Daily | Bhutan GMC includes BTC, ETH and BNB in ​​strategic reserves; Musk said there are no plans to use cryptocurrencies in X Payments in the near future; Thailand will trial cryptocurrency payments in Phuket

Organized by: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Important information:

• Arbitrum Foundation awards largest-ever developer grant to South Korean giant Rakuten
• Gleep Mindfulness City (GMC), a special economic zone in the Kingdom of Bhutan, announced that it will include BTC, ETH and BNB in ​​its strategic reserves
• Kazakhstan regulators have blocked more than 3,500 “illegal” crypto exchanges
• Musk: No plans to use cryptocurrencies in X Payments service in the near future
• Trump put forward a number of surprising strategies at the press conference, and many countries responded
• Data: Ethereum Foundation sells 100 ETH
• Thailand will trial cryptocurrency payments in Phuket, allowing foreign tourists to use digital currencies for shopping

"What important events happened in the past 24 hours?"

[Thailand will trial cryptocurrency payments in Phuket, allowing foreign

tourists to use digital currencies for shopping](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161389)

Thailand will launch a new cryptocurrency payment project, starting with the popular tourist destination of Phuket, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira announced at a Thai Marketing Association seminar on Wednesday. The project will allow foreign tourists to use digital assets to shop in tourist cities.

Pichai Chunhavajira emphasized that the pilot program will comply with the existing legal framework and ensure that no laws will be violated. The pilot in Phuket will allow foreign visitors to register their Bitcoin through Thai exchanges, complete identity verification and then use the cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services.

According to previous news , the former Prime Minister of Thailand proposed to trial the use of Bitcoin for payment in Phuket.

[Data: Ethereum Foundation sells 100

ETH](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161385)

According to Arkham monitoring, 4 minutes ago, the Ethereum Foundation's address 0xd77, which is used for small-amount high-frequency sales of ETH, sold 100 ETH in exchange for 336,000 DAI.

[South Korea’s Financial Services Commission plans to gradually allow

legal persons to invest in virtual assets](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161336)

The South Korean Financial Commission announced its main work plan for 2025 on January 8, announcing that it would gradually allow legal persons to open real-name accounts for virtual asset transactions through discussions by the Virtual Assets Committee. Although the law currently does not explicitly prohibit the issuance of real-name accounts to legal persons, financial regulatory agencies have previously instructed banks to avoid issuing such accounts to legal persons. The Finance Committee plans to start with non-profit legal persons and gradually formulate specific implementation plans.

In addition, the Financial Committee will also promote the "Virtual Assets Phase II Bill", covering the supervision of the issuance and circulation of virtual assets. In the future, we will focus on discussing currency listing standards, stablecoin management, and behavioral rules for virtual asset exchanges, etc., and integrating them with the global regulatory framework.

[Gleep Mindfulness City (GMC), a special economic zone in the Kingdom of

Bhutan, announced that it will include BTC, ETH and BNB in ​​its strategic reserves](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161332)

According to the official website of Gleep Mindfulness City (GMC), a special economic zone in Bhutan, Gleep Mindfulness City (GMC) in Bhutan announced that it will include BTC, ETH and BNB into its city strategic reserve assets, becoming the first batch of digital assets in the world to be included in strategic reserves. one of the special administrative regions.

According to the official website information, BNB is included in the list of reserve assets due to its high market value, abundant liquidity, and running on a mature and secure blockchain. One of GMC's future economic priorities is to promote and support the application of blockchain technology. This move not only strengthens GMC's economic resilience, but also demonstrates its determination to promote the development of blockchain technology. In March 2025, GMC will hold a high-level meeting to discuss digital asset strategic reserves and establish an international advisory committee.

[Hyperliquid responds to multiple issues raised by the

community](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161326)

Hyperliquid issued an article on

• All validators are qualified based on testnet performance. The statement of "buying seats" is not true and the related accusations are unfair to serious and committed validators. As the network develops, the set of validators will gradually expand;
• The foundation’s delegation plan announced earlier will support high-performing validators and further decentralize the network;
• Anyone can run an API server pointing to any node, and while the example client code sends requests to a specific API server, this is not a fundamental requirement of the network;
• The black market trading behavior of testnet HYPE is unacceptable, and the project team will continue to optimize the testnet user experience;
• The current node code is closed source and will be open source in the future after the development is stable and safe;
• There is currently only one binary, and even on mature networks like Solana, most validators run a single client.

Hyperliquid stated that the project is iterating at a faster speed and on a larger scale, and will continue to listen to community feedback and improve the ecosystem in the future.

[Kazakhstan regulators have blocked more than 3,500 “illegal” crypto

exchanges](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161321)

According to Finance Magnate s, Kazakhstan’s regulatory agency AFM RK announced that authorities have blocked more than 3,500 illegally operating cryptocurrency exchanges. The operation was the result of a joint effort between the National Security Council and the Ministry of Culture and Information. Previously in 2023, authorities also blocked access to Coinbase on suspicion of violating digital asset laws.

In 2024, regulators liquidated 36 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges with a total trading volume of 60 billion Kazakh tenge (approximately $113 million) and froze assets worth 4.8 million USDT. In addition, the authorities uncovered two cryptocurrency pyramid scams, returned 545,000 USDT to victims, and froze 120,000 USDT held by the platform.

AFM stated that it is working with international partners to strengthen the supervision of cryptocurrency transactions, combat their use in crimes, and develop legal amendments to hold digital asset providers accountable for money laundering. Financial institutions’ inspections of cryptocurrency transactions are also be strengthened.

[Bithumb will launch Deepbook

(DEEP)](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161265)

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb will list Deepbook (DEEP). Deepbook is the Sui ecological liquidity protocol.

[Listed company Sol Strategies received a credit line of CAD 25 million

to invest in SOL and pledge business](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161249)

Listed company Sol Strategies (stock code: CYFRF, HODL.CN) announced on Monday that it will invest CAD 25 million in the Solana ecosystem through unsecured credit facilities.

The unsecured revolving credit facility will bear interest at a rate of 5% per annum, accruing daily. Sol Strategies has withdrawn C$4 million in principal and plans to use "remaining funds to make large-scale purchases of Solana tokens to support its staking operations and acquisitions." According to the statement, it must use the entire quota before January 6, 2027.

The Toronto-based company is the latest move by Cypherpunk Holdings, which has rebranded as one of the major Solana stakers and ecosystem players.

[Backpack Exchange acquires FTX EU for $32.7 million and will be

responsible for distributing $55 million in FTX bankruptcy claims](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161246)

Backpack Exchange, founded by former FTX and Alameda employees, has acquired the bankrupt FTX former European entity for $32.7 million to expand its derivatives offering in the region.

FTX EU was one of the business units that ended up bankrupt after FTX collapsed in 2022. As part of the acquisition, Dubai-based Backpack will be responsible for distributing approximately €53 million ($55 million) of previously court-approved FTX bankruptcy claims to FTX EU clients.

The FTX bankruptcy administrator filed a lawsuit in an attempt to recover millions of dollars from the original owners of FTX EU. The lawsuit was eventually dropped as part of a settlement that included the resale of the unit to FTX Europe co-founders Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke. Backpack bought the company from its co-founders.

[Musk: No plans to use cryptocurrencies in X Payments service in the

near future](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161226)

When talking about X platform payment related topics on ".

[Trump put forward a number of surprising strategies at the press

conference, and many countries responded](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161229)

At a press conference held at Mar-a-Lago, U.S. President-elect Trump made a number of shocking statements in just one hour and escalated his remarks on sovereignty issues against Canada and other countries.

He called for the use of economic means to absorb Canada as part of the United States, and did not rule out the use of force to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland, and asked NATO countries to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP. He also vowed that "the Middle East will descend into chaos" if Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages before he takes office.

In addition, Trump also promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." He did not explain how these seemingly impossible promises would be achieved, other than threatening to impose tariffs on uncooperative countries, including Denmark.

In this regard, many parties responded to Trump's relevant remarks. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said that Canada cannot be reduced to a state of the United States. The country's foreign minister said that he will never retreat in the face of threats; the Danish Prime Minister reiterated that Greenland is not for sale; the President of Panama responded that he will not retreat under Trump Before taking office, he commented on Trump’s remarks about the Panama Canal.

Foreign media commented that these words of Trump are consistent with a bolder posture, that is, Trump believes that he has been authorized (by the people and the Electoral College) to speak and act almost as he wants.

[Arbitrum Foundation awards largest-ever developer grant to South Korean

giant Rakuten](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161242)

According to CoinDesk, Offchain Labs, the developer behind Arbitrum, announced at the CES 2025 conference that the Arbitrum Foundation has issued the largest developer grant in history to South Korea's Lotte Group. Lotte Group is a multi-billion dollar South Korean conglomerate known for its portfolio of shopping malls, media companies and entertainment properties. A representative for the company declined to disclose the exact amount of the grant “at this stage.” According to Offchain Labs, the grant solidifies Arbitrum’s position as the primary blockchain infrastructure provider for Rakuten’s Metaverse gaming platform Caliverse.

“What are some great articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?”

[Node operators issued an open letter to question, and Hyperliquid

centralized API caused controversy again](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161391)

Editor's note: Node operator Chorus One described in detail the multiple problems of the Hyperliquid test network in an open letter on the And put forward a number of improvement suggestions aimed at improving the transparency and decentralization of the chain. In response to these contents, Hyperliquid founder Jeff responded and emphasized that the criteria for validator selection have been stated in the announcement; Hyperliquid's official account also issued a separate post on the X platform to clarify the issues mentioned in the letter and stated that the node code will be safe. Open source.

The following is the original content (the original content has been edited for ease of reading and understanding):

The following letter is written by Chorus One to the @HyperliquidX engineering team, hoping that the team can take the time to review this feedback on Hyperliquid chain management.

[Archeology 2024 The top ten Bitcoin whales that "reappear in the

world": the highest transfer exceeds 1,000 BTC, and the lowest cost is less than 1 US dollar](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161371)

In 2024, the Bitcoin blockchain once again brought unexpected surprises -multiple Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for more than ten years suddenly restarted. These wallets, which had been dormant for years, suddenly transferred a large amount of Bitcoin, triggering widespread attention and discussion in the cryptocurrency field. There has been much speculation in the market as to why these wallets were reactivated, especially when large-value transactions were involved.

As we move into 2025, these reactivated wallets not only remind the market of Bitcoin’s long-term value, but also highlight the unpredictable dynamics that the Bitcoin network can still bring to the table years later. This article will focus on analyzing the top ten most influential Bitcoin whale wallet reactivation cases, delve into the multiple possible reasons behind these activities, and analyze how they potentially affect market sentiment, pricing, and the dynamic development of the entire crypto ecosystem. .

[Encrypted IQ curve: Who is the real leek among the mentally retarded,

the mediocre and the genius?](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2161341)

Intelligence is a broad, relative, and highly subjective variable that humans have yet to fully quantify. Generally speaking, we classify an organism as intelligent if it is "alive" and "autonomous." And this abstract ambiguity is particularly evident in the encryption field.

From degens writing papers on Fartcoin’s potential value, to governments exploring strategic Bitcoin reserves, to academics developing complex useless technologies, the cryptocurrency industry is a giant Pandora’s box of paradoxes.

In this crazy world, there are few winners and many losers. The only simple criterion for determining the difference between the two is a single, simple metric of intelligence measured by portfolio performance.

If you want to win in the crypto game, you have to stay away from mediocrity. Either you are a Sith Lord with an IQ of 200 (the leader of the dark force users in the "Star Wars" movie series), or you are an absolute degenerate ape with an IQ of 20 (a complete brainless opportunist), if you are somewhere in between. In the meantime, it's all over.

In the crypto world, the greatest insult a person can receive is to be called "of average intelligence" (not to mention the emotional and financial pain this causes).

Meme Hot List

According to the Meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN market data, as of 19:40 on January 8:

The top five popular Ethereum tokens in the past 24 hours are: PERCY , SPX , CIPHER , POPPY , RAI

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24h are: AI21, TRENCH , SONIC , CNJR , CATG

The top five popular tokens in the past 24h Base are: VIRTUAL , AIXBT , CATOF, AKUMA , BRAIN