Selected News:

1. SEC's official Twitter account was hacked, and the Bitcoin spot ETF announced on the official account was approved as false news;

2. Due to the false news from SEC, the price of Bitcoin has experienced violent fluctuations;

3. Bloomberg analyst: The US SEC is expected to announce the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF between 5:00 and 6:00 am on Thursday.

4. Ethereum briefly touched $2400 and saw a 24-hour increase of 3.91%.

5. Bitcoin futures open interest fell below $2 billion, down 2.41% in the past 4 hours.

Price Observation

XD(LENX Protocol) reported a temporary price of 0.5487 USD

On January 9th, according to Fjordfoundry data, XD (LENX Protocol) is currently trading at $0.5487. LENX Protocol is a stablecoin and lending protocol in the Bitcoin ecosystem, and its native token XD is currently being auctioned in the Netherlands.

XD total supply is 100 million, and the current trading volume on the Dutch auction has reached 15.32 million US dollars. 96% of the tokens have been released, and the FDV market value has reached 35.24 million US dollars.

Due to false news from SEC, the price of Bitcoin has experienced violent fluctuations.

On January 10th, due to the false news of "Bitcoin spot ETF approved" being posted on SEC's official Twitter account after it was hacked, the price of Bitcoin experienced drastic fluctuations. After rising to nearly $48,000, it quickly dropped below $45,000, with a short-term fluctuation of nearly 10%. Currently, it is trading at $45,800, with a 24-hour decline of 2.7%.

According to Coinglass data, the Bitcoin market liquidated $56.2 million in the past hour, with long positions accounting for approximately 60%.

Ethereum briefly touched $2400, with a 24-hour increase of 3.91%.

On January 10th, according to OKX market information, Ethereum briefly touched $2400 and is currently priced at $2399.3, with a 24-hour increase of 3.91%.

Project Updates

Owlto Finance has reached a strategic partnership with Circle, integrating Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP.

On January 9th, Owlto Finance, a cross-chain bridge focused on Layer 2, announced a strategic partnership with Circle. This partnership enabled Owlto Finance to successfully integrate Circle's USDC Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on major networks such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon. Users will enjoy a more convenient and secure experience for large-scale USDC cross-chain transfers.

zkLink has released its 2024 technology roadmap and will launch the ZKL token.

On January 9th, zkLink, a multi-chain transaction infrastructure based on zero-knowledge proof, released its 2024 technical roadmap. The marketing and management team is also preparing for the Token Generation Event (TGE), and the ZKL token will soon be launched.

The plan for the first quarter is to build core products, including completing the TS-zkVM circuit extension, integrating modular DA solutions, supporting ZK social login, and ZK Oracle.

The second quarter is dedicated to expanding functionality, including support for NFT minting and trading APIs, support for proof auction markets, and support for AMM + CLOB hybrid mode;

The third quarter will enhance connectivity, including enabling cross-collateral interoperability, developing new proof systems, and supporting multi-chain shared liquidity as a service (LaaS);

The fourth quarter will continue to be optimized, including integrated hardware acceleration solutions, integrated decentralized sequencer services, and the implementation of a new proof system.

Tether has authorized the issuance of 1 billion USDT on the Ethereum network (not yet issued).

On January 9th, according to Whale Alert monitoring, Tether increased the issuance of 1 billion USDT on the Ethereum network.

Regarding this, Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the 1 billion USDT is a supplement to the inventory of the Tron network. This is an authorized but unissued transaction, which means that this increase will be used for the next issuance request and cross-chain exchange inventory.

EthSign is about to launch the Sign Protocol, a full-chain proof protocol.

On January 9th, EthSign, a decentralized electronic protocol signing platform, is about to launch the Sign Protocol, a full-chain proof protocol that allows users to freely prove and verify any information on the chain.

opBNB on-chain Bnbscriptions inscription trading market goes live

DeFi Technologies acquires cryptocurrency research company Reflexivity Research.

On January 9th, Canadian listed company DeFi Technologies acquired private cryptocurrency research company Reflexivity Research through a 100% stock transaction. DeFi Technologies stated in a Tuesday announcement that it has signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) for the acquisition, but did not disclose the specific amount involved.

According to the agreement terms, DeFi Technologies will acquire all issued and outstanding securities of Reflexivity Research in exchange for 5 million common shares of DeFi Technologies (the "Payment Shares").

AI game AI Arena developer ArenaX Labs completed a $6 million financing round, led by Framework Ventures.

On January 9th, AI game developer ArenaX Labs announced the completion of a $6 million financing round for AI game AI Arena. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from SevenX Ventures, FunPlus/Xterio, and Moore Strategic Ventures.

The new funds will be used to develop a PvP combat platform. AI Arena allows users to train their own AI characters for battle, with the outcome of each battle depending on the player's skills in training. The platform aims to help users understand the operation and learning process of artificial intelligence.

Cryptocurrency custody service provider Finoa completes $15 million financing, led by Maven 11 Capital

On January 9th, Finoa, a provider of encrypted custody and staking services, completed a $15 million financing round with joint lead investors Maven 11 Capital and Balderton Capital. Other participating investors included Blue Bay Ventures, Signature Ventures, Coparion, and Venture Stars.

Finoa co-founder and co-CEO Christopher May said that the equity financing round began in June last year and ended in December. Initially, Finoa hoped to raise $5-6 million from existing investors in this round of financing, but considering the interest of external investors in the company's recent return to profitability, more funds were ultimately raised.

This round of strategic financing is the second fundraising for Finoa since it raised $22 million in Series A financing in April 2021, nearly three years ago. Considering the challenging market conditions last year, Finoa did not conduct a large-scale Series B financing, but instead opted for a smaller strategic financing to achieve growth.

Cross-chain DeFi protocol Entangle announced the completion of a $4 million financing, with participation from Big Brain Holdings and others.

On January 10th, cross-chain DeFi protocol Entangle announced the completion of a $4 million seed and private funding round, with participation from institutions such as Big Brain Holdings, Launch Code Capital, LBank Labs, Skynet EGLD Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Owl Ventures, Faculty Group, and Seier Capital.

The new funds will be used to enhance its protocol technology, expand global influence, and strengthen its role in cross-chain and interoperable data progress.

Regulatory News

BlackRock and VanEck submit another S-1 amendment for their Bitcoin ETF

On January 9th, according to SEC official website data, BlackRock and VanEck submitted another S-1 amendment for their spot Bitcoin ETF application.

ARK 21Shares submits seventh amendment to Bitcoin ETF for spot trading

On January 9th, according to data from the SEC website, ARK 21Shares submitted its seventh revision to the SEC for its Bitcoin ETF.

Grayscale GBTC Trust submits S-3/A filing to US SEC

On January 9th, according to data from the SEC website, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) submitted an S-3/A filing to the US SEC.

The US Internal Revenue Service has charged Rodney Burton with fraud for allegedly defrauding over $7 million through HyperVerse.

On January 9th, according to CoinDesk, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) arrested and charged Rodney Burton with fraud for allegedly promoting a false cryptocurrency investment scheme called HyperVerse and defrauding over $7 million. The HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme resulted in thousands of people losing millions of dollars and was operated by an entity called HyperTech and driven and operated by CEO Steven Reece Lewis.

HyperTech founder and Australian entrepreneur Sam Lee, along with his business partner Ryan Xu, also founded the Australian Bitcoin company Blockchain Global (now bankrupt), which owes creditors $58 million.

Invesco and Galaxy submit revised proposal for Bitcoin ETF

On January 9th, Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that Invesco and Galaxy have submitted a revised proposal for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF to the US SEC.

WisdomTree has submitted an S-1/A filing to the US SEC.

On January 9th, according to data from the SEC website, WisdomTree submitted a S-1/A filing for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF.

Franklin Templeton submits S-1/A filing again, with fees remaining at 0.29%On January 9th, the SEC website showed that Franklin Templeton has once again submitted an updated file (S-1/A) for a Bitcoin ETF, with a fee rate of 0.29%.

Fidelity submits S-1/A filing to SEC

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