Daily | The US SEC established a cryptocurrency working group; Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was pardoned; Eric Conner quit the Ethereum community

Organized by: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Important information:

• U.S. SEC sets up cryptocurrency working group to develop regulatory framework
• Binance HODLer airdrops Animecoin (ANIME) and will list ANIME spot trading pairs on January 23
• The official website of the U.S. Government Efficiency Department has changed its logo and still contains Shiba Inu elements.
• Trump responded to issuing currency: I only know that I launched it and heard that it was very successful
• Justin Sun: If I lead the Ethereum Foundation, ETH will reach $10,000
• Darknet Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s first photo exposed after being pardoned
• Ethereum core developer Eric Conner announced his withdrawal from the Ethereum community

"What important events happened in the past 24 hours?"

[Binance HODLer airdrops Animecoin (ANIME) and will list ANIME spot

trading pairs on January 23](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164090)

Binance HODLer airdrop has now launched the 6th phase of project Animecoin (ANIME). From 08:00 on January 17, 2025 to 07:59 on January 22, 2025 (East Eight District time), users who use BNB to subscribe for regular or current products on the currency earning platform will receive airdrop allocations.

Binance will list ANIME at 22:00 on January 23, 2025 (Eastern Eighth District time), and open trading pairs for USDT, USDC, BNB, FDUSD and TRY.

[Justin Sun: If I lead the Ethereum Foundation, ETH will reach

$10,000](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164087)

Justin Sun said on X that if the Ethereum Foundation and Ethereum are under his leadership, ETH will rise to $10,000.

The plan for the first week is:

1. Immediately stop ETH sales for at least three years and cover operating costs through AAVE lending, pledge income and stablecoin lending;

2. Imposing heavy taxes on all Layer 2 projects to ensure that at least US$5 billion in tax revenue is generated every year for the repurchase and destruction of ETH;

3. Streamline the personnel structure of the Ethereum Foundation and increase the salaries of retained employees;

4. Reduce node rewards and strengthen the fee burning mechanism. Justin Sun said that with these measures, ETH is expected to exceed $4,500 within the first week.

[Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio reveals he holds “a small

amount” of Bitcoin](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164081)

According to Cointelegraph, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio revealed that he holds a “small amount” of Bitcoin.

[Binance Alpha adds MAXONSOL and

TRISIG](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164069)

Binance Alpha adds MAXONSOL and TRISIG.

[Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Yip Chi-heng: A new license

for a virtual asset trading platform will be approved in the near future](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164050)

According to Zhitong Finance Network, Ye Zhiheng, executive director of the Intermediary Department of the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission, revealed that a new license for the virtual asset trading platform will be approved in the near future, and good news is expected in the first quarter of 2025. It is reported that the regulatory agency has completed on-site inspections of all applicants, and there are currently 11 platforms on the application list.

Ye Zhiheng emphasized that regulatory agencies will strictly adhere to regulatory bottom lines such as investor protection and network security. At the same time, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission plans to set up a licensed platform advisory group after the Lunar New Year and invite senior executives of licensed platforms to participate to ensure that industry opinions are fully considered in the policy formulation process.

[OKX will launch Animecoin (ANIME) spot

trading](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164045)

OKX announced that it will launch Animecoin (ANIME) spot trading. The deposit business has been opened at 14:00 (UTC+8) on January 22, and the ANIME/USDT trading pair will open at 22:00 (UTC+8) on January 23. The currency withdrawal function will be opened at 02:00 on January 24th.

[Darknet Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s first photo exposed after

being pardoned](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164036)

According to Bitcoin Magazine, the first photo of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web Silk Road (Silk Road), has leaked since his release. The photo shows Ulbricht, wearing a gray sports suit, walking in the parking lot, holding a pot of green plants and smiling.

Earlier today, Trump announced that he had signed a pardon for Ross Ulbricht.

[Ethereum core developer Eric Conner announced his withdrawal from the

Ethereum community](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164026)

Eric Conner, the core developer of Ethereum and co-author of EIP-1559, posted on the Consistent, but for now, I'm off and deep down I really wish Ethereum success."

In addition, Eric Conner posted today: "My passion lies entirely in the potential of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. Cryptocurrency is essential to building an open, trustworthy and fair AI future in which Human beings will not lose their autonomy."

[Critical Metal Corp plans to adopt Bitcoin financial strategy, with

available funds reaching US$500 million](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164021)

Critical Metal Corps, an American critical metal mining company, said it plans to start allocating its excess reserves to BTC, a decision that has been approved by its board of directors. According to the company's announcement, it may have access to a $500 million pool of funds that will be used as part of a convertible note financing led by JBA Asset Management, subject to conditions contained in the transaction documents.

The company said it would first allocate $100 million of the $500 million pool to buy Bitcoin. The first tranche of funds has a warrant coverage rate of 100%. It also said that the remaining $400 million can be used according to the buyer's wishes, and the warrant coverage rate is 50%.

Subject to financing terms, the convertible notes are secured by cash raised and underlying BTC acquired. While the company has yet to announce its strategic Bitcoin purchase plans, it said the move will depend on its cash flow needs and may ultimately revise some conditions of the strategy as it sees fit.

[Trump responded to issuing currency: I only know that I launched it and

heard that it was very successful](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2163970)

Trump responded to the coin announcement: "I don't know if it (TRMUP coin) is profitable. I don't know much about it, except that I launched it. I heard it was very successful."

[The official website of the U.S. Government Efficiency Department has

changed its logo and still contains Shiba Inu elements.](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2163966)

The official website of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has changed its logo and still contains Shiba Inu elements.

[U.S. SEC sets up cryptocurrency working group to develop regulatory

framework](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2163964)

According to official news, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mark Uyeda established a cryptocurrency task force “committed to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets.”

Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. The focus of the working group will be to help the Commission draw clear regulatory boundaries, provide a practical path to registration, develop a reasonable disclosure framework, and deploy enforcement resources wisely. Senior advisers Richard Gabbert and Taylor Asher serve as the task force's chief of staff and chief policy adviser, respectively.

“What are some great articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?”

[On Trump’s first day in office, Silk Road founder who had been

imprisoned for 11 years was released](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164096)

No one knows how to use political leverage to manipulate public sentiment better than Trump.

Trump has been under some pressure lately. In order to circumvent the presidential investment restrictions, on the eve of taking office in "Goose City", the Trumps directly issued coins, allowing an entire interest group behind them to achieve "no capital and huge profits" as quickly as possible.

There can be many people harvesting in the currency circle, but they cannot be the president. Many members of the cryptocurrency community who once supported him have spoken out against his actions. However, there is another voice among them, coming from those in the encryption circle who are dissatisfied with Trump’s currency issuance behavior:

"I can't forgive Trump for issuing coins on the eve of taking office unless he releases Ross Ulbricht tomorrow."

This is how Trump’s political sophistication is reflected. Under pressure from the encryption industry, he immediately called the mother of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and personally told this mother who had been waiting for her son to come home for ten years:

"I just signed a full and unconditional pardon for your son Ross." Ross can go home.

[A picture to help you understand Trump’s encryption

map](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164027)

A map of Trump’s relationship with cryptocurrencies.

In just one day, $TRUMP has surpassed $14 billion in market cap, breaking into the top 20 by market cap and surpassing $DOGE in fully diluted valuation (FDV). Currently, it has been successfully listed on major CEX/PERP platforms such as Binance and Coinbase.

Currently, attention is likely to be focused on Trump-related tokens.

[Estimated billing for Pump.fun: Official income from sending one coin

is US$68, users will receive 70% of the profit or pay a handling fee](https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2164005)

Pump.fun has recently caused a public opinion crisis. The American law firm Burwick Law filed a lawsuit against Pump.fun and the fraudulent project parties on behalf of investors who lost money on the platform. Burwick Law said the announcement came after months of working with investors and called on more victims to fill out registration information. In addition, there was a lot of discussion on social media a week ago about the number of Pump.fun addresses with profits exceeding US$10,000, which was only 55,000. Alon, the founder of Pump.fun, had to stand up and respond to the inaccurate data. It seems that after players have contributed a lot of fees and interactions, who is the biggest winner of Pump.fun has become a topic that everyone is more concerned about.

Meme Hot List

According to the Meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN market data, as of 19:50 on January 22:

The top five popular Ethereum tokens in the past 24 hours are: DOGE , ELON , STARGATE , SPX, PEPU

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24h are: TRUMP , Stargate , HSM, $MIA , WLFI

The top five popular tokens in the past 24h Base are: AIXBT , MIGGLES, BRETT, Barron, AERO