Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is the news weekly, taking you to a glance at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌Trump may be named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine
Donald Trump may be named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine, according to three people familiar with the matter. To celebrate the unveiling of the Person of the Year, the president-elect will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning, three people familiar with the matter said, as they were not authorized to disclose the plan. A spokesperson for Time magazine said the magazine "does not comment on the Person of the Year selection before publication. The results of this year's selection will be announced on Time.com tomorrow morning (December 12)."
Last year, pop superstar Taylor Swift appeared on the cover of Time magazine. To celebrate the unveiling of the magazine cover, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the opening bell.
▌Trump family project WLFI increased its holdings of $50 million worth of DeFi tokens
According to Arkham tracking data, the Trump family DeFi project WLFI has just increased its holdings of $50 million worth of DeFi tokens, including: $35 million in ETH/WETH; $10 million in cbBTC; $1 million in LINK; $1 million in AAVE, etc.
▌Ripple CEO: Stablecoin RLUSD has been approved by the New York Department of Financial Services
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on the X platform that the stablecoin RLUSD has been approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and the exchange and partner list will be online soon.
▌Microsoft shareholders vote against Bitcoin investment proposal
The voting results show that Microsoft's major shareholders opposed the company's Bitcoin investment proposal on Tuesday. Microsoft's board of directors had earlier urged shareholders to reject a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research that the company invest 1% of its total assets in Bitcoin to hedge against inflation. At the annual meeting, MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor made a three-minute speech trying to convince Microsoft shareholders to support the proposal. His company has invested billions of dollars in Bitcoin. Data shows that Microsoft's largest shareholders are institutional investors, including Vanguard and BlackRock.
▌OpenAI releases long-awaited AI video generation model Sora
OpenAI releases long-awaited AI video generation model Sora, similar to OpenArt's AI tool DALL-E, users input the desired scene, and Sara will give back high-definition video editing results.
▌El Salvador plans to relax Bitcoin acceptance requirements to unlock $3 billion in loans
El Salvador plans to relax requirements for forcing local businesses to accept Bitcoin in order to obtain more than $3 billion in loans, according to the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources. Sources said that by shifting to a policy that allows companies to voluntarily accept Bitcoin, El Salvador can reach a loan agreement worth $1.3 billion with the International Monetary Fund. The deal will also reportedly unlock two loans, one $1 billion from the World Bank and another $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank. The Financial Times said that in order to obtain the IMF loan, the country also agreed to reduce the budget deficit, pass an anti-corruption law and increase reserves.
Policy
▌Russian State Duma deputy proposes to set up a strategic Bitcoin reserve to deal with financial risks
Russian State Duma deputy Anton Tekayev proposed to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to set up a strategic Bitcoin reserve to deal with financial risks caused by geopolitical instability.
▌US Senate vote on SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw's re-election "pending"
The US Senate vote to re-nominate US SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw is now pending due to opposition from the digital asset industry to her anti-cryptocurrency stance. A person familiar with Crenshaw's nomination process said in a note that the vote was "pending". The vote was originally scheduled for Wednesday as part of a hearing of the US Senate Banking Committee.
According to a statement released late Wednesday, Republicans blocked the committee from holding a vote to nominate Crenshaw and Gordon Ito to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, according to the committee's chairman, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Brown said the committee, which convened more than two hours after the Senate opened, required unanimous consent from all senators, which is usually achievable. However, Republicans opposed holding a meeting for a vote.
▌The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Nvidia's appeal, and a class action lawsuit over its crypto relationship misleading investors will proceed in lower courts
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Nvidia, allowing a class action lawsuit against the company for allegedly defrauding investors due to its reliance on cryptocurrencies to proceed in lower courts.
The case stems from two investor lawsuits in 2018, which alleged that Nvidia misled investors about the close relationship between revenue growth and cryptocurrency performance. Investors accused Nvidia and its executives of making material misrepresentations, downplaying the impact of the volatile cryptocurrency market on its revenue growth, and exaggerating its ability to adapt to changes. The appeals court has allowed at least part of the merger case to proceed.
▌Multiple crypto advocacy groups oppose the nomination of Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw
Several crypto organizations, including Cedar Innovation Foundation, have published advertisements and letters opposing the nomination of Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw. Its digital advertising campaign calls Caroline Crenshaw "more extreme than Chairman Gary Gensler." In a statement, Cedar Innovation Foundation emphasized that Crenshaw opposes the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF and criticized the cryptocurrency market as a "petri dish for fraud." The Blockchain Association and other lobbying groups have written to Senate lawmakers urging the rejection of the commissioner. It is reported that the U.S. Senate Banking Committee is ready to consider the re-nomination of Caroline Crenshaw, whose current five-year term has expired and will be in a buffer period that may last until the end of 2025.
▌Trump: Appoint Andrew Ferguson as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
President-elect Trump said he would appoint Andrew Ferguson as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (Jinshi)
▌El Salvador and Argentine regulators sign agreement to help both countries develop the crypto industry
Regulators in El Salvador and Argentina have signed an agreement to help both countries develop the crypto industry. Juan Carlos Reyes, El Salvador's top cryptocurrency regulator and chairman of the National Digital Activities Commission (CNAD), said the agreement will help El Salvador expand its influence through a strategic partnership. While the details of the deal are unclear, Reyes said the agreement is designed to enable the two regulators to share knowledge and experience to promote crypto innovation.
Blockchain Applications
▌xAI: We are updating the functionality of the Grok chatbot through a new autoregressive image generation model codenamed Aurora
Musk's xAI: We are updating the functionality of the Grok chatbot through a new autoregressive image generation model codenamed Aurora, which has been launched on the X platform. (Jinshi)
▌Musk criticized the US government's IT backwardness for tax problems, and analysts said that blockchain may be a solution
Musk recently criticized the US government for using old computers and software, which made it impossible for the tax agency (IRS) to pass basic audits and even "difficult to track the whereabouts of taxes." Some analysts pointed out that blockchain technology may be one of the solutions to this problem.
▌FLOKI launches debit card, which allows users to use crypto assets at merchants that accept VISA or Mastercard
Floki announced that its debit card has been officially launched, and users can use crypto assets at merchants that accept VISA or Mastercard worldwide. Floki debit cards are not applicable to OFAC-sanctioned countries and regions restricted by issuing banks or Mastercard.
▌Messari: Solana Ecosystem DEX Raydium's monthly trading volume exceeds Uniswap for the second consecutive month
According to a report released by Messari, the monthly trading volume of decentralized exchange (DEX) Raydium has exceeded Uniswap for the second consecutive month. In November, the monthly trading volume of Solana's native platform Raydium was about 30% higher than Uniswap, or about US$30 billion.
The Messari report said that Raydium’s “success is largely due to its dominance in the Solana ecosystem,” adding that DEXs continue to account for more than 60% of daily DEX volume on layer 1 blockchain networks, and memecoin trading has become a significant driver of Raydium’s volume, with memecoin accounting for 65% of Raydium’s monthly volume in November, a record high.
▌Electric Capital: Solana surpasses Ethereum as the fastest growing ecosystem in terms of new developers
A developer report released by venture capital firm Electric Capital found that Solana is the blockchain of choice for new developers. The report found that of the 39,148 new developers who began exploring cryptocurrencies this year, 7,625 were developing on Solana, meaning the number of developers on the network has increased by 83% year-on-year. The report said this is the first time since 2016 that the Solana blockchain ecosystem has grown faster than Ethereum.
However, in terms of total number of developers, Ethereum remains the largest blockchain in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. In terms of number of developers, Solana ranks second in the same region.
Electric Capital's report also found that in 2024, Aptos, Base, Bitcoin, Internet Computer, NEAR, Polkadot, Polygon, Starknet, and Sui all added more than 1,000 developers. In addition, BNB, Optimism, Scroll, Stellar, and TON also added 500 new developers.
▌Balancer V3 Partners with Aave to Launch Boosted Pools
Decentralized trading protocol Balancer has launched its V3 upgrade, which aims to optimize liquidity, provide new development tools, and drive trading volume growth. Balancer V3 introduces 100% Boosted Pools, combining its permissionless automated market maker technology with the yield market infrastructure of DeFi lending protocol Aave.
▌Casa launches "Praetorian" service to support national-level Bitcoin self-management
Casa, a crypto custody company, has launched the "Praetorian" self-management service designed specifically for countries to help sovereign countries safely manage their Bitcoin reserves. The service is distributed in different jurisdictions through multi-signature encrypted vaults, providing high-strength encryption protection and supporting delegation of authority between executives. Casa CEO Nick Neuman said that this service allows countries to have full control over sovereign reserves and ensure management continuity and security through well-designed tools. Even if Casa stops operating, the funds will still be safe.
Cryptocurrency
▌In the past 24 hours, the entire network has been liquidated for $1.712 billion, which may set a record high in this round of bull market
According to Coinglass data, in the past 24 hours, the entire network has been liquidated for $1.712 billion, which may set a record high in this round of bull market. Among them, long orders have been liquidated for $1.55 billion, short orders have been liquidated for $162 million, BTC has been liquidated for $183 million, and ETH has been liquidated for $240 million. In the past 24 hours, a total of 569,620 people were liquidated worldwide, with a total liquidation amount of $1.712 billion. The largest single liquidation occurred in Binance-ETHUSDT, with a value of $19.6911 million.
▌Genius Group purchased an additional $2.2 million worth of Bitcoin, increasing its holdings to 191 BTC
According to Globenewswire, artificial intelligence company Genius Group (NYSE American: GNS) announced that it has increased its Bitcoin vault purchases by an additional $2.2 million to 191 Bitcoins, with a total value of $18 million and an average price of $92,728 per Bitcoin. The company announced its "Bitcoin First" strategy on November 12, promising that 90% or more of its current and future reserves will be held in Bitcoin, with an initial target of $120 million in Bitcoin.
▌JPMorgan Chase: November is a "milestone" month for the cryptocurrency market
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said in a research report on Monday that November was a milestone month for the cryptocurrency market in terms of performance, activity, politics and sentiment. "President-elect Trump's reelection has sparked a historic rally and market value jump across the crypto ecosystem," wrote analysts led by Kenneth Worthington. That includes tokens, decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins and public companies with crypto assets. The bank noted that the crypto ecosystem posted its best monthly return, with its market value up 45%. The total cryptocurrency market cap swelled to $3.3 trillion. The report said trading volume in the cryptocurrency market more than doubled, with some digital assets seeing even higher growth in trading activity. The bank noted that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) saw weaker volumes.
▌Synthetix Announces Acquisition of Leveraged Token Platform TLX Through Token Swap
Synthetix announced the acquisition of leveraged token platform TLX through a token swap transaction, following approval by SIP-412 and TIP-14.
Synthetix said it is working with the TLX team to optimize several parameters in the current implementation and is fully committed to launching on the Base chain. It plans to complete a comprehensive review, implement parameter improvements, and redeploy all contracts in the next few weeks. Once completed, Synthetix said it will announce a generous leveraged token incentive plan to welcome the arrival of 2025.
▌The Uniswap Foundation has awarded Blockful $110,000 for a governance security review
The Uniswap Foundation announced a $110,000 grant to Blockful for a governance security review aimed at enhancing the resilience of the Uniswap protocol governance system.
Blockful will analyze key governance data, identify potential vulnerabilities, and create a public dashboard for monitoring governance security indicators to improve the security of the Uniswap community and the broader DeFi sector.
▌Glassnode: BTC long-term/short-term holder supply ratio dropped to 3.78, the lowest value since this cycle
Glassnode released data on the X platform, saying that with the acceleration of BTC selling in the past 30 days, holding BTC is no longer the default behavior of the entire market participants. The long-term/short-term holder supply ratio has dropped to 3.78, the lowest value since this cycle, which means that trading activity in the market has increased and short-term holders are more active.
▌Pantera Capital Partner: As the industry matures, crypto investments will focus more on fundamentals
Cosmo Jiang, general partner and portfolio manager at crypto hedge fund and venture capital firm Pantera Capital, said that as the industry matures, crypto investments will focus more on fundamentals, commenting: "If fundamental investing doesn't enter the industry, it means we have failed, and all assets ultimately follow the law of gravity. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters to investors - and it has been this way for thousands of years - is cash flow."
He also said: "Driven by retail investors, cryptocurrencies have grown from nothing to a market value of $3.4 trillion today, but the only way for this asset class to keep growing is to attract institutional capital. And institutional capital only cares about fundamentals. Logically, this will be the only way to make money sustainably in the future."
▌Interactive Brokers Founder: It is recommended that people put 2% to 3% of their net assets into Bitcoin
Retail brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group (Interactive Brokers Group) Thomas Peterffy, the billionaire founder of Bitcoin Brokers Group Inc., said that despite the volatility of Bitcoin, investors should hold a certain amount of Bitcoin, but the holdings should be limited. He said: "I recommend that people put 2% to 3% of their net assets into Bitcoin. For example, we will not allow anyone to put more than 10% of their assets into Bitcoin because I think that would be very dangerous."
▌Report: Emerging Markets Lead in Cryptocurrency Adoption in 2024
According to a survey report released by Consensys, emerging markets are leading in cryptocurrency adoption in 2024, with at least half of respondents in Nigeria (84%), South Africa (66%), Vietnam (60%), the Philippines (54%) and India (50%) saying they have crypto wallets in 2024. Turkey and the United States also ranked high, with 44% and 43% of respondents, respectively, saying they have wallets.
Cryptocurrency ownership increased in several countries in 2024, including Mexico with an 8% increase, the Philippines and South Africa with a 7% increase, followed by Germany with a 5% increase and Japan with a 4% increase.
According to the survey, about 40% of respondents own cryptocurrencies or have purchased cryptocurrencies in the past. The proportion is lower in Japan, Argentina, Canada, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, where less than a third of respondents have ever purchased any digital assets.
▌CryptoQuant: Ethereum may break through $5,000 due to increased institutional demand
According to a new report from CryptoQuant, Ethereum may soon break through $5,000 due to increased institutional demand, which would mark an all-time high price for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Not only that, but on-chain activity is also active. The company said in a report on Thursday that inflows into new Ethereum ETFs set a record.
Last week, global investors injected $1.2 billion in new money into Ethereum funds, a record set a few months after spot ETH funds began trading in the United States.
▌US think tank NCPPR proposes Amazon to include Bitcoin in its financial reserves
The US think tank "National Center for Public Policy Research" (NCPPR) proposed that Amazon add Bitcoin to its financial reserves. NCPPR believes that Bitcoin can be used as a hedge against currency depreciation, but whether Amazon will adopt more innovative strategies remains to be determined. Amazon may vote on the NCPPR proposal at its annual shareholders' meeting in May 2025.
Important Economic Dynamics
▌Yellen: Has spoken with Scott Bessent, the nominated Treasury Secretary, to discuss the broad responsibilities of the Treasury
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said that she had spoken with Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, to discuss the broad responsibilities of the Treasury.
Yellen said, I told Bessent, the Treasury Secretary candidate, that the Treasury Department has professional staff who work with integrity and can make reliable analysis. I also expressed concerns about fiscal responsibility and we need to reduce the deficit. I hope Congress can find a way to pay for any extension of the personal tax cuts passed by Trump in 2017.
▌Trump: For me, the stock market is everything
US President-elect Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, and he was named the 2024 Person of the Year by Time magazine on the same day. After ringing the bell, Trump said in an interview, "If you don't make (goods) here (in the United States), you have to pay a 21% tax. If you make it here, we will work hard to reduce the tax rate to 15%. You must make your products in the United States." Trump also attributed the recent rise in the stock market to his defeat of Biden (not Harris). "I have always said that for me, the stock market is everything. This is very important." He also revealed that he will establish closer ties with some of the richest and most influential people after returning to the White House.
▌The winning bid yield of the US 30-year Treasury bond issuance was 4.535%, higher than the pre-issuance transaction yield
The US Treasury Department continued to issue $22 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds, with a winning bid yield of 4.535%. The pre-issuance transaction yield was 4.523% when the bidding closed at 1 pm New York time. The primary dealers were allocated 14.4%, higher than the previous time. The allocation ratio of direct bidders dropped to 19.1%, and the allocation ratio of indirect bidders rose to 66.5%. The bid multiple was 2.39 times, lower than the average of 2.42 times in the past six re-issuance transactions.
▌The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, and cryptocurrency concept stocks rose collectively
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.22%, the S&P 500 up 0.82%, and the Nasdaq up 1.77%, breaking through 20,000 points for the first time and setting a new record high. Star technology stocks continued to rise, with Tesla, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Netflix all setting new historical highs. Among them, Tesla and Google rose more than 5%, and Amazon, Meta, and Netflix rose more than 2%. Bitcoin re-emerged above $100,000, and cryptocurrency concept stocks soared collectively. MicroStrategy rose nearly 9%, Bit Digital rose more than 4%, and Coinbase rose nearly 4%.
Joy
Jixu
Aaron
Catherine
Hui Xin
Davin
Brian