Harry Jung to lead CFTC's work in cryptocurrency, DeFi and digital assets
According to the CFTC website, CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham announced changes in CFTC leadership today, where in addition to serving as Chief Advisor to Acting Chairman Pham, Harry Jung will also lead CFTC's work in the areas of cryptocurrency, DeFi and other digital assets. He will further promote the development of these areas based on his previous experience as the designated federal official of the CFTC Global Markets Advisory Committee. It is reported that Harry joined the CFTC in 2023, serving as an advisor and senior policy advisor to Commissioner Pham. Prior to joining the CFTC, Harry had worked in the CEO's office and the Chief Administrative Officer's (CAO) office at Citigroup.
U.S. Appeals Court Overturns Tornado Cash Sanctions Ruling, Remands Case for Reconsideration
According to Bitcoin Magazine, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas' ruling on the Tornado Cash sanctions and remanded the case back to the original court for reconsideration.
U.S. House Democratic Congressman Calls for Ethics Probe into Trump's Crypto Projects
According to Cointelegraph, U.S. Democratic Congressman Gerald Connolly of Virginia has called on the House Oversight and Reform Committee to investigate whether former President Trump's cryptocurrency ventures conflict with his presidential duties. In a letter to the committee's Republican chairman James Comer on January 21, Connolly stated that Trump may have profited from his World Liberty Financial (WLFI) platform and the TRUMP meme coin, which could violate ethical standards and pose national security risks; Connolly found Trump's WLF platform "particularly troubling" as its largest investor - Tron founder Justin Sun - is a foreign entrepreneur, while the SEC has accused him of securities fraud. He added that such financial "entanglements" raise "serious national security concerns" about foreign influence on U.S. policy. Connolly wrote: "If such conduct is allowed to continue unchecked, it will send a signal to the American people that the Oversight Committee is unwilling or unable to enforce the standards it claims to uphold." He also said that without the committee's intervention, Trump is unlikely to comply with "any provision" of the Presidential Ethics Reform Act, which requires financial disclosure and conflict of interest checks.
Kansas Bill Aims to Allow State Public Employee Pension Fund to Invest in Bitcoin ETF
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Kansas Senator Bowser has introduced Senate Bill 34, which aims to authorize the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) Trust Investment Board to invest up to 10% of the Kansas public employees' retirement fund in Bitcoin ETF products.
U.S. Marshals Sold 144,336 Bitcoins Seized from Ross Ulbricht at $334 Each
According to Fortune magazine, although Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht has regained his freedom, his lost wealth is irretrievable. In 2013, the FBI seized 144,336 bitcoins belonging to Ulbricht, and the U.S. Marshals Service arranged a series of auctions in 2014 to sell Ulbricht's over 144,000 bitcoins. Due to poor timing, the Marshals sold these bitcoins in early 2014 when the price had crashed from over $1,000 to around $300, the modern low point. Today, 144,336 bitcoins would be worth around $14 billion, but at the time they only fetched slightly over $48 million, or about $334 per bitcoin - less than 0.5% of their current value. Ulbricht had legally challenged the seizure, but ultimately gave up his claims to the bitcoins in 2017. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the auction was venture capitalist Tim Draper, who purchased around 30,000 bitcoins. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has since pursued other cryptocurrency seizure cases related to Silk Road, including the seizure and sale of bitcoins stolen by corrupt federal agents during the initial investigation, as well as the court-ordered sale this month of thousands of bitcoins seized from an anonymous hacker who also robbed Ulbricht.
Trump-Appointed HHS Secretary Kennedy Holds at Least $1 Million in Bitcoin
According to Bloomberg, a financial disclosure form published by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday shows that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appointed by former President Trump, holds assets worth between $6.9 million and $29.5 million. According to his ethics agreement, he holds at least $1 million in Bitcoin, which is his most valuable asset and he does not plan to sell. Trump had promised a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment than the Biden administration.
Binance Launches Animecoin (ANIME) Airdrop for BNB HODLers
According to the Binance announcement, Animecoin (ANIME) will be the sixth project to join the HODLer Airdrops program. Users who subscribe BNB to the Simple Earn product during the period from January 17, 2025 00:00 to January 21, 2025 23:59 (UTC) will be eligible to receive ANIME airdrop rewards. The total airdrop amount is 500 million ANIME, accounting for 5% of the total token supply. ANIME will be listed on Binance on January 23, 2025 22:00 (UTC+8) and open trading pairs with USDT, USDC, BNB, FDUSD and TRY. The initial circulating supply of ANIME is 55.39%. ANIME smart contracts are deployed on Ethereum and Arbitrum.
Coinbase to List Toshi (TOSHI)
Coinbase Assets announced on the X platform that Coinbase will add support for Toshi (TOSHI) on the Base network. Do not send this asset through other networks, or funds may be at risk of loss. Subject to liquidity conditions, trading is expected to begin on or after 9:00 AM Pacific Time on January 23 (1:00 AM Beijing time on January 24). Once the asset supply is sufficient, the TOSHI-USD trading pair will be gradually enabled.
Binance.US to List Official Trump (TRUMP)
According to the official announcement, Binance.US will list Official Trump (TRUMP). TRUMP deposits are now open on Binance.US, and TRUMP/USDT trading will begin at 6:00 AM EST on January 23 (7:00 PM Beijing time on January 23).
Animecoin Launches ANIME Airdrop Claim Page, to Open Claiming Tonight at 9 PM
The anime project Animecoin, jointly launched by Arbitrum and Azuki, has launched the ANIME airdrop claim page, and the airdrop will be open for claiming at 9 PM Beijing time today. According to the previously released ANIME token economics, the total supply of ANIME is 10 billion, with an initial circulating supply of 7.69 billion. 37.5% of the tokens will be allocated to the Azuki community, 13% will be used for AnimeDAO, 24.44% will be allocated to the Animecoin Foundation, 2% will be allocated to partner communities, 15.62% will be allocated to the team and advisors, and 7.44% will be used for Azuki company.
AngelList and CoinList to Collaborate on New Way to Help Crypto Startups Fundraise
Here is the English translation of the text, with the content inside <> retained without translation:According to Techcrunch, the equity crowdfunding platform AngelList and the token issuance and financing platform CoinList are teaming up to launch a way to help crypto-native founders who use cryptocurrencies raise funds. They will collaborate to launch crypto special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and crypto roll-up vehicles (RUVs). This collaboration will provide users with a way to "raise funds in a syndicate form and manage investments in crypto startups in a crypto-native manner." AngelList says users will be able to fund crypto SPVs in the form of stablecoins - currently at zero fees. CoinList CEO Raghav Gulati said: "Investors can use USDC for investments, which is more convenient for crypto investors who don't operate through banks." Tokens can be physically distributed to LPs and are compatible with "many non-US token issuers and investors." The two companies say their integration with CoinList software is "coming soon." RUVs are designed to aggregate the investments founders raise in a particular round. The companies say their advantage is that startups don't have to worry about "managing compliance for multiple stakeholders" in the early stages. Gulati said: "Crypto startups often want to attract many angel investors. Through RUVs, dozens of angels who need to sign documents, wire money, and receive ongoing reporting can do so through AngelList Crypto RUVs."
Frax Finance Proposes to Invest $10 Million in Trump Family Crypto Project WLFI
The decentralized stablecoin protocol Frax Finance community has initiated a new proposal to authorize an initial $5 million investment in the Trump family crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), positioning FRAX as part of the WLFI ecosystem, with a potential total investment of up to $10 million depending on the success of the collaboration.
Cathie Wood: TRUMP is Part of the New Stage of the Crypto Revolution, May Have Utility in the Future
ARK Invest CEO and CIO Cathie Wood said in an interview with Bloomberg TV: "We don't know how much utility the Trump President Meme coin has, but Trump is leading the next stage of the cryptocurrency revolution." In addition, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas posted on the X platform that when asked about TRUMP, Wood said it is a meme coin, and she personally would not buy it as she only holds BTC, ETH and SOL, but she does not think it is a terrible thing either, and believes it is part of the new stage that is coming and may have some utility in the future.
Lido Co-Founder Clarifies: The "Second Ethereum Foundation" Has Not Yet Been Established
According to The Block, in response to the rumor that the Ethereum Foundation will split off a new organization called the "Second Foundation", Lido's co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk issued a statement saying: "In fact, the Second Foundation has not yet been established." He continued: "Ethereum is the ultimate world computer, and every Ethereum enthusiast can help it grow, evolve and succeed. If the Second Foundation is really established, it must have a clear goal to complement the tremendous work of the current contributors. I appreciate the support of everyone and believe we need more organizations to contribute to Ethereum." Lomashuk's statement came after he participated in a post about the "Second Foundation", which led some to believe he was behind the launch of this new organization. Given the strong community reaction, some believe the "Second Foundation" may be related to the "major changes" that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin promised to bring to the Ethereum Foundation in terms of its leadership structure, communication with the network developer community, and support for them.
Bitwise Applies to Register Dogecoin-Related ETF in Delaware
According to the website of the Delaware Secretary of State, Bitwise has submitted documents to Delaware to register the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF. The trust was formed on January 22, 2025, and the registered agent is CSC DELAWARE TRUST COMPANY. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart commented: "Note: This is just a trust registration, not an official ETF filing with the SEC. At least not yet."
CoinShares Applied to Register Dogecoin-Related ETF in Delaware Last Month
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, CoinShares submitted documents to the United States in Delaware last December to register the COINSHARES DOGE ETF.
CME Website Hints at XRP and SOL Futures Debut in February
According to Cointelegraph, the website of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has hinted that it will launch SOL and XRP futures contracts, which could debut as early as February 10, pending regulatory approval. According to the website (which has since been taken down), these asset contracts will come in both standard and micro sizes, with the standard SOL contract size being 500 SOL and the micro contract size being 25 SOL. The standard XRP futures contract size is 50,000 XRP, while the micro futures contract size is 2,500 XRP. All XRP and SOL contracts will be US dollar-settled.
French Media Reports Ledger Founder Eric Larch Suspected of Kidnapping, Ransom Demanded in Bitcoin
According to the French media @LeFildInfo on the X platform, Eric Larch, the founder of the leading crypto security company Ledger, is suspected of being kidnapped, with the kidnappers demanding a ransom in Bitcoin. Currently, the French police and the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) have launched an investigation in the Viézois region, focusing on Eric's estate in Méreau. Local media reports that on January 21, a large number of gendarmes appeared in Méreau, with a residential property being cordoned off and investigated by investigators, and neighbors also being questioned about any suspicious activity. The French authorities are currently silent on the matter, and further developments in the case are awaited.
NYSE Executive: More Crypto Companies Expected to Go Public
NYSE executive Chris Taylor said that crypto companies are increasingly interested in going public, and more crypto companies are expected to conduct IPOs.
Michael Saylor: MicroStrategy Created About $642.6 Million in Value for Shareholders Last Week
According to a tweet by Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy added 6,120 BTC last week, achieving a 1.36% return rate based on its holdings of 450,000 BTC. This is equivalent to about $642.6 million in value creation for the company at the current price of around $10,500 per BTC, demonstrating its commitment to maximizing shareholder returns.
Jupiter DAO: Jupuary Airdrop Claim Now Live, Lasting Three Months
Jupiter DAO tweeted that the Jupuary airdrop claim is now live, and the event will last for three months. Users marked as witches can submit appeals after January 27. If users encounter issues creating their Jupuary profile, they can try again later.
According to Bloomberg, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation he created are actively supporting a new startup that aims to position Ethereum as the best cryptocurrency for Wall Street. The company, called Etherealize, was founded by Vivek Raman, a former bond trader at Nomura Holdings and UBS Group, and has received investments from Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation, although the specific amount was not disclosed. While Buterin's organization confirmed the investment, both parties declined to reveal the details. Raman said he and a team of eight full-time employees have started operations in New York this month, and they are promoting Ethereum to financial firms while developing products to make it easier for banks to use the Ethereum network.
SOON raised $22 million through NFT sales, led by Hack VC
According to The Block, the Ethereum Layer 2 project SOON (Solana Optimistic Network) raised $22 million through the sale of NFTs called "COMMing SOON" before the mainnet launch. SOON uses the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) as the core execution layer, with a parallel processing model to improve transaction settlement efficiency, forming a differentiated competitive advantage over the traditional sequential processing mode of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This round of financing was led by Hack VC, with participation from ABCDE, Hypersphere, SNZ Capital and other institutions, and also received the endorsement of well-known figures in the Solana ecosystem. SOON also plans to expand to other blockchains beyond Ethereum through its "decoupled SVM architecture" and will allocate 51% of the network tokens to the community to drive ecosystem development. As of now, its testnet bridge has locked over 11,000 ETH (about $36 million).
Trump family's DeFi project WLFI used 9.84 million USDC to buy 94.9 WBTC again
According to on-chain analyst Yujin, in the past 25 minutes, the DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) supported by the Trump family has used 9.84 million USDC to purchase 94.9 WBTC. So far, WLFI has spent a total of 232 million on purchasing 7 tokens, and is now down $8.9 million, with only TRX in profit.
Base chain's single-day DEX trading volume hits a record high of $2.9 billion
Blockworks Research analyst DanSmith tweeted that the Base chain's decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume hit a record high of $2.9 billion yesterday, with ETH-USD trading volume reaching $1.3 billion, also a new high. Meanwhile, the trading volume of ETH-cbBTC and BTC-USD is also close to the historical high.
A whale used 43.12 million USDT to buy 414.7 WBTC again
PANews, January 23rd news, according to on-chain analyst Yujin's monitoring, the whale who made $19.62 million by trading WBTC 5 times, bought WBTC again 8 hours ago: using 43.12 million USDT to buy 414.7 WBTC, at an average price of $104,000.
Bitcoin ETF net inflow of 6,719 BTC, Ethereum ETF net inflow of 18,108 ETH today
According to Lookonchain's statistics, on January 22nd, the Bitcoin ETF had a net inflow of 6,719 BTC (about $701 million), of which BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF had an inflow of 6,208 BTC (about $648 million), with a current holding of 569,343 BTC (about $59.4 billion). The Ethereum ETF had a net inflow of 18,108 ETH (about $59.59 million), of which BlackRock's iShares Ethereum ETF had an inflow of 16,959 ETH (about $55.81 million), with a current total value of about $38.7 billion.
Coinbase executive finds 430 Bitcoin wallets related to Ross Ulbricht, worth $47 million
Conor Grogan, Coinbase's Head of Product Strategy and Business Operations, tweeted that he discovered about 430 Bitcoins distributed across multiple wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht, which have not been seized by the U.S. government and have been dormant for over 13 years. These wallets may have been "dust wallets" at the time, but are now worth about $47 million. He also jokingly wondered if Ross still has the private keys to these wallets, and reminded him not to forget to check the (BCH) airdrop rewards.
