WuBlockchain Weekly: Top Fed Chair Candidate Once Served as Coinbase Advisor, Upbit Hacked, S&P Gives Tether Its Lowest Rating, etc

1. Kevin Hassett Is Seen as the Leading Candidate for Fed Chair Selected by Trump link

Sources have stated that Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, has become the leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair in the Trump administration and is regarded as the one most aligned with Trump’s stance on interest rate cuts. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is spearheading the selection process. After interviewing multiple candidates, he has narrowed down the shortlist to five individuals, including Hassett, Kevin Warsh, Christopher Waller, Michelle Bowman, and Rick Rieder from BlackRock. Earlier reports indicated that Hassett once served as an advisor to Coinbase Global Inc., a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, and holds shares in the company valued at no less than 1 million U.S. dollars.

2. Australia Rolls Out New Bill to Regulate Cryptocurrency Platforms link

Australia has tabled the Amendment Bill to the Digital Asset Framework, proposing to fully bring crypto trading and custodian platforms into the financial services regulatory system, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) acting as the primary regulatory authority. The bill adds two new categories of financial products, namely digital asset platforms and tokenized custodian platforms, and operators must obtain an Australian Financial Services (AFS) Licence to operate. Low-risk platforms where the assets per customer are less than 5,000 Australian dollars and the annual transaction volume is below 10 million Australian dollars are eligible for regulatory exemption.

3. Spain Plans to Sharply Raise Tax Burden on Bitcoin and Cryptographic Assets, With Top Tax Rate Up to 47% link

Spain’s Sumar parliamentary group has put forward a legislative amendment, proposing a substantial increase in the tax burden on Bitcoin and other crypto assets. Specifically, crypto asset gains will be taxed based on the “general tax base” — with the maximum tax rate reaching 47% — instead of the current “savings tax base” which has a 30% ceiling. Meanwhile, enterprises will be required to pay tax on their crypto asset gains at a 30% rate. In the meantime, the proposal mandates that the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) roll out a crypto “risk signal light” system, which must be displayed mandatorily on crypto trading platforms. Additionally, the amendment seeks to bring all crypto assets into the scope of seizable assets, no longer confining it to tokens regulated under the Markets in Crypto — Assets Regulation (MiCA).

4. South African Reserve Bank Warns That Regulatory Gaps in Crypto Assets and Stablecoins Pose Risks to Financial Stability link

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has warned in its latest Financial Stability Review that the lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework covering crypto assets and stablecoins has become a new financial stability risk. Due to their fully digital and cross-border nature, these assets may bypass the existing exchange control regulations. Currently, the central bank and the Ministry of Finance are formulating new rules for cross-border crypto asset transactions and plan to revise the exchange control regulations to bring such assets under the regulatory scope.

5. Reuters: Bitcoin Mining in China Has Quietly Returned After the Comprehensive Ban in 2021 link

Bitcoin mining in China is quietly making a comeback following the comprehensive ban imposed in 2021. Data from Hashrate Index shows that China’s hashrate share has rebounded to approximately 14%, ranking third globally. Individual and corporate miners have resumed deploying hashrate in regions with low electricity prices and surplus energy such as Xinjiang and Sichuan, with several new projects under construction. Multiple miners stated, “As long as electricity is cheap, everyone will mine.” CryptoQuant estimates that currently around 15%-20% of the global Bitcoin hashrate comes from China.

6. Upbit Suffers 44.5 Billion Won Loss in Solana Network Attack link

Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a theft of assets on the Solana network. At 04:42 UTC+9 on November 27, Upbit experienced an abnormal outflow of assets worth approximately 54 billion won (about 38.57 million US dollars) on the Solana network, which was later revised to 44.5 billion won (approximately 30.43 million US dollars). The scale of fund freezes on the Solana network was revised to around 2.3 billion won (about 1.57 million US dollars). Currently, the platform has suspended withdrawals. The Virtual Asset Supervision Bureau of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission immediately launched an on-site inspection of the platform. The Financial Services Commission stated that it has been informed of the hack and is currently investigating the background of the attack, the extent of losses, and the measures taken to protect customer assets. The on-site inspection is expected to continue until next Friday.

7. S&P Downgrades USDT’s Stability Rating to “Weak”, Warning of Reserve Coverage Risks link

S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the stability rating of USDT, the stablecoin issued by Tether, from “Constrained” to “Weak”, its lowest level. The reason is the rising proportion of high-risk assets in its reserves coupled with insufficient disclosure. S&P stated that Bitcoin currently accounts for approximately 5.6% of USDT’s circulation, which has exceeded the 3.9% over-collateralization ratio. If the prices of Bitcoin and other high-risk assets decline, Tether’s reserves may fail to fully cover the total circulation of USDT.

When responding to S&P’s latest rating on Tether, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said, “We are proud to be hated by you.” Ardoino pointed out that the traditional rating system has long guided investors towards “investment-grade” institutions that ultimately collapsed, which has aroused global regulators’ doubts about the independence of rating agencies. He claimed that the traditional financial system is reluctant to see any enterprise break free from its “failed gravity”. However, Tether has built the industry’s first company that is over-capitalized, free of toxic assets, and consistently highly profitable. This proves that the fragility of the old system is disturbing the power holders who are like those in “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

8. Vitalik: Privacy Is Not an Option, but a “Hygiene Practice” link

The mortgage technology provider SitusAMC has been hacked, which may have led to the leakage of customer data from institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated that privacy should be regarded as a basic “hygiene practice” rather than an option. Buterin noted that Ethereum is advancing the path of privacy by default through stealth addresses, selective disclosure, and application-layer zero-knowledge proof tools.

9. Multiple High-Inflation Countries Are Accelerating the Adoption of Crypto Assets as Alternative Value-Storage Tools link

Many countries grappling with high inflation are accelerating the adoption of cryptocurrencies as an alternative store of value. Data from Chainalysis shows that between July 2024 and June 2025, the scale of cryptocurrency transactions reached $200 billion in Turkey (with a local inflation rate of approximately 32%), $93.9 billion in Argentina (around 31% inflation), $92.1 billion in Nigeria (about 16% inflation), $44.6 billion in Venezuela (over 170% inflation), and $14.8 billion in Bolivia (roughly 22% inflation). Reports indicate that although global inflation has moderated, cryptocurrencies remain regarded as a viable alternative in economies where the local currency systems are still unstable.

10. Crypto Industry Makes Active Donations to Hong Kong link

Binance will donate 10 million Hong Kong dollars to Hong Kong to support relief and reconstruction efforts. The company stated that to effectively assist in disaster relief and subsequent reconstruction work, it will make the donation to the disaster-stricken area through relevant channels to support the residents of Wang Fuk Court in rebuilding their homes. Binance also extended its deep condolences to all the victims affected by the disaster in Tai Po.

OKX announced that it will provide 10 million Hong Kong dollars to Hong Kong to support local emergency rescue and post-disaster recovery efforts, and emphasized that it will continue to offer assistance amid the current crisis.

On November 28th, Huobi HTX and TRON jointly announced the urgent launch of a charitable aid mechanism, donating 10 million Hong Kong dollars to Hong Kong. The donation will be used for frontline rescue work following the Tai Po fire, temporary accommodation for affected residents, and the guarantee of basic daily necessities.

To support the emergency rescue, post-disaster resettlement and reconstruction work after the Tai Po fire in Hong Kong, Matrixport Group donated 3 million Hong Kong dollars to relevant rescue organizations through its Hong Kong branch. The donation, jointly contributed by the group and its employees, will be specially used for post-disaster rescue and reconstruction.

Bitget announced that it will donate 12 million Hong Kong dollars to support the affected families and community reconstruction after the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong. The donation will be allocated as follows: 5 million Hong Kong dollars to Union Hospital (Hong Kong), which will be used to assist with emergency medical support, cover the medical treatment costs for the injured, and provide necessary health and rehabilitation support to affected families; 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars to The Salvation Army (Hong Kong), dedicated to offering financial assistance, temporary accommodation, daily supplies and services related to the restoration of basic daily life after the disaster; and 3.5 million Hong Kong dollars to Po Leung Kuk (Hong Kong), for community support, psychological counseling, family assistance and follow-up social work in the aftermath of the fire.

MEXC Foundation will donate 5 million Hong Kong dollars to Hong Kong to support the rescue and reconstruction work after the Tai Po fire and help affected residents tide over the difficulties and rebuild their homes.

ViaBTC announced that it will donate 3 million Hong Kong dollars to the relevant departments of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to support the rescue and community reconstruction efforts after the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, and to assist affected residents in resuming their normal lives as soon as possible. ViaBTC will continue to monitor the progress of subsequent disaster relief and reconstruction work and is willing to cooperate with all parties to support the affected residents in rebuilding their homes at an early date.

Fundraising

Naver and Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, plan to jointly invest 6.8 billion US dollars in the fields of AI and blockchain. link
DWF Labs has launched a 75 million US dollar proprietary investment fund for DeFi. link
Valereum has secured 200 million US dollars in investment and plans to accelerate the development of its AI tokenization platform and its process of listing on the US stock market. link
Ondo Finance announced that it will invest 25 million US dollars in YLDS, the yield-bearing stablecoin of Figure. link
Nexton Solutions announced that it will expand the scale of its strategic financing to 4 million US dollars. link
SpaceComputer announced the completion of a 10 million US dollar seed — round financing. link
Upexi intends to raise up to 23 million US dollars through private equity financing to support its Solana treasury strategy. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.