Weekly Report | The U.S. Department of Justice is allowed to sell $6.5 billion of seized darknet Silk Road Bitcoins; Trump's "hush money" case is pronounced: 34 counts are found guilty without punishment; Nasdaq applies to transfer BlackRock
Reprinted from chaincatcher
01/12/2025·1MOrganized by: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
"What important events happened this week (1.6-1.12)"
Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, published a long article "d/acc: one year later", reviewing the development of the d/acc (decentralized acceleration) concept proposed last year. The article focuses on three key topics: AI security regulation, the role of cryptocurrencies in d/acc, and public goods financing.
Vitalik proposes two major strategies for AI security: one is to establish a responsibility system and set reasonable legal responsibilities for AI users, deployers and developers; the other is to set up a global "soft suspension" mechanism at the industrial-grade hardware level, which can be used when necessary. Reduce 90-99% of global computing power. Vitalik said that d/acc has three major connections with cryptocurrency: value extension, early adopter community, and technology complementarity. Especially the contributions of the crypto community in areas such as prediction markets and zero-knowledge proofs. The article also mentions innovative mechanisms including quadratic financing, retroactive public product financing and in-depth financing, emphasizing the importance of decentralized financing in promoting the development of open source projects. Vitalik believes that despite the current challenges of rapid technological development and reduced global cooperation, new tools such as AI and biotechnology provide mankind with the ability to meet these challenges.
2.Binance launches the third phase of Megadrop project Solv Protocol (SOLV)
Binance launched the third phase of the Megadrop project Bitcoin staking protocol Solv Protocol (SOLV). Binance will list Solv Protocol (SOLV) at 18:00 on January 17th, Beijing time, and open SOLV/USDT, SOLV/BNB, SOLV/FDUSD and SOLV/TRY trading pairs. The seed tag will be applied to SOLV.
3.Michael Saylor is willing to serve as a cryptocurrency advisor in the Trump administration
According to Bitcoin.com, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor is willing to serve as a cryptocurrency advisor in the Trump administration, but he declined to say whether he has met with President Trump to discuss the issue.
When asked about the possibility of serving as a cryptocurrency advisor on the upcoming Cryptocurrency Advisory Council, Michael Saylor said: “I am always willing to provide ideas on constructive digital asset policy, either privately or publicly, and if I were asked to serve on a As a member of the Digital Assets Advisory Committee, I might do that.”
It was previously reported that Trump’s son Eric Trump met with Michael Saylor at Mar-a-Lago and mentioned Bitcoin.
4.The U.S. Congress officially certified Trump as president and Vance as vice president.
According to Xinhuanet, U.S. Vice President Harris announced at a joint session of Congress chaired by her on January 6, local time, that members of the House and Senate formally certified the Electoral College vote count for the 2024 U.S. election, confirming that Trump Received 312 electoral votes and was elected as the next President of the United States, and Vance was elected as the next Vice President.
5.Nasdaq applied to increase the holding limit of BlackRock Bitcoin Spot ETF to 250,000 shares
According to a public regulatory filing, Nasdaq has submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to increase the position limit of the BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) from 25,000 to 250,000. It should be noted that this application also requires SEC approval to take effect. The position limit refers to the maximum share of the ETF that a single investor or institution can hold.
The director of Bitwise Alpha Strategies said: "Considering the increasing trading volume of this ETF, it is reasonable to at least increase the position limit to 400,000 shares. The appeals of Nasdaq and BlackRock are reasonable and supported by factual basis ”
6.Cipher Mining: Bitcoin mining produced 234 BTC in December and currently holds 1,344 BTC.
According to Globenewswire, Bitcoin mining company Cipher Mining released an unaudited production and operation update report as of December 2024, which revealed that its Bitcoin mining output last month was 234 BTC, and it sold 271 BTC, with a balance of approximately It is 1344 BTC.
7.Source: Trump will announce a $20 billion investment in new data centers
U.S. President-elect Trump plans to announce a $20 billion new data center construction plan, CNBC reported citing sources. Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire UAE real estate developer and founder and chairman of real estate development company DAMAC Properties, will become an investor in a new data center proposed by US President-elect Trump.
8.Binance Futures adjusts the leverage and margin tiers of multiple U-margined perpetual contracts
Binance Futures has updated the leverage and margin ladder of ALPACAUSDT, MASKUSDT, PENGUUSDT, VIRTUALUSDT, FARTCOINUSDT, AGLDUSDT, AIXBTUSDT and AI16ZUSDT U-margined perpetual contracts at 16:30 on January 8, 2025 (Eastern District Time).
9.Changpeng Zhao: DeSci can help scientific research laboratories raise funds
Changpeng Zhao of Binance Alliance responded to a community question on the
Changpeng Zhao said DeSci can help scientific research laboratories raise funds.
10.The U.S. Department of Justice is allowed to sell $6.5 billion in seized darknet Silk Road Bitcoins
The U.S. government has received approval to liquidate 69,000 Bitcoin ($6.5 billion) from Silk Road, an official confirmed to DB News today, notably less than two weeks after the new administration took office and vowed not to sell.
11.Binance Alpha adds FAI, VERTAI, and VADER
According to official news, Binance Alpha has added FAI, VERTAI, and VADER.
Changpeng Zhao said on social platforms that Binance avoided more than $4 billion in losses in 2024 by strengthening security measures.
13.Circle donates $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire announced in a post on the X platform that Circle has donated $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee.
He also stated that President Trump’s Inaugural Committee accepts USDC payments.
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett disclosed on social platforms that U.S. Representative French Hill announced that the Financial Services Committee (Financial Services Committee) has confirmed a number of key positions, including:
- Committee Vice Chairman: Bill Huizenga (MI-04)
- Digital Assets, Fintech and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee Chair: Bryan Steil (WI-01)
- National Security and Illicit Finance Subcommittee Chairman: Warren Davidson (OH-08)
ai16z Lianchuang Shaw posted on the X platform that I think the idea of DePIN agents is indeed interesting. Although it is still in its early stages, you can imagine how it will develop. In addition, Shaw also revealed that projects that are being built using Eliza on Polygon can be contacted and docked. Some grants are currently being set up, but he hopes to first understand who is already developing and building.
Christine Kim, vice president of research at Galaxy, published a post summarizing the 148th Ethereum Core Developer Consensus (ACDC) conference call. This week developers agreed that the seventh CL (Ethereum Consensus Layer) fork or upgrade should be named after the star "Gloas"; EF engineer Parithosh Jayanthi pointed out an open issue in the CL specification that developers need to solve This issue is only available in Pectra Devnet 5; additionally, the hive tests for EL and CL clients have been updated and most clients perform well in these tests.
According to the Beijing Business Daily, the Ministry of Public Security reported at a press conference held on January 10 that as of the end of 2024, more than 53,000 Chinese criminal suspects involved in telecom fraud in northern Myanmar had been captured, and the "Four Four" of Kokang in northern Myanmar had been successfully destroyed. "Big Family" criminal group.
The Ministry of Public Security pointed out that despite the remarkable effectiveness of the crackdown, the crime situation remains severe. Fraudulent groups are using new technologies such as blockchain, virtual currency and AI intelligence to continuously upgrade their criminal tools. These gangs are well-organized and carry out illegal activities such as app development, traffic promotion, transfer and money laundering through cross-border collaboration.
Scammers customize fraud scripts for people of different ages, occupations and educational backgrounds, and the victim groups are wide. Although the telecom fraud parks in northern Myanmar near the Chinese border have been cleared, there are still a large number of fraud dens under the guise of "technology parks" and "development zones" outside the country.
According to the official website, the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission launched the collection of application scenario innovation projects on January 9. This plan solicits new technology application projects such as large artificial intelligence models, generative artificial intelligence, and blockchain from government departments, enterprises, and institutions.
In the financial field, the focus is on application scenarios such as big data risk control for small and micro enterprises, intelligent anti-fraud, convenient cross-border payments with blockchain, and digital RMB business districts. The deadline for project solicitation is January 22, 2025. Selected projects will be included in the application scenario opportunity list and receive "online + offline" promotion support.
19.Grayscale: Consider adding KAS, APT and other digital assets to its investment products
According to official news, Grayscale announced a variety of digital assets in the future investment products it is considering, including but not limited to:
$KAS, $APT, $ARB, $TIA, $HBAR, $MNT, $SEI, $S, $STRK, $TON, $TRX, $AERO, $BNB, $ENA, $INJ, $JUP, $ONDO , $PENDLE, $RUNE, $DOGE, $IMX, $AKT, $FET, $AR, $EIGEN, $HNT, $JTO, $PYTH, $WLD.
Additionally, Grayscale also lists assets that are not included in its cryptocurrency segment as of December 31, 2024:
$HYPE, $AI16Z, $VIRTUAL, $FLOCK, $GRASS, Hyperbolic, Prime Intellect, Sentient, Space and Time, Story Protocol.
20.Crypto exchange VOOX Exchange received $50 million in investment from Pinnacle Capital
According to Cointelegraph, AI crypto exchange VOOX Exchange received a $50 million investment from Pinnacle Capital. This round of financing will be mainly used for infrastructure construction, strengthening safety measures and strengthening marketing efforts.
Additionally, Pinnacle Capital will provide strategic guidance to ensure VOOX meets key regulatory compliance requirements while optimizing its business model for sustainable growth.
It is reported that VOOX Exchange was established in 2022 and is headquartered in Singapore. The platform offers a comprehensive set of features designed to enhance the trading experience for both novice and advanced traders, including spot trading, margin trading, futures trading, copy trading, and advanced AI trading strategies.
RootData released a category chart of the Upbit listing list in 2024. Among the tokens listed on Upbit in 2024, the infrastructure (Infra) tokens lead with 20 tokens, far exceeding other categories, followed by the decentralized finance (DeFi) category. Tokens. This trend may indicate Upbit's strong confidence in infrastructure projects.
Binance Finance, one-click coin buying, flash swap, and leverage are now available on aixbt by Virtuals (AIXBT), ChainGPT (CGPT), and Cookie DAO (COOKIE).
AIXBT, CGPT and COOKIE capital-guaranteed currency-earning current products will be launched on the Binance capital-guaranteed currency-earning platform at 21:00 on January 10, 2025 (Eastern District Time) and will be open for subscription. The currency safe position and isolated margin will add AIXBT, CGPT, and COOKIE as loanable assets at 23:30 on January 10 (East 8th District time).
The seasonally adjusted non-farm payroll employment in the United States in December was 256,000, compared with expectations of 160,000. The previous value was revised from 227,000 to 212,000, a new high since March 2024.
According to Jinshi, the U.S. unemployment rate in December was 4.1%, expected to be 4.20%, and the previous value was 4.20%.
25.U.S. regulators plan to strengthen customer protection for cryptocurrency accounts
U.S. regulators plan to strengthen customer protections for cryptocurrency accounts.
The U.S. consumer banking regulator has suggested that U.S. cryptocurrency companies should be responsible for refunds when customer accounts are hacked, bringing digital wallets into line with bank accounts.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it wants to force service providers to compensate consumers who lose money due to hacks or unauthorized transactions. The move by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will force digital asset companies to strengthen security and reserves to deal with operational threats.
The CFPB is seeking to expand the scope of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to protect customers from payment fraud. The agency wants to expand the term "fund" to include any asset that "acts or is used like money." This would include stablecoins, crypto tokens similar to digital dollars, and “any other similarly positioned fungible assets that serve either as a medium of exchange or as a means of payment for goods or services,” the proposal said.
26.Trump’s “hush money” case pronounced: 34 counts found guilty, no punishment
According to CNN, Judge Juan Mercan sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional release.
According to King Ten , a judge of the New York State High Court in the United States ruled on President-elect Trump's "hush money" case and ruled that Trump was guilty of 34 counts in the case. However, given that he is at an important stage of the presidential power transition process, Unconditionally released without any punishment.
The founder of Pump.fun responded to the previous "only 0.408% of Pump.fun traders achieved profits of more than $10,000", saying that there are many problems with the analytical data.
- Purchases of tokens already tied to Raydium are not included. Most of the revenue is generated after the tokens are bonded.
- Unrealized profits are not taken into account.
- Many of the more than 13 million traders counted in the data are actually robots and AI agents. About 30% of wallets have only conducted one transaction, and these wallets cannot be real people.
Pump.fun founders told data publishers that they should build something people want, rather than destroy a platform with millions of users on the chain. For others, the Pump.fun founder said that token trading is risky and if you choose to trade, you should take losses into consideration.
ChainCatcher previously reported that according to Dune data, most pump.fun traders have yet to achieve profits of more than $10,000. Of the total 13,547,736 Pump.fun wallet addresses, only about 55,296 addresses (0.408%) have achieved profits of more than $10,000. USD profit.
RWA stablecoin issuer Usual announced on the
It is reported that the "Revenue Switch" function is planned to be launched on January 13, allowing Usual Protocol to share its revenue from real-world assets and protocol operations with the community. The team expects monthly revenue of approximately $5 million, with an annual return of over 50% under current conditions. These distributions will be made on a weekly basis to solidify USUAL's real value and balance its economic model with the revenue generated by the protocol. (Usual’s revenue switch function will be officially activated when more than 50% of USUAL tokens are pledged as USUAL x. If the requirements are not met, it will be automatically activated on February 1, 2025. Once enabled, 100% of the revenue ( Up to $5 million per month) will flow to USUALx stakers in the form of USD0).
In addition, the Usual Protocol team also stated that it will launch the "1:1 early unstaking" function next week, allowing users to redeem USD0++ at an exchange rate of 1 USD, but requiring them to give up part of their accumulated rewards as a penalty.
29.Kenya’s draft encryption legislation will be released for public comment before January 24.
According to Cointelegraph, Kenyan Finance Minister John Mbadi said that the government is working to establish a legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and has drafted a draft proposal for a “National Policy on Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers.” The draft aims to create a fair, competitive and stable market for cryptocurrencies while addressing risks such as money laundering, terrorist financing and consumer protection.
The draft proposes to build a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to manage virtual asset activities and their service providers (VASPs) and formulate relevant standards and procedures. Its goal is to promote the healthy development of Kenya’s virtual asset market.
The proposal will be open to public feedback until January 24. If approved, Kenya would join countries such as South Africa and Nigeria that have implemented cryptocurrency regulations.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in response to a community user that "everyone in the tech world underestimates the importance of efficient capital formation in building the future": "For me, what is really important is creating a capital structure that is durable. "
"What are some exciting articles worth reading this week (1.6-1.12)"
1.What possibilities does AI Agent bring to the Metaverse and Web3 games?
From open source tools to persistent AI-driven environments, we are witnessing a rapid evolution in how virtual worlds are built, experienced and monetized.
2.The next Dogecoin and SHIB? A brief discussion on Murad’s SPX and GIGA
Have you ever met this person?
He has a muscular body, a wide and plump chin, and a toothy grin, showing off a mysterious smile.
Yes, this is just such a thing. It may not meet your definition of "sexuality", but on the current Internet, its hardware conditions are related to the definition of "sexuality", and he is "Gigachad".
We all know that "Meme theologian" Murad became famous because of SPX. Gigachad's Memecoin of the same name, GIGA, is also one of the Memecoins recommended by Murad. Recently, Murad stated on his social media that "#SPX6900 and GIGA will become the DOGE and SHIB of this cycle."
In the past week, SPX and GIGA had good performances. According to Coingekco data, SPX currently has a market value of approximately US$1.4 billion and is one of the top 10 Meme coins. It has increased by more than 80% among the top 10 Meme coins in the past week, leading the increase and even surpassing the currently popular ai16z. The performance of $GIGA is slightly weaker. The current market value is about 800 million US dollars, which happens to be the 15th largest Meme currency. It has risen by about 40% in the past week.
3.Final Thoughts on Crypto + Agent: Inevitability, Combination Points and Development Stages
Without encryption, intelligent agents such as AI Agents, as "silicon-based life forms", will lack independent identities, asset accounts, and business interaction capabilities. Agents will be isolated individuals, unable to truly cooperate, exchange ideas, or develop higher intelligence. Without encryption, a true AI economy or even an AI “state” cannot be formed.
4.Conversation with the founder of DeFiance Capital: Cold thinking behind the bull market craze
This conversation centered around the current bull market craze, the cyclical characteristics of the crypto industry, new narratives and investment strategies.
5.Lies, deception, incentives: USD0++ decoupling incident
Usual's USD0++ is currently trading below a dollar, however this is said to have been part of the plan all along. Before the decoupling incident, I was
Write an article about Usual because it has been getting a lot of attention lately. It is one of the fastest growing stablecoin protocols and has recently partnered with Ethena and is making a lot of money for many YT miners on Pendle. However, if you ask people what Usual does, you tend to get a variety of answers. “It gives you returns based on RWA (real world assets).” So the natural question is: How is this different from Ondo? “Oh, it decentralizes RWA revenue”, well, doesn’t that mean Maker or Sky too? Wait, wait. If you look closely, @usualmoney’s product is a token , not any actual product. Essentially, if the risk-free interest rate obtained by the user is higher than 4%, then the source of income is the user himself. But how did we get here? Why did a deal with a TVL of over a billion dollars suddenly collapse so quickly? How exactly does Usual work?
If you do get affected by wildfires, it’s better to rely on news organizations that are actively covering the events rather than crypto prediction sites.
7.How true is the news that “the U.S. Department of Justice approves the sale of Silk Road Bitcoin”?
On the morning of January 9, as the market fell, all major cryptocurrency media reported a piece of bad news, namely, "The U.S. Department of Justice approved the sale of $6.5 billion of seized darknet Silk Road Bitcoins." As soon as this news came out, Bitcoin fell below $94,000.
The house leaked, but it rained all night, and the circle kept wailing. However, after Golden Finance verified the news, it was found that the source of the news was not very credible. The reporter could not find any official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice. And even if the news is true, judging from the past procedures for the Department of Justice to sell seized Bitcoins, the Department of Justice is basically unable to sell these Bitcoins in the short term before Trump takes office, and Trump has already Made a promise that not a single Bitcoin would be sold in the United States during his term as president.
To sum up, the U.S. Department of Justice will not really sell coins at this stage, and it will not bring selling pressure to the market.
$LLM is not just a Token, but more like an experiment. It exists in a self-deprecating way, inviting everyone to join in the laughter.
On January 3, Musk posted on his social platform: "The customer purchased a cumrocket worth $7,000 and pledged it for 3 months to earn 6,900%. They then sold it and withdrew the profits to invest in NFTitties, but the development After ruging the project, they only managed to liquidate 10% of the funds. Can customers deduct the gas fees for minting to balance out short-term capital gains taxes?"
10.From AI agent to AI L1: Virtuals, ai16z and zerebro dance together
AI agents are much more than simple chatbots. Especially at the intersection of Crypto and AI, a new narrative - AI Layer 1 (AI L1 for short) is quietly emerging.
The “Layer1” here is not a public chain, but refers to the cornerstone layer of AI technology, covering the basic technology stack and framework of AI agents, and even includes things like pump․ fun-like AI agent token launch platform and from which huge value can be captured for their tokens.
panewslab
