PA Daily | The SEC has never stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum are securities; Matrixport said that Bitcoin’s 21-week moving average above $85,000 can be regarded as a bull market signal

Today's news tips:

Bitcoin spot ETF had a net outflow of $210 million yesterday, marking the fourth consecutive day of net outflow

Malaysian Prime Minister announces exploration of cryptocurrency and blockchain policy

Thailand plans to allow the first Bitcoin ETF to be listed to promote the development of the digital asset industry

US SEC Chairman: SEC Never Declared Bitcoin and Ethereum to be Securities

IOST rebranding proposal passed: total supply will double to 42.64 billion, 97% of the new supply will be allocated to the community

Solv Protocol: SOLV airdrop eligibility inquiry will be open at 17:00 on January 16

Binance Alpha Adds GRIFT, VITA, and Aimonica

OKX will launch AIXBT (aixbt by Virtuals) spot trading

Regulatory/Macro

Thailand plans to ban Polymarket in crackdown on online gambling

Thailand's Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau plans to propose a ban on the decentralized prediction market Polymarket on the grounds that it could be considered an illegal online gambling platform. It is not yet clear when the potential ban will be implemented. According to a statement posted on the authority's website, the suspension of Polymarket is aimed at preventing the public from falling into the trap of online gambling and curbing the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities to avoid serious impacts on the economy and society. Previously, other regions have taken similar restrictive measures on Polymarket. For example, Singapore users recently reported that they were unable to access the website and received illegal prompts from local authorities. In addition, Taiwan restricted the use of Polymarket last year and prosecuted a user who bet about $530 to participate in election predictions. The United States and France have also imposed access restrictions on the platform. Earlier news, Polymarket was defined as an illegal gambling website in Singapore and was blocked.

Malaysian Prime Minister announces exploration of cryptocurrency and blockchain policy

According to the New Straits Times, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government is studying the formulation of digital finance policies in order to recognize cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. He held discussions with the Abu Dhabi government and Binance founder Zhao Changpeng during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week to explore how to promote the development of the field. Anwar stressed that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, similar to artificial intelligence, are rapidly changing the financial world and Malaysia cannot fall behind. He suggested that the Ministry of Finance, the Securities Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia conduct a comprehensive study and said that the government will learn from international experience, including Binance and the UAE. He revealed that he would submit a draft policy to the cabinet and prioritize policy innovation in this area to break away from the constraints of the traditional financial system and move towards a new model of digital finance.

Deribit CEO confirms strategic investment interest, but denies sale rumors

According to CoinDesk, Luuk Strijers, CEO of crypto derivatives trading platform Deribit, confirmed that the company has hired FT Partners as an advisor to evaluate strategic investment opportunities and potential secondary market equity transactions. He stressed that Deribit is not listed for sale, but it has received strategic investment interest from multiple parties. Earlier, it was reported that the crypto exchange Kraken had considered acquiring Deribit, but did not make a formal offer. It is reported that Deribit's valuation may be between $4 billion and $5 billion or more. Currently, the bull market in the crypto market is driving mergers and acquisitions in the industry, including Moonpay and Chainalysis, which have announced two major acquisitions this week.

Thailand plans to allow the first Bitcoin ETF to be listed to promote the development of the digital asset industry

According to Bloomberg, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) is considering allowing Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be listed on local exchanges for the first time for individual and institutional investors. Currently, Thailand already has funds that provide indirect Bitcoin exposure by investing in overseas Bitcoin ETFs, but has not yet approved ETFs that invest directly in Bitcoin. Thailand currently has about 270,000 active crypto trading accounts, and although it is lower than the peak during the epidemic, market activity is gradually recovering. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, secretary-general of the SEC, said the move is aimed at providing investors with more crypto asset options while ensuring appropriate protection measures. She also revealed that Thailand is exploring a pilot sandbox project to use Bitcoin transactions in tourism services in Phuket.

Mosaic Exchange and its CEO fined over $1.1 million and permanently banned from business for digital asset fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida made a final default judgment against Mosaic Exchange Ltd. and its CEO Sean Michael, requiring them to pay approximately $468,600 in compensation, $61,000 in disgorgement of illegal gains, and $660,000 in civil penalties, totaling more than $1.1 million. In addition, the defendant was permanently banned from registering CFTC-related businesses and participating in CFTC-regulated market transactions. The case shows that from February 2019 to June 2021, the defendant induced customers to invest in digital assets such as Bitcoin through false propaganda, falsely claiming to manage tens of millions of dollars in assets and have a high rate of profitability, but in fact did not generate the claimed returns, and some customer funds were used for personal consumption. The CFTC reminds the public to beware of commodity pool scams and recommends verifying the CFTC registration information of relevant companies before investing.

Yonhap News Agency: South Korean authorities arrested South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol

According to Yonhap News Agency: South Korean authorities arrested South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol. The South Korean Public Prosecution Service executed an arrest warrant for Yoon Seok-yeol at 10:33 (09:33 Beijing time). This is the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that an arrest warrant has been executed against a sitting president.

US SEC Chairman: SEC Never Declared Bitcoin and Ethereum to be Securities

According to The Block, Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that the SEC has never stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum are securities. Gensler emphasized that neither the SEC nor its former chairman Jay Clayton has ever stated that Bitcoin is a security. He also added that the SEC has not clearly identified the securities attributes of Ethereum, but said that it cannot directly confirm its non-securities nature because of its job responsibilities. This statement comes at a time when Gensler plans to step down next week, and in previous disputes and related lawsuits surrounding whether Ethereum is a security, members of Congress have repeatedly called for clarification of its classification. Gensler also pointed out that about 70%-80% of the crypto market is related to Bitcoin and Ethereum, while thousands of other tokens may involve securities attributes and must follow disclosure rules.

Financing

WalletConnect developer Reown completes $13 million Series B financing, led by USV and 1kx

According to Business Wire, Reown announced the completion of a $13 million Series B financing round, led by Union Square Ventures (USV) and 1kx, with other investors including SC Ventures, SBI Holdings, Shopify Ventures, Kraken Ventures, etc. To date, Reown has raised a total of $38 million. As the developer of WalletConnect Network, Reown focuses on improving the on-chain user experience (UX). This round of financing will be used to accelerate the development of its core products AppKit and WalletKit to simplify the user interaction process on the blockchain. • AppKit: It already supports multi-chain applications such as Solana and Bitcoin, and can achieve rapid user flow through embedded wallets, smart accounts and other functions. Recently, it has provided Telegram users with a seamless on-chain experience. • WalletKit: It has been used by more than 600 wallets such as Trust Wallet and Binance Web3Wallet, focusing on solving chain switching and gas fee issues. As Reown's flagship project, WalletConnect Network has connected more than 220 million times, covering 35 million users, and launched the WCT token to achieve network decentralization.

BeraTone Completes $2 Million Seed Round, Led by Animoca Brands

Blockchain game project BeraTone announced the completion of a $2 million seed round of financing, led by Animoca Brands, with participation from SNZ Holding, Citizen X, Avid3, Metazero Capital and other institutions and angel investors. This round of financing will be used for team expansion, feature development and improving the gaming experience. BeraTone is a farm life simulation game developed based on Berachain, combining the blockchain's Proof of Liquidity consensus mechanism to provide players with tradable game assets and a powerful economic ecosystem. The game is inspired by "Harvest Moon", "Stardew Valley" and "Animal Crossing", and creates an attractive bear-themed virtual world through rhythm challenges, social interactions and other gameplay.

Project News

IOST rebranding proposal passed: total supply will double to 42.64 billion, 97% of the new supply will be allocated to the community

IOST officially announced that its rebranding proposal has been approved by the community with a high vote. According to the new plan, the total supply of IOST will increase from 2.132 billion to 4.264 billion in the next 60 months, of which 97% of the new supply will be allocated to the community. At the same time, the circulating supply will increase by 2.22%, or 474 million IOST, one month after the rebranding is completed. This upgrade marks the official launch of IOST3.0, and 50% of the new supply will be used in the fields of network infrastructure development, community development plans, payment innovation funds, etc. in the next five years. In addition, IOST3.0 will introduce a number of value protection mechanisms, such as an extended token unlocking plan, Layer 2 burning mechanism, and DAO-led regular destruction activities to ensure long-term value growth. The implementation of IOST3.0 will be completed in three phases, covering infrastructure deployment, payment protocol activation, cross-chain bridging, and global market expansion. Earlier news, IOST released a new token economics: 97% of the newly issued tokens will be used for the community.

Solv Protocol: SOLV airdrop eligibility inquiry will be open at 17:00 on January 16

Solv Protocol, a Bitcoin staking protocol, announced that the SOLV token airdrop will open airdrop qualification verification at 17:00 (Beijing time) on January 16, and will be officially available for collection at 17:00 on January 17. SOLV tokens will be listed on exchanges such as Binance, Bybit and Hyperliquid at 18:00 on January 17. Unclaimed tokens will be returned to the community rewards and DAO treasury after 17:00 on March 18. It said that since the launch of SolvBTC in April 2024, the platform has attracted more than 24,500 BTC deposits. In terms of token distribution, 7.65% of the supply is dedicated to the Solv community, of which 7.25% is allocated to Solv points system participants, 0.25% is allocated to early supporters, and 0.15% is allocated to OKX Cryptopedia active users. In addition, the top 1% addresses are subject to a 3-month linear unlocking rule, and the portion that does not meet the conditions will be returned to the community reward pool. To further expand its Bitcoin reserves, Solv plans to conduct three Bitcoin Reserve Releases (BROs) in 2025, minting 42 million SOLV each time for convertible note sales. Earlier, Binance announced that the Solv Protocol (SOLV) Megadrop is now open and will open SOLV/USDT trading on January 17.

Binance will delist REEF/USDT perpetual contracts and adjust leverage and margin levels

Binance announced that it will automatically settle the REEFUSDT USDⓈ-M perpetual contract at 17:00 (Beijing time) on January 22, 2025, and will officially delist the contract after the settlement is completed. In addition, Binance has adjusted the leverage and margin levels of the contract at 15:30 (Beijing time) on January 15, 2025, and existing positions will not be affected. The announcement shows that from 16:30 (Beijing time) on January 22, users will not be able to open new REEFUSDT contract positions. Binance recommends that users close related positions before delisting to avoid risks caused by automatic settlement.

DAWN official X account was hacked and released phishing links, please pay attention to fund security

According to Scam Sniffer, the official Twitter account @dawninternet of the decentralized autonomous wireless network project DAWN was hacked and used to post phishing tweets. Please pay attention to the security of your funds.

OKX will launch AIXBT (aixbt by Virtuals) spot trading

According to the official announcement, OKX announced that it will launch AIXBT (aixbt by Virtuals) spot trading. AIXBT will open the deposit function at 3:00 pm on January 15, and the call auction will be held from 8:00 to 9:00 pm Beijing time that night. The spot trading pair AIXBT/USDT will officially open at 9:00 pm that night. The withdrawal function will be open at 10:00 am the next day.

Binance Alpha Adds GRIFT, VITA, and Aimonica

The App page shows that Binance Alpha has added a list of new projects, including: GRIFT, VITA and Aimonica.

On-chain options protocol Derive has opened an airdrop query page

The on-chain options protocol Derive (formerly Lyra) announced the launch of the DRV token and opened the airdrop query page (derive.xyz/airdrop). The distribution includes snapshot LYRA, pre-staking rewards, migration rewards, and trading and deposit rewards. Users can claim DRV through the Derive UI and choose to claim it directly or stake it as stDRV to obtain weekly rewards and governance rights. In addition, DRV supports bridging to Base or Ethereum networks through LayerZero. Users can trade on multiple platforms, including AerodromeFi, Kraken, Gate.io and Infinex, and participate in related trading reward activities.

Spark Protocol to distribute $1.1 billion in funding to Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe tokens

According to The Block, Spark Protocol, the lending sub-DAO of the Sky ecosystem, plans to allocate $1.1 billion from its liquidity layer balance sheet to Ethena's USDe and sUSDe tokens to improve capital efficiency. USDe is an algorithmic stablecoin launched in 2024 and is currently the fourth largest stablecoin by market value. It has attracted much attention for the yield its holders can earn. The Spark team expects that under favorable market conditions, the allocation can achieve an annualized yield of approximately 27%, thereby driving revenue growth in the Sky ecosystem and increasing returns for USDS savings depositors. The Spark liquidity layer manages $6.2 billion in stablecoin liquidity and supports users to convert USDC and Sky's USDS or sUSDS tokens between multiple networks.

OpenAI appoints BlackRock executive Adebayo Ogunlesi to board of directors

OpenAI announced the appointment of Adebayo "Bayo" Ogunlesi, an executive at investment company BlackRock, as a member of its board of directors. Ogunlesi is currently a senior managing director at BlackRock and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners, and has extensive experience in global organizational management. He has held several senior positions at Credit Suisse and served as a legal assistant to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His joining will strengthen the OpenAI board's capabilities in the fields of AI safety, cybersecurity, regulation, and economics to promote the development of general artificial intelligence (AGI).

Coinbase International will launch Sonic (S) perpetual contract

Coinbase International Station announced on the X platform that Coinbase International Station and Coinbase Advanced will add support for Sonic (S) perpetual futures contracts. The S-PERP market is expected to open at or after 17:30 on January 16, 2025, Beijing time.

Bithumb will launch Game Build (GAME2) Korean Won trading pair

According to the Bithumb announcement, Game Build (GAME2) will be listed on the Korean won trading market and support the Ethereum network (other network recharges are not supported). The recharge function will be opened within 2 hours after the announcement, and trading will start at 18:00 (local time) on January 15, 2025.

Viewpoint

Matrixport: Bitcoin's 21-week moving average above $85,000 can be seen as a bullish signal

According to Matrixport analysis, as an asset with obvious cyclicality and trend-driven, the trend of Bitcoin can be judged by the 21-week moving average (about 147 days). When the price is above this moving average, it is suitable to hold long positions; when the price is below the moving average, it is necessary to be cautious. Historical data shows that this moving average has successfully captured major market trends many times, including the bull markets in 2020 and 2023, and the bear market in 2022. The current moving average is about $85,000. As long as the price of Bitcoin remains above this level, the market can be considered to be in a bull market.

Important data

Perhaps affected by the delisting of Binance, REEF fell 15.3% in a short period of time

According to Binance market data, REEF briefly fell below $0.0008, a 15.3% drop, and is now quoted at $0.000872, possibly due to the delisting of Binance. Earlier today, it was reported that Binance will delist REEF/USDT perpetual contracts and adjust leverage and margin levels.

A whale bought 7.05 million AIXBT tokens for $3.03 million in the past 24 hours

According to Onchain Lens, a whale bought 7.05 million AIXBT tokens for $3.03 million in the past 24 hours. Currently, the whale holds a total of 7.9 million AIXBT, with a total value of approximately $5.76 million.

Bitcoin spot ETF had a net outflow of $210 million yesterday, marking the fourth consecutive day of net outflow

According to SoSoValue data, on January 14, Eastern Time, Bitcoin spot ETFs had a total net outflow of $210 million yesterday. Among them, WisdomTree ETF BTCW: a single-day net inflow of $10.2372 million, a historical total net inflow of $239 million, the ETF with the largest net inflow yesterday. VanEck ETF HODL: a single-day net inflow of $5.4596 million, a historical total net inflow of $825 million. Currently, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs has reached $108.981 billion, accounting for 5.7% of the total market value of Bitcoin, and the historical cumulative net inflow is $35.722 billion.