US lawmakers propose tax breaks for stablecoins; ETH Community Foundation responds to USDT attack.

Headline

▌US Lawmakers Propose Tax Relief for Small Stablecoin Payments and Staking Rewards

US lawmakers have introduced a draft bill for discussion that would alleviate the tax burden on ordinary cryptocurrency users by exempting small stablecoin transactions from capital gains tax, including a $200 tax exemption for stablecoin payments, and providing new deferral options for staking and mining rewards. According to the draft, if a stablecoin is issued by an issuer approved under the GENIUS Act, pegged to the US dollar, and trades within a narrow range of around $1, then users would not need to recognize gains or losses on transactions not exceeding $200.

▌Ethereum Community Foundation Responds to "50 Million USDT Phishing Attack": The Practice of Truncating Addresses with Dots Should Be Stopped

In response to the "50 million USDT phishing attack" incident, the Ethereum Community Foundation issued a statement on the X platform, stating that the practice of truncating addresses with dots (such as 0xbaf4b1aF...B6495F8b5) should be stopped immediately. Address information needs to be displayed in its entirety; hiding the middle part of the address causes unnecessary risks. Furthermore, some UI options provided by certain wallets and block explorers currently have security issues, which can actually be resolved. It is understood that the phishing attackers had previously generated an address with the first and last three digits identical. The victim, without carefully checking and copying the address, transferred 50 million USDT to the similar address generated by the phishing attackers.

▌US Officials Say Partial Release of Epstein Documents is to Protect Victims

On December 21 local time, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch defended the Justice Department's decision to only partially release Jeffrey Epstein documents before the congressional deadline, stating that this move was to protect the victims of the Epstein case. Branch promised that the Trump administration would ultimately fulfill its legal obligations. However, he emphasized that the Justice Department had an obligation to act cautiously in releasing thousands of documents that could contain sensitive information.

▌ECB Says Digital Euro May Be Launched Within the Next 3 Years

On Friday, the digital euro received the support of the European Council, which endorsed a design that combines online and offline functions. The European Central Bank stated that it may be launched within the next 3 years.

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Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik: Prediction Markets are a Cure for Emotional Outrageous Views

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stated in an article on Farcaster that prediction markets are a cure for emotional outrageous views. Many users on social media exaggerate and claim "something will definitely happen" to create panic or attract attention, but they do not take responsibility for it. Prediction markets, on the other hand, involve real money bets and tend to reflect true probabilities, thus counteracting these "crazy views."

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Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik: Prediction Markets are a Cure for Emotional Outrageous Views

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stated in an article on Farcaster that prediction markets are a cure for emotional outrageous views. Many users on social media exaggerate and claim "something will definitely happen" to create panic or attract attention, but they do not take responsibility for it. Prediction markets, however, involve real money bets and tend to reflect true probabilities, thus counteracting these "crazy views."

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Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik: Prediction Markets are a Cure for Emotional Outrageous Views

▌BNBChain: BSCScan API is now discontinued; developers need to switch to Etherscan API V2

On December 21st, BNBChain issued a developer reminder stating that the BSCScan API is now discontinued and developers need to switch to Etherscan API V2. To ensure uninterrupted service and better API performance, developers need to migrate to BSCTrace via MegaNode.

▌Australian cryptocurrency exchange CoinJar announces US expansion plans

According to CrowdfundInsider, Australian cryptocurrency exchange CoinJar announced its entry into the US market. The company already operates in Australia, the UK, and Ireland. This move to the US means CoinJar will operate within the US federal and state regulatory framework.

▌Casa Co-founder: Bitcoin's Quantum-Resistant Upgrade May Face a 5-10 Year Timeframe Challenge

Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin custody company Casa, posted on social media that he has been publicly discussing the risks posed by quantum computing to Bitcoin for 18 months. His main conclusion is: "I sincerely hope that the development of quantum computing will stagnate or even decline, because adapting Bitcoin to the quantum-resistant era will be extremely difficult for many reasons. Quantum computers will not crack the Bitcoin network in the short term. However, a comprehensive overhaul of the Bitcoin network (and unprecedented fund migration) could take 5 to 10 years. We should have the best hopes, but also prepare for the worst."

▌Analysis: Bitcoin's RSI Against Gold Falls to Nearly Three-Year Low, Considered a Bull-Bear Boundary

The Bitcoin/Gold (BTC/XAU) price has fallen to around 20.

The price of gold per ounce is at its lowest level since early 2024, while the weekly RSI indicator for this ratio has fallen to around 29.5 (oversold zone), near a three-year low. Data shows that this RSI oversold zone historically appears near the bottom of bear markets, leading some analysts to believe this may indicate that Bitcoin is undervalued and has room for a future rebound. However, others point out that a break below this key support level could signal a weakening trend.

▌Michael Saylor Releases Bitcoin Tracker Information Again

Strategy founder Michael Saylor has once again released information related to Bitcoin Tracker. Based on past patterns, Strategy always discloses information about increasing its Bitcoin holdings the day after such news is released.

▌F2Pool Co-founder: Last Year, to Confirm Private Key Leakage, I Transferred 500 Bitcoins; Hackers Took 490 Bitcoins

Regarding the widely discussed phishing attack involving 50 million USDT, F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun tweeted, "Last year, I suspected my private key had been leaked. To confirm whether the address had indeed been stolen, I transferred 500 Bitcoins to that address. To my surprise, the hacker 'generously' only took 490 Bitcoins, leaving me with 10 Bitcoins, enough to make a living."

▌Northern Data Has Sold Its Bitcoin Mining Business to a Company Run by Tether Executives

According to the Financial Times, Tether-backed Northern Data has sold its Bitcoin mining business to a company run by Tether executives.

The buyers of Peak Mining—Highland Group Mining Inc., Appalachian Energy LLC, and 2750418 Alberta ULC—are directly linked to Tether's leadership. British Virgin Islands records show that Highland Group Mining is controlled by Tether co-founder and chairman Giancarlo Devasini and the company's CEO, Paolo Ardoino. Canadian documents show that Devasini is the sole director of Alberta ULC. The shareholding structure of Appalachian Energy LLC, registered in Delaware, remains opaque, with no publicly listed directors. Point72 Asset Management, a leading multi-strategy hedge fund, purchased 390,665 shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock for approximately $65 million.

▌BTCS S.A., a Bitcoin treasury company, partners with QCP and increases its Bitcoin holdings to 137

Polish Bitcoin treasury company BTCS S.A. has announced a partnership with Singapore-based digital asset solutions provider QCP Group. The partnership aims to leverage financial instruments such as cash-collateralized option structures and weighted frameworks to transform its Bitcoin treasury strategy from passive holding. BTCS S.A. has reportedly increased its holdings by 21.684 BTC, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 137.

▌A smart money address went long ETH with 3x leverage, holding a position worth approximately $89 million

According to The Data Nerd monitoring, a smart money address (which made a profit of $19 million in one month) went long ETH on Hyperliquid yesterday with 3x leverage, holding a position worth approximately $89 million.

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Important Economic Developments

▌Hassett: Consistent with Goolsby's view, there is still ample room for interest rate cuts

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated that President Trump will appoint his own person as Federal Reserve Chairman, and once this happens, the Federal Reserve will no longer be a problem. Hassett stated that he believes the US economy has not fallen into a "job recession" and the situation of excessive inflation has ended.

Meanwhile, consistent with Goolsby's view, there is still ample room for interest rate cuts.

▌Hassett: Trump Seeks Data-Driven Fed Chair Candidate

White House National Economic Council Director Hassett: Trump wants the Fed Chair to make independent judgments, and he is seeking a data-driven candidate for Fed Chair.

▌Fed's Hammark: More Concerned About High Inflation, Inclined to Keep Interest Rates Stable Until Spring

Fed's Hammark stated that after the Fed's three consecutive rate cuts at its past meetings, there is no need to adjust interest rates in the coming months. Hammark opposes recent rate cuts because she is more concerned about high inflation than potential labor market fragility. Hammark is not a voting member of the interest rate setting committee this year, but will become a voting member next year.

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Golden Encyclopedia

▌The Real Impact of Quantitative Easing on Cryptocurrencies

If we are to discuss whether "quantitative easing (QE) is beneficial to cryptocurrencies," we must first acknowledge a disturbing fact: the entire history of cryptocurrencies has been within environments of very limited liquidity, and only a portion of these environments conform to the traditional sense of quantitative easing that followed 2008. The conclusion so far is that since cryptocurrencies became a true market, we have only a handful of relatively "clean" liquidity environments to study—and the most influential one (2020) was also the most unusual. However, this does not mean that the claim about quantitative easing is wrong. Rather, it is probabilistic: loose financial environments tend to favor long-term, high-beta assets, and cryptocurrencies are often the purest manifestation of this phenomenon.

However, when we delve deeper into the data, we need to distinguish between four factors: (1) balance sheet expansion, (2) interest rate cuts, (3) the dollar's performance, and (4) risk sentiment—because they don't always change in tandem. Markets rarely wait for liquidity to arrive. They often begin trading policy direction long before the policy mechanisms are reflected in the data. This is especially true for cryptocurrencies, which tend to react to expectations—such as shifts in policy tone, signals from balance sheet policy, and anticipated changes in the interest rate path—rather than to the slow, gradual impact of actual asset purchases. This is why cryptocurrency price movements often precede yield declines, dollar weakness, and even any substantial expansion of the Fed's balance sheet. In the short term, cryptocurrency prices remain influenced by market sentiment and position volatility, and their movements depend not only on macroeconomic policy but also on positions and leverage. Liquidity certainly helps, but it cannot override all other influencing factors.