Today's News Highlights:
Vana releases VANA token economics: 44% of total supply will be allocated to the community
Virtuals Protocol launches simulation experiment platform "Agent Sandbox" for AI agents
Pudgy Penguins floor price breaks $100,000, setting a new historical high
Web3 gaming ecosystem Treasure officially launches mainnet after migrating to ZKsync
BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs purchased $500 million worth of ETH in the past two days
Regulatory News
Australian regulators compare Bitcoin to prison currency in controversial consultation document
According to Decrypt, the Australian crypto industry has recently been shaken by controversial remarks from the head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) digital assets department. During a contact meeting on Wednesday, Rhys Bollen, the head, compared Bitcoin to cigarettes used as currency in prisons when asked whether non-cash payment facility (NCP) regulations would apply to digital assets, sparking widespread discussion. Bollen's comments raised concerns in the industry about the classification of digital assets, particularly regarding stablecoin payments. ASIC believes that using stablecoins for payments triggers non-cash payment events, but the guidance is worded broadly, making any digital asset that can be used for payment potentially fall under this category. Bollen stated that theoretically, almost anything could be used as a means of payment, raising questions about the boundaries of financial regulation. Industry insiders in the country expressed concerns that applying financial regulation to tools like non-custodial wallets or software could stifle innovation and lead to businesses relocating.
Recently, some netizens discovered that Hua Bao Fund is promoting its fund that indirectly invests in overseas cryptocurrency-related targets and assets. It is understood that this fund is Hua Bao Overseas Technology Stock (QDII-FOF-LOF), a compliant investment model for overseas assets, with the largest ETF investment target being the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and the second largest ETF investment target being a Bitcoin ETF. This product is being sold normally on various fund distribution platforms in the industry, including Ant Wealth, Licai Tong, and China Merchants Bank, with a daily limit of 1000 yuan per person. Earlier today, an advertisement for a certain cryptocurrency fund appeared on Alipay: daily purchase limit of 1000 yuan per person.
Consensys survey: High penetration of cryptocurrency in emerging markets, with Nigeria leading
PANews reported on December 12 that Consensys released the latest Web3 survey conducted in collaboration with YouGov. The survey further confirms the high penetration of cryptocurrency in emerging markets, with Nigeria performing outstandingly, followed by South Africa. The five jurisdictions most likely to invest in cryptocurrency in the next 12 months are Nigeria (93%), South Africa (77%), the Philippines (59%), India (58%), and Indonesia (54%). The least likely to purchase are Europeans, Canadians, and Japanese. UK respondents scored the lowest (15%), with the US at 41%, positioned between Brazil (43%) and Argentina (39%). The main factors hindering investment include volatility, scams, and entry-level knowledge. A significant number of people do not understand the purpose of blockchain or find it too complex, believing that this investment is only suitable for tech-savvy individuals. Additionally, 47% of respondents stated that the current banking system is functioning well but still has room for improvement. However, 18% believe a complete overhaul is necessary, while 19% think the status quo is sufficient.
According to Bloomberg, Brian Quintenz has become a strong contender for the position of chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Under the leadership of President Trump, cryptocurrency regulation may undergo significant changes. According to insiders, Quintenz has interviewed for the position, and the president's team has completed interviews for the regulatory agency's chair position, with an announcement expected in the coming days. Quintenz is a former Republican CFTC commissioner and currently serves as the policy director of a16z Crypto, the digital assets division of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). If Quintenz is selected for the position, he will serve as a bridge between digital assets and traditional finance. Before joining the CFTC, he founded and led the hedge fund Saeculum Capital Management and worked on Capitol Hill. During his tenure as a CFTC commissioner in the first Trump administration, he pushed the agency to embrace new financial service companies, including digital asset derivatives and event contracts that allow retail investors to bet on the outcomes of almost anything. Since joining a16z, he has been advocating for more friendly regulatory policies for both industries, including joining the board of Kalshi Inc., one of the first prediction markets regulated by the CFTC.
According to IT Home, the U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected Nvidia's appeal regarding a class action lawsuit from investors, which accused Nvidia of misleading shareholders about the impact of the cryptocurrency market on its sales. This means the case will continue to be heard in lower courts. The case stems from two investor lawsuits in 2018, accusing Nvidia of irresponsibly misleading investors about the correlation between revenue growth and cryptocurrency performance. Investors claim that Nvidia and its executives made severely misleading statements, downplaying the impact of the volatile cryptocurrency market on its revenue growth and exaggerating its ability to adapt to market changes. Previously, an appellate court allowed at least part of the merged case to proceed. Notably, in 2022, Nvidia reached a $5.5 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for concealing the connection between its success and the turbulent cryptocurrency market. In that settlement, Nvidia did not admit to any wrongdoing.
Riot Platforms completes $525 million note issuance to fund Bitcoin purchases
According to Cryptoslate, Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms submitted documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 11, indicating that the company has successfully completed a $525 million issuance of senior notes. These notes, which mature in 2030, have an interest rate of 0.75% and were privately issued to institutional investors. The terms of the notes stipulate that starting in 2029, investors have the right to convert them into Riot's common stock, and under specific conditions outlined in the issuance terms, investors may also convert them early. The proceeds will primarily be used to advance the company's Bitcoin acquisition strategy and further expand its holdings. Prior to this strategic move, Riot had spent $68.45 million to purchase 705 Bitcoins. With this latest investment, the total amount of Bitcoin held by the company has now reached 12,000, valued at approximately $1.2 billion at current market prices. This makes Riot the second-largest publicly traded mining company in terms of Bitcoin holdings, second only to Marathon Digital, which currently holds over 40,000 Bitcoins.
According to Wu Says Blockchain, the media discovered an advertisement for a cryptocurrency fund on Alipay. This fund primarily invests in Ark Invest ETFs through Hua Bao Overseas Technology C (QDII-FOF-LOF) and indirectly invests in Coinbase and Ark Bitcoin spot ETFs. Currently, there is a daily purchase limit of 1000 yuan per person.
U.S. Senate delays nomination vote for Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw
According to Bloomberg, Democratic nominee Caroline Crenshaw's re-nomination to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has encountered further obstacles as the planned committee vote has been postponed. With only a few days left in this year's congressional schedule, this move increases the likelihood of a SEC composed of three Republicans in the early months of Trump's next administration. Since Crenshaw's term at the agency officially ended in June, her re-nomination has been pending. If the nomination continues to be stalled, Trump may choose Republican Paul Atkins to fill her vacancy on the five-member board, as her term has already expired. According to regulations, if no one else is confirmed to take her role, Crenshaw can only remain at the SEC until January 2026. Earlier reports indicated that several cryptocurrency advocacy organizations have released advertisements and letters opposing the nomination of Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw.
According to Bloomberg, Vancouver, Canada, has passed a policy that could introduce Bitcoin into its city finances—partly influenced by the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the Vancouver City Council passed a motion to become a "Bitcoin-friendly city" and explore the application of Bitcoin in municipal areas. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim stated in a phone interview before the council vote on Tuesday, "I've wanted to do this for a while. But I think the public is not yet ready for this discussion." Sim mentioned that he decided to speak more openly about cryptocurrency because "suddenly, with what is happening in the U.S., many other countries, provinces, and states are also indicating they want to take similar actions. And we want to be at the forefront of this trend." Since announcing the policy at the end of November, Sim has publicly expressed his strong belief in Bitcoin, calling it "the greatest invention in human history" and asserting that the value of traditional fiat currency will "go to zero." He believes that Bitcoin's "potential" value is only a small part of its future value, although he emphasized that he is not qualified to provide investment advice.
Project Updates
Wintermute and DWF Labs become market makers for BSC Meme $MONKEY
According to @ai_9684xtpa monitoring, Wintermute and DWF Labs have become market makers for the BSC Meme token $MONKEY, which launched today. Ten hours ago, Wintermute's OTC address received a transfer of 10 billion tokens from the project team for market making, accounting for 1% of the total supply. While DWF's specific market-making address has not yet been tracked, the official blog has clearly stated that DWF is one of its main market makers.
Binance to support aelf (ELF) network upgrade on December 25
Binance announced that it will suspend token deposits and withdrawals for aelf (ELF) network starting at 09:00 (UTC) on December 25, 2024, to support its network upgrade. This upgrade is expected to occur at block height 248,832,789, approximately completing around 10:00 (UTC) on December 25, 2024.
Sui ecosystem lending protocol Suilend has issued SEND tokens
Sui ecosystem lending protocol Suilend announced on platform X that SEND tokens are now live. Suilend added that 40% of the SEND supply will be distributed through the mdrop mechanism: 20% will reward SEND point holders and early users; 5% will be allocated to the Sui ecosystem community; and 15% will be distributed to SAVE holders on Solana. Previously, Suilend announced the SEND token economics, with a total supply of 100 million tokens, of which 65% is allocated to the community, and 40% is distributed through the Mdrops airdrop mechanism, including point holders, early users, Rootlets NFT, Capsule NFT, and SAVE holders.
Vana releases VANA token economics: 44% of total supply will be allocated to the community
The decentralized AI data liquidity network Vana has released its VANA token economics. The total supply of VANA tokens is 120 million, of which 44% will be allocated to the community (unlocked over 36 months), 22.9% will be allocated to the ecosystem (unlocked over 48 months), 18.8% will be allocated to core contributors (part unlocked after 1 year + 4 years unlocking), and 14.2% will be allocated to investors (part unlocked after 1 year + 3 years unlocking). The circulating supply at the Token Generation Event (TGE) will be 28.5%.
Binance: BNSOL Super Staking will launch the second project WOO
Binance announced that BNSOL Super Staking will launch the second project - WOO (WOO), a platform providing both centralized and decentralized services. It is reported that WOO Network has now been renamed to WOO. From December 17, 2024, 08:00 to January 1, 2025, 07:59 (UTC+8), users holding BNSOL in their Binance accounts and Binance wallets, or staking SOL to BNSOL, will receive WOO APR Boost airdrop rewards. These WOO APR Boost airdrop rewards are additional token airdrops provided on top of Binance's annualized interest rate for SOL staking, offering users higher yields.
Virtuals Protocol launches simulation experiment platform "Agent Sandbox" for AI agents
According to official news, Virtuals Protocol has announced the launch of Agent Sandbox, a simulation experiment platform specifically for AI agents. It is reported that the platform allows developers to have complete control over the personality and goal settings of AI agents, enhancing agent capabilities through the creation of custom functions. Developers can enable AI agents to perform on-chain transactions, generate memes, and even control physical robots among various tasks. Notably, even users who do not yet have AI agents can participate in the experience. Users can start trying it by visiting game-lite.virtuals.io.
Pudgy Penguins floor price breaks $100,000, setting a new historical high
Coingecko data shows that the floor price of "Pudgy Penguins" has broken $100,000, setting a new historical high. The current floor price of Pudgy Penguins is reported at 26.98 ETH, approximately $103,144, with a 7-day increase of 86.9%.
Web3 gaming ecosystem Treasure officially launches mainnet after migrating to ZKsync
According to The Block, the Web3 gaming ecosystem Treasure DAO announced the launch of its mainnet on Wednesday. A statement said, "This release marks one of the largest ecosystem migrations in the cryptocurrency space. Treasure is transferring over 15 games and significant assets (including MAGIC, ERC-20 tokens, and hundreds of thousands of NFTs) from its existing ecosystem on Arbitrum to ZKsync, coinciding with several upcoming major TGEs and game releases planned for this network." MAGIC is the native token of Treasure. Treasure stated, "The MAGIC token is the backbone of the network, facilitating transactions, governance, and the overall economic landscape." DAO participants use this token in governance votes. Earlier in September, Treasure DAO approved the migration of the ecosystem from Arbitrum to ZKsync.
Financing News
According to Techcrunch, stablecoin-driven financial platform KAST has completed a $10 million seed round financing, co-led by Peak XV and HongShan. It is reported that Peak XV and HongShan are Indian and Chinese investment firms that spun off from investment giant Sequoia last year. Partners from DST Global and Goodwater Capital also participated in this round of investment. The company plans to launch savings products and expand remittance services while continuing to focus on stablecoin-based infrastructure. KAST is a stablecoin-driven financial platform targeting emerging markets, allowing customers to hold and spend stablecoins through traditional payment channels. KAST has also issued credit cards that can be used in standard merchant networks, enabling users to spend their stablecoins at merchants that do not support crypto transactions. KAST declined to disclose user numbers or valuation but stated that its growth exceeded expectations in the first four months of operation.
According to The Block, blockchain startup Commonware has completed a $9 million financing round, led by Haun Ventures and Dragonfly Capital, and received funding from several well-known cryptocurrency developers, including Smokey the Bera from BeraChain, Zaki Manian from Cosmos, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, Dan Romero from Farcaster, and Mert Mumtaz from Helius. Commonware, founded by former Ava Labs Vice President of Engineering Patrick O’Grady, provides "anti-framework" tools that offer highly customizable blockchain building modules for developers. Commonware has released several tools, including the consensus mechanism Simplex Consensus, aimed at surpassing the limitations of traditional frameworks to provide more efficient solutions for developers and users.
Opinions
Swiss cryptocurrency bank Sygnum released the "2025 Cryptocurrency Market Outlook Report," indicating that 2025 may become an important turning point for the cryptocurrency market. The report predicts that the continuous inflow of institutional investor funds, improved regulatory environments, and the potential inclusion of Bitcoin in sovereign wealth funds and central bank reserve assets will drive cryptocurrency prices up. The report emphasizes that the U.S. government and regulatory agencies are shifting towards a favorable stance for cryptocurrency development, particularly as regulatory improvements will mainly benefit altcoins. However, risk factors such as inflationary pressures, tightening liquidity cycles, and meme coin bubbles may limit market gains. The report also notes that innovations at the infrastructure level have become a focus of industry attention; while Ethereum faces challenges, emerging public chains are performing well. Additionally, the ability of private entities to capture project revenues and the lack of user growth in some applications have also constrained the performance of altcoins.
BNY Mellon CEO: Tokenization is a major trend in financial markets
According to Jinshi, the CEO of BNY Mellon stated that tokenization is a major trend in financial markets, and that any new developments in crypto assets need to be tested in practice.
Interactive Brokers founder: Advises people to invest 2% to 3% of net assets in Bitcoin
According to Bloomberg, billionaire founder Thomas Peterffy of retail brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group Inc. stated that despite Bitcoin's volatility, investors should hold a certain amount of Bitcoin, but should limit their positions. He said, "I advise people to invest 2% to 3% of their net assets in Bitcoin."
Important Data
FTX has transferred approximately $455 million SOL to CEX, with about $1.53 billion SOL remaining
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, since November 2023, FTX has unlocked and transferred 4.263 million SOL (approximately $454.8 million) from staking to Coinbase and Binance through 20 intermediary wallets, with an average price of $106.68 per SOL. Currently, FTX still holds 6.617 million SOL (approximately $1.53 billion) in staking and plans to continue unlocking about 170,000 SOL per month as part of its current sell-off plan.
According to The Data Nerd, two hours ago, a wallet possibly belonging to Arrington Capital withdrew 3,884 ETH (approximately $15.32 million) from Binance and subsequently staked all of this ETH to Etherfi in exchange for EETH.
OKX pre-market trading Hyperliquid (HYPE) hits $20, up 33% in 24 hours
According to OKX pre-market data, the Hyperliquid token HYPE reached $20, up 33% in 24 hours, with an increase of over 50% since its launch, currently priced at $19.88.
A whale that entered at the previous high of ai16z has liquidated and made a profit of $1.9 million
PANews reported on December 12 that on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa monitored that a whale who fomoed in at the previous high of ai16z finally liquidated and made a profit. This whale had invested $1.023 million, buying more as the price fell, with an average price of $0.2044, and at one point faced a floating loss of $535,000; after holding for 16 days, the whale finally saw the price reach a historical high and liquidated all tokens in batches at an average price of $0.58698 over the past two days, ultimately making a profit of $1.9 million.
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (Eastern Time, December 11), the total net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs was $223 million. Yesterday, Grayscale's ETF GBTC saw a net inflow of $20.1306 million, with a historical net outflow of $20.891 billion. Grayscale's Bitcoin mini trust ETF BTC had a net inflow of $15.7354 million yesterday, with a historical total net inflow of $916 million. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest single-day net inflow yesterday was Fidelity's ETF FBTC, with a net inflow of $122.2 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $12.224 billion. Following that was the ETF ARKB from Ark Invest and 21Shares, with a net inflow of $52.6743 million yesterday, bringing its historical total net inflow to $2.637 billion. As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $113.717 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap compared to total Bitcoin market cap) of 5.67%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $34.576 billion.
BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs purchased $500 million worth of ETH in the past two days
According to The Block, crypto data tracking platform Arkham shows that financial giants BlackRock and Fidelity's ETFs purchased $500 million worth of Ethereum in the past two days. These two companies primarily made purchases through the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase or its institutional crypto service platform Coinbase Prime. According to The Block's data dashboard, BlackRock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH are among the top Ethereum spot ETFs and led the historical highest capital inflow on November 30. On December 10, ETHA and FETH had trading volumes of $372.4 million and $103.7 million, respectively.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
