【Blockchain Rhythm】On December 11, news broke that the crypto platform Gemini Space Station (Stock Code GERM) has obtained a pass to enter the prediction market.
This Wednesday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officially approved Gemini to operate a "Designated Contract Market" (DCM). Their new platform is called Gemini Titan, and the first step will be to launch classic binary event contracts—essentially betting "yes" or "no" on future events.
But the story goes far beyond that. Gemini revealed that this platform might extend into more derivative markets under CFTC jurisdiction in the future, including crypto futures, options, and even perpetual contracts.
Interestingly, Gemini actually applied for a DCM license as early as March 10, 2020. However, the application at that time did not explicitly mention plans to develop a prediction market. It is important to know

Michael Saylor believes that restricting Bitcoin investments is similar to historical misjudgments of other major investment opportunities. He emphasizes that Bitcoin has become the digital credit and value infrastructure of the new era, and policy restrictions on institutional funds could hinder the development of technological revolutions. He suggests that Bitcoin could become the contemporary "digital oil," and missing the investment opportunity could lead to long-term losses.

Bitmine has once again purchased 33,504 ETH from FalconX, amounting to approximately $112 million, indicating continued optimism about the future or potential specific uses of ETH. This transaction was completed through official channels, reflecting the strength and confidence of institutional investors.

【Bitcoin Push】 An almost hundred-year-old old bank has recently made a big move in the stablecoin payment field.
Located in Kansas City, Missouri, Lead Bank may have a 97-year history, but it has completely transformed in recent years—shifting from a traditional community bank to a pioneer specializing in fintech and crypto enterprises. Back in 2022, Jackie Reses, along with a group of veteran tech insiders, directly acquired this bank, and the subsequent story has been quite wild.
Earlier this year, they completed Series B funding, raising $70 million, with the valuation soaring to $1.47 billion. The list of investors looks very hardcore: A16z led the investment, with ICONIQ, Greycroft, Ribbit Capital, Coatue, and other institutions all participating. Now Lead Bank is once again teaming up with Loop

【区块律动】12月11日，鲍威尔放话了。
老鲍这次说得挺直白：通胀压力还在往上冒，现在搞政策就像走钢丝，没有稳赚不赔的选项。最近几个月，整个风险天平已经开始倾斜了。
翻译一下就是：别指望美联储会那么快放松货币政策。市场该醒醒了。

【BitPush】Japan's regulatory approach to crypto assets has recently undergone a significant adjustment.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) released a working group report this Wednesday, with the core content being: they plan to shift the regulatory framework for crypto assets from the original "Payment Services Act" (PSA) to the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" (FIEA). In simple terms, cryptocurrencies will no longer be regarded as "payment tools," but rather as "investment products."
Why make this change? The report states that crypto assets are increasingly being treated as investment targets both domestically in Japan and globally, thus requiring protection standards akin to financial products for users.
What specific changes will this bring?
First, information disclosure for IEOs (Initial Exchange Offerings) will become more stringent. Once incorporated into FIEA, exchange-led IEOs must disclose more detailed information before the pre-sale: who is the core team of the project, whether there are independent third parties involved,

【ChainNews】Another cross-chain project has secured funding. Pheasant Network has just announced the completion of a $2 million seed round, with Mint leading the investment, and major players like the Ethereum Foundation, Polygon Labs, and Optimism participating.
This project is quite interesting—focusing on AI × Intent features, essentially making cross-chain operations smarter. They have already processed over $200 million in on-chain transactions, and the data looks solid.
What will they do with the funding? The team plans to build an ecosystem around the PNT token and launch an AI-assisted routing system. The most attractive feature might be the "one-click cross-chain" function, which sounds like it could solve many user pain points.
The cross-chain sector has been highly competitive over the past two years. Securing endorsements from these institutions indicates that their technical solution has at least passed basic validation. But whether they can truly differentiate themselves will depend on subsequent product implementation.

【ChainWen】Another major personnel change in the crypto venture capital circle. Former Lyft executive Kenan Saleh officially announces joining a16z as an early-stage investment partner.
This time, his main battlefield is a16z's Speedrun program—an incubator that provides $1 million in seed funding for early Web3 projects. In simple terms, it helps startup teams secure their first round of funding and supports them in developing their business models and scaling.
Kenan had previously worked at Lyft and had collaborated extensively with a16z, so both parties were already familiar with each other. He also took the time to thank his former employer, Bain Capital.

【Bitcoin Push】On-chain data shows that tonight a market maker transferred over 700 ETH to the Fidelity Ethereum ETF.
Specifically: 728.84 ETH was transferred into Fidelity FETH, which is approximately $2.42 million USD at the current price. The sender is Wintermute, a veteran market-making institution.
ETF continues to see capital inflows, and traditional financial giants are still actively allocating. The momentum of institutional entry seems to be ongoing.

Strive ASST, an asset manager owned by Vivek Ramaswamy, is raising up to $500 million through perpetual preferred shares to continue hoarding Bitcoin. This "financing-buy" model has gradually become a trend, reflecting that more companies are optimistic about the long-term value of Bitcoin.

Last week, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) abruptly issued a ban on Kalshi, Robinhood, and a crypto exchange for "engaging in unlicensed online gambling through sporting event contracts." It came quite suddenly - just after the ban was issued on December 2, Kalshi took DCP directly to court the next day.
However, the plot quickly took a turn. On Monday, federal judge Vernon Oliver ruled that during the hearing of Kalshi's emergency application, the DCP must stop and cannot take enforcement action against Kalshi. The timeline given by the court is as follows: DCP has until January 9 to submit its response, Kalshi has until January 30 to supplement supporting documents, and the two sides will argue in person in court in mid-February.
What is interesting about this case is where is the line between prediction markets and traditional gambling? Ka

At present, the market sentiment is cautious, the bulls have been basically washed, and the funding rate of perpetual contracts has fallen to a low level, indicating that the level of leverage is not high. Analysts believe that this structure contributes to the potential rebound of the Christmas market at the end of the year, which has historically often brought surprises after excessive pessimism.

Securitize successfully poached former PayPal legal boss Jerome Roche as general counsel and announced that its tokenized securities were open to US investors. This move breaks the industry consensus that tokenized securities need to be carried out overseas, showing that the compliance space in the US market may be more relaxed.