Important information last night and this morning (December 23-December 24)
Reprinted from panewslab
12/24/2024·5M
IRS again insists cryptocurrency staking is taxable in lawsuit
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) once again insisted that cryptocurrency staking is taxable, saying that staking rewards will create tax liabilities once received, Bloomberg reported. The news comes amid legal battles between Tennessee couple Joshua and Jessica Jarrett and the Internal Revenue Service over mortgage tax issues. The couple, who are staking on the Tezos network, argued that staking rewards should not be taxed until sold. In a Dec. 20 court filing, the IRS rejected the Jarretts’ claim that the pledge created “new property” that would only be taxable upon sale. The government said, “Once the pledge of cryptocurrency is completed, there shall be immediate tax liability”. The case is currently being closely watched by the cryptocurrency industry and could have significant implications for how staking rewards are taxed on all proof-of-stake blockchains in the United States. According to guidance issued by the IRS in 2023, block rewards obtained from staking or mining are considered taxable income when generated, and tax liability is based on its market value at the time of generation.
According to Yonhap News Agency Infomax, South Korea’s Acting President Han Duck-soo plans to promulgate a tax amendment at the State Council meeting on December 24, which will include delaying the taxation of virtual assets for two years.
According to CoinDesk Japan, in response to the theft of 4,502.9 BTC from the crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin in May, the Japanese Police Agency reported on December 24 that the incident was carried out by Trader Traitor, a subsidiary of the North Korea-based hacker organization Lazarus Group. for. The Japanese National Police Agency stated that it will continue to cooperate with the FBI, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners to investigate the illegal activities of North Korean hackers, including cybercrime and crypto asset theft. At the same time, the Japanese Police Agency, Cabinet Cyber Security Center, and Financial Services Agency released documents on the means and countermeasures of attack groups, calling on crypto-asset-related companies to be cautious. In response to the attack, DMM Bitcoin decided to shut down its exchange. Assets and client accounts will be transferred to SBIVC Trade, with the transition expected to be completed by March 2025.
MicroStrategy bought 5,262 Bitcoins for $561 million last week
According to MicroStrategy's announcement, the company purchased 5,262 Bitcoins with approximately US$561 million between December 16 and December 22, 2024, at an average price of US$106,662. As of December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held a total of 444,262 Bitcoins, with a cumulative purchase cost of approximately US$27.7 billion, and an average price of US$62,257 per Bitcoin. The company said that the Bitcoin purchase was funded by proceeds from its stock issuance (1,317,841 shares have been sold through sales agreements, with approximately $7.08 billion of shares still available for sale). From January 1 to December 22, 2024, MicroStrategy's BTC return was 73.7%; from October 1 to December 22, 2024, this indicator was 47.4%.
Later news, MicroStrategy will hold a special shareholders meeting to vote on key proposals such as accelerating the 21/21 plan ; MicroStrategy's stock price has fallen 38.81% from the high point on November 21.
Hyperliquid: No attacks by North Korean hackers, user funds are properly handled
According to Bloomberg, crypto derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid suffered its largest single-day outflow in history as traders rushed to withdraw cash, fearing North Korean hackers were trading on the exchange. Taylor Monahan, a security expert at digital wallet provider MetaMask, said digital wallets linked to the hacks began trading on Hyperliquid as early as October. On Monday, she shared the addresses of the suspicious wallets and their activity on social media platform X. Monahan pointed out that transactions are often a way for North Korean hackers to test potential security vulnerabilities in platforms such as Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid’s core development team said in a statement: “Hyperliquid Labs is aware of reports of alleged North Korean address activity and Hyperliquid has not been exploited by North Korea or any other party. All user funds are properly handled. Monahan's post sparked widespread discussion on social media, with some Hyperliquid backers criticizing her for creating unnecessary panic. More than $112 million was traded on the stablecoin USDC on Monday, according to data compiled by venture capital fund Hashed on Dune Analytics. Flows from the exchange saw the price of the exchange’s token HYPE fall by 20%, according to tracking platform CoinGecko.
MoonPay is in talks to acquire crypto payment platform Helio for $150 million
According to Fox Business News reporter Eleanor Terrett, crypto payment service provider MoonPay is negotiating to acquire Helio for approximately $150 million, which would be MoonPay’s largest acquisition to date. It is reported that Helio is an alternative to Coinbase Commerce, providing a self-service crypto payment platform that enables content creators and e-commerce merchants to get paid in the form of cryptocurrency. It currently offers “white label solutions” that include trading infrastructure for Solana Pay and DEX Screener.
Robinhood CEO: Company currently has no plans to hold Bitcoin for investment purposes
According to The Block, in an interview published on Monday, Vladimir Tenev, CEO of stock and cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood, said that despite the growing importance of cryptocurrencies to the company, Robinhood currently has no plans to hold Bitcoin for investment purposes. . Tenev noted that the idea of holding Bitcoin "has been mentioned from time to time" due to Robinhood's growing interest in cryptocurrencies. But he added that Robinhood has no plans to hold Bitcoin as an investment, other than holding some cryptocurrencies for customer trading needs. He said: "We are not ruling out the possibility, but we are not doing so yet. After all, we are not in the business of investment management." Tenev went on to say that although Robinhood does not have Bitcoin on its balance sheet like companies like MicroStrategy and Tesla, its stock price "is already highly correlated to Bitcoin, and we don't even own it financially yet"; if Robinhood Holding Bitcoin for investment purposes may "complicate" investors' view of the company, making them potentially view it as a "bitcoin holder-like company."
Aerodrome: Acquired and locked 16 million AERO as veAERO
According to Aerodrome official news, since its launch, the Aerodrome Public Goods Fund has continued to support the development of the Base ecosystem and incentivize high-impact capital pools through voting. The latest announcement shows that the fund has acquired and locked 16 million $AERO as $veAERO, of which 8.4 million $veAERO will be used to support public material voting, and 7.6 million will be used to enhance the Flight School Program to further enhance the compounding ability of those who lock up positions. and rewards.
According to Sina Technology, green energy service provider GCL Energy signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Ant Digital and successfully completed the first domestic RWA (real world assets) based on photovoltaic physical assets, involving an amount of more than 200 million yuan. It is reported that this is the first RWA for photovoltaic physical assets in China, helping to efficiently connect domestic green assets with overseas funds and enable digital technology to empower real industries. This cooperation aims to improve asset transparency and transaction efficiency through blockchain and smart contract technology, while reducing transaction costs and achieving efficient connection between green assets and overseas funds. It was reported earlier this month that Sui had partnered with Ant Digital to promote the tokenization of ESG-backed RWA.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted on his personal channel that Telegram will achieve profitability for the first time in 2024, marking an important milestone in its three-year commercialization history. This year, the number of Telegram Premium subscribers has tripled, exceeding 12 million, and advertising revenue has also increased severalfold. Total revenue for the year exceeded $1 billion, and year-end cash reserves exceeded $500 million (excluding crypto assets). Telegram has issued about $2 billion in bonds over the past four years and repaid some of that debt this fall, taking advantage of favorable bond prices. Several commercialization innovations launched this year, such as Stars, Gifts, Giveaways, Mini Apps, Affiliate Platform, Telegram Business and Telegram Gateway, etc., prove that social media platforms can achieve financial sustainability while maintaining independence and respecting the rights and interests of users. . Durov emphasized that the goal of monetization is to ensure that users remain Telegram’s top priority.
BIO Protocol: The total supply of BIO is 3.2 billion, and the initial circulation is 39.05%
According to the BIO Protocol official website, BIO is the native governance token of the BIO protocol, with a total supply of 3.2 billion, of which the initial circulation (excluding the protocol treasury) is 24.05%. The token allocation is 56% for the ecosystem and community, 25.4% is allocated to early contributors (linear unlocking in 6 years, locked in the first year), and 18.6% is allocated to early supporters (linear unlocking in 4 to 6 years, locked in the first year) warehouse). $BIO will be gradually unlocked in the next 6 years. The Genesis Auction has raised more than $33 million from the community in November, achieving 100% community ownership in the first year. Holders can participate in governance, support new BioDAO projects and distribution through tokens. Network resources and other activities. It is worth noting that this token allocation slightly conflicts with what Binance announced on Launchpool. Later, a team member told PANews that the actual initial circulating supply was 39.05%. The 24.05% shared previously does not include the BIO in the protocol vault, which needs to be unlocked through governance voting.
Binance Labs announces it has invested in Usual
According to Binance Labs’ announcement, it has invested in Usual, a decentralized RWA (real world asset)-backed stablecoin issuer focused on redefining stablecoins through community-first innovation. Usual realizes the redistribution of value and ownership through the $USUAL governance token, with 90% of the tokens distributed to users, promoting a decentralized and fair financial model. The new stablecoin issued by Usual is backed by real-world assets and combines the security and liquidity of DeFi to reduce bank risks while providing opportunities for users through shared rewards and governance.
Stablecoin issuer Avalon Labs completes $10 million in Series A financing, led by Framework Ventures
Avalon Labs, the issuer of Bitcoin-backed stablecoin USDa, has completed a $10 million Series A round of financing to expand its Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, CoinDesk reported. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from UXTO Management, Presto Labs and Kenetic Capital. Avalon Labs is committed to transforming Bitcoin from a digital store of value into a more active financial instrument, providing users with services including stable currency USDa, Bitcoin-backed lending, income-generating savings accounts and credit cards. Users can obtain USDa tokens by mortgaging BTC at a fixed 8% lending rate. Currently USDa’s total lock-up volume (TVL) has reached US$700 million.
Usual completes US$10 million in Series A financing, led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures
RWA stablecoin protocol Usual announced the completion of a US$10 million Series A financing. This round of financing was led by Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures. Investors include Galaxy Digital, OKX Ventures, Wintermute, Amber Group, GSR, Fasanara Digital and other well-known institutions. . Usual is committed to promoting new developments in the field of stablecoins through innovative stablecoin solutions and decentralized finance (DeFi) models. This round of financing will lay a solid foundation for building a decentralized ecosystem and promoting the "stablecoin renaissance" plan.
CoinShares: Net inflow of digital asset investment products last week was US$308 million
According to the latest weekly report data from CoinShares, digital asset investment products had a net inflow of US$308 million last week, but a huge net outflow of US$576 million was recorded in a single day on December 19, resulting in a total outflow of US$1 billion over the two days over the weekend. Affected by the hawkish policies of the FOMC, the total assets under management (AuM) of digital asset ETPs decreased by US$17.7 billion, accounting for 0.37% of the total AuM. Despite this, Bitcoin still achieved weekly net inflows of $375 million, and short investor activity was limited. Ethereum saw $51 million in inflows, while Solana saw $8.7 million in outflows. Multi-asset investment products had a net outflow of $121 million, but some altcoins such as XRP ($8.8 million), Horizen ($4.8 million) and Polkadot ($1.9 million) still recorded net inflows.
According to Cryptoslate, according to a report released by CoinGecko, Meme coins have become an important narrative in the cryptocurrency field in 2024, accounting for 31% of the share, an increase of nearly 4 times compared to last year. Last year, Meme coins accounted for only 8.32% of investor attention among 25 narrative themes. The rise of meme coins was initially driven by dog-themed cryptocurrencies, but has now expanded into areas such as animal and personality-themed tokens. This reflects a strong appetite for speculative opportunities among investors who value cultural virality over traditional fundamentals. Pump.fun, as the Meme coin Launchpool platform, has deployed nearly 5 million new coins on the Solana blockchain this year, with platform revenue exceeding US$335 million. Among cryptocurrency narratives, Meme coin narrative takes the lead, attracting 14.36% of investors’ attention. In addition, Solana Meme coins (accounting for 7.65%), Base Meme coins (accounting for 2.13%), AI Meme coins (accounting for 1.49%) and cat-themed Meme coins (accounting for 1.19%) are also among the top 20 narratives. In addition, according to Artemis data, Meme coin will be the third largest profit narrative in 2024, with an average annual return of 201%, far exceeding the market’s average return of 128%.
According to Whale Alert data, at 20:10 Beijing time, 110,000 Ethereum (approximately US$368 million) was transferred from Bithumb to an unknown wallet.
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