US Senator Elizabeth Warren has fired again! This time targeting Trump and DEXs like PancakeSwap, she warns: Politicians are stirring up crypto regulation while making money through family or affiliated projects. Isn't this a typical case of 'being both the referee and the player'? The conflict of interest is at an all-time high, raising questions about regulatory independence, and retail investor protection is also in jeopardy.
Core Concerns Decrypt reports that Warren specifically pointed out Trump's 'flip-flopping' during the campaign — affecting his stance on crypto regulation while enjoying the benefits of crypto trading.
Decentralized platforms like PancakeSwap were supposed to be 'borderless paradises', but when politics gets involved, they can easily turn into breeding grounds for personal gain. She calls on Congress and regulatory bodies: to be more vigilant, strictly investigate the crypto activities of politicians’ families, and not let power transform into a tool for harvesting investors like leeks.
Small retail investors trading coins seek transparency, fairness, and freedom. What if there are 'insider trades' happening above? If this situation escalates, the sense of rules in the crypto circle will become even stronger.
Do you think Warren's actions are truly out of concern for the people, or are they a political move? Will Trump's team fight back? #加密货币政策 #加密监管 #特朗普立场 #加密市场观察
Weekend Crypto Chaos: ZachXBT Exposes Scandals, Solana Conference Love and Hate, Tradexyz Shocking Liquidation
Author: BlockBeats Editorial Team In the past 24 hours, the crypto market has shown complex developments across multiple dimensions. Mainstream topics are focused on the frequent exposure of security risks on trading platforms, while inappropriate promotional behavior by executives has also sparked discussions on industry standards. In terms of ecological development, the Solana ecosystem has demonstrated a shift towards practicality after the Breakpoint conference, Ethereum has launched an innovative fundraising mechanism, and competition in the Perp DEX track has intensified. 1. Mainstream Topics 1. On-chain detective ZachXBT reveals potential links between edgeX and MEXC Renowned on-chain detective ZachXBT has recently directed his investigation towards the edgeX trading platform and proposed a shocking hypothesis: edgeX may be related to the so-called 'MEXC Conspiracy Group'. ZachXBT's working theory further suggests that the previous Jelly Jelly / Zerebro attack incident targeting Hyperliquid may also be linked to networks associated with MEXC.
Recently, the trend of Bitcoin has been a bit "volatile". On December 16, it briefly fell below $86,000, dropping over 3% in 24 hours, with nearly $600 million liquidated across the network, of which long positions accounted for nearly $500 million. Almost 180,000 people were "swept out" overnight, and it was quite a scene.
This wave of decline is still driven by macro factors. The market expects that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates by 25 basis points this Friday (December 19). Don’t underestimate this 0.25%, as many macro traders are watching closely. Historical data shows that every time the Bank of Japan raises rates, Bitcoin usually takes a hit: a decline of 23% in March 2024, 26% in July, and a staggering 31% in January of this year. If they really raise rates this time, it’s not impossible for Bitcoin to return to $70,000.
On the other hand, the drama in the U.S. hasn’t stopped either. Former Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh unexpectedly overtook Hassett in the latest play of “guess who” for the next Fed chair, becoming a top contender. Currently, on Polymarket, his probability of being nominated by Trump has surged from 7% to 48%. Hassett's originally held 85% advantage has now dropped to 42%. With personnel suspense still hanging, risk assets naturally begin to waver.
Combined with the impact of last week’s Federal Reserve meeting, market sentiment has become even more nuanced. Although a 25 basis point rate cut was anticipated, the forward guidance was clearly on the "cautious" side— the Fed expects to cut rates only once in 2026, a pace much slower than many investors anticipated. Meanwhile, the market is betting on three rate cuts next year; once expectations are misaligned, price fluctuations are a natural result.
Overall, Wintermute's conclusion is quite on point: the market is not avoiding risk, but rather "digesting" these macro variables. In other words, the current fluctuations are an adjustment period of sentiment, and not necessarily the starting point of risk.
The sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has fallen to "freezing point," with the fear and greed index currently at 11
On December 16, according to Alternative data, today the cryptocurrency fear and greed index is 11 (yesterday it was 16), with market sentiment of "extreme fear" nearing the highest level in a year.
Note: The fear index threshold is 0-100, including indicators: volatility (25%) + market trading volume (25%) + social media heat (15%) + market survey (15%) + Bitcoin's proportion in the overall market (10%) + Google trend analysis (10%).
Can quantum computing really crack Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet? Willy Woo: During a flash crash, OGs will only madly scoop up.
The weekend circle is once again hotly discussing an old topic: "If one day a quantum computer cracks open Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet and dumps 1,000,000 BTC onto the market, would Bitcoin go to zero directly?" Hypothesis of a quantum crash: 1,000,000 BTC smashed down to $3? The cause is a YouTuber Josh Otten who posted a price chart: Bitcoin was smashed down to $3, accompanied by a storyline— If extremely powerful quantum computers really emerge in the future, directly stealing about 1,000,000 BTC from Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet and dumping them all at once, such an extreme crash is not impossible.
Cathie Wood: The crypto market may have bottomed out, and Bitcoin is still the top choice for institutions
In Cathie Wood's view, this round of 'bloodbath' may have reached its end, and Bitcoin remains the favorite of institutional funds. 1. Bitcoin: The one that gets slammed first often stops falling first. Cathie Wood mentioned that during the flash crash on October 11, Bitcoin was the most liquid asset in the market, so it was also the first one institutions took out to sell for cash. The result is very typical: Bitcoin was sold off first, dragging the entire market down; But other altcoins, due to poorer liquidity, ended up falling even harder. Her judgment is: The panic this round + the pressure of deleveraging has basically been released, and the emotions and news have been digested by the market. It cannot be ruled out that this vicinity may already be a stage bottom.
1. Candidate Trump claims Bitcoin is a counterbalance to government spending. Trump's Federal Reserve Chair candidate Warsh stated that Bitcoin is a counterbalance to government spending. 2. Coinbase CEO: The U.S. government holds Bitcoin reserves. Coinbase CEO stated that the U.S. government now possesses a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and pointed out that this situation will persist. 3. Citigroup predicts that the U.S. non-farm payroll report may release conflicting signals. The U.S. non-farm payroll report to be released next Tuesday will include data from October and November. Citigroup economists pointed out that the latest employment report may release more conflicting signals, predicting a decrease of about 45,000 jobs in October and an increase of 80,000 in November. Citigroup economists stated that this rebound may be more related to seasonal data adjustments. Citigroup predicts that the unemployment rate will rise from 4.4% to 4.52%, with Reuters survey expectations at 4.4%, and the Federal Reserve predicting a year-end median unemployment rate of about 4.5%.
Global Central Bank 'Liquidity Week': The Federal Reserve Takes the Lead in Lowering Interest Rates, Risk Assets Welcome a New Opportunity Period
Last week, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis points as scheduled and announced the restart of RMP, with three dissenting votes at the meeting. This week, the focus is on the U.S. November non-farm report and CPI data, while the central banks of Japan, Europe, and the UK will successively announce interest rate decisions. Central banks around the world are making statements together, with the Federal Reserve leading the way, followed closely by several others, conveying an overall signal to the market that 'money will become less tight.' First, let's look at the core: what is the Federal Reserve doing? Last week, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, bringing the rate range to 3.5%–3.75%, and conveniently restarted a long-lost tool—RMP (Reserve Management Purchase Program).
1. The Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision on Thursday, subsequently lowering the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%-3.75% The Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision on Thursday at 03:00, with the market expecting a rate cut of 25 basis points to 3.50%-3.75%. There are divisions within the FOMC, with some voting members potentially opposing further rate cuts. Due to the government shutdown, key data for October is missing, and the SEP and dot plot are expected to show limited changes. The market is focused on whether a 'Reserve Management Purchase Program' (RMP) will be launched after the end of balance sheet reduction, with Bank of America predicting monthly purchases of about $45 billion in short-term U.S. Treasury bonds starting in January, and potentially reaching about $60 billion when including MBS reinvestment. If RMP is announced, the focus of the meeting may shift to the balance sheet rather than the interest rate path.
'BTC OG Whale' strikes again: 550 million USD long position betting on BTC, ETH, SOL
The famous 'BTC OG insider whale' on-chain has moved again. According to Coinbob's popular address monitoring, this large holder (address: 0xb31), known for precise operations, has been continuously increasing positions in the past 4 hours, stirring up market trends again. Betting on both BTC and SOL Data shows that this whale is simultaneously going long on BTC and SOL, and continues to increase positions: BTC Long Position: Scale approximately 91.83 million USD, average price 91.5 thousand USD, floating profit approximately 350,000 USD (+1.5%). SOL Long Position: Scale approximately 13.63 million USD, average price 135 USD, floating profit approximately 60,000 USD (+9%).
The truth behind 'zero fees': Lighter accumulates costs through high delays.
The '0% transaction fee' offered by Lighter DEX essentially comes at the hidden cost of a 200–300 millisecond trading delay. Due to the extreme volatility of the cryptocurrency market, this delay causes users to continuously face adverse selection and slippage when executing trades, leading to actual costs that are 5–10 times higher than those of premium accounts. There's an old saying in trading circles: 'What is free is always the most expensive.' Lighter DEX's recent slogan of '0% transaction fee' looks like a blessing for retail investors—however, a closer look at the mechanism reveals that this is actually a game of 'delayed costs.'
RWA Derivatives Market Erupts: Lighter and Hyperliquid Rise Against the Trend, Positions Break Through $600 Million!
Recently, there has been a noteworthy new development in the on-chain finance circle — the total open interest (OI) of the RWA (Real World Assets) derivatives market has just surpassed $600 million, setting a new record.
In simple terms, more and more funds are flowing into this derivatives track linked to 'real assets'.
Eugene Bulltime, the data director from Contribution Capital, has laid out this wave of data quite clearly — currently, Lighter ranks first in RWA derivatives with positions of about $280 million, accounting for 16% of the platform's total positions. More crucially, its market share has skyrocketed from 29% to nearly 50% over the past month.
Another player, Hyperliquid, has also shown strong performance in the HIP-3 market, with its share rising from 15% to 30%.
Although Ostium, which has long been a leader, remains a major force, it is clearly feeling the pressure from the newcomers.
From an overall data perspective, this is not just a competition of 'who wins and who loses' — more importantly, the entire track is expanding. The rise of Lighter and Hyperliquid has brought additional liquidity, increasing the overall positions in the RWA derivatives market from $384 million to $607 million, nearly doubling.
This means that funds are reassessing the potential of 'on-chain real assets'.
If in the past DeFi was a game for pure on-chain finance players, now RWA is gradually bringing on-chain and real-world capital onto the same stage. A new wave of asset digitization may have quietly begun.
Sei clarifies the scope of cooperation with Xiaomi: only pre-installation of Web3 applications, not involving digital currency payments
Wu said that Sei released a clarification regarding the rumors of "cooperation with Xiaomi," stating that the cooperation between the two parties is limited to the pre-installation of a mobile financial application based on Sei on Xiaomi devices, providing users with access to Web3. Currently, it does not involve Xiaomi supporting or operating any digital currency payments or stablecoin functions, and related application capabilities will be gradually launched. Sei stated that it will continue to update progress in the future. #Sei #加密市场观察
GMGN Launches "Dual Chain Aggregation" Feature: Manage Memecoins on Solana and BNB Chain in One Page!
Recently, GMGN has rolled out a new feature. Co-founder Haze announced on X (formerly Twitter) the launch of a new feature called "Trench Aggregator"—the key phrase this time is "Dual Chain Integration".
In simple terms, you can now view and trade all Memecoins on both Solana and BNB Chain on the same page. No more switching chains, changing wallets, or refreshing market data; everything can be done from one interface.
For players who monitor the market and trade daily, this is like moving from "dual-screen operation" to "one-screen solution"—faster, more intuitive, and eliminating many cumbersome steps. Especially in the memecoin market, where surprises (or shocks) can happen at any moment, the speed of information and operations often becomes the key to seizing opportunities.
Haze also mentioned that this innovation is GMGN's first step towards a multi-chain aggregation experience. In the future, it may support more public chains, allowing on-chain transactions to truly achieve "all in one place".
The current crypto market is really evolving, haha, what do you all think?
Buy a Xiaomi phone, and you can play crypto with one click? This cross-industry collaboration is too bold.
Recently, both the tech and crypto circles have been buzzing. A piece of news has simultaneously topped the trending lists in both worlds: Xiaomi is set to collaborate with the public chain Sei Network, starting in 2026, new Xiaomi phones sold overseas (excluding mainland China and the United States) will come pre-installed with a Web3 application supported by Sei.
Sounds like yet another app? In reality, it's much more than that. It could be a significant move to truly bring 'cryptocurrency' into mainstream life. Phones come with a built-in wallet, the barrier to entry is directly zeroed. This collaboration covers several key brands under Xiaomi — Mi, Redmi, and POCO. In other words, in the future, whether you buy a new Xiaomi phone in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, or Africa, you'll see that 'crypto entry' on your home screen as soon as you turn it on.
Federal Reserve cuts rates again: meets expectations but hides intricacies
Early this morning, the Federal Reserve announced another rate cut of 25 basis points, adjusting the benchmark interest rate to between 3.50% and 3.75%. This is already the third consecutive rate cut this year, totaling 75 basis points, which basically meets market expectations. Behind the rate cut: stronger signals for stable growth This rate cut is not only to boost economic confidence but also to respond to global economic uncertainties. Inflation expectations have been lowered, while growth forecasts have been raised, but the risks in the job market have slightly increased. In other words, the Federal Reserve aims to balance 'growth maintenance' and 'inflation prevention' more precisely.
Sygnum Report: 87% of Asia's high-net-worth individuals hold cryptocurrency, with an average allocation of about 17%
Cointelegraph reports that Sygnum's "2025 Asia-Pacific High-Net-Worth Individuals Report" reveals that 60% of Asia's high-net-worth individuals plan to increase their investment in cryptocurrency in the coming years. The survey covered 270 high-net-worth individuals with assets exceeding $1 million from 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily concentrated in Singapore, and included Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand.
The study indicates that 87% of respondents currently hold cryptocurrency, with an average allocation of 17%, half of whom exceed 10%. Additionally, 90% believe that digital assets are crucial for financial preservation and inheritance, rather than mere speculation. 80% of active investors hold public chain tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. 56% of respondents cited portfolio diversification as the main motivation for investing in cryptocurrency. Gerald Goh, co-founder and CEO of Sygnum in the Asia-Pacific region, emphasized that digital assets are deeply integrated into the private wealth management system in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): Investigation finds that large banks still refuse to provide services to legitimate cryptocurrency businesses.
A preliminary report from the OCC shows that examinations of the nine largest banks in the U.S. found that these banks sometimes restrict or deny services based on the type of legitimate business customers engage in (such as the cryptocurrency industry), rather than specific financial risks. The banks under review include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp, First Capital Financial, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and Montreal Bank.
The OCC noted that at least some of these banks imposed additional restrictions or scrutiny when dealing with clients in legitimate industries. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould emphasized that the investigation revealed potential issues of financial weaponization and indicated that banks may be held accountable in the future. The OCC pointed out that this is only the first phase of the investigation, and a large number of complaints need to be closely examined. Recently, the agency has softened its stance on cryptocurrencies, allowing banks to include cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets and engage in related transactions.