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 is the news weekly, taking you through the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌The Central Bank: Next year, a variety of monetary policy tools will be comprehensively used, and reserve requirement ratio and interest rates will be lowered in a timely manner to maintain ample liquidity
The Party Committee of the People's Bank of China held a meeting, presided over by Pan Gongsheng, Secretary of the Party Committee and Governor of the People's Bank of China. The meeting emphasized the implementation of a moderately loose monetary policy. A variety of monetary policy tools will be used comprehensively, the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates will be lowered in a timely manner, and liquidity will be kept ample, so that the scale of social financing, the growth of money supply will match the economic growth and the overall price level target. Guide banks to fully meet effective credit demand and enhance the stability of credit growth. Strengthen the implementation and transmission of interest rate policy, and promote a steady decline in the comprehensive financing cost of the society. Enhance the resilience of the foreign exchange market, stabilize market expectations, and maintain the basic stability of the Renminbi exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level.
▌CZ: Binance holds a small stake in the X platform
Binance co-founder CZ responded to community questions on X, "Can it now be considered that Binance owns shares in the X platform?" CZ said, "Holding a small stake."
▌Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 2 years
Australian scientist Craig Wright, who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 2 years. It is reported that he appeared in court via video link, refusing to reveal his exact location, but said he would appeal. Previously, Wright had initiated a £900 billion "legal action" involving intellectual property rights. In March this year, a British judge ruled that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) first sued Wright in April in an attempt to prevent Wright's copyright claims on the Bitcoin whitepaper and database. During the trial, two key figures testified, including Adam Back, a pioneer of the Bitcoin proof-of-work consensus system.
▌The French regulatory authority authorizes a BPCE subsidiary to engage in cryptocurrency business
The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) has approved the French bank BPCE to engage in cryptocurrency business. According to the official notice issued by the AMF on December 20, BPCE's cryptocurrency subsidiary Hexarq has been granted the status of Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP). With the approval, Hexarq is officially authorized to provide a range of cryptocurrency services, including cryptocurrency custody, as well as the purchase, sale and trading of cryptocurrencies against the Euro.
▌Bank of Russia Governor Nabiullina: We do not plan to invest in cryptocurrencies
Bank of Russia Governor Nabiullina: We do not plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Policy
▌French Hill: A comprehensive crypto market structure bill will be introduced within the first 100 days of the legislative session
French Hill, the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the U.S. urgently needs a crypto market structure bill, which is the Republican "top priority", and plans to introduce a comprehensive crypto market structure bill within the first 100 days of the upcoming legislative session. The passage of the market structure bill will eliminate the regulatory uncertainty that has shrouded the U.S. crypto industry for years, and supportive crypto legislation could pave the way for the U.S. to promote digital asset innovation and prevent crypto companies from offshoring. French Hill also criticized the current regulatory approach under the leadership of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. He said: "Under Chairman Gensler's leadership, we don't have traffic rules. We only have enforcement regulation. This does not help America succeed, nor does it help technological progress, Web3 innovation, or the application of blockchain in public companies and financial services."
▌The Ohio House of Representatives in the U.S. has submitted a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve
The Ohio House of Representatives in the U.S. has submitted a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state.
▌The U.S. SEC has approved the listing applications of the Hashdex Nasdaq and Franklin crypto index ETFs
According to documents released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it has approved the listing applications of the Hashdex Nasdaq and Franklin crypto index ETFs. These two ETFs will hold both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot, with the allocation ratio determined by the free-float market capitalization, and will be listed and traded on the Nasdaq and Cboe BZX exchanges respectively.
▌Bank of America survey: Investor sentiment is "super optimistic" in December, influenced by factors such as Trump's second term
The Bank of America's December global fund manager survey found that investor sentiment was "super optimistic" in December. The report said that investor allocation to cash is at a historical low, while allocation to U.S. stocks is at a historical high. The report said that optimism about economic growth driven by a Trump second term and Fed rate cuts has pushed global risk appetite to a three-year high.
▌CITIC Securities: It is expected that the Fed will not be able to launch a digital dollar during Trump's term
CITIC Securities said that going forward, Trump may set up a cryptocurrency advisory committee and consider Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. Even if the U.S. Congress subsequently advances a Bitcoin reserve plan, we expect the pace to be slow and the process to be bumpy, with limited impact on the global U.S. dollar reserve currency system. However, cryptocurrency payments are expected to be promoted, especially the use of stablecoins in cross-border payments. Given the Republican control of both houses of Congress and Trump's stated opposition to a digital dollar during this election, we expect the Fed will not be able to launch a digital dollar during Trump's term, and the Fed will still focus mainly on traditional economic indicators, with little impact of cryptocurrencies on its monetary policy. In the Trump 2.0 era, cryptocurrencies may to some extent amplify the volatility of the U.S. stock market and trigger a redistribution of liquidity across different assets. Cryptocurrencies are expected to occupy a more important position in overseas asset allocation portfolios, and crypto-related stocks in the U.S. stock market are also expected to benefit from policy dividends.
▌Ukraine plans to legalize cryptocurrencies by early 2025
According to the Ukrainian Truth newspaper, it is expected that by the first quarter of 2025, cryptocurrencies will be legalized in Ukraine, but tax exemptions are unlikely to be provided. Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament's Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee, said: "Regarding cryptocurrencies, the working group in the Parliament is finalizing the first reading of a draft law. I believe that the text, developed in cooperation with the National Bank and the IMF, will be ready after the New Year. Our goal is to pass this law and legalize cryptocurrencies by the first quarter of 2025." Hetmantsev said that cryptocurrencies will not be tax-exempt, and the form of taxation will be similar to securities, with taxation on profits when assets are converted into fiat. "After consulting with European experts and the IMF, we have taken a very cautious approach to granting tax exemptions for the use of cryptocurrencies, as this could exacerbate tax evasion in traditional markets," he said.
Blockchain Applications
▌Digital bank and blockchain platform Metallicus acquires Bonifii, connecting over 70 credit unions to the Metal blockchain
Digital bank and blockchain platform Metallicus announced the acquisition of financial technology service company Bonifii, a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) connected to over 70 credit unions. This acquisition brings Metallicus' total number of credit union partners to over 80, with more than 16 already utilizing Metal blockchain technology. Prior to the acquisition, Bonifii had raised around $20 million in early-stage and seed funding rounds. The financial details of Metallicus seem to not be publicly available, with CoinMarketCap reporting a market cap of $13.65 million for the Metal blockchain.
▌Tether CEO: Tether's AI platform website is expected to be launched by the end of Q1 next year
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino posted on the X platform that Tether's AI platform website is expected to be launched by the end of Q1 next year.
▌Binance Wallet Launches Binance Alpha, Enhancing Pre-Listing Transparency and Focusing on Potential Projects
On December 17, Binance announced the launch of Binance Alpha, a new platform within the Binance Wallet (formerly Binance Web3 Wallet), aimed at focusing on promising early-stage blockchain projects and helping users explore Alpha opportunities. Binance Alpha is a platform that showcases tokens that may be considered for future listing on the Binance exchange, serving as a "pre-listing token selection pool" to enhance the transparency and fairness of the token listing process on the Binance exchange. Information related to upcoming listings will be pre-released on the Binance Wallet and Binance's official social media platforms. Users can view the countdown and on-chain details under the "Market" tab in the Binance Wallet and purchase tokens through the "Quick Buy" function, which bypasses the existing Swap function in the Binance Wallet to provide a faster and smoother trading process, higher transaction success rates, and increased price compensation.
▌Deutsche Bank Launches Layer 2 Network Based on ZKsync Technology
German financial giant Deutsche Bank is developing an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain network based on ZKsync technology. The project aims to address the compliance challenges of public blockchains in regulated finance by improving transaction efficiency and strengthening regulatory compliance. This development is part of the Project Guardian initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Deutsche Bank's L2 network is named Project Dama 2. The project brings together 24 financial institutions to explore the possibilities of blockchain asset tokenization.
▌MetaMask Expands Crypto Payment Card Pilot Program, Allowing U.S. Users to Pay Directly from Wallet
MetaMask has expanded its crypto payment card pilot program in the U.S., allowing users to pay directly from their wallet.
Cryptocurrencies
▌Coinbase Releases 2025 Crypto Market Outlook, Focusing on 5 Areas: Stablecoins, RWA Tokenization, DeFi, and More
Coinbase recently released its outlook on the cryptocurrency market, highlighting five areas worth watching in 2025: 1) Stablecoins are just getting started, 2) RWA tokenization is poised for significant growth, 3) Crypto ETFs have permanently changed the supply and demand dynamics of cryptocurrencies, 4) A DeFi renaissance will drive it into a new era, and 5) Regulation will ultimately shift from headwind to tailwind.
▌Over 4.5 Million ETH Worth Over $15.3 Billion Have Been Burned Since EIP-1559 Deployment
Data shows that since the activation of the London hard fork on August 5, 2021, the Ethereum network has burned over 4.5 million ETH, worth over $15.3 billion at current prices. The EIP-1559 upgrade introduced a mechanism to burn a portion of the transaction fees, effectively reducing the circulating supply of ETH. Despite the 4.5 million ETH burned, ultrasound.money data indicates that Ethereum has not become deflationary as some in the industry had predicted. The network's inflation rate has slightly increased to 0.820%, adding 3,245,017.99 ETH to circulation since the London fork.
▌NFT Trading Volume Reached $304 Million Last Week, Ethereum NFTs Grew 76% Quarter-over-Quarter
According to a CryptoSlam report, Ethereum NFTs grew 76% quarter-over-quarter, with sales reaching $201 million. This accounted for 66% of all NFT sales in the past seven days. Bitcoin-based NFTs had $40 million in sales, while Solana-based collections had $29 million. The combined weekly volume for Mythos Chain, Immutable, Polygon, and BNB Chain was $25.9 million. This weekly volume also surpassed the $296 million NFT sales record in September, when digital collectibles hit their lowest monthly volume of 2021.
▌Goldrepublic Architect: BRICS Countries Interested in Gold-Backed Digital Currencies
Alexej Jordanov, content architect at Goldrepublic, stated in an article published by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) on Friday that BRICS countries are showing a keen interest in developing gold-backed digital currencies, as part of efforts to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar in international trade.
▌Trump Family Crypto Project WLFI's Recent Token Purchases Have Incurred Losses of $6.15 Million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, the Trump family crypto project WLFI's recent token purchases, including ETH, WBTC, AAVE, LINK, ENA, and ONDO, have all incurred losses, totaling $6.15 million, with the largest loss of around $4.86 million coming from ETH.
Key Economic Developments
▌Central Economic Work Conference: Implement Moderately Loose Monetary Policy, Cut RRR and Interest Rates in a Timely Manner
The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing on December 11-12. The meeting stated that a moderately loose monetary policy should be implemented, with timely cuts to the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) and interest rates, to maintain ample liquidity, ensure that the scale of social financing and money supply growth match the economic growth and overall price level targets. Efforts will be made to explore and expand the central bank's macroprudential and financial stability functions. A policy mix will be deployed, strengthening the coordination and synergy of fiscal, monetary, employment, industrial, regional, trade, environmental, and regulatory policies, as well as reform and opening-up measures, to improve the overall policy effectiveness.
▌91.4% Probability of Fed Keeping Rates Unchanged in January 2023
According to the CME FedWatch tool, there is a 91.4% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in January 2023, and an 8.6% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut. By March 2023, the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 53%, the probability of a cumulative 25-basis-point rate cut is 43.4%, and the probability of a cumulative 50-basis-point rate cut is 3.6%.
▌Fed's Bullard: Inflation Still Expected to Reach 2%
Federal Reserve's Bullard stated that inflation is still expected to reach 2%, and the recent uptick in inflation is just a "bump" in the road. He also said that his forecast is for the path of interest rates to be slightly lower in 2025, and that interest rates may decline significantly over the next 12 to 18 months.
▌Powell: Fed Has No Intention of Holding Bitcoin
Amid ongoing discussions about the potential for the incoming Trump administration to establish a Bitcoin reserve, Fed Chair Powell stated that the Federal Reserve has no intention of holding Bitcoin. During a post-FOMC meeting press conference, Powell said, "We're not permitted to hold Bitcoin. That's not something we would do." Regarding the legal issues around holding Bitcoin, Powell said, "That's something that Congress would have to address, but we have no intention to do that."
▌Outlook: Future Fed Rate Cuts May Depend on Trump Administration Policies
IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong wrote in a report that the trajectory of future Fed rate cuts may depend on Trump's policies, which remain uncertain at this stage. Yeap said that Trump's initial rhetoric on tariffs sounded aggressive, but the extent of implementation is uncertain. As policies become clearer, the Fed may initially lean towards a shallower rate cut cycle. He added that with the conclusion of the Fed meeting, and the Bank of Japan maintaining rates as expected, the U.S. stock market may gradually rise in the final weeks of 2024. However, Yeap stated that without further catalysts, new record highs may not be reached by the end of the year.
