Biden plans to strengthen export controls on AI chips, a16z executives and others compete for CFTC chairmanship
Reprinted from jinse
01/09/2025·1Mheadlines
▌Biden plans to strengthen export controls on AI chips before leaving office
According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Biden administration plans to implement a new round of restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips from companies such as Nvidia (NVDA.O) before leaving office. The United States wants to restrict the sale of artificial intelligence chips used in data centers at the national and company levels, with the aim of concentrating artificial intelligence development in friendly countries and forcing global companies to align with U.S. standards, according to people familiar with the matter. The move will extend semiconductor restrictions to much of the world at a time when demand for AI technology is surging. People familiar with the matter said the new regulations, which will set up three levels of restrictions on chip trading, could be released as soon as Friday. Affected by this news, Nvidia, AMD (AMD.O), etc. fell after the U.S. stock market opened.
▌ Several crypto-friendly figures including Kraken and a16z executives are vying for the U.S. CFTC chairmanship
According to Cryptoslate, Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is looking for a cryptocurrency-friendly candidate to serve as the next chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Competing for the position include current CFTC commissioner Summer Mersinger, a16z crypto policy director and former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz, and Kraken’s chief legal officer Marco Santori.
According to people familiar with the matter, they call Quintenz and Mersinger the "top candidates" for the position. Both purported top candidates have extensive experience and encryption policy qualifications. Mersinger is considered a thought leader at the intersection of crypto innovation and consumer protection. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been an advocate for balanced regulation to promote growth in the industry. Mersinger, meanwhile, has been a vocal advocate for a regulatory environment that is accommodating of crypto innovation, a stance he honed during his time as a CFTC commissioner and his current role at a16z. If elected, either candidate could steer the agency toward policies that prioritize clarity and innovation in the U.S. crypto industry. ,
While Quintenz and Mersinger are leading the way, several candidates are still on the shortlist, including Republican CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham, who has a strong regulatory background, Neal Kumar and Josh Sterling, who have held senior positions at the CFTC and are considered regulatory experts. The Trump transition team has reportedly vetted at least six candidates for the position, reflecting the administration’s focus on finding a leader who fits its vision for the crypto industry.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC’s recent transaction price was US$94,861.69, with an intraday increase or decrease of -2.2 % ;
ETH’s recent transaction price was US$3,323.69, with an intraday increase or decrease of -2.3% ;
BNB’s recent transaction price was US$695.47, with an intraday increase or decrease of -1.0 % ;
SOL’s recent transaction price was US$196.98, with an intraday increase or decrease of -2.9 % ;
The recent transaction price of DOGE was 0.3422 yuan, with an intraday increase or decrease of -2.6% ;
XPR’s recent transaction price was $2.37, with an intraday increase or decrease of +3.1% .
policy
▌Oklahoma legislators submitted the “Bitcoin Freedom Act” to allow employees in the state to receive wages in Bitcoin
U.S. Senator Dusty Deevers of Oklahoma has submitted the “Bitcoin Freedom Act” numbered SB325, which would allow Oklahoma employees to choose to receive wages in Bitcoin and allow vendors to accept Bitcoin payments . SB325 ensures that participation is completely voluntary, respects free market principles, and empowers employees, employers, and businesses to choose the payment method that works best for them. SB325 is eligible for consideration in the 60th legislative session, which begins on February 3.
▌The chairman of the U.S. CFTC focused on cryptocurrency in his speech before leaving office and emphasized the necessity of the CFTC as its regulatory agency.
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam will resign as chairman on January 20 to make way for future appointees of President-elect Donald Trump. In his final public speech this week at the Brookings Institution, he spent a lot of time talking about cryptocurrencies and the need to elevate the CFTC as its regulator.
Rostin Behnam said cryptocurrencies have "dominated every period of my tenure," saying: "The lack of federal legislation has raised concerns about customer protections, an increase in fraud and market abuse, broader market resiliency, and even financial stability." Concerns are growing, and we've seen this happen in history where we've left a lot of financial operations outside of oversight and accountability, and we've seen time and time again that it ends badly." He also urged protecting "their desire." Investors who include digital asset products in their investment portfolios.”
Blockchain application
▌ Avalanche Foundation provides grant to VIA Labs for the development of cross-chain protocol Proto-USD
The Avalanche Foundation announced that VIA Labs has received a grant through the InfraBUIDL() program. VIA Labs is using the funds to develop the Avalanche ecological cross-chain protocol Proto-USD.
According to reports, Proto-USD simplifies cross-chain liquidity and enables USDC to be easily transferred between Avalanche L1 and other networks, aiming to improve the accessibility, scalability and overall connectivity of the Avalanche ecosystem.
▌ Solana urges validators to test early version “Firedancer” upgrade
Solana is stepping up testing of Firedancer, a software upgrade that is expected to significantly increase blockchain processing speeds. According to messages in the Solana Technology Discord server, the Solana core development team hopes to have the “vast majority” of processing power in the on-chain low-risk test network running Frankendancer (an early version of Firedancer) by the end of the week. The call to action for Solana validators marks Firedancer’s biggest test yet. This upgrade has been in the works since the chain experienced frequent outages in 2022, and is seen as enhancing Solana’s stability and speed.
On Tuesday, the Solana Foundation used this subsidy reward and punishment mechanism for the first time to directly promote the adoption of Frankendancer. Validators have only a few days to switch their testnet systems to the new client or lose their delegated rights.
▌ Vitalik: Polymarket is unique because it is suitable for solving real social problems
Vitalik Buterin posted on distrust).
What specific large-scale social problems are cryptographic technologies suited to help solve now or in the near future? (In fact, we want to look for situations involving centralized institutions that have broken down, are not trusted, or are widely considered harmful, and where there is substantial demand to bypass them). "
cryptocurrency
▌Fidelity Digital Asset Analyst: BTC has been included in strategic reserves by many countries or will significantly boost the encryption market in 2025
Analysts at Fidelity Digital Assets predict that the inclusion of BTC in strategic reserves of multiple countries may significantly boost the cryptocurrency market in 2025. They believe that inspired by the success of El Salvador and Bhutan, governments may secretly begin accumulating digital assets as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
▌ CryptoQuant Research Director: Bitcoin’s correction has caused traders’ unrealized profits to shrink significantly, but the market adjustment is healthy.
Julio Moreno, director of research at CryptoQuant, posted on the Analysis shows that this kind of pullback is normal after a sharp rise and is conducive to the healthy development of the market. Currently, traders are seeing realized prices (which typically form price support in bull markets) of around $88,000, while Bitcoin is currently trading at around $93,000.
▌Billionaire Mark Cuba: If the economy collapses, he would rather hold Bitcoin than gold
Billionaire Mark Cuban says he would rather own Bitcoin than gold if the economy goes into trouble. Mark Cuba said, "I think Bitcoin is more valuable."
▌ Blast will launch mobile platform and token economics updates later this month
Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast announced on the There will be no gold distribution. All users should also make sure to log into the Blast website with their own wallets. An official release date will be announced soon.”
▌Galaxy and Agora completed the first OTC transaction involving the stablecoin AUSD
According to an official announcement, asset management company Galaxy and stablecoin issuer Agora completed the first over-the-counter transaction involving Agora’s stablecoin AUSD. "This transaction marks the transition of AUSD from proof of concept to practical application," Agora CEO Nick van Eck said in a statement.
Agora said AUSD is a “builder-centric” stablecoin designed to attract traders and developers through “gas-optimized” smart contracts. The company also said that the stablecoin is fully supported, with collateral held by one of the world’s largest asset managers and subject to regular reserve audits.
Important economic developments
▌Fed ’s mouthpiece: Meeting minutes show officials are generally unwilling to cut interest rates this month
"Fed spokesperson" Nick Timiraos pointed out that the Fed meeting minutes further showed that officials are generally willing to keep interest rates unchanged at the upcoming meeting at the end of this month. "Participants indicated that the Committee is at or near an appropriate level to slow the pace of policy easing," the minutes said. Officials believed that based on their current outlook for economic activity, the Fed is likely to continue to move at a slower pace than in recent months. rate cuts.
▌Fed meeting minutes: Unemployment rate expected to rise slightly
Minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting noted that staff predicted that U.S. economic conditions would remain solid. Real GDP growth is expected to slow slightly from the previous baseline forecast, and the unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly but remain close to staff's estimate of the natural rate of unemployment. In the staff's baseline forecast, inflation forecast for 2024 is slightly higher than the forecast made at the last meeting, reflecting an upward surprise from some recent data, with inflation expected to fall to 2% by 2027, consistent with the forecast for 2027. Predictions for the November meeting were consistent.
▌Former Bank of Japan review member: The possibility of raising interest rates in March has increased
Makoto Sakurai, a former member of the Bank of Japan's policy committee, said the possibility that the Bank of Japan will delay raising interest rates until March is increasing given the growing uncertainty brought about by U.S. President-elect Trump. "There seems to be too much uncertainty when Trump is commenting on various things. There may not be enough reasons to support a rate hike in January." Makoto Sakurai spoke as BOJ watchers were looking for details about this month's Or a hint of a rate hike later. Sakurai believes that the possibility of raising interest rates in March is as high as 70%, because the Bank of Japan may prefer to wait until the situation becomes clearer in the first few months after the new Trump administration takes office before taking action.
Golden Encyclopedia
▌What is a compressed NFT?
CNFT is a newer non-fungible token that utilizes state compression technology to store data more efficiently on Solana. Unlike traditional NFTs, which store all token metadata directly on-chain or through external links such as IPFS, cNFTs use Merkle trees to optimize data storage.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase your risk awareness.
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