Important information last night and this morning (January 21st - January 22nd)
Reprinted from panewslab
01/22/2025·3M
U.S. SEC establishes cryptocurrency working group to develop regulatory framework
According to Golden Ten, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mark Uyeda established a cryptocurrency task force “committed to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets.” Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. The focus of the working group will be to help the Commission draw clear regulatory boundaries, provide a practical path to registration, develop a reasonable disclosure framework, and deploy enforcement resources wisely. Senior advisers Richard Gabbert and Taylor Asher serve as the task force's chief of staff and chief policy adviser, respectively.
According to the Golden Ten report, Trump responded to the coin: I don’t know if it (TRUMP coin) is profitable. I don’t know much about it, I only know that I launched it. I heard it was very successful.
Trump: Signed pardon for Ross Ulbricht, founder of darknet Silk Road
According to Jinshi report, US President Trump said that he has signed a pardon order for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Dark Web Silk Road.
Trump: OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle will invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that three leading companies will make huge investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, Reuters reported. Trump said at the White House that OpenAI, SoftBank (9984.T) and Oracle (ORCL.N) will form a joint venture called "Stargate" and plan to invest US$500 billion. Trump said he would use an emergency executive order to help advance the project.
Eric Trump, Trump’s second son, posted on country. There is no doubt that Biden left a mess, but that mess will be repaired and the next four years will be brilliant and transformative wealth will be created, and I hope everyone enjoys the process.”
The U.S. Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) updated its website LOGO from the Dogecoin DOGE logo to another illustration of a dog.
Crypto market maker CLS Global pleads guilty following US FBI sting operation and investigation
UAE-based cryptocurrency financial services firm CLS Global agreed on Tuesday to plead guilty to U.S. charges that it provided services to assist in market manipulation, Reuters reported, in connection with a scheme created at the request of the FBI. A digital token designed to expose fraud in the cryptocurrency industry. CLS Global was one of three companies and 15 individuals charged last year by federal prosecutors in Boston following an undercover investigation known as "Operation Token Mirrors," which marked the first time the FBI personally directed the creation of digital tokens and set up fake cryptocurrency companies to trap fraudsters. . Prosecutors noted that CLS was one of three market makers that provided illegal trading services to cryptocurrency companies and agreed during the sting operation to help manipulate the market for the FBI-backed NexFundAI token, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. CLS admitted in court documents that it agreed to provide services, including false trading, for NexFundAI tokens. On Tuesday, prosecutors announced that CLS would plead guilty to two counts of fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volumes and pay a $428,059 fine. Additionally, CLS will be prohibited from engaging in cryptocurrency trading on trading platforms available to U.S. investors or providing services to U.S. cryptocurrency customers. CLS Global also committed to annual certification of its business practices and agreed to resolve related civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Kenya’s proposed law requires digital asset companies to set up local offices
According to Bloomberg, the Kenyan government is drafting a law that would require virtual asset service providers to set up local offices to strengthen supervision of the fast-growing digital asset industry. The proposed policy does not apply to assets that cannot be transferred, traded or used for payments and investments outside closed ecosystems, and is intended to address gaps in the legal and regulatory framework in the field of virtual assets and address consumer protection, governance, data privacy and cybersecurity etc. questions. Kenya introduced a 3% digital asset transaction income tax in 2023, but has yet to establish a comprehensive industry regulatory framework. Through this move, the government hopes to fill regulatory gaps while addressing industry risks such as money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, fraud and cybercrime.
According to official news, the Ethereum re-pledge protocol EigenLayer announced the launch of the Rewards v2 mainnet on the X platform. The Rewards v2 protocol upgrade was launched on the mainnet at 04:30 on January 22, 2025, Beijing time. Rewards v2 is designed to bring greater flexibility, efficiency and customization to rewards in the EigenLayer ecosystem. Rewards v2 adopts the EigenLayer governance process (EigenGov) recently announced by the Eigen Foundation, which is also the first mainnet upgrade proposed and executed by the Eigen community. Rewards v2 introduces multiple features: 1. Operator-targeted rewards: AVS can reward operators based on performance or custom logic; 2. Variable operator fees: Operators can set their own rates for each AVS, providing economical flexibility. 3. Batch reward collection: Pledgers and operators can receive multiple rewards in one transaction, thereby reducing gas fees. These upgrades enable the Automated Verification Service (AVS) to dynamically incentivize operators, allowing rewards mechanisms to be customized to better suit their specific needs.
According to Cointelegraph, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes that upcoming U.S. stablecoin regulations may require issuers to fully back their U.S. dollar-denominated tokens with U.S. Treasury securities - a move that may make it more difficult for offshore companies to serve the U.S. market. . In an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Armstrong said he expects stablecoin regulations to become clearer in the near future. Two of the requirements may be that all stablecoin operators in the United States must be fully backed by U.S. Treasury securities and complete regular audits. He specifically pointed out that stablecoin issuer Tether may be one of the companies hardest hit by new regulations. If Tether cannot comply with any new U.S. laws, Coinbase will delist USDT. In the meantime, Coinbase plans to continue offering USDT services to help customers acquire other crypto assets. "There are a lot of people holding Tether, and if we want to help them transition to a system that we think is more secure, we want to provide them with an exit channel," Armstrong said. Implementation, Coinbase has delisted Europe’s USDt and other non-compliant stablecoins. However, a Coinbase spokesperson said that if the stablecoin “meets MiCA compliance requirements in the future,” it may be relisted.
Circle acquires Hashnote to enter the asset tokenization market
According to CoinDesk, Circle announced the acquisition of Hashnote, the publisher of the US$1.3 billion tokenized money market fund USYC, to further expand its presence in the fields of stablecoins and asset tokenization. The acquisition aims to integrate USYC with Circle’s core stablecoin USDC to achieve the conversion between on-chain cash and yield-generating collateral. Circle has also partnered with crypto market maker Cumberland DRW to provide liquidity and settlement support for USDC and USYC. At the same time, Circle plans to introduce USDC into the institutional-level blockchain platform Canton Network to promote seamless interaction between traditional finance and decentralized markets.
Obol Collective will airdrop 7.5% of OBOL tokens to Ethereum node operators
According to The Block, Obol Collective announced that it will launch and airdrop its new token OBOL, which will be distributed to network participants including independent Ethereum stakers, Rocketpool node operators, and Obol Techne Credential holders. The airdrop is based on a snapshot taken on January 13 and is planned to be carried out in three phases, the first of which will be launched on Tuesday. The OBOL token will serve as Obol’s governance mechanism to support decentralized validator technology (DVT). DVT further decentralizes Ethereum network security by allowing multiple people to jointly operate Ethereum validators. 7.5% of the total supply of this airdrop will be allocated to three types of major participants: 1. Users participating in the “1% Decentralization” funding program; 2. Professional and amateur operations of Obol nodes running long-term on the mainnet and testnet 3. Family and independent stakers, aiming to ensure the neutrality and decentralized future of Ethereum. The unlocking of airdrop tokens will be decided by community governance voting, and it is expected that the exchange listing plan will be promoted in the next 1-2 months.
Bloomberg ETF Analyst: Rex has submitted applications for Doge ETF and Trump ETF
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted that Rex has submitted an application to regulators and plans to launch Doge ETF and Trump ETF. The graphic information shows that the REX Foundation submitted to the regulatory agencies a total of Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), Ripple ($XRP), Solana ($SOL), Trump ($TRUMP), Bonk ($ Apply for multiple cryptocurrency ETFs including BONK) and Dogecoin ($DOGE).
Vitalik proposes to use ZKP technology to establish an anonymous voting mechanism for ETH holders
In response to community discussions about ETH holders participating in the governance of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), Vitalik Buterin responded by supporting the establishment of an anonymous voting tool similar to "anoncast" for ETH holders. Through zero-knowledge proof (ZKP), users can verify the amount of ETH they hold and set the sound frequency according to the ratio. For example, a user holding N ETH can post an opinion once every (120 million/N) seconds. He suggested implementing this mechanism on a decentralized social platform such as Farcaster or Lens Protocol to ensure that the entire process is intermediary-free and fully trustworthy. Vitalik believes that this approach can not only avoid the noise interference of social media, but also truly reflect the collective voice of ETH holders, while demonstrating the potential of Ethereum technology.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to social media controversy over the leadership change at the Ethereum Foundation (EF) in a tweet. He made it clear that the current decision-making power of EF’s new leadership team rests with him. The ongoing reforms aim to introduce a formal board of directors to the foundation, but until then, decision-making power still belongs to him personally. Vitalik criticized the pressure on social media, saying it undermines the work environment of good developers and makes it more difficult to manage EF. He pointed out that this behavior not only did not contribute to the achievement of goals, but also reduced his interest in meeting these requirements. In addition, he defended Aya Miyaguchi's accusations, pointing out that there were translation errors in the relevant quotes, and criticized the attacks against her as "pure malice."
Upbit will list VTHO’s Korean Won and USDT trading pairs
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will support the KRW and USDT trading pairs of VeThor Token (VTHO). The deposit function has been opened within one hour after the announcement. KRW market trading will start at 20:00 on the same day, and USDT market trading will start at 21:00. Users need to confirm to use the VeChain network for deposits and withdrawals, other networks are not supported.
Bitstamp plans to launch regulated crypto derivatives trading service in Europe
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp plans to launch regulated crypto derivatives trading services in Europe, including perpetual contract products, CoinDesk reported. Bitstamp holds a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) license, which lays the foundation for its regulated derivatives trading in Europe. The move responds to growing clarity on crypto-asset regulation in Europe and aims to capture market share from offshore platforms such as Deribit. Bitstamp was also recently acquired by Robinhood.
Pump.fun transfers approximately $28 million in SOL to Kraken
According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Pump.fun has just transferred 116,054.56 SOL to Kraken, worth approximately US$28 million. Since 2025, it has transferred a total of 692,877 SOL to Kraken, with a total value of approximately US$139 million. Its total revenue reached 2,365,753 SOL, with a current value of approximately US$570 million.
KULR invested an additional US$8 million in Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 510 coins
According to CoinDesk, energy management system manufacturer KULR announced that it had purchased Bitcoin for US$8 million, with the total holdings increasing to 510, and the total investment amount reaching US$50 million. The average purchase price was US$101,695 per Bitcoin. KULR announced the adoption of Bitcoin as part of the company’s reserve assets in December 2024. As of now, the company’s Bitcoin return rate in 2025 has reached 127%. The company’s share price has risen 90% since the strategy was announced, while Bitcoin has gained 7% over the same period.
According to Genius Group’s announcement, the company has increased its Bitcoin reserves to a total of 420 coins, with a total value of US$40 million, and the average purchase price is US$95,912 per Bitcoin. This increase, which includes a recent additional $5 million, is consistent with the company’s “Bitcoin-first” strategy announced in November 2024 to invest more than 90% of current and future reserves in Bitcoin and set an initial target of $1.2 billion. . To date, the company has completed purchases through reserve funds, ATM financing facilities, and a $19 million crypto loan with Arch Lending. Genius Group is an AI-driven education company with Bitcoin as its core, providing personalized education and AI solutions to more than 5.4 million users around the world.
According to the Form 8-K filing submitted by MicroStrategy, the company purchased approximately 11,000 Bitcoins between January 13 and January 20, 2025, for a total amount of approximately US$1.1 billion, with an average purchase price of approximately 101,191 Bitcoins. USD (including fees). The purchase of these Bitcoins was funded by proceeds from the company's issuance and sale of shares through a Stock Sales Agreement (Sales Agreement). As of January 20, 2025, MicroStrategy held a total of approximately 461,000 Bitcoins, with a total purchase amount of approximately US$29.3 billion, and an average purchase price of US$63,610 per coin.
According to data from SoSoValue, last week (January 13 to January 17), the Bitcoin spot ETF had a net inflow of US$1.96 billion in a single week. Among them, BlackRock Bitcoin ETF IBIT ranked first with a net inflow of US$746 million, with a historical cumulative net inflow of US$38.41 billion; Fidelity ETF FBTC ranked second with a US$680 million, with a historical cumulative net inflow of US$38.41 billion. 12.84 billion U.S. dollars; Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC had a net outflow of 87.68 million U.S. dollars, and the historical cumulative net outflow reached 21.65 billion U.S. dollars. On January 17, the total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs was US$1.076 billion. Among them, the net inflow of IBIT was US$376 million, the net inflow of FBTC was US$326 million, and the net inflow of GBTC was US$20.76 million. As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is US$121.28 billion, accounting for 5.85% of the total market value of Bitcoin, and the cumulative historical net inflow has reached US$38.18 billion.
ZachXBT transferred 16348.95 SOL to Wintermute address
According to monitoring by lmk.fun (formerly Scopescan), on-chain detective ZachXBT transferred 16348.95 SOL (approximately US$3.89 million) to the Wintermute address. These SOLs are likely to be processed through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
A giant whale cleared 41 million ZACHXBT and made a profit of about US$1.18 million
According to Aunt Ai, a large-capital investor cleared 41 million $ZACHXBT at a price of $0.06943, making a profit of approximately 4886.88 SOL (approximately $1.18 million), with a cost price of $0.04043. This sell-off directly caused the price of $ZACHXBT to drop to $0.02134. It later said that ZachXBT also withdrew liquidity from its public address investigations.sol, involving 91.19 million ZACHXBT and 16111 WSOL, with a total value of approximately US$5.64 million. After Zach removed the liquidity, he added 96.19 million ZACHXBT (approximately $4.3 million) back to the unilateral liquidity pool, leaving SOL.
The Trump family encryption project WLFI converted 5,252 ETH into stETH and pledged it to Lido
According to Onchain Lens monitoring, in the early hours of this morning, the Trump family encryption project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) exchanged 5,252 ETH (worth US$17.43 million) into stETH and pledged it to Lido.
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