Important news from last night and this morning (December 11-December 12)

An independent miner successfully mined block 927474, receiving a block reward of 3.133 BTC.

According to Cointelegraph, an independent Bitcoin miner successfully mined block 927474 early this morning, earning a reward of 3.133 BTC (approximately $284,000).

World launches its "super app" encompassing cryptocurrency payments and encrypted chat functionality.

According to TechCrunch, World, the biometric authentication project co-founded by Sam Altman, released the latest version of its app today, introducing several new features, including encrypted chat integration and expanded cryptocurrency sending and requesting capabilities similar to Venmo. At a small gathering at World's San Francisco headquarters on Thursday, Altman introduced the new version (which developers call a "super app"), followed by details from the product team. The company stated that World Chat, as a new instant messaging tool, uses end-to-end encryption to protect user conversations and uses colored bubbles to alert users whether their conversation partners have been verified through the World system, thus incentivizing users to authenticate and confirm the identity of their conversation partners. The chat function was initially launched as a beta version in March. Another major feature announced on Thursday is an expanded digital payment system, allowing app users to send and receive cryptocurrency. The World app has been functioning as a digital wallet for some time, but the latest version offers broader functionality. Using a virtual bank account, users can also directly deposit their salary into the World app and make deposits from their bank accounts, both of which can be converted to cryptocurrency. Using these features does not require verification through World's authentication system.

Bloomberg: Coinbase plans to announce prediction markets and tokenized shares next week.

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Coinbase Global Inc. plans to announce the launch of prediction markets and tokenized shares next week, with Coinbase officially launching these products at its product showcase event on December 17. The source also mentioned that Coinbase's tokenized shares will launch internally, rather than through partners. Coinbase executives have previously expressed interest in these businesses but have not yet officially announced plans. For weeks, screenshots of apps hinting at these features have been circulating on the social network X. A Coinbase spokesperson declined to comment on the company's specific plans but stated, "Stay tuned for the live stream on December 17 to see what new products Coinbase will be launching." This move is part of the company's effort to become a "one-stop shop," aiming to provide traders with broad access to assets and markets and keep pace with competitors who are also diversifying.

Bitcoin researchers are focusing on using "hash-based signatures" for quantum-resistant upgrades.

According to DL News, in a revised paper published on December 5th, Blockstream researchers Mikhail Kudinov and Jonas Nick explored several ways to upgrade the Bitcoin blockchain to make it quantum resistant. They argue that hash-based signatures are a highly attractive post-quantum solution because their security relies solely on the assumption of a hash function similar to Bitcoin's fundamental design. In an email to the Bitcoin developer mailing list, Kudinov introduced their research, stating, "These schemes underwent extensive cryptanalysis during the post-quantum standardization process at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which increases confidence in their robustness." Hash-based signatures rely on hash functions, mathematical algorithms considered quantum resistant because, unlike the public-key cryptography used in Bitcoin, hash functions are difficult for quantum algorithms to break. Hash functions can be secured by simply increasing their output size to handle the potential brute-force searches by quantum computers, thus enlarging the search space and securing applications like digital signatures. However, how developers will actually implement hash-based signatures remains under discussion. Decisions need to be made on issues such as keeping verification costs low, whether to standardize various hash-based signature implementations, and whether to require the entire network's historical records to verify transactions.

Coinbase will stop offering USDC rewards to free users; rewards will be available only to paid members.

According to Decrypt, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has confirmed that it will stop paying USDC rewards to non-paying users next week. Only Coinbase One Premium subscribers will be eligible to receive a 4% return on their stablecoin holdings. The exchange first announced the news on Thursday via an email to Coinbase customers, stating that the change will take effect on December 15. A Coinbase spokesperson confirmed that USDC rewards are now an exclusive benefit for Coinbase One members.

The "1011 Insider Whale" added 41 BTC to its long position, bringing its total long BTC holdings to 1000 BTC.

According to Hyperbot data, the "whale that opened short positions after the flash crash on October 11" has just added 41 BTC to its long positions, bringing its total BTC long positions to 1,000 BTC (approximately $91.7 million). This whale also currently holds 100,000 SOL long positions and 140,094.5238 ETH long positions.

U.S. senators made "substantial progress" on a comprehensive crypto market bill after talks with bank executives.

According to The Block, Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that “substantial progress” is being made in pushing a major cryptocurrency bill into law after meeting with top bank CEOs on Thursday. Scott met with Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, and Charlie Scharf of Wells Fargo on Thursday to discuss the landmark legislation. The bill aims to establish rules for the entire digital asset industry and grant regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC corresponding powers. These three bank CEOs are expected to meet with senators this week to discuss cryptocurrency legislation proposals. The meetings were reportedly held separately, one with Democrats and one with Republicans, and both were described as “friendly.” Sources familiar with the matter said the meetings discussed issues such as yield, decentralized finance, and anti-money laundering. The banking association believes that the GENIUS bill, which passed into law this summer, has loopholes that need to be filled. They stated that the problem lies in the law's insufficient restrictions on stablecoin issuers paying interest to holders, which could make these assets more attractive stores of value and credit mechanisms than just a means of payment, thus creating “market-distorting incentives” for the banking industry. Furthermore, banking groups believe that the restrictions imposed by the GENIUS Act can be easily circumvented by exchanges, brokers, and other related parties.

The US Senate is close to a final vote on the CFTC and FDIC's crypto regulatory officials.

According to CoinDesk, both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are set to significantly regulate the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. The chairpersons of these two agencies, nominated by Trump, are currently undergoing Senate confirmation proceedings, which are nearing completion—though the Senate may still need several days before the final vote. On Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution by a vote of 52 to 47, bringing Mike Selig one step closer to taking over the CFTC, while Travis Hill's appointment as FDIC chairman will soon be decided. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso posted on the X platform that the final vote could take place "early next week." Senate Republicans tend to adopt an unusual approach, confirming dozens of Trump's nominees at once. In this vote, 97 confirmations were pending, with Selig and Hill being just two of them.

Huang Licheng deposited nearly 300,000 USDC into Hyperliquid to increase his long ETH position.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Huang Licheng (@machibigbrother) has deposited another 299,842 USDC into Hyperliquid and increased his long ETH (25x leverage) position. Current position details: Quantity: 6,900 ETH; Average entry price: $3,240.93; Liquidation price: $3,130.95.

FTX/Alameda redeemed 194,800 SOL from the staked tokens and distributed them to 26 addresses.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, FTX/Alameda redeemed 194,800 SOL (US$25.52 million) from staking and then distributed them to 26 addresses four hours ago. Most of these recipient addresses will subsequently transfer their SOL to Coinbase or Binance. Since November 2023, FTX/Alameda staking addresses have cumulatively redeemed and transferred 9,562,000 SOL (US$1.298 billion) using this method, with an average transfer price of US$135.8. Currently, FTX/Alameda staking addresses still have 4,070,000 SOL (US$555 million) staked.

The U.S. financial risk regulator FSOC no longer considers digital assets as a potential risk.

According to CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency sector no longer needs to be mentioned in the Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC) annual list of risks to the U.S. financial system. However, this is not an isolated case, as the report has shifted its focus away from the "vulnerabilities" of the financial system. The 2025 FSOC report has completely removed the previously frequently used term "vulnerability," and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged in the report's opening letter that previous analyses focused on identifying dangers that could disrupt the financial system. This 2025 report does not include any "recommendations" regarding digital assets, nor does it explicitly express concerns about the industry. Its digital asset section details how U.S. financial regulators with cryptocurrency oversight authority have changed their policy stance. The report largely praises the advantages of the digital asset sector, but in the "Illicit Finance" sub-section, it notes that stablecoins could be "abused to facilitate illicit financial transactions." However, the report also states that "the continued use of dollar-denominated stablecoins over the next decade is expected to further solidify the dollar's position in the international financial system."

A new wallet has received another 700 BTC from Galaxy Digital, worth $64.8 million.

According to Onchain Lens, a new wallet has received another 700 BTC from Galaxy Digital, worth $64.8 million. The wallet now holds a total of 1,900 BTC, with a total value of $176 million.

The "1011 Insider Whale" has added over 20,000 ETH to its long positions and opened new long positions of 100,000 SOFT and approximately 959 BTC.

According to Hyperbot data, the "whale that opened short positions after the flash crash on October 11th" continued to add to its ETH long positions 9 hours ago, currently holding 140,094.5238 ETH (worth approximately $453 million), an increase of 20,000 ETH compared to the initial 120,094.5238 ETH 9 hours ago. The average opening price is currently $3179.54, with a floating profit of approximately $8.33 million. In addition, this whale opened new long positions of 100,000 EOS (approximately $13.62 million) and 958.91 BTC (approximately $88.65 million) around 4 AM today, with floating profits of $60,000 and $910,000 respectively. Currently, the whale's total holdings reach $556 million, with a total floating profit of $9.3 million.

The US CFTC issued a no-action letter to four prediction market operators, including Polymarket, regarding data rules issues.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued no-action letters on Thursday to the operators of prediction market platforms Polymarket, PredictIt, Gemini, and LedgerX/MIAX, announcing that these companies are exempt from certain record-keeping requirements as long as they meet other specific requirements, and that they may clear contracts through third-party clearing members. In a press release, the CFTC stated that the no-action letters mean that the regulator will not take any enforcement action (i.e., will not bring lawsuits against these companies for violations) regarding their compliance with "certain record-keeping requirements related to swap transactions and failure to report data related to binary options transactions to swap data repositories." The CFTC stated, "No-action letters apply only to specific circumstances and are similar to no-action letters issued to designated contract markets and derivatives clearing organizations in other similar circumstances." Under the no-action letters, issuers must: ensure their contracts are adequately collateralized at all times; clear contracts only through their designated platforms; publish all relevant data on their platforms after contract execution; and comply with other specific swap transaction record-keeping requirements.

The US SEC has allowed the DTCC to custody and endorse tokenized stocks and other RWA assets on the blockchain.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted a license to Depository Trust & Clearing Co. (DTCC) via a no-action letter, allowing the company to custody and endorse tokenized stocks and other real-world assets (RWAs) on a blockchain. This move enables DTCC to offer tokenization services on a pre-approved blockchain for three years. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated in a press release, “While the project is still in the pilot phase and subject to various operational constraints, it marks a significant step towards the market’s migration to the blockchain.” Michael Winnike, Head of Global Strategy and Market Solutions for Clearing and Securities Services at DTCC, said in an interview that with the license, DTCC will also extend its record-keeping operations to the blockchain. DTCC, as a core clearing and settlement center in the U.S. financial system, plays a crucial role in the equity and fixed-income product sectors. Many liquid assets in the U.S. market are held in DTCC’s custody arm, Depository Trust Co. The company expects to launch its new tokenization service in the second half of next year.

Coinbase-incubated x402, a payment protocol built specifically for AI, has launched its V2 version.

According to The Block, x402, an open-source payment protocol incubated by Coinbase and designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) agents, is releasing a major upgrade approximately six months after its initial launch. x402 V2 essentially transforms the previously simple, one-off payment system into a mature, internet-facing unified payment layer. Version V2 includes a series of backend improvements designed to make it easier to create customizable payment processes, better wallet and identity features, and support for "traditional payment systems." The biggest upgrade in V2 is the unification of x402's payment interface. x402 V2 standardizes the way networks and assets are identified in the protocol, "creating a single payment format that is universal across different blockchains and traditional payment systems." This means that x402 will "support multiple chains by default," enabling support for native tokens of other blockchains such as Base or Solana without requiring custom logic. Furthermore, the system is compatible with "traditional payment systems" such as ACH and bank card networks. The updated system also introduces dynamic "payTo" routing, supporting payment processes such as usage-based billing, subscriptions, prepaid payments, and multi-step transactions. Developers can also inject "lifecycle hooks" for conditional tools or metric monitoring, and create more customized payment walls.

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison by a U.S. judge.

According to The Block, Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the Terra-Luna token collapse in 2022, which wiped out $40 billion. Kwon was sentenced Thursday in the Southern District of New York, a sentence exceeding the prosecution's initial demands. Prosecutors argued for a 12-year prison term due to Kwon's past misconduct and the sheer scale of the fraud, while his lawyers argued for a mere 5-year sentence. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer stated that Kwon "chose to lie" and "made the wrong choice." In March 2023, Kwon was criminally charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, merchandise fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate the market and launder money. In August of the same year, Kwon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. Do Kwon may face further legal challenges in South Korea. He must serve at least half of his sentence before he can apply for a transfer to South Korea, and it has been reported that the 17 months he served in Montenegro prison will be counted towards his sentence.

The US CFTC has withdrawn its 2020 guidance focusing on the "physical settlement" of digital assets.

According to The Block, Acting Chair Caroline Pham of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that the agency is withdrawing “outdated and overly complex guidance” related to the delivery of digital assets. On Thursday, Pham said the agency will withdraw its 2020 guidance under the Dodd-Frank Act, a federal law passed in 2010 to address the 2008 financial crisis. The guidance focused on the “physical delivery” of digital assets. Pham stated that this was part of recommendations in a report by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. This summer, the White House released a lengthy report on cryptocurrencies, addressing illicit finance and taxation issues, and making recommendations on granting the CFTC the power to regulate digital assets. “Today’s announcement demonstrates that tangible progress can be made in protecting the interests of Americans by taking decisive action to facilitate safe access to U.S. markets,” Pham said on Thursday.

Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 0.74% to 148.20 T.

According to CloverPool data, Bitcoin mining difficulty was adjusted at 11:47 today at block height 927,360, decreasing by 0.74% to 148.20 T.

Cross-chain protocol LI.FI completes $29 million funding round, led by Multicoin Capital and CoinFund.

According to Fortune, crypto infrastructure startup LI.FI announced the completion of a $29 million funding round led by Multicoin Capital and CoinFund. The funds will be used to build its cross-blockchain price discovery and transaction path optimization tools. This round will be used to expand into areas such as perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and yield strategies, and plans to expand the team. The company is currently profitable. LI.FI provides aggregated routing services for fintech, wallets, and trading platforms, and its current partners include Robinhood, Binance, and Kraken, with a monthly trading volume of $8 billion. Its platform is described as "crypto Google Maps," helping businesses complete multi-chain transactions at minimal cost.

Matrixport deposited 2,000 BTC into Binance, worth over $180 million.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Matrixport transferred 2,000 Bitcoins (BTC) to Binance 15 minutes ago, which is worth approximately $180.33 million at the current market value.

Klarna plans to develop a crypto wallet and deepen its partnership with Stripe and Privy.

According to The Block, Swedish fintech company Klarna has announced a partnership with Privy, Stripe's wallet infrastructure platform, to develop a crypto wallet for mainstream users. This initiative follows the launch last month of its Tempo blockchain-based USD stablecoin, KlarnaUSD, marking Klarna's shift from "crypto skepticism" to a deeper involvement in crypto finance. Klarna stated that the wallet project is still in the exploratory stage, and the final product launch depends on regulatory approval. The Tempo blockchain, incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, has recently attracted partners including Mastercard and UBS to participate in testing. Klarna is expected to announce more crypto-related developments in the coming week.

dYdX launches Solana spot trading, allowing US users to participate for the first time.

According to The Block, decentralized derivatives platform dYdX has officially launched its first spot trading product, starting with the Solana (SOL) trading pair, opening platform access to US users for the first time. While US users are not yet able to use perpetual contracts, the platform stated it will continue to monitor regulatory developments from the SEC and CFTC and assess future possibilities.

Disney to invest $1 billion in OpenAI

The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have reached a landmark agreement, with Disney investing $1 billion in OpenAI equity. Disney will become the first major content licensing partner for OpenAI's Sora model. Disney will also become an OpenAI customer, leveraging its APIs to build products, tools, and experience services, including projects for Disney+, and deploying ChatGPT for its employees.

Deluthium, in partnership with Amber Group and Jovay Network, is building a next-generation tokenized equity infrastructure for Asia.

Deluthium, an AI-native liquidity infrastructure project, announced a strategic partnership with global digital asset financial services platforms Amber Group and Jovay Network to jointly build a next-generation tokenized equity trading infrastructure for the Asian market. This collaboration aims to establish a truly institutional-grade on-chain financial market, blurring the boundaries between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) and addressing the core challenges currently facing the issuance and trading of tokenized assets. To address long-standing bottlenecks in the tokenized equity market, such as fragmented liquidity, high costs for large transactions, and lack of privacy, the three parties have developed a deeply integrated three-layer architecture solution: Deluthium, as the intelligent execution engine, utilizes its reinforcement learning-driven dark pool technology to achieve zero-slippage, privacy-preserving execution of large transactions; Amber Group provides global expertise and a robust digital asset framework; and Jovay Network provides a high-performance, secure, and scalable Layer 2 "track" as the issuance layer. This solution will establish a new standard for tokenized equity trading in the Asian market, empowering institutional investors to manage assets efficiently and privately on-chain.

Grayscale launched the Bittensor Trust GTAO, going public ahead of its first halving.

According to The Block, Grayscale's Bittensor Trust (GTAO) has been listed on the US OTCQX market, becoming the first publicly traded investment product in the US to offer exposure to TAO tokens. Bittensor is a decentralized AI network that rewards participants for computing resources to advance AI models. Grayscale stated that the launch of GTAO provides investors with a channel to participate in the "AI version of Bitcoin" ecosystem and will cooperate with the SEC in financial reporting disclosures.

Rushi Manche, former co-founder of Movement Labs, has launched Nyx Group, planning to invest $100 million to support token projects.

According to The Block, Rushi Manche, former co-founder of Movement Labs, announced the creation of a new investment firm, Nyx Group. The firm plans to invest up to $100 million in liquidity in projects about to launch their own tokens, providing comprehensive operational support including compliance, community building, and governance. Nyx Group claims to have already begun investment operations, supporting only founders with whom it has "deep trust," focusing on projects with market traction such as active users, revenue, and community. Manche stated that this model aims to fill the current gap in funding and guidance for entrepreneurs, aspiring to become the "most founder-friendly" crypto investment firm. Manche was previously dismissed from Movement Labs due to a controversy involving the manipulation of 66 million MOVE tokens; related legal proceedings are still ongoing.

ZachXBT: A user is suspected of losing approximately $1.1 million due to a private key leak.

According to blockchain detective ZachXBT, approximately 23 hours ago, a victim experienced abnormal transactions across five EVM on-chain wallets, resulting in a total loss of approximately $1.1 million, suspected to be due to a private key breach. The attacker quickly converted all assets into ETH and transferred 330 ETH to Tornado Cash for mixing.

a16z releases "17 Crypto Trends for 2026," focusing on key areas such as RWA, AI agents, and privacy chains.

The a16z crypto team's annual outlook indicates that in 2026, the crypto industry will focus on native RWA issuance, stablecoin payment infrastructure upgrades, the rise of AI agent economies, on-chain privacy infrastructure construction, and emerging application scenarios such as prediction markets and "Staked Media." The report points out that stablecoin annual trading volume has reached $46 trillion, far exceeding PayPal and Visa, and is becoming a new global settlement infrastructure. Meanwhile, structured RWA will move from "tokenization" to "native on-chain issuance," improving efficiency and transparency. a16z also emphasizes that privacy will become a key factor in inter-chain competition, and chains with truly privacy features may form a "winner-takes-all" pattern. Furthermore, KYA (Know Your Customer) authentication for AI agents, smart contract embedding of payment rules, and on-chain verifiable media "staking opinions" are also considered key development directions for 2026.

Keel launches $500 million plan to promote on-chain RWA development in Solana.

According to CoinDesk, Keel, the capital allocation platform under the Sky ecosystem, announced the launch of a $500 million investment plan called "Tokenization Regatta," which aims to attract real-world asset (RWA) projects to the Solana network through financial support and resource matching. The plan will provide direct financing for RWA projects issuing debt, credit, and funds, and more than 40 institutions have already expressed interest.

A new proposal by Reserve Rights suggests burning approximately 30 billion RSR tokens.

Reserve Rights (RSR) has released a token structure reform proposal (RFC-1269), which proposes to burn approximately 30 billion RSR tokens to reduce the total supply and to introduce a governance-based veRSR issuance mechanism to enhance token holder participation and governance weight.