Regulatory Dynamics

1. The President of the European Central Bank stated that Bitcoin is a speculative asset and requires regulation. She hopes to launch a digital euro within five years. The ECB Governing Council is discussing whether to advance the digitization of the euro, but no clear decision has been made yet. The ECB Council pointed out that the euro system is moving towards the possibility of creating a digital euro.

2. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report stating that nearly 80% of central banks worldwide are currently not legally permitted or it is unclear whether they can issue digital currencies. The IMF reviewed the central bank laws of 174 member countries and found that only about 40 countries are legally allowed to issue digital currencies. The IMF emphasized that if a country issues a digital currency, all individuals in that country must be able to conveniently use this payment system, which could pose challenges to financial infrastructure.

3. Russia's new banking regulations will allow financial institutions to freeze the accounts of individuals or companies involved in cryptocurrency activities. The new regulations implemented by the central bank state that if signs of "digital currency circulation" are detected, commercial banks may block access to the accounts. The Central Bank of Russia indicated that cryptocurrency-related banking transactions typically have "routine and one-way" characteristics and may be flagged as "suspicious transactions." Unless there is government intervention, the amendment may be issued this October.

Industry News

1. The BSN Open Permissioned Chain will officially launch on January 31 on its Chinese official website. BSN plans to collaborate with multiple international banks and technology companies over the next five years to establish a universal digital payment network based on various countries' CBDCs. BSN will also create more public city nodes, integrate more frameworks, and launch at least three new cross-chain protocols. The private BSN has already been deployed in six provinces in China, with the goal of covering 23 provinces this year.

2. Bitcoin Core has released the official version 0.21.0 source code, nearly 6 months since the last major release. The new version has implemented Schnorr signature and Taproot related functionalities. The next major version will be renamed to "22.0" and is scheduled for release on August 1.

3. Creditors can request Mentougou to use up to 90% of the remaining BTC as compensation. CoinLab states that investors can wait for a settlement regarding Mentougou's litigation and do not have to accept compensation in advance. If a large amount of BTC flows into the market, it could trigger price fluctuations.

4. Cryptocurrency custodian Anchorage has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), becoming the first federally chartered digital asset bank. Anchorage previously applied for a license with the OCC, aiming to become a digital asset bank. Companies like BitPay and Paxos have also submitted similar applications.

5. The mayor of Miami, Florida is considering investing part of the city’s treasury reserves in Bitcoin. He stated that doing so last year would have yielded a 200% return. The city is looking to establish a regulatory framework to make it "the easiest place in America to do crypto business."

6. Osprey Funds launched the Bitcoin Trust OBTC, with a management fee of 0.49%, which is about a quarter of Grayscale's GBTC. Fidelity Digital Assets provides custody services. The minimum investment for OBTC is $25,000, with a one-year lock-up period.

7. Biden will appoint former CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler as SEC Chairman. Gensler is leading Biden's financial policy transition team and has an in-depth understanding of the application of cryptocurrency technology.

8. Grayscale has restored the subscription for cryptocurrency trust funds excluding ETH and XRP, and has dissolved the XRP trust. The minimum subscription amount for BTC is $50,000, while most others are $25,000.

9. Grayscale's Q4 product inflows reached $3.3 billion, with institutional investors accounting for 93%. The total inflows for the year exceeded $5.7 billion, more than four times the cumulative inflows from 2013 to 2019. Institutional interest in digital assets continues to grow.

10. Forbes released the cryptocurrency billionaire list. Gemini co-founders Winklevoss brothers are tied for first place with $1.4 billion, followed by Matthew Roszak with $1.12 billion and Tim Draper with $1.11 billion. This list only accounts for the investment value of cryptocurrencies.