Today's News Highlights:
Kenya prepares to legislate the legalization of cryptocurrency.
New Hampshire proposes a bill to establish a "strategic Bitcoin reserve."
North Dakota proposes to establish reserves for digital assets and precious metals.
Aiccelerate DAO launches, but its website is temporarily inaccessible due to high traffic; the official team is working to resolve the issue.
Nasdaq-listed spirits company Heritage Distilling plans to establish a Bitcoin reserve and accept it as a payment method.
Genius Group adds a purchase of $5 million in Bitcoin, with an average buying price of $94,047.
Trump "hush money" case verdict: 34 counts found guilty, no punishment imposed.
Bybit announces temporary service restrictions for Indian users starting January 12.
A multi-signature wallet associated with the Cookie project deposited 20 million COOKIE tokens into Binance 8 hours ago.
Regulation/Macro
Kenya prepares to legislate the legalization of cryptocurrency
Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury, John Mbadi, stated on Friday that Kenya is preparing to legislate the legalization of cryptocurrency, marking a significant shift in the government's stance. Kenya currently prohibits the use of cryptocurrency, but the public continues to use it widely underground to circumvent restrictions. In outlining the new policy, Mbadi said, "The emergence and development of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers bring innovation to local and international financial systems, presenting vibrant opportunities and challenges."
U.S. December seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls at 256,000, unemployment rate at 4.1%
The U.S. non-farm payrolls for December were 256,000, significantly exceeding the market expectation of 160,000, reaching a new high since March 2024. The unemployment rate in the U.S. for December was 4.1%, slightly down from the previous month and below the market expectation of 4.2%.
According to the Financial Times, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed to include digital wallets under the same protection standards as bank accounts, requiring service providers to compensate customers for losses due to hacking or unauthorized transactions.
The CFPB plans to extend the applicability of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to include stablecoins and other digital assets, emphasizing that "any asset used similarly to currency" will be protected. The CFPB aims to strengthen consumer protection through this rule while establishing higher compliance standards for the cryptocurrency industry.
This rule change could significantly impact U.S. companies holding customer crypto assets (such as exchanges and custodians), as these businesses will need to maintain sufficient reserves to cover potential losses. The CFPB stated it will focus on virtual currency wallets used for purchasing goods or services, as well as accounts for virtual items in video games and credit card reward points.
The CFPB is seeking industry feedback, with the comment period ending on March 31, after which it will decide whether to issue a final rule.
New Hampshire proposes a bill to establish a "strategic Bitcoin reserve"
Dennis Porter, co-founder and CEO of the Satoshi Action Fund (SAF), posted on the X platform that New Hampshire state legislator Keith Ammon has submitted a bill proposing the establishment of a "strategic reserve," allowing the state treasury to invest in precious metals (such as gold, silver, platinum) and digital assets (including Bitcoin).
The bill will introduce new provisions to clarify the definitions of "qualified custodians" and "secure custody solutions" to ensure the safe custody of digital assets and operate through regulated trading products.
North Dakota proposes to establish reserves for digital assets and precious metals
The North Dakota state legislature has proposed a resolution aimed at "investing a portion of state funds in digital assets and precious metals." Resolution 3001 aims to mitigate the impact of inflation on finances by diversifying the state's investment assets. The resolution states: "Given the changing economic conditions and emerging investment opportunities, there is a need for prudent investment of state financial resources." Notably, while the resolution encourages investment in digital assets, it does not specifically mention Bitcoin. The resolution was proposed by North Dakota Representatives Nathan Toman, Matthew Heilman, Jared Hendrix, Daniel Johnston, SuAnn Olson, and Todd Porter, as well as Senators Jeff Barta and Bob Paulson.
A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has charged three Russian nationals with crimes related to the operation of two cryptocurrency mixers. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendants Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko, Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik, and Anton Vyachlavovich Tarasov are accused of operating two mixing companies named Blender.io and Sinbad.io. They are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed remittance business.
In May 2022, the U.S. discovered that North Korean hackers used Blender to launder $20.5 million from the $600 million Axie Infinity hack, leading to sanctions against Blender. Blockchain analysis firm Elliptic noted in 2023 that Sinbad is likely a rebranded version of Blender, operated by the same organization. Blender maintained a "no-logs policy" and deleted user transaction details. The company operated from 2018 until 2022, with successor Sinbad emerging months after Blender's closure. On November 27, 2023, law enforcement took action to shut down Sinbad. If convicted, the defendants could face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and up to 5 years for operating an unlicensed remittance business. Ostapenko and Oleynik were arrested on December 1, 2024. Tarasov remains at large.
U.S. CFTC enforcement director Ian McGinley to resign on the 17th
Ian McGinley, the enforcement director of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will resign on the 17th (local time). Ian McGinley joined the agency in February 2023, and a month later, the CFTC sued Binance and then-CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating U.S. commodity laws. During his tenure, he also oversaw enforcement actions against the collapsed global platform FTX, which he described as the largest amount of money recovered for victims in CFTC history. Subsequently, the agency took action against projects such as KuCoin and Falcon Labs.
Trump "hush money" case verdict: 34 counts found guilty, no punishment imposed
According to CCTV News, a judge in New York State ruled on the "hush money" case involving President Trump, finding him guilty on 34 counts, but due to his important position during the presidential power transition, he was released unconditionally with no punishment.
Project Updates
Binance Alpha adds VADER token
The app page shows that Binance Alpha has added the VADER token. It is reported that VaderAI aims to become the BlackRock of the "AI agent economy" era.
Bybit announces temporary service restrictions for Indian users starting January 12
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced that due to the latest policies from Indian regulators, it will temporarily restrict all trading and product usage for Indian users on the platform starting January 12, 2025, at 8 AM UTC, with the only exception being the withdrawal function, which will remain operational.
Specific restrictions include:
- Trading and deposits: New orders will be halted, existing derivative positions will be adjusted to "close only" mode, and no new or modified positions will be allowed. Cryptocurrency and fiat deposits will be temporarily disabled, but withdrawals will not be affected.
- Copy trading and trading bots: All master-slave relationships and trading bots will be terminated before 5 AM UTC on January 13.
- P2P ads: All Indian Rupee (INR) ads will be removed at 8 AM UTC on January 12.
- Activity tasks: Users will not be able to complete any new or ongoing activity tasks starting at 8 AM UTC on January 12.
- Bybit card: All transactions will be restricted.
The digital identity project World (formerly known as Worldcoin), supported by Sam Altman, has surpassed 10 million verified users, and World App downloads exceed 20 million, covering over 160 countries.
Jubilee Royalty founder Tim Kotzman tweeted that Ethan Peck, an employee of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), submitted a shareholder proposal to Meta regarding Bitcoin reserves in the name of a family holding Meta shares. The proposal mentions that Meta should consider replacing a portion or certain ratio of its assets with assets that appreciate faster than bonds, even if these assets are more volatile in the short term. Due to its verifiable fixed supply, Bitcoin is the most effective store of value against inflation.
TON ecosystem MEME project DOGS releases development roadmap for the first half of 2025
The TON ecosystem MEME project DOGS has released its roadmap for the first to second quarter of 2025. The roadmap outlines plans for DOGS-themed games, community engagement through local charities, and expanding the payment use cases for DOGS tokens. Later this year, users will be able to choose to use DOGS tokens for online and offline purchases, such as gift cards and travel bookings.
Aiccelerate tweeted that Aiccelerate DAO has officially launched, but the website is temporarily inaccessible due to high traffic, and efforts are underway to resolve the issue. Additionally, updates will be made in the following areas within the next 1-2 weeks:
- Initial investment in the team
- Strategy and roadmap of the internal development team (building agents and infrastructure)
- Establishing key partnerships with leaders to facilitate investment and development goals
Yesterday's news reported that members from Coinbase, Google, and a16z have teamed up to launch the DAO organization Aiccelerate to accelerate the integration of crypto and AI. AICC briefly surpassed $0.25, rising about 60% in the past hour.
Financing
Confidential AI project Privasea has completed its Series A funding at a valuation of $180 million, raising a total of $15 million across three rounds. Investors include GSR, Amber, and Echo, with early investors such as Binance Labs, OKX Ventures, Nomura’s Laser Digital, and Gate Labs.
Privasea launched the DeepSea testnet Beta on January 6, and this funding will be used to accelerate the deployment of the mainnet DeepSea and the development of related intelligent agents, promoting advancements in human-computer interaction and intelligent agent interaction.
Opinions
FDIC Vice Chairman calls for a more open attitude towards crypto technology
Travis Hill, Vice Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), expressed a desire for federal agencies to adopt a more "open attitude" towards crypto technology and called for more guidance on digital assets. Hill also mentioned "Operation Choke Point" and urged an end to such practices, as well as a reassessment of the implementation of the Bank Secrecy Act to reduce the phenomenon of banks closing accounts due to high fines for non-compliance.
Important Data
Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net outflow of $149 million yesterday, with an ETF net asset ratio of 5.74%
AICC briefly surpassed $0.25, rising about 60% in the past hour
Market data shows that Aiccelerate (AICC) briefly surpassed $0.25, currently priced at $0.23, with a market cap of approximately $256 million, rising about 60% in the past hour, and achieving a trading volume of $4.5 million within 1.5 hours of launch.
Genius Group adds a purchase of $5 million in Bitcoin, with an average buying price of $94,047
AI company Genius Group (NYSE American: GNS) announced an additional $5 million in its Bitcoin reserves, bringing the total to 372 Bitcoins, valued at $35 million, with an average buying price of $94,047 per Bitcoin. This amount accounts for 30% of the company's initial Bitcoin reserve target of $120 million and completes the planned progress ahead of schedule.
Currently, Genius Group has a market cap of $42 million, with the value of its Bitcoin reserves accounting for 83% of the company's market cap. The company also increased its cryptocurrency loan limit with Arch Lending from $10 million to $14 million, with a loan-to-value ratio of 40%.
Additionally, Genius Group approved a founder compensation plan aimed at achieving a market cap of $1 billion within the next 10 years and increasing its Bitcoin reserves to $1 billion in net assets.
Genius Group is an education group focused on a "Bitcoin-first" strategy, utilizing AI technology to provide personalized education and accelerated solutions for individuals, businesses, and governments, serving over 5.4 million users across more than 100 countries.
Heritage Distilling, a spirits company listed on Nasdaq (stock code: CASK), announced that it will begin holding cryptocurrency as a "strategic asset" and accept cryptocurrency payments. The company stated that the plan requires approval, and Heritage will first develop a policy plan for board approval before taking action.
Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel stated in a statement: "Heritage has always been an innovator, and we are once again at the forefront of the craft spirits industry. We are ready to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for online e-commerce sales and to acquire and hold Bitcoin as an asset."
According to Spot On Chain monitoring, 8 hours ago, following the announcement of the listing on Binance, a multi-signature wallet associated with the Cookie project deposited 20 million COOKIE (worth $12.55 million) into Binance. This multi-signature wallet received a total of 75 million COOKIE from Cookie's Deployer wallet on June 13, 2024, and currently holds 20 million COOKIE (worth $11.33 million).
Previous news reported that members from Coinbase, Google, and a16z have teamed up to launch the DAO organization Aiccelerate to accelerate the integration of crypto and AI.
According to @ai_9684xtpa monitoring, "whale that made a profit of $1.808 million from nine PEPE rounds since March 2024" has once again increased its position with a $1.01 million investment in PEPE. 19 hours ago, it withdrew 57.2 billion PEPE from Binance, and as of now, the tenth round has built a position of 248 billion PEPE (approximately $4.36 million), with a cost of $0.00002003, currently facing a floating loss of $603,000.
A whale sold 5 million swarms 2 hours ago for profit, currently still holding 15 million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, 2 hours ago, a swarms whale sold 5 million swarms for $7,232 SOL (worth $1.35 million) to take profit. This whale spent $458,000 to purchase 20 million swarms 14 days ago and currently holds 15 million swarms (worth $4.02 million), with a total profit of $4.9 million.
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。
