1. President-elect Trump plans to issue an executive order designating cryptocurrency as a "national priority," sparking market discussions.

2. CME's weekly positions report shows a slight increase in BTC positions and a decrease in ETH positions, reflecting changes in market attention towards different cryptocurrencies.

3. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed new legislation allowing permanent funds to diversify investments into Bitcoin.

4. Ethereum developers announced plans to implement the Pectra upgrade in March 2025, which is expected to bring significant technical improvements.

Ethereum developers have finally revealed the timeline for the next major upgrade of the chain, Pectra, which promises to introduce a series of speed and efficiency improvements for the second-largest blockchain. During a virtual developer meeting held on Thursday, Ethereum's core team set the target release date for the upgrade to March 2025. Pectra will integrate eight major upgrades or "Ethereum Improvement Proposals" (EIPs) into one package. One of the most anticipated upgrades is EIP-7702, aimed at improving the user experience of wallets. Reportedly, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined this upgrade in just 22 minutes, enabling user wallets to be programmed like smart contracts. This is part of a broader strategy to introduce account abstraction to Ethereum—a series of features that make setting up and using wallets much easier. Another highly anticipated upgrade, EIP-7251, will increase the maximum amount that validators can stake from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. This change addresses a significant issue faced by validators who stake ETH to maintain the blockchain: those wishing to invest more than 32 ETH on the network must spread their stakes across dozens (sometimes hundreds) of independent nodes. This is not just a burden; it also leads to queue times of weeks for setting up new nodes. Pectra is initially expected to be the largest hard fork for Ethereum to date, marking the first major improvement to the chain since the Dencun upgrade in 2024. A blockchain hard fork is a particularly important software upgrade that essentially shifts the network to an entirely new chain. While still significant, the upgrades included in Pectra have been reduced compared to some earlier plans. Developers decided in September that the initial Pectra plans were too ambitious and agreed to split the original package into two. Developers plan to test Pectra on Ethereum's Sepolia and Holesky test networks throughout February. If all goes well, developers will introduce Pectra to the mainnet in early to mid-March. Ethereum developers confirmed plans to split the "Pectra" upgrade into two. - Original

5. A Reuters survey shows the Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady in January and may cut rates in March, following inflation concerns triggered by Trump’s policies.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that a Reuters survey indicates the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates on January 29 and may cut rates again in March. Policymakers are digesting a series of new economic policies expected to be introduced in Washington. The survey also shows that persistent inflation pressures may only lead the Fed to cut rates once more. Concerns over Trump's promises, from comprehensive tariffs and extended tax cuts to the expulsion of illegal immigrants, have already led to a significant rise in U.S. Treasury yields before he took office. The already strong economic outlook and the Fed's future rate path will depend on how much the new government fulfills these promises. Of the 103 economists surveyed, nearly 60% expect the FOMC to keep the key rate at 4.25%-4.50% during the meeting on January 28-29, with 65 out of 102 economists expecting two or fewer rate cuts this year. The survey also indicates that by the end of 2025, the federal funds rate will be between 3.75%-4.00%, significantly higher than the 3.00%-3.25% predicted a few months ago. - Original

6. CryptoQuant reports a significant increase in over-the-counter Bitcoin trading on Coinbase Prime, indicating a trend of institutional accumulation of cryptocurrencies.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that CryptoQuant analysts have found a significant increase in over-the-counter (OTC) trading activity on Coinbase Prime, indicating that institutional investors are increasingly using OTC channels to accumulate Bitcoin. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju explained, "When the inflow into Coinbase Prime Brokerage Service, the preferred Bitcoin purchasing channel for U.S. institutions, increases significantly, it indicates that various OTC trades are currently happening, and institutions are more willing to trade over the counter." - Original

7. The SEC has filed settlement charges against Wells Fargo and Merrill, imposing a $60 million fine for violations related to cash clearing plans.

According to an announcement on the SEC's official website, the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) has filed settlement charges against Wells Fargo and Merrill for violations related to cash clearing plans. The two companies agreed to pay a total of $60 million in civil fines. The reason for the settlement charges is their failure to adopt written policies and procedures with reasonable design to prevent violations of the Investment Advisers Act and its related rules concerning the companies' cash clearing plans. According to the SEC's order, Wells Fargo Advisors and Merrill Lynch provided a bank deposit clearing program (BDSP) as the only cash clearing option for most advisory clients and derived significant economic benefits from the cash of advisory clients in the BDSP. The two companies and their affiliates set the interest rates offered in the BDSP, and during periods of rising interest rates, the yield difference between the BDSP and other cash clearing alternatives sometimes grew to nearly 4%. - Original

8. Two major European regulatory agencies release a report analyzing DeFi and crypto lending and staking, highlighting associated risks and market trends.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) jointly released a report today analyzing DeFi as well as crypto lending and staking. The report states that DeFi remains a niche phenomenon, with the value locked in DeFi protocols accounting for 4% of the total market value of all crypto assets globally. The report also notes that while the EU's adoption of DeFi is higher than the global average, it is lower than that of other developed economies (e.g., the U.S. and South Korea). Additionally, the report points out that the number of DeFi hacks and the value of stolen crypto assets are generally positively correlated with the size of the DeFi market; due to decentralized exchanges accounting for 10% of global spot cryptocurrency trading volume, there are significant money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks associated with DeFi protocols. The EBA and ESMA also found that the impact of maximum extractable value (MEV) on the DeFi market is very prevalent, and the negative externalities of MEV require technical solutions. Regarding the lending and staking of crypto assets, the report analyzes the main types of business models and typical characteristics observed in the market, including centralized and decentralized models. Based on existing (limited) evidence, EU consumers and financial institutions appear to have limited participation in crypto lending and staking services. The report lists and assesses specific risks associated with each service, such as excessive leverage, information asymmetry, ML/TF risk exposure, and systemic risks arising from re-hypothecation and collateral chains, procyclicality, and interconnectedness. In particular, some users may not receive sufficient information regarding the terms and conditions of these services in areas such as fees, interest rates or yields paid, collateral requirements, and other relevant disclosures. However, the EBA and ESMA have not yet identified current risks from a financial stability perspective. - Original

9. MicroStrategy may increase its number of outstanding shares to fund Bitcoin purchases, highlighting the importance of cryptocurrency in corporate financial strategies.

10. The International Monetary Fund raises its economic growth forecast for the U.S. in 2025 but warns that excessive deregulation may increase financial vulnerabilities.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its economic growth forecast for the U.S. in 2025 to 2.7%, up from the 2.2% predicted in October; it expects a growth rate of 2.1% in 2026, higher than the previous forecast of 2.0%. Policy changes under the new U.S. government are likely to drive inflation up in the short term, and excessive deregulation in the U.S. may weaken financial safeguards, increasing financial vulnerabilities. - Original

11. Trump's impending inauguration sparks market expectations for changes in cryptocurrency policy, with XRP's market cap nearing $200 billion.

According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order on Monday after his inauguration, designating cryptocurrency as a "national policy priority." XRP derivative activity has surged, with a significant increase in call options, and its price and futures open interest hovering near historical highs. Ethereum developers plan to launch the Pectra mainnet upgrade in March, provided that the hard fork on its Sepolia and Holesky test networks proceeds as scheduled in February. The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter "The Daily," which is published on workdays. - Original

12. California Assembly member Phillip Chen drafts legislation supporting Bitcoin, indicating a positive regional attitude towards cryptocurrencies.

13. Wintermute expects its OTC trading volume to quadruple due to "unprecedented" institutional demand, indicating increased maturity in the crypto market.

Wintermute states that institutional participation in cryptocurrencies is continuously increasing, leading to a 313% growth in its OTC trading volume in 2024. Institutional investors have also shown greater interest in memecoins. The company indicates that the cryptocurrency market will further mature this year, thereby reducing price volatility. - Original

14. MicroStrategy may soon have a number of common shares comparable to those of Amazon and Alphabet to fund its large-scale Bitcoin purchasing efforts.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that MicroStrategy Inc. may soon have nearly as many common shares outstanding as market giants Amazon and Alphabet to fund the company's large-scale Bitcoin purchasing efforts. Analysts expect that during the shareholder vote on January 21, MicroStrategy will easily pass a company-sponsored proposal to increase the number of Class A common shares from 330 million to 10.3 billion. Saylor controls about 47% of the voting power. This would potentially allow MicroStrategy's number of outstanding shares to exceed that of all companies in the Nasdaq 100 index, except for Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon. - Original

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