nick Timiraos wrote that Fed officials discussed at their recent meeting the possibility of slowing or pausing rate cuts if progress in lowering inflation stalls. According to the FOMC minutes released on Tuesday, officials felt that if the economy performs as expected, with inflation continuing to decline steadily, "it may be appropriate to move the policy rate closer to a neutral setting." The minutes showed all 19 participants agreed to a 25-basis-point rate cut. Some policymakers felt the risks of a more pronounced slowdown in the job market or the economy had diminished since the September meeting. Many also said there was greater uncertainty about where to set rates in an economy that neither needs stimulus nor monetary restraint.
▌Fed Considers Cutting Reverse Repo Rate by 5bps as Technical Adjustment
The FOMC minutes showed that the Fed is considering cutting the reverse repo rate by 5 basis points as a technical adjustment. Some participants said that resetting the overnight reverse repo rate to the bottom of the federal funds rate target range may be appropriate going forward.
▌Bernstein: MicroStrategy Stock May Rally Another 49%
Bernstein said MicroStrategy's "unprecedented" move to buy Bitcoin could drive its stock MSTR up another 49%.
▌Report: North Korean Hackers Expand Attacks, Target IT and Crypto Industry
According to TechCrunch, the North Korean hacker group "Lazarus Group" has expanded its social engineering attacks to multinational IT companies, stealing cryptocurrencies. The research found that the "Sapphire Sleet" and "Ruby Sleet" groups have been spreading malware through fake job postings and infiltrating to steal secrets. North Korean IT personnel also use fake identities and technical means to infiltrate.
