Regulatory Dynamics

1. The President of the European Central Bank stated that Bitcoin is a speculative asset that requires regulation.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently stated that Bitcoin is a speculative asset that has facilitated some interesting business activities, but it needs to be regulated. She hopes to launch a digital euro within five years. Previously, the European Central Bank's Governing Council discussed whether to advance the digitization of the euro, but no clear decision has been made yet. However, the ECB Governing Council has indicated that the euro system is moving towards the possible creation of a digital euro.

2. IMF Report: Only 40 Countries Allowed to Issue Central Bank Digital Currencies

The International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) released a report stating that, according to a survey, an increasing number of central banks are exploring the possibility of issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies ( CBDC ). However, nearly 80% of central banks globally are either not permitted to issue digital currencies under current laws or the legal framework is unclear. The IMF reviewed the central bank laws of 174 member countries and found that only about 40 member countries are legally allowed to issue digital currencies. The IMF emphasizes that if a country issues a digital currency, everyone in that country must be able to conveniently use that payment system, which may pose challenges to financial infrastructure.

3. Russian banks may freeze cryptocurrency-related accounts

New banking regulations in Russia will allow financial institutions to freeze bank accounts of individuals or companies that they believe are related to cryptocurrency activities. This rule is implemented by the central bank and outlines modifications to existing banking codes. According to the new regulations, bank transactions related to cryptocurrencies typically exhibit "regular and one-way" transaction characteristics and may be flagged as "suspicious transactions" involving "money laundering or terrorist financing." Unless there is government intervention, these amendments may be issued in October of this year.

Industry News

1. The BSN Open Permissioned Chain is about to be launched.

The BSN Open Permissioned Chain will officially launch on January 31 on the BSN China official website. The "BSN 2021 Outlook" released by the BSN official outlines the project roadmap: 1) Collaborate with multiple international banks and technology companies within 5 years to establish a universal digital payment network based on the CBDCs of various countries; 2) Create more public city nodes, integrate more frameworks, and launch at least 3 new cross-chain protocols; 3) Promote private BSN and authorized platforms; 4) Strengthen cooperation with cloud service providers, framework providers, and portal providers.

2. Bitcoin Core releases a new version

Bitcoin Core has released the official version 0.21.0 source code on GitHub, nearly 6 months since the last major version release. The most significant change in the new version is the implementation of the Schnorr Signature and Taproot related proposal features. The next major version will change its naming convention from "0.22.0" to "22.0", scheduled for release on August 1.

3. Mentougou creditors may receive a high proportion of BTC compensation.

According to reports, creditors will be able to demand compensation of up to 90% of the remaining BTC from Mentougou. CoinLab states that investors do not have to accept compensation immediately and can wait for a settlement regarding the lawsuit against Mentougou. If a large amount of BTC obtained from claims flows into the market, it may trigger price fluctuations.

4. Anchorage becomes the first national digital asset bank in the United States.

Cryptocurrency custodian Anchorage announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) has conditionally approved its application for a national trust charter, making it the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States. Anchorage applied for the charter from the OCC last November, aiming to become a digital asset bank.

5. Miami's mayor considers investing part of the reserves in Bitcoin

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is considering investing a portion of the city’s treasury reserves in Bitcoin. He stated that he is looking into diversifying the investment portfolio and holding Bitcoin investments. Suarez hopes to make Miami one of the "most crypto-friendly and tech-savvy cities" in the U.S. and is seeking to establish a regulatory framework to make it the "easiest place to do crypto business" in America.

6. Osprey launches low-fee Bitcoin trust fund

Osprey Funds will launch the "Osprey Bitcoin Trust ( OBTC )" on the over-the-counter market, with a management fee of 0.49%, approximately a quarter of the main competitor "Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ( GBTC )". Fidelity Digital Assets will provide custody services. The minimum purchase amount for qualified investors is $25,000, with a one-year lock-up period before selling on the secondary market.

7. Gary Gensler is likely to become the chairman of the SEC.

Biden plans to appoint former Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) chairman Gary Gensler as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ). According to informed sources, the nomination will take place "in the coming days." Gensler is currently leading Biden's financial policy transition team and is said to have a deep understanding of the broad applications of cryptocurrency technology.

8. Grayscale restores most cryptocurrency trust fund subscriptions

Grayscale Investments has reopened to new investments after a 20-day pause. Currently, Grayscale has disclosed new subscription data, with the minimum investment for BTC set at $50,000, and for BCH, ETC, LTC, ZEN, ZEC, and XLM at $25,000, while ETH and XRP are temporarily unavailable for subscription. Additionally, Grayscale has decided to liquidate and dissolve its XRP trust in response to the lawsuit against Ripple by the U.S. SEC.

9. Grayscale Q4 inflows hit record high

Grayscale Investments, a digital asset management company, announced its Q4 2020 financial report. The total inflow for all products in Q4 reached $3.3 billion, averaging $250.7 million per week, a historic high. Institutional investors accounted for 93% of the inflow, totaling $3 billion. Of this, 87% flowed into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the highest since Q2 2017. For the entire year of 2020, total inflows exceeded $5.7 billion, more than four times the cumulative inflows from 2013 to 2019.

10. Forbes Releases Cryptocurrency Billionaires List

Forbes released its list of cryptocurrency billionaires, with Gemini co-founders Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss tied for first place, each having a cryptocurrency net worth of approximately $1.4 billion. Next is Bloq co-founder Matthew Roszak ( with $1.12 billion ), venture capitalist Tim Draper ( with $1.11 billion ), MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor ( with $1.6 billion ), Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz ( with $1.478 billion ), and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin ( with $1.36 billion ). This list only accounts for cryptocurrency investments and does not include company shares.