Daily Report | South Korean Cabinet Ministers Resign Collectively; Trump Has Chosen Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman; Sun Yuchen: May Launch "MicroStrategy" Version of TRON TRX
December 4th News OverviewOrganizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
Important News:
- South Korea's largest opposition party: If Yoon Suk-yeol does not resign immediately, impeachment proceedings will be initiated
- Insider: Trump has chosen Paul Atkins to be the SEC Chairman
- Insider: Trump's nominee for SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is unwilling to accept the position
- Grayscale seeks to convert its Solana trust into a spot ETF and list it on the NYSE
- Mining company Foundry to lay off 60% of its staff, affecting employees in the U.S. and international offices
- Russian court sentences Hydra founder to life imprisonment for crypto mixing service
"What important events happened in the past 24 hours"
According to Yonhap News Agency, after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a state of emergency and lifted it more than six hours later, the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, urged Yoon to resign immediately, stating that if he does not resign, they will initiate impeachment proceedings.
The Democratic Party issued a resolution after convening an emergency parliamentary meeting that included the above content. The resolution stated: "Yoon Suk-yeol's announcement of a state of emergency is a clear violation of the constitution, and he did not meet any of the necessary conditions for declaring a state of emergency. The declaration itself is invalid and constitutes a serious constitutional violation, which is a serious act of internal turmoil and a perfect reason for impeachment."
The Democratic Party stated, "If Yoon Suk-yeol does not resign immediately, we will represent the will of the people and immediately enter the impeachment process."
Insider: Trump has chosen Paul Atkins to be the SEC Chairman
According to three insiders, Trump has chosen Paul Atkins to be the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One source revealed that Trump has contacted Atkins and is waiting for his acceptance. Atkins' spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is set to leave on January 20. Additionally, Atkins will need Senate confirmation unless Trump opts for a recess appointment during the Senate's recess. Paul Atkins previously served as an SEC commissioner during George W. Bush's administration and is known for opposing "high fines for companies violating securities laws." He has been supportive of the crypto industry and is still active in his consulting firm, Patomak Global Partners, which he founded in 2009. Meanwhile, since 2017, he has also served as co-chair of the Token Alliance, an industry association advocating for digital assets and blockchain.
Insider: Trump's nominee for SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is unwilling to accept the position
According to CoinDesk, Paul Atkins is the preferred SEC Chairman candidate for President-elect Donald Trump, but accepting the position requires many factors to align. A person familiar with Atkins' thoughts indicated that the role is not appealing to him because he believes it would require a significant amount of work to reverse the mismanagement of the bloated agency under Gary Gensler, and Atkins is unwilling to leave his global consulting firm.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, was seen at Trump's resort this week, according to an industry insider. He is scheduled to interview for the SEC Chairman position on Sunday and Monday, another person familiar with the meetings stated.
Atkins is the founder and CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a global consulting firm focused on strategy, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Patomak serves crypto companies, but they are just part of its diversified business, which also includes traditional financial clients, public companies, industry associations, law firms, banks, and insurance companies. Before founding Patomak, Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, appointed by former President Bush. During his tenure at the SEC, Mark Uyeda and Hester Pierce worked under Atkins, who later also became an SEC commissioner.
Grayscale seeks to convert its Solana trust into a spot ETF and list it on the NYSE
Grayscale is seeking to convert its Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The trust was created by Grayscale in 2021 and has total assets under management of $134 million. Grayscale becomes the fifth asset management company to seek to launch a SOL ETF.
The New York Stock Exchange Arca (the exchange where the ETF will be listed) submitted a 19b-4 application on Tuesday night. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires exchanges to submit such applications to notify the SEC of proposed rule changes by self-regulatory organizations (SROs).
Mining company Foundry to lay off 60%, affecting employees in the U.S. and international offices
According to CoinGape, Bitcoin mining company Foundry has implemented layoffs of up to 60%. According to anonymous sources, the layoffs will affect employees in both U.S. and international offices. The company had 250 employees, and now only 80 to 90 remain.
Foundry is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), which stated that the layoffs are intended to help focus on DCG's next steps.
Russian court sentences Hydra founder to life imprisonment for crypto mixing service
A Russian court has sentenced Stanislav Moiseev, the founder of the online black market and cryptocurrency mixing service Hydra, to life imprisonment. The service handled over $5 billion worth of cryptocurrency during its operation.
According to a statement from the Moscow Prosecutor's Office on December 2, the Moscow Regional Court found Moiseev and his 15 accomplices guilty of organized crime and illegal production and sale of psychoactive substances and drugs. Moiseev's 15 accomplices received sentences ranging from 8 to 23 years. Moiseev was also fined $38,100 (4 million rubles), while his 15 accomplices were ordered to pay a total of $152,400 (16 million rubles). As part of the sentencing order, properties and vehicles related to the convicted individuals were also seized.
According to Russian state media TASS, they will serve their sentences in a "strict regime" penal colony.
South Korean cabinet ministers collectively resign
According to the Chosun Ilbo, South Korean cabinet ministers have collectively resigned.
According to a passport official, all members of the National Security Council submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo earlier that day during a meeting with him.
It was reported that Han Duck-soo, the leadership of the ruling party, and President Yoon Suk-yeol are scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. in the Prime Minister's Office in Jongno District, Seoul, to discuss the announcement and lifting of the state of emergency.
Earlier that day, Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Policy Director Song Tae-yeon, National Security Bureau Chief Shin Won-sik, and all senior secretaries submitted their resignations to Yoon Suk-yeol.
Digital asset management platform Interlace has completed a $10 million B1 round of financing, led by Bitrock Capital, with participation from early employees and senior executives from Klarna and Robinhood. The new round of financing will support Interlace's continued global expansion into major markets such as the Asia-Pacific (APAC), the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Interlace is an enterprise-level global issuance and digital asset management company based in Singapore, founded in 2019, providing efficient cross-border, multi-currency, and cross-system financial solutions for Web3, cross-border e-commerce, B2B trade, developers, and more.
Binance to remove NOT/BNB, RDNT/BTC spot trading pairs
Binance will remove and cease trading for the NOT/BNB and RDNT/BTC spot trading pairs on December 6 at 03:00 (UTC).
The governor of the Korean central bank stated that a transition period may occur in the coming months, making it difficult to judge the political situation. He does not believe that turmoil will force the central bank to further lower interest rates.
Justin Sun: TRON network revenue hit a new high yesterday, exceeding $20 million
TRON founder Justin Sun announced on the X platform that the TRON network revenue set a historical high on December 3, with daily revenue exceeding $20 million.
Data shows that the total daily revenue of the TRON network reached $21.66 million yesterday, with staking revenue of about $16.52 million, accounting for 76.27%; and burning revenue of about $5.14 million, accounting for 23.73%.
Justin Sun: May launch a TRON TRX version of "MicroStrategy"
TRON founder Justin Sun stated on the X platform, "The success of MicroStrategy shows how innovation can overcome outdated regulations. Under the Trump administration, the U.S. crypto environment is unprecedentedly friendly. How about directly creating a TRON TRX version of MicroStrategy?"
Data: BNB market cap surpasses SOL, ranking fifth in cryptocurrency market cap
Coingecko data shows that the current market cap of BNB is approximately $113.28 billion, surpassing SOL ($112.52 billion), ranking fifth in the cryptocurrency market cap leaderboard.
"What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours"
Developing a Web3 application generally faces two major challenges: how to truly decentralize and possess privacy and security capabilities, and how to simplify development and reduce costs.
CocoCat co-founder Eric stated that currently, smart contracts can be easily implemented on the blockchain, but the front-end and back-end of applications are mostly deployed in traditional ways on cloud servers like Amazon and Alibaba Cloud, which brings some centralized security risks and high cost issues to projects.
Based on this market pain point, CocoCat has built a more privacy and security-protecting decentralized P2P network called Cat Network, and has lowered the development threshold through two productivity tools, CocoAPP Framework and Self-Service Protocol, providing project parties with a cheaper and more decentralized application deployment method.
According to Eric, Cat Network can help developers reduce costs by over 90%, and it has already attracted around 400 project parties from public chains, DeFi, and Web2 sectors.
To further validate and visualize Cat Network's decentralization and privacy protection capabilities, Eric's core team has also developed a Web3 social product called CocoCat, which is completely decentralized and has stronger privacy protection compared to Telegram, and also includes more features tailored to Web3 user needs. The iterations on the CocoCat social application will also feed back to the underlying network, providing developers or project parties with capabilities that are closer to market demands.
Solana Foundation: Three strategic directions for the integration of AI and crypto technology
Currently, the intersection of AI and crypto technology is entering an experimental phase akin to a "Cambrian explosion." This article from the Solana Foundation elaborates on three key development directions for the integration of AI and crypto.
Barometer? Wintermute recently laid out 4 AI proxy tokens
On December 3 at 23:05 Beijing time, Coinbase announced the inclusion of the meme coin MOODENG on Solana in its coin listing roadmap.
Subsequently, the price of MOODENG doubled within 10 minutes.
Notably, Arkham data shows that market maker Wintermute holds MOODENG worth up to $35.91 million, making it the meme coin with the highest value in its holdings. Among the addresses holding MOODENG, Wintermute ranks third by holding amount.
What is the secret behind XRP's surge?
Recently, XRP's surge has attracted attention, resulting from a combination of factors: technical breakthroughs, renewed interest from Korean investors (along with the lifting of the SEC lawsuit and the push from WisdomTree's S-1 filing), and the absence of historical sellers like Jed McCaleb. These factors collectively drove the demand for XRP, leading to unusual market performance.
The following is the original content (for ease of reading and understanding, the original content has been slightly edited):
The recent surge in XRP reveals the complex interactions between technical aspects, market structure, and regional dynamics.
On December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly announced a "state of emergency," a decision that not only shocked the South Korean political scene but also triggered a serious constitutional crisis.
As always, cryptocurrency investors were among the injured, with Bitcoin prices on South Korea's largest trading platform, Upbit, briefly plunging to $65,000.
After buying the most expensive banana gained global attention, we chatted with Justin Sun
"Slash youth" Justin Sun recently added two more titles to his name: "Holder of the Cattelan banana" and "Advisor and largest investor in the Trump crypto project World Freedom Finance."
The last time Sun made headlines was in 2019 when he purchased a charity lunch with Warren Buffett for $4.567888 million. This time, Sun did not expect that the banana he bought for $6.24 million would garner unprecedented attention. "Even my relatives in the village saw the news and asked me about it." On November 29, Sun held a banana launch event at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and publicly ate the banana.
After the event, Sun accepted an exclusive interview with PANews, expressing his support for Hong Kong as a hub for art and Web3, and his confidence in the development of the U.S. crypto market, looking forward to 2025.
