SEC approves Nasdaq crypto index ETF, Craig Wright sentenced to 12 months in prison

Headline

▌US SEC Approves Hashdex Nasdaq Bitcoin and Ethereum Crypto Index ETF

According to market news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved Hashdex Nasdaq Bitcoin and Ethereum Crypto Index ETF.

▌Craig Wright, an Australian scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and suspended for two years

Craig Wright, an Australian scientist who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, was found in contempt of court and sentenced to 12 months in prison and suspended for two years. It is reported that he appeared in court via video link and refused to disclose his specific location, but said he would appeal.

Previously, Wright launched a £900 billion "legal action" involving intellectual property rights. In March this year, a British judge ruled that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) first filed a lawsuit against Wright in April, seeking to prevent Wright from asserting copyright claims to the Bitcoin whitepaper and database. During the trial, two key figures took the stand, including Adam Back, a pioneer of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus system.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $97,467.82, with a daily increase or decrease of -3.4%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $3,405.34, with a daily increase or decrease of -6.7%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $664.30, with a daily increase or decrease of -4.0%;

SOL's latest transaction price is $193.06, with a daily increase or decrease of -7.1%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.3116 yuan, with a daily increase or decrease of -2.3%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 2.24 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -4.3%。

Policy

▌The team behind the Meme coin HAWK was sued by investors for allegedly violating securities laws

A court document shows that the team behind the Meme coin HAWK related to the Internet celebrity Haliey Welch or "Hawk Tuah Girl" was sued by investors for allegedly violating securities laws.  

The lawsuit alleges that HAWK acted like an unregistered security, attracting first-time cryptocurrency investors who subsequently suffered “substantial losses” after the token fell. The 12 plaintiffs who invested in HAWK suffered a total of $151,000 in financial losses and filed the lawsuit and requested a jury trial. The complaint also claims that a wallet controlled by the Tuah Foundation collected $3 million from token transaction fees.

▌German regulator orders Worldcoin to delete human eye biometric data

German regulator the Bavarian State Data Protection Supervisory Office ordered Worldcoin’s human verification project to delete biometric data collected by scanning eyeballs. Worldcoin said it has changed its processes and that the German regulator’s findings largely involve outdated operations and technology that were replaced in 2024.  

The Bavarian State Data Protection Supervisory Office ended an investigation that began in April 2023 and said in a statement on Wednesday: Worldcoin is obliged to provide a deletion procedure in accordance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) within one month after the decision takes effect, and to delete certain previously collected data records without sufficient legal basis.  

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that measures have been taken in the past few months to alleviate the regulator's concerns, including moving to a system in which Worldcoin no longer stores biometric data. In order to comply with GDPR requirements, iris codes used to verify personal World IDs will no longer be stored, and previously collected iris codes will be voluntarily deleted to ensure that no personal data used to operate World IDs is retained.

Blockchain Applications

▌Dubai Tokenization Platform Allo Receives $100 Million Bitcoin-Backed Credit Support

Dubai tokenization platform Allo announced that it has received a $100 million Bitcoin-backed credit line, with financing provided by Greengage and a "long-standing US institution." The funds will be used to expand on-chain lending and physical asset tokenization services.

Cryptocurrency

▌Chainalysis: North Korean hackers stole $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2024

North Korean hackers stole more than $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 47 incidents in 2024, accounting for about 61% of all reported thefts that year, Chainalysis said in a report released on December 19.  

“North Korea’s crypto attacks appear to be becoming more frequent,” Chainalysis said, adding: “Notably, attacks of $50 million to $100 million and above $100 million occur much more frequently in 2024 than in 2023, suggesting that North Korea is getting better and faster at large-scale attacks. This is in stark contrast to the previous two years, when North Korea’s attacks were more frequent and each attack generated profits of less than $50 million.”

▌Trump family crypto project WLFI bought 722.2 ETH 1 hour ago at an average price of $3,461

According to Arkham monitoring, an hour ago, the Trump family crypto project WLFI spent 2.5 million USDC to buy 722.2 ETH, with an average price of $3,461 per transaction.

▌Report: Coinbase Advanced Volumes Up 191%, User Growth 77%

Crypto exchange Coinbase’s platform for professional traders, Coinbase Advanced, saw a surge in users and trading volume in 2024, according to a report from Investing.com. The Dec. 19 report said the platform’s trading volume grew 191%, driven primarily by strong growth in derivatives trading, and the number of users grew 77%. Coinbase Advanced, which targets experienced traders, charges users a fixed monthly fee in exchange for discounted trading costs, a wider range of order types, and analytical tools. Coinbase told Investing.com that derivatives experienced particularly rapid growth, with trading volumes surging by about 10,950% in 2024.

▌Eigen Foundation issues 1 million EIGEN tokens to AltLayer

According to the official announcement, the Eigen Foundation issued a grant of 1 million EIGEN tokens to AltLayer. AltLayer stated that it will use the tokens directly to give back to the community. The first batch of 500,000 EIGEN tokens will be distributed to reALT holders and stakers starting this week. The remaining 500,000 EIGEN tokens will be distributed in 2025 when Eigen Layer's V2 reward mechanism is launched on its mainnet.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in January next year is 91.4%

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in January next year is 91.4%, and the probability of a 25 basis point interest rate cut is 8.6%. The probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged by March next year is 53%, the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 25 basis points is 43.4%, and the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 50 basis points is 3.6%.

▌The US dollar index rose 0.36% on the 19th

The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.36% on the 19th and closed at 108.409 at the end of the foreign exchange market. As of the close of the New York foreign exchange market, 1 euro was exchanged for 1.0362 US dollars, lower than 1.0376 US dollars on the previous trading day; 1 pound was exchanged for 1.2505 US dollars, lower than 1.2593 US dollars on the previous trading day. 1 US dollar was exchanged for 157.43 Japanese yen, higher than 154.66 Japanese yen on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 0.8983 Swiss francs, lower than 0.9003 Swiss francs on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 1.4388 Canadian dollars, lower than 1.4417 Canadian dollars on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 11.0322 Swedish kronor, lower than 11.1102 Swedish kronor on the previous trading day.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is Rollup?

Rollup is a way of processing transactions on a Layer 2 protocol that frees up valuable space on the base layer. Rollup folds transactions one by one on the second layer, sometimes dozens of times, and then rolls them together before sending the data back to Layer 1. There are two main types of Rollup, optimistic and zero-knowledge (ZK) proof. Optimistic Rollup is a fairly clear term. It means that Rollup runs with an "optimistic" approach, assuming that transactions are valid unless the verifier proves it wrong. Only when there is a dispute do they check the validity of the transaction. ZK Rollup proves transactions without revealing any transaction data. Hence, "zero knowledge". ZK Rollup provides instant finality because cryptographic proofs guarantee that the data is valid. In many ways, Rollup is to your standard blockchain transaction like Calzone is to your regular pizza slice. By rolling, you can put more things in.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment concept and be sure to enhance risk awareness.