Utah Bitcoin bill approved, CME to launch Bitcoin options contracts

Headline

▌Utah Bitcoin Bill Approved by the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee

Golden Finance reported that according to Cointelegraph, Utah's Bitcoin bill has been approved by the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee. The bill has now been submitted to the House for deliberation. The bill will pave the way for Utah to invest in Bitcoin and other digital assets.

▌CME to Launch Options Contracts Based on Bitcoin Futures Expires on Friday

Golden Finance reported that market news: CME will launch options contracts based on Bitcoin futures expiring on Friday.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $104,457.5, with a daily increase or decrease of +2.75%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $3,148.99, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.35%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $673.12, with a daily increase or decrease of +0.84%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 233.93 US dollars, and the intraday increase or decrease is +2.12%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.33062 US dollars, and the intraday increase or decrease is +1.90%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 3.1039 US dollars, and the intraday increase or decrease is +0.96%。

Policy

▌US Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren asked federal agencies to investigate the Meme coin launched by the Trump family

Golden Finance reported that according to Bitcoin Magazine, Indiana Congressman Jake Teshka proposed legislation to allow retirement funds to purchase Bitcoin ETFs.

▌The Lieutenant Governor of Texas announced that "Bitcoin Reserve" would be a legislative priority in 2025

Golden Finance reported that Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the state's legislative priorities for 2025, including a proposal to establish the Texas Bitcoin Reserve. Texas joins at least five U.S. states that are pushing to build up Bitcoin (BTC) or cryptocurrency reserves, including Arizona and Utah, where strategic reserve bills have passed in committee.

▌The U.S. SEC has recognized the 19b-4 filing submitted by Canary Capital for its spot Litecoin ETF

Golden Finance reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recognized the 19b-4 filing submitted by Canary Capital for its spot Litecoin ETF.

▌El Salvador’s President Asks Congress to Reform the State’s Bitcoin Law

Golden Finance reports that ruling party lawmakers said El Salvador’s President Bukele has asked Congress to reform the state’s Bitcoin law.

▌Powell: The Fed is concerned about Trump's new policies and will need time to analyze

Golden Finance reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference that it is too early to say what President Donald Trump's policies will do, and the Federal Reserve will take time to evaluate what the new government policy system means. Federal Reserve officials are "waiting" for what policies the new president will enact. He said: "We don't know what will happen with tariffs, immigration, fiscal policy and regulatory policy. We will pay close attention to what is being implemented. The Fed will not rush to formulate a policy to (have time to) understand what our policy response should be."

▌Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said he had no contact with Trump

Golden Finance reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference after the Fed decided to keep interest rates unchanged that he had not had any contact with President Donald Trump so far, and refused to comment on Trump's remarks last week that he would ask the Fed to lower interest rates. "I will not respond or comment on what the president said, and I have not contacted him," he said.

Blockchain Applications

▌Cardano Foundation Research Report: Blockchain Applications Have Undergone a "Fundamental Shift"

The Cardano Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Cardano applications, released a report stating that blockchain applications have undergone a "fundamental shift."  

The study highlighted Cardano's global reach, noting that 70% of the projects in its ecosystem are targeting international markets. "Approximately 70% of the projects in our ecosystem are designed for international deployment, which reflects not only the geographic scope but also a fundamental shift in the way blockchain technology is used," the report said. Cardano CEO said he was interested in how the project could transform the global supply chain through verification mechanisms that track assets from their origin to the end consumer.

▌DAO Governance Platform Agora to Acquire Boardroom

Blockchain governance startup Agora is set to acquire its competitor Boardroom. The company sees the acquisition as a strategic move to strengthen governance within the wider Ethereum ecosystem, citing the expectation that decentralized governance will grow again in light of U.S. President Trump’s promise of regulatory clarity for the blockchain industry.  

Boardroom was founded earlier than Agora and has similar goals, but with a more horizontal approach to blockchain governance. Boardroom has gradually shifted from an Agora-style DAO tool software to a data feed – a sort of “Bloomberg” for crypto governance data. Agora declined to disclose the price of the acquisition of Boardroom. Boardroom’s employees have been hired into Agora, and Boardroom’s founder Kevin Nielsen will continue to serve as an advisor. Agora co-founder Yitong Zhang said there are "no plans to deprecate" Boardroom, and the Agora team will keep both platforms running and work with users to determine how to gradually integrate these tools.

Cryptocurrency

▌DCG spins off new cryptocurrency mining subsidiary Fortitude Mining

Golden Finance reported that Digital Currency Group (DCG) has spun off a new cryptocurrency mining subsidiary. According to an announcement on the X social media platform on January 29, Fortitude Mining has been established as an independent mining business of DCG. Previously, the mining business was part of Foundry, a decentralized mining and staking service. Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Fortitude Mining's website lists Andrea Childs as CEO. Childs joined Foundry in 2020 and later led the new DCG subsidiary.

▌Pump.fun deposited 98,000 SOL to Kraken again 1 hour ago

Golden Finance reported that according to Lookonchain monitoring, one hour ago, Pump.fun deposited 98,000 SOL (US$22.27 million) to Kraken again.

▌The total market value of AI proxy sector tokens fell below US$10 billion, with a 24-hour drop of 8.7%

Golden Finance reported that according to CoinGecko data, the total market value of AI proxy sector tokens fell to US$9.594 billion, a 24-hour drop of 8.7%. Among them: FET fell 6.3% in 24 hours, and its market value is now US$2.542 billion; AI16Z fell 1.2% in 24 hours, and its market value is now US$695 million; VIRTUAL fell 0.1% in 24 hours, and its market value is now US$1.26 billion;

▌BlackRock IBIT currently holds 576,529.33 bitcoins

Golden Finance reported that BlackRock officially updated the spot Bitcoin ETF holdings information. As of January 28, BlackRock IBIT held 576,529.33 bitcoins, which has exceeded 2% of the total supply of Bitcoin. Its holdings are worth more than US$58.8 billion.

▌Currently, El Salvador holds 6,049.18 bitcoins

Golden Finance reported that mempool data showed that El Salvador currently holds 6,049.18 BTC, equivalent to about $618 million.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in March is 82%

Golden Finance reported that according to CME's "Federal Reserve Watch": The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in March is 82.0%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 18.0%. The probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged by May is 57.0%, the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 25 basis points is 37.5%, and the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 50 basis points is 5.5%. The Federal Reserve kept the interest rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.5% early this morning.

▌"Federal Reserve Megaphone": The Federal Reserve has entered a wait-and-see phase and is satisfied with its interest rate stance

Golden Finance reported that "Federal Reserve Megaphone" Nick Timiraos said that the Federal Reserve has pressed the pause button on interest rate cuts and entered a new wait-and-see phase. It is trying to decide whether to lower interest rates from the recent 20-year high and by how much. Before deciding to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve had cut interest rates three times in a row starting in September, when the interest rate was about 5.3%. Officials made only minor changes to the policy statement issued at the end of the two-day meeting. The statement shows that they are satisfied with their interest rate stance in an economic situation where inflation is still slightly above target and labor market conditions are solid.

▌The Fed keeps interest rates unchanged

Golden Finance reported that the Fed's first show in the new year kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50%, in line with market expectations.

▌Powell: The Fed still has room to shrink its balance sheet

Golden Finance reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell hinted at a press conference that the Fed still has room to operate in reducing the size of its balance sheet. He said that the reserves of the banking system are still "ample" and the Fed still has solid control over the federal funds rate. As for when the Fed should stop shrinking its balance sheet, Powell said: "I have nothing to say about a specific date." (Golden Ten)

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is a teardrop attack in encryption?

In the cryptocurrency environment, teardrop attacks often target the decentralized nature of blockchain platforms. Even if they do not target the blockchain's encryption algorithms, undermining the underlying peer-to-peer network infrastructure that cryptocurrencies rely on can lead to service disruptions, loss of funds, and decreased user trust. Attackers can interfere with the consensus process, transaction verification, or node-to-node communication by focusing on specific nodes or servers. This can lead to network fragmentation, processing delays, or even complete cessation of operations.

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