This Week's News Preview | FTX Will Begin Repayments; Consensus Conference Will Be Held in Hong Kong; The Federal Reserve Will Release the January Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Highlights of the week from February 17 to February 23.整理：Fairy，ChainCatcher
Key News:
- U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday, with CME futures trading ending early.
- FTX repayments will begin on February 18, 2025
- The Consensus conference will be held in Hong Kong from February 18 to 20
- The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the January monetary policy meeting
- ETHDenver 2025 will be held in Denver from February 23 to March 2
- Telegram will implement new rules exclusively supporting TON starting February 21
February 17 (Monday)
Russian broker Finam will issue notes linked to BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF on February 17
Russian broker Finam is set to launch an investment product linked to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), giving qualified Russian investors their first opportunity to access a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Finam will start offering structured notes based on BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on February 17. The upcoming IBIT bonds will be denominated in Russian rubles, with returns calculated based on the U.S. dollar equivalent according to the Central Bank of Russia's exchange rate.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will hold two cybersecurity webinars on February 17 and 19, inviting virtual asset service providers
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has issued a circular regarding cybersecurity webinars for licensed corporations, licensed virtual asset service providers, and related entities. It is reported that the Hong Kong SFC will hold two cybersecurity webinars on February 17 and 19, 2025, to raise awareness of emerging cybersecurity threats in Hong Kong.
U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday, with CME futures trading ending early.
Due to Presidents' Day in the U.S., stock markets will be closed on February 17 (Monday), with trading for CME precious metals and U.S. crude oil futures ending early at 03:30 Beijing time on February 18, and stock index futures trading ending early at 02:00 Beijing time on February 18.
February 18 (Tuesday)
FTX repayments will begin on February 18, 2025
FTX creditor representative Sunil disclosed on X that repayments from FTX will start on February 18, 2025, at 10 AM Eastern Time, initially repaying creditors with claims under $50,000.
The distribution amount will include 100% of the adjudicated claim value (up to $50,000), as well as additional compensation at an annual interest rate of 9.0% from November 11, 2022, to the initial distribution date.
The Consensus conference will be held in Hong Kong from February 18 to 20
The 2025 Consensus conference will take place in Hong Kong from February 18 to February 20.
Coinbase Derivatives plans to list Solana and Hedera futures on its derivatives trading platform as early as February 18
Coinbase Derivatives, a subsidiary of Coinbase, submitted regulatory documents this Thursday, planning to launch new futures contracts for Solana (SOL) and Hedera (HBAR) on February 18 or later. These contracts will be cash-settled and settled monthly.
February 20 (Thursday)
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the January monetary policy meeting
At 03:00 Beijing time on February 20 (Thursday), the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the January monetary policy meeting, providing further clues about interest rate cuts.
Morph's points program will continue until February 20, 2025
The points program of the consumer-grade blockchain Morph will continue until February 20, 2025, with its 10% tokens allocated for community airdrops and ecosystem growth, totaling 1.6 million points. The program will last until February 20, 2025. Users can earn points through cross-chain asset transfers, paying gas fees, and inviting new users.
The second phase of the $DIN airdrop will begin on February 20
The native token $DIN of the first AI Agent blockchain DIN has been listed on multiple exchanges including Gate, Kucoin, and LBank for DIN/USDT spot trading.
At the same time, the first phase of the $DIN airdrop has begun, and users can claim it on the airdrop page. The second phase of the airdrop will start at 4 PM Beijing time on February 20. Additionally, the $DIN staking feature has been launched, allowing holders to earn more $DIN through staking.
February 21 (Friday)
Telegram will implement new rules exclusively supporting TON starting February 21
According to official news from the TON blockchain, Telegram will implement new rules for blockchain mini-programs starting February 21, making the TON blockchain the exclusive blockchain infrastructure for Telegram's mini-program ecosystem.
To facilitate a smooth transition, TON has launched a mini-program migration subsidy program to support developers in migrating mini-programs from other blockchains to TON. This program offers eligible projects up to $50,000 in advertising support and provides TON Connect migration tools, technical support, and marketing support.
Developers can submit applications through the official website before February 20.
February 22 (Saturday)
EigenLayer will collaborate with Eliza Labs to hold an AI agent hackathon from February 22 to March 3
EigenLayer will collaborate with Eliza Labs to hold an AI agent hackathon from February 22 to March 3, located in downtown Denver.
February 23 (Sunday)
ETHDenver 2025 will be held in Denver from February 23 to March 2
ETHDenver 2025 will take place in Denver, USA, from February 23 to March 2, 2025.
Germany will elect a new parliament on February 23, with the Alternative for Germany party seeking to exit the Eurozone and relax Bitcoin regulations
Germany will elect a new parliament on February 23, which could have profound implications for the financial sector of Europe's largest economy.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party ranks second in polls, but mainstream German parties refuse to cooperate with it in any government, meaning its proposals may never be realized. Nevertheless, their financial policy plans are the most specific and radical.
The Alternative for Germany party calls for Germany to exit the Eurozone and supports "broad deregulation" of Bitcoin, wallets, and trading, opposing the digital euro, among other things.
The Ethereum Foundation opens proposal applications for the Pectra Proactive Grant Round, deadline February 23
The Ethereum Foundation announced it will provide $200,000 in grants to support the Pectra upgrade ecosystem and has opened proposal applications for the Pectra Proactive Grant Round, with a deadline of February 23. It is reported that submitted proposals should align with one or more of the following key focus areas:
- Core protocol support: Develop tools and libraries that directly support protocol-level changes introduced in Pectra, creating infrastructure to ensure seamless integration of Pectra-related updates into the core protocol; 2. Tools and infrastructure: Updates to essential tools for builders, stakeholders, and end-users, creating new tools to support EIPs directly related to Pectra; 3. Testing and security: Enhancements to testing frameworks and infrastructure, tools to improve network security before and after the Pectra upgrade; 4. Adoption and impact analysis: Projects that track and analyze the adoption of changes introduced by Pectra, tools or frameworks to measure the impact of Pectra-related EIPs on the Ethereum ecosystem and protocol.
