Bitcoin Price: US$ 106,022.38 (+1.52%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 3,986.24 (+0.69%)
Mt. Gox, the bankrupt crypto exchange, recently transferred $172.5 million worth of Bitcoin to unknown wallets, following an earlier transfer of over 24,000 BTC valued at nearly $2.5 billion in December. Despite these movements, Bitcoin’s price remained stable around $107,000, with Mt. Gox still holding over 36,000 BTC, although creditor repayments are delayed until 2025. Meanwhile, Story protocol introduced an experimental framework using its Agent Transaction Control Protocol for Intellectual Property (ATCP/IP), enabling AI agents to exchange intellectual property on-chain, which aims to overcome the limitations of AI agents by facilitating secure, autonomous trades of data and creative outputs while ensuring legal enforceability. AI agents and AI-themed memecoins have surged in popularity, with AI tokens surpassing $3 billion in market capitalisation since October, contributing to the broader sector’s $6.9 billion value, though experts caution about the potential risks, such as more sophisticated scams and the technology being used by criminals. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against the Solana-based “Retardio” project for engaging in unauthorised financial activities targeting UK consumers, stressing the importance of dealing with FCA-approved firms to ensure consumer protection. In response, Retardio humorously dismissed the FCA’s concerns, claiming that their memecoin and NFT collection were not subject to the same regulatory scrutiny, though the FCA clarified that consumers interacting with unauthorised projects would not have access to financial protection and advised verifying the regulatory status of companies before investing. Reflecting on this trend, Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu argued that memecoins represent user attention, distinguishing them from traditional social media metrics, with their market capitalisation serving as a unique form of tokenised value in the Web3 space.
The blockchain gaming industry is witnessing an influx of senior executives and gaming talent, with 73.2% of surveyed professionals in upper management, a reflection of tighter budgets and consolidation following the “crypto winter.” However, challenges remain in engaging younger audiences and improving gender diversity as the sector prepares for major AAA gaming launches in 2025. In Europe, MP Sarah Knafo has called for the EU to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve, rejecting the ECB’s digital euro proposal, and emphasising Bitcoin’s decentralised nature as a counter to regulatory overreach. She criticised Europe’s focus on regulation and taxation, highlighting a contrast with global crypto adoption trends, as the ECB plans a decision on the digital euro by 2025. Meanwhile, Bybit announced it will cease services for French users in January 2025 due to stricter regulations, urging users to withdraw funds or transfer them to Coinhouse, a licensed custodian, with unclaimed assets subject to custody fees, signalling France’s increasingly stringent regulatory environment for crypto firms.
Tether has made a strategic investment in Malta-based StablR to strengthen its presence in Europe’s growing stablecoin market, supporting euro-pegged EURR and USD-pegged USDR through its Hadron platform. This move aligns with Europe’s MiCA regulations, showcasing Tether’s commitment to compliance as the European stablecoin market, led by EURC and EURS, expands to $370 million. Meanwhile, Pyth Network is launching real-time oil market data feeds for WTI and Brent Crude Oil across over 80 blockchain ecosystems, enabling advanced DeFi applications like derivatives and perpetual futures. Aggregated from trusted sources, this data bridges traditional finance and DeFi, with Storm Trade set to integrate it for leveraged commodity and crypto trading. In the U.S., President-elect Donald Trump met with Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek to discuss a national Bitcoin reserve and crypto-related appointments, while Crypto.com dropped its SEC lawsuit to foster collaboration with the incoming administration. Trump’s crypto-friendly stance is evident in his past meetings with Coinbase’s CEO and his selection of pro-crypto appointees like David Sacks as “AI and crypto czar” and Paul Atkins for SEC chair.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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