Headlines
XRPs market value surpasses Total Energy and ranks 144th in the global asset ranking
Infinite Market Cap data shows that XRPs market value surpasses TotalEnergies, and its ranking among global assets has risen by 39 places, currently ranking 144th. Data shows that the current XRP market value is 131.46 billion US dollars, a 24-hour increase of 19.12% and a weekly increase of 62.37%; TotalEnergies market value is 131.29 billion US dollars.
Ripple re-locked 1 billion XRP in the custodial wallet early this morning
According to Whale Alert monitoring, starting at 2:21 am today, Ripple re-locked 1 billion XRP in the escrow wallet, worth approximately US$1.546 billion.
Earlier news, Ripple said that it uses the escrow account system to provide transparency and certainty to the XRP market. The company locks up most of its XRP holdings to ensure that it does not oversupply the market and manipulate prices. However, the company also uses XRP in the escrow account to invest and support projects in the Ripple ecosystem. The release of 1 billion XRP tokens from the escrow account each month does not mean that all of them will enter the market. Ripple may choose to sell some of them to institutions or retail investors, use some for its own purposes, or return some to the new trust.
Industry News
MARA mining pool produced 820 BTC in November, the highest since January
The MARA Pool of MARA, a leading Bitcoin mining company, mined 820 BTC in November, setting a new high since January.
Network data shows that the MARA mining pool mined 254 Bitcoin blocks in November (UTC time), earning 793.7 BTC from block subsidies and 26.7 BTC from transaction fees. This is the highest monthly output of the MARA mining pool since January, partly due to MARAs low uptime earlier this year.
The average hashrate of the Bitcoin network was 731 EH/s in November, while the block production of the MARA mining pool indicated an actual hashrate of 42.7 EH/s. This suggests that the company installed additional mining machines in November, as it reported an operating capacity of 40.2 EH/s at the end of October.
Ethereum price rebound drives NFT market recovery, with NFT sales exceeding $562 million in November
With the recovery of Ethereum prices, NFT monthly sales in November exceeded US$562 million, a significant increase of 57.8% from US$356 million in October, of which Ethereum network sales exceeded US$216 million, an increase of 12% from October. However, NFT monthly transaction volume is still far from its peak in 2024. In March of this year, NFT sales hit an annual high of US$1.6 billion. However, it has remained sluggish and reached its lowest point since 2021 at US$303 million in September.
CryptoSlam data also shows that CryptoPunks led the NFT market in November, with sales exceeding $49 million in 30 days, a month-on-month increase of 392%. 388 sales transactions were recorded, an increase of 213% from October. In addition to CryptoPunks, the Pudgy Penguins series also had an impressive November, with monthly sales soaring 262% month-on-month and a turnover of $16 million.
Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, wrote that four years ago today, the Ethereum beacon chain was born. In the initial stage, only 500,000 ETH were staked. Although it did not bring direct benefits to users at the beginning, it gradually grew into one of the most powerful foundations in the history of blockchain.
Looking ahead, Drake believes that Ethereum has the opportunity to become the settlement layer of the Internet of Value. Although the beacon chain is still not perfect, the upgrade path in the next few years will still be difficult, including improving censorship and MEV processing, reducing pledge deposits, increasing the speed of finalization, intelligent issuance, achieving full chain verification at the level of smart watches, and post-quantum security. At the same time, in addition to the consensus layer, it is hoped that full sharding will be achieved at the data layer and native Rollup will be achieved at the execution layer.
Drake said that many L1 improvements will be released gradually in the next few years, and improvements such as post-quantum security may require a comprehensive redesign. L2 solutions will provide significant performance improvements in a few months, including fast user experience, low fees and unlimited throughput, synchronous composability, etc.
BlackRocks IBIT holdings valued at over $48 billion
Official data from BlackRock shows that as of November 27, the market value of IBITs holdings reached US$48,035,615,461.69, and the holdings reached 495,443.6524 BTC.
Dune data shows that as of December 1, the total on-chain holdings of the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF exceeded 1.12 million BTC (approximately 1.128 million BTC), accounting for 5.7% of the current BTC supply; the on-chain holdings are worth US$108.9 billion.
According to Paidun statistics, in November 2024, there were more than 30 hacker attacks in the cryptocurrency field, causing losses of approximately US$85.53 million, of which approximately US$25.2 million were recovered.
The top 5 hacker attacks are as follows:
-Thala: $25.5 million ($25.2 million recovered + $300,000 bug bounty);
-DEXX: $21 million;
Gifto: $12 million;
-PolterFinance: $8.7 million;
-Delta Prime: $4.75 million.
Former CFTC Chairman: SEC may drop lawsuit against Ripple
Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo discussed the high-profile U.S. SEC lawsuit against Ripple over XRP in an interview this week.
The SEC has accused Ripple of violating securities laws by issuing XRP, with a federal court ruling that some of the offering qualified as securities and others did not. Giancarlo believes the SEC should reconsider its approach, especially in light of recent legal outcomes and a potentially changing regulatory environment.
When asked if the SEC would drop the Ripple lawsuit, Giancarlo said: “I think they should… I bet they will.”
Project News
Nansen CEO: Currently ranked 9th among STRK staking validators
Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik wrote that Nansen is currently ranked 9th among STRK staking validators. According to relevant data, the total STRK staking volume has reached 76,123,003.743 pieces, accounting for 3.37% of the total circulation supply chain, of which Nansens staking volume has reached 804,994.064 STRK, accounting for 1.05% of all staking validators.
Publicly listed company Hyperscale Data: Bitcoin mining has produced 640 BTC so far this year
Hyperscale Data, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, announced that as of November 26, 2024, the companys Bitcoin mining business has produced a total of 640 BTC, of which approximately 380 BTC were produced at a mine in Michigan, and the remaining approximately 260 BTC came from mining machines previously hosted by Core Scientific, Inc.
In addition, the company revealed that it is currently trying to transform into a pure artificial intelligence data center.
8,664 new ENS domain names were registered in November, the lowest since April 2021
Dune data shows that the number of new domain name registrations for the Ethereum domain name service ENS in November was 8,664, the lowest since April 2021.
In addition, the current total number of active domain names is 1,811,983, the number of ENS independent participating user addresses is 875,047, and the number of domain name sets is 899,849.
Jesse Pollak, head of Base protocol, said in a post: “Hyperliquid shows that it’s a good thing to build a product people love before injecting pricing complexity.
We saw the same thing with Base — starting with no token allowed us to focus on solving real problems, which meant we had to actually work on them every day.
To be clear: Hyperliquid isn’t the only data point on this. In fact, the entire history of startups shows this. Without a doubt, the most important thing is to build a world-class product that people love. Period.
To reiterate: we have no plans to launch a Base network token. We are focused on building. We want to solve real problems and enable people to build better. I want your feedback on what we can do better.”
Buffalu, founder of crypto infrastructure company Jito, said in a post: “The Jito Labs Block Engine team has been advancing development work, focusing on reliability and performance:
- Reduce trust in centralized databases;
- Better and faster network retries;
- Better load balancer performance;
- Improved auction logic resulting in lower latency and more transactions.
Investment and Financing
iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited, a NASDAQ-listed company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with Overlord Merger Sub Ltd. (Merger Sub), a Cayman Islands exempted company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of iClick and Amber DWM Holding Limited (Amber DWM).
Amber DWM is the digital wealth management subsidiary of Amber Group, under the brand name “Amber Premium”, serving institutions and high net worth clients.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with Amber DWM, with Amber DWM continuing as the surviving entity and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and the shareholders of Amber DWM will exchange all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Amber DWM for newly issued Class A and Class B common stock of the Company, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, in a transaction that is not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.
The synthetic stablecoin issuance protocol usdx.money announced last Friday that it had successfully completed its latest round of financing. After this round of financing, the project valuation has reached US$275 million. The amount of financing this time is about US$45 million. The main investors include NGC, BAI Capital, Generative Ventures, UOB Venture Management, etc. Some of the investors injected capital in the form of warrants. The existing supporters of the project include Dragonfly Capital and Jeneration Capital.
usdx.money aims to build the next generation of stablecoin infrastructure, with USDX as its first stablecoin product. After the financing is completed, usdx.money will further accelerate its ecological layout and promote the application of stablecoins USDX and sUSDX in multiple fields.
Regulatory trends
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan recently presented some ideas about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins to the Payment Services Working Group of the Financial System Committee, mentioning its reluctance to allow banks other than trust banks to issue stablecoins. For stablecoins issued by trust banks, the FSA hopes to relax the current reserve requirement that all assets must be held in the form of bank demand deposits. However, the FSA also hopes to implement the travel rule, requiring KYC for stablecoin transfers issued by trust banks.
Japan passed stablecoin legislation in 2022, supporting banks, licensed remittance companies, and trust companies to issue stablecoins. As part of its working group presentation, the Financial Services Agency distinguished between stablecoins issued on permissioned blockchains and those issued on public blockchains. It is satisfied that all three stablecoins exist on permissioned chains, but is cautious about allowing licensed deposit institutions to issue stablecoins on non-permissioned chains.
Japan is considering new lightweight legislation for cryptocurrency intermediaries that are not cryptocurrency exchanges. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) recently presented its ideas to the Payment Services Working Group of the Financial Systems Committee.
Japan introduced legislation for crypto-asset exchange service providers (CAESP) in 2017, covering the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, acting as a broker, managing funds related to these services, or providing custody. However, many so-called introducers that do not operate cryptocurrency exchanges do not consider themselves to be CAESPs.
As a result, the Financial Services Agency is considering a proposal to require them to register as intermediaries. Introducers are obliged to provide information to users, will be subject to advertising restrictions, and may be liable for damages if problems arise.
The FSA is also considering how to handle damages. Current regulations for other financial services intermediaries that are not part of a larger group require a security deposit to cover potential damages. If the intermediary is affiliated with a cryptocurrency exchange, the damages may be borne by the exchange.
Russias Ministry of Industry and Trade requests two-year extension of digital ruble launch schedule
Russias Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested a two-year extension of the timeline for launching the digital ruble, similar to the one offered to small retailers. In October, the Central Bank of Russia published a timeline for launching the digital ruble as part of a bill submitted to the State Duma. The mass rollout date is July 1, 2025. By then, the largest banks and retailers must support the central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The July 1 deadline applies to retailers with a turnover of more than 30 million rubles ($274,000). Retailers with revenues between 20 million and 30 million rubles can get an extra year, and smaller companies can get two more years.
The ministry noted that there are still no rules for the operation and functioning of the digital ruble, so retailers do not have enough time to prepare and adapt their point-of-sale software.
Trade bodies agree. The Association of Retail Companies (ACORT) said in a letter: We believe it is necessary to avoid legislating to set a specific deadline for the roll-out of the system at trade level and to provide for a transition period of at least two years during which companies will carry out the necessary work.
Arthur Hayes: South Korea postpones virtual asset taxation for two years, bull market can continue
Arthur Hayes quoted a South Korean media report saying: The bull market can continue, and South Koreas capital gains tax will be postponed for another two years.
According to reports, Park Chan-dae, a floor representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, said today, We have decided to agree to postpone the taxation of virtual assets for two years. Congressman Park held a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul that day and announced the news. He said: After an in-depth discussion on the postponement of virtual asset taxation, I think it is time to further reform the virtual asset tax. Regarding the budget subsidiary bill designated by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik (sound), Congressman Park said: There are 13 bills proposed by the government, of which 8 bills with no problems between the ruling and opposition parties will be passed. He added: Tomorrows plenary session will be processed and five bills will be passed. We will further discuss and decide the direction of processing today. He emphasized, Some bills need to be rejected, and I plan to reject the estate tax and gift tax bills.
Character Voice
Solana Co-founder: We Need a National XRP Reserve
Solana co-founder Toly said in a post on X: “We need a national XRP reserve.”
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley wrote: “Now is the time to cultivate an abundance mindset in the cryptocurrency field. The bear market breeds zero-sum thinking, where one party profits by taking a share from others as the pie shrinks. But as of November this year, the total market value of cryptocurrencies has now exceeded the previous high of US$3 trillion in November 2021.
The market is entering a period where the pie is getting bigger and bigger, and now is the time to shift your mindset. The winning mindset at this stage is to encourage maximizing the pie, increasing the number of participants, treating the participants well, and supporting the team to maximize their potential and strengths. If all of this happens, you will do well. I am excited for the return to growth and abundance. ”
Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of Ark Investment Management LLC, said she welcomes the era of deregulation that has come with the Trump presidency, especially when it comes to technology, cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
“The U.S. has almost lost its footing in crypto,” Wood said, citing “excessive regulation” and outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s concerns about the industry.
Wood said on Sundays show that encryption and artificial intelligence are among the technology platforms that the United States must grasp and harness to lead the way, just like we did with the internet. A change in the regulatory system, with encryption and artificial intelligence as a primary focus, would make a lot of sense.
Fred Krueger, a Bitcoin supporter and a PhD in mathematics from Stanford University, wrote: My advice to the younger generation is to focus all your energy on artificial intelligence and invest your savings in Bitcoin. In response, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor said: Thats good advice.
CZ shares management experience: small decisions, big meetings; big decisions, small meetings
CZ posted on the X platform: Small decisions, big meetings; big decisions, small meetings.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis said: “It is very important to protect Bitcoin and the people who hold BTC in their personal wallets… We don’t want to see this asset controlled by the government because it is a great virtue.”
Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, said in a post on X: “The SEC’s war on cryptocurrency is evil, but at least it is largely open. In contrast, the coordinated efforts of the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC to eliminate cryptocurrency banking are evil acts carried out in secret under the cover of the Patriot Act and other federal privileges. So you can expect their behavior to be 10 times worse than the SEC. It’s time to lift the veil of secrecy that allows federal banking regulators to do this and persecute their political enemies.”
