Daily Report | Musk to Lead Government Efficiency Department; Linea to Launch Token in Q1 Next Year; Russia Approves Cryptocurrency Tax Framework
November 13 News Overview整理：Fairy，ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Trump announces Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency
- OKX will launch MAJOR (Major) spot trading
- Linea announces the establishment of Linea Association, plans to launch Linea token in Q1 2025
- South Korean police arrest 215 people involved in a $232 million crypto investment scam
- Upbit lists USDT trading pairs for AGLD, FIL, ARPA, and others
- Bhutan's BTC holdings currently account for more than one-third of its GDP
- Russia approves cryptocurrency tax framework, miners to implement a two-stage taxation system
"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours"
OKX will launch MAJOR (Major) spot trading
According to the official announcement, OKX will launch MAJOR (Major) spot trading. The MAJOR/USDT spot trading will open on November 28 at 8:00 PM (UTC+8).
Major is a Play to Earn game on Telegram, and the MAJOR token will be used for game mechanics and for renting Telegram usernames and phone number NFTs.
FTX has filed 23 new lawsuits to recover funds, targeting Binance, SkyBridge Capital, and others
According to Forbes, the bankruptcy estate of FTX has initiated 23 new lawsuits against institutions including Binance, Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBridge Capital, Crypto.com, and even the lobbying group Fwd.us supported by Mark Zuckerberg, in an effort to recover funds for creditors.
These lawsuits allege that the funds transferred to these organizations were part of a larger "influence-buying campaign" orchestrated by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the lawsuit documents, Bankman-Fried funneled money into political and traditional finance sectors through sponsorships, investments, and donations to enhance his reputation while concealing FTX's worsening financial instability.
The lawsuits claim that these expenditures provided "little to no benefit" to FTX or its creditors, primarily serving to maintain the appearance of financial stability as the company struggled with a significant gap in its balance sheet.
South Korean police arrest 215 people involved in a $232 million crypto investment scam
South Korean police have arrested 215 people in connection with a cryptocurrency investment scam involving 325.6 billion won ($232 million).
The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency stated that the arrested suspects include staff from a fake investment consulting company and an unidentified YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers. Between December 2021 and March of last year, the scheme allegedly defrauded over 15,000 people by promising high returns on virtual asset investments. The scheme primarily targeted middle-aged and elderly individuals, promising 20 times returns and encouraging people to sell apartments and take out loans to fund their investments.
The investments included 28 different tokens, six of which were created by the gang. The remaining 22 had low trading volumes and were considered to have little value. Among those arrested, 12 are still in custody, including the YouTuber, who is also the head of the consulting company. He initially fled from South Korea to Australia via Hong Kong and Singapore.
Reports did not disclose the names of those involved.
Russia approves cryptocurrency tax framework, miners to implement a two-stage taxation system
According to Forbes, the Legislative Activity Committee of the Russian government advanced a cryptocurrency tax bill on November 11, 2024. The bill defines cryptocurrency as property and establishes different tax requirements for individual and corporate miners. Under the new regulations, businesses must register with the Federal Tax Service to legally conduct mining operations, while individuals with monthly electricity consumption below 6,000 kilowatt-hours are exempt from registration.
The new framework adopts a two-stage taxation model: the first stage taxes cryptocurrency upon receipt, with the tax base calculated based on the closing price on major exchanges; the second stage taxes upon sale, with additional taxes if the sale price exceeds the initial taxable value. Starting in 2024, individual traders and miners with annual income exceeding 2.4 million rubles will be taxed at a progressive rate of 13% to 22%, while the corporate tax rate will increase to 25% in 2025.
According to the Industrial Mining Association, these tax measures could generate 50 billion rubles (approximately $521 million) in annual revenue for the budget.
Linea announces the establishment of Linea Association, plans to launch Linea token in Q1 2025
According to Cointelegraph, the Ethereum scaling solution Linea announced the establishment of the Linea Association at the Devcon conference in Bangkok, Thailand. This Swiss non-profit organization aims to promote the development and governance of Linea. The association will support Linea technology, develop the Linea market, and advance its decentralization roadmap. The association plans to launch the Linea token in Q1 2025, allowing token holders to participate in governance. Token holders will have governance rights over certain activities of the association, which will manage Linea's core intellectual property and funds supporting its mission.
Linea is a Layer-2 zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollup solution developed by ConsenSys. ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin stated that the establishment of the Linea Association is an important step toward achieving true decentralization for the network, avoiding excessive control by any entity.
Linea founder Nicolas Liochon emphasized that decentralization is at the core of Linea's vision. He stated that Linea must be publicly owned and governed by everyone, just like Ethereum Layer-1. Lubin added that Layer-2 projects overly controlled by companies or a few participants struggle to succeed or maintain proper alignment with the Ethereum platform.
Brazil prepares to allow traditional financial institutions to accept cryptocurrencies
Brazil's central bank is preparing to open the cryptocurrency market to traditional financial institutions, which will be able to operate clearly in the industry once the upcoming regulations are enacted. Due to the high thresholds imposed by this framework, small cryptocurrency startups may face challenges in regulating their status.
Upbit lists USDT trading pairs for AGLD, FIL, ARPA, and others
According to the official announcement, Upbit will add USDT trading pairs for AGLD, AHT, ARPA, ASTR, BNT, EGLD, FIL, LWA, NEAR, OXT, RAD, and XLM.
Bitwise acquires Ethereum staking service provider Attestant
According to Bloomberg, Bitwise Asset Management Inc. has acquired Ethereum staking service provider Attestant, aiming to expand beyond its core business, with specific terms of the deal not disclosed. Following the completion of the transaction, Bitwise's assets under management will reach $10 billion. Additionally, Attestant's 11 employees will join Bitwise.
Trump announces Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency
Trump campaign advisor Alex Bruesewitz stated on X that Trump announced Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (referred to as DOGE).
Musk posted on X, stating: "All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be disclosed online for maximum transparency. If the public believes we have cut important expenditures or failed to cut wasteful spending, please let us know. We will also list the most ridiculous tax expenditures, which is tragic but very interesting."
Bhutan's BTC holdings currently account for more than one-third of its GDP
According to Coindesk, data from Arkham Intelligence shows that the small South Asian country of Bhutan, with a population of only 800,000 (compared to El Salvador's 6.4 million), holds 12,574 bitcoins, valued at $1.1 billion at current prices, which accounts for more than one-third of Bhutan's GDP (slightly below $3 billion). El Salvador's $500 million in bitcoin holdings only accounts for 1.5% of its GDP.
Reports indicate that Bhutan's bitcoin holdings were accumulated through bitcoin mining, as the country has abundant hydropower resources. In September, Arkham reported that Bhutan is likely to become the fourth-largest holder of bitcoin.
Bloomberg: Italian government plans to raise cryptocurrency trading tax rate to 28%, instead of the previously proposed 42%
According to Bloomberg, sources revealed that the government led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni may approve a proposal from coalition partners to lower the tax increase on cryptocurrency trading.
A copy of the proposal shows that as a junior partner in Meloni's ruling coalition, the League has proposed an amendment to limit the cryptocurrency trading tax rate to 28%, down from the initially proposed 42% in last month's budget. The current tax rate is 26%.
Cryptocurrency executives have stated that the proposed tax rate is too high and would make the local industry less competitive compared to other EU countries. The EU is preparing to fully adopt its first comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation, known as "MiCA," by the end of this year.
Additionally, another ruling coalition party, Forza Italia, founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, has proposed another amendment aimed at completely eliminating the tax increase and removing the tax exemption for gains of €2,000 ($2,120) or less.
As part of the coalition's proposed amendments, Italy will establish a permanent working group composed of digital asset companies and consumer associations to educate investors about cryptocurrencies. Two sources indicated that the government is likely to approve the League's proposal, although no final decision has been made, and it may be modified.
"What interesting articles are worth reading in the past 24 hours"
ME token TGE is imminent, Magic Eden's leap from NFT market to one-stop crypto asset trading platform
"The economic model of the ME token will be announced on November 18." This was the latest update revealed by Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu during a live broadcast on November 8. This news undoubtedly brings long-awaited hope to the crypto community, marking the imminent realization of Magic Eden's desire to issue tokens.
In the TestME application testing event that ended on November 1, the activity attracted over 400,000 wallet addresses to actively participate in the claiming process within just three days. This event served as a crucial technical validation before the issuance of the ME token, and its successful completion indicates that the TGE (Token Generation Event) of the ME token is not far away.
As the issuance date of the ME token approaches, every step of Magic Eden's progress not only attracts the attention of the crypto community but also prompts people to reassess the value of the Magic Eden platform and evaluate its future development potential.
Magic Eden has transformed from an initial single NFT trading platform into a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates wallet services, NFT trading, token trading, and cross-chain bridging, among many other functions. This stunning transformation is eye-catching.
Soon, users will be able to easily trade all types of assets across chains within the Magic Eden DApp, with its rich product features rivaling those of a "decentralized Binance/Coinbase."
Earn millions in 2 seconds, milliseconds of information disparity, uncovering the wealth leap of a post-00s billionaire
"Now I say, I am the richest and most cash-flowing post-00s on Zhihu, is there anyone who disagrees?"
This is Vida's somewhat provocative self-introduction, claiming to be the current Zhihu post-00s billionaire with at least $7 million in spare cash (approximately 51 million yuan), and because of the speed of trading, he has made huge profits, having received five inquiries from Binance's risk control department.
Seeing this, many might think this is just another eye-catching statement from a Zhihu show-off. But what if all of this is true?
On November 11, Binance listed two low-market-cap tokens, ACT and PNUT. According to on-chain data monitoring platform Lookonchain, shortly after Binance announced the listing of ACT, an address quickly bought 10.9 million ACT with $320,000 in just 2 seconds. After ACT rapidly surged, the profit from this investment quickly soared to $3.4 million (approximately 24 million yuan).
The buying time of this address was even 7 seconds faster than the announcement time of the listing on Binance's Chinese platform, and the speed of buying was so fast and the profit so huge that users immediately questioned whether this was "front-running" and insider trading.
Musk to join the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, will DOGE dance again?
Recently, just as Trump was about to officially win the U.S. presidential election, Musk tweeted in advance to celebrate, posting a picture of himself entering the White House with a sink. After this image was released, Musk has now truly "joined the cabinet."
According to public documents, Trump stated today that Elon Musk and American patriot Vivek Ramaswamy will collaborate to lead the soon-to-be-formed Department of Government Efficiency (abbreviated as "DOGE").
Once the news was announced, market data showed that Dogecoin (DOGE), named after the department's abbreviation, rose from $0.36 to above $0.4 again.
