WuBlockchain Weekly: Bitcoin Surges Past $99,000, etc

1. Bitcoin Hits Historic High of $99,000 link

Bitcoin briefly surged past $99,000, setting a new all-time high. As of the latest report, the price stands at $98,696, reflecting a 24-hour increase of 1.44%.

2. SEC Chair Gary Gensler to Step Down on January 20, 2025 link

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that current Chairman Gary Gensler will step down on January 20, 2025.

3. China’s CCDI Announces Dismissal of Yao Qian Over Crypto Bribery Allegations link

Yao Qian, former Director of the Technology Supervision Department and former Director of the Information Center of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from public office due to serious disciplinary violations and illegal activities. According to a report by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission, Yao abused his regulatory authority for personal gain, engaged in power-for-money transactions involving virtual currencies, and violated multiple ethical and policy guidelines.

As one of the pioneers of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), Yao was actively involved in research and public education on fintech and cryptocurrencies during his tenure. Currently, he has been transferred to the Procuratorate for investigation and prosecution by the Supervisory Commission of Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, due to alleged severe misconduct, with associated assets also handed over.

4. Bitcoin ETF Options to Launch on the Market link

On September 20, 2024, the U.S. SEC approved the listing and trading of options for the iShares Bitcoin Trust. On November 15, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Clearing and Risk released a staff advisory concerning the clearing of these options. According to the advisory, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is preparing for the clearing, settlement, and risk management related to these options. The OCC’s website has updated the listing date, indicating that the IBIT options will be listed on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.

5. Trump’s Team Considers Creating White House Crypto Position link

The Trump team is currently considering the creation of a dedicated position within the White House focused on cryptocurrency policy. This role would likely aim to coordinate policy among federal agencies and engage with industry stakeholders to address issues in the crypto space. It’s not yet confirmed if this position would be a senior White House role or what the specific responsibilities would entail.

Sources indicate that President-elect Trump plans to meet with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to discuss personnel appointments for the second term. This will be their first meeting since the election, with anticipated discussions centered around cryptocurrency regulation. Previously, Trump suggested forming a Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Advisory Council, while Armstrong has openly supported current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce for the role of SEC Chair. Additionally, Coinbase made contributions exceeding $100 million to various political action committees before the election, with a significant portion going to Fairshake, which is backed by the crypto industry.

6. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: ‘Most of My Wealth is in Bitcoin, I’m All-In’ link

Former U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently released a video declaring, “I am a devoted supporter of Bitcoin. A year ago, I attended another Bitcoin conference here. After returning home, I invested most of my wealth in Bitcoin, so I am fully committed to it.” Previously, Kennedy has described Bitcoin as a “freedom currency” and reiterated the digital asset’s capability to hedge against currency inflation.

7. CZ Predicts Nations Will Compete to Include Bitcoin in Strategic Reserves link

CZ expressed his admiration for MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor’s speech, stating: “An excellent speech. Worth listening to. Thanks for the support for Binance mentioned in the video.” CZ added that countries would soon compete to print money to purchase Bitcoin, turning it into a strategic reserve, emphasizing, “No one wants to be the last.”

8. Polish Presidential Candidate Sławomir Mentzen Pledges to Establish Bitcoin Reserves if Elected link

Polish presidential candidate Sławomir Mentzen has pledged to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve if elected. However, the Freedom and Independence Alliance, to which Mentzen belongs, only received 7.16% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. Mentzen previously revealed in 2022 that he had invested all his funds into Bitcoin in 2013. He also disclosed in his 2023 property declaration that he holds Bitcoin worth approximately 4.9 million zlotys (around 1.196 million USD).

9. MicroStrategy Acquires 51,780 BTC for $4.6 Billion link

MicroStrategy has announced that it has accumulated a total of 331,200 Bitcoin, with an overall cost of approximately $16.5 billion and an average purchase price of $49,874 per Bitcoin. The latest acquisition of 51,780 BTC cost around $4.6 billion, with an average price of $88,627 per Bitcoin. As of November 17, 2024, the company’s quarterly Bitcoin yield stands at 20.4%, and its year-to-date return is 41.8%.

10. Crypto Market in the Grip of MEME Frenzy link

After Tuesday’s “Capitalization Battle,” the controversial meme token “Quant” became the most talked-about on-chain asset on Wednesday. “Kid Bro” issued the token named Quant via pumpfun during a live stream, only to sell off all reserved shares shortly afterward, netting around $20,000. As the story spread, the meme community decided to teach “Kid Bro” a lesson by orchestrating a pump-and-dump. Following Quant, “Kid Bro” launched two more tokens: the first, “sorry,” perhaps as an apology; the second, “lucy,” named after his dog. The meme community even tracked down his family’s social media accounts, using them to release a series of meme tokens centered around the “Kid Bro” ecosystem.

On Thursday, Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, used his address vitalik.eth to exchange 0.082 ETH (about $249.63) for 30,303 ANON tokens. ANON, a meme coin based on the Base ecosystem, was created through interactions between an anonymous user and the AI Agent account @clanker on the Farcaster platform. Holding 15,000 ANON tokens allows users to post on Farcaster, while 1 million ANON grants the ability to post or delete tweets. The official site claims the token employs zk-proofs for anonymous posting, which may take several minutes to process due to complex computations. Jesse Pollak, head of the Base protocol, converted 0.333 ETH (approximately $993.41) into 31,529 ANON.

DogeDesigner, the UI designer for Dogecoin, shared an audio clip of Elon Musk stating that he still holds a substantial amount of Dogecoin, and that SpaceX owns a significant amount of Bitcoin.

DWF Labs announced a $20 million “Meme Fund” to support innovative meme projects across multiple blockchains. Previously, DWF Labs has collaborated with tokens like Floki, Turbo, Simon’s Cat, Neiro Ethereum, and First Neiro on Ethereum. The Meme Fund aims to provide financial and strategic support to projects with strong community engagement, unique value propositions, and global potential.

This week, major exchanges actively listed meme tokens. Coinbase announced support for FLOKI (FLOKI) on the Ethereum network (ERC-20 tokens). South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, launched a Korean Won trading market for BONK. Binance listed perpetual contracts for several meme tokens, including SLERF, BAN, and DEGEN.

Analyst @defioasis summarized potential beta tokens for meme coins: leaders in niche markets; having survived 2–3 significant pullbacks of around 70–80%; FDV of 20M-30M is ideal; a large and growing holder base; a strong community; and listed on second-tier CEXs. He suggests that rather than frequent PvP, one should firmly choose to HODL.

Fundraising

Rise, a hybrid payment platform, announced the completion of a $6.3 million Series A funding round. link
Cryptocurrency wallet Deblock raised an additional $16.8 million in its seed funding round. link
Shinami, a Move ecosystem development platform, revealed it had completed $5.645 million in seed funding. link
Valantis Labs secured $7.5 million in financing. link
OpenLayer announced the completion of a $5 million seed funding round. link
Decentralized finance liquidity solution provider Barter successfully raised $3 million in seed funding. link
Stablecoin infrastructure platform Noble announced the completion of a $15 million Series A round. link
Bitcoin L2 solution Bitfinity Network completed $12 million in financing. link
Alluvial, the developer of Liquid Collective, secured $4.3 million in strategic funding. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.