ChainCatcher message, Greeks.live analyst Adam posted on social media that this Wednesday is Christmas, and major trading platforms in Europe and the United States will be closed for the holiday, with crypto funds typically showing outflows this week.Currently, ETFs are the main source of external funds for the crypto market, and the pressure from fund outflows on the crypto market has significantly increased compared to previous years, with strong risk-averse sentiment in the market. This bull market has not yet experienced a significant correction, and now with the Christmas holiday, funds are relatively tight. It is possible that there will be a deleveraging event before Trump's inauguration, with a strong risk-averse sentiment in the market.The options market has nearly $12 billion in options expiring, accounting for more than 40% of the current total open interest. Large traders and market makers are actively adjusting their positions, and paying close attention to the market can occasionally yield good opportunities for bargains. The volatility expectation for this week's Christmas is not high; the market is more focused on betting on the trends before and after Trump's inauguration at the end of January. Recently, it remains a good opportunity to buy options.

ChainCatcher news, according to Ledger Insights, Germany's DekaBank has obtained a cryptocurrency custody license from the country's regulatory authority BaFin and the European Central Bank (ECB). Commerzbank was the first German bank to receive a license last year, while other major banks, including DZ Bank, have yet to obtain one.BaFin has issued an additional 11 cryptocurrency custody licenses, primarily targeting cryptocurrency companies. One of these is the digital asset custody subsidiary of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank.The difference between DekaBank and Commerzbank in relation to cryptocurrency companies is that the former is licensed under the Banking Act (KWG). This is the second new license DekaBank has obtained this year. In July, the company received a license as a crypto securities registrar for issuing digital securities based on DLT in Germany. These crypto securities can be issued without the need for a central securities depository (CSD).

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the EU's crypto asset law is set to come into full effect by the end of the year. To comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), several cryptocurrency exchanges within the EU have delisted the mainstream stablecoin Tether's USDT. Tether's main competitor, Circle, obtained such a license in July.However, Tether has not yet obtained such a license but has not ruled out the possibility of attempting to acquire one in the future. In the absence of a license for Tether, regulated exchanges must delist the token by December 30. The new EU regulations aim to provide regulators with deeper insights into cryptocurrency flows and help prevent criminal activities such as money laundering, as blockchain forensic experts state that USDT is often used in such crimes.

ChainCatcher news, the European Police Organization collaborated with law enforcement agencies from six countries to dismantle an international drug trafficking group using cryptocurrency.The operation resulted in the arrest of 9 suspects. During the operation, valuable items including gold and luxury goods, €35,000 in cash, and €25 million in cryptocurrency were seized, amounting to $26.23 million. The total value of the seized assets was €27 million, equivalent to $28.33 million.

ChainCatcher news, cryptocurrency asset management company Bitwise has launched a Solana staking ETP in Europe, with the code BSOL. Solana staking company Marinade will be the staking provider for Bitwise. BSOL will charge investors an annual fee of 0.85%.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the digital asset company Tether has announced its investment in the European stablecoin provider StablR, aiming to accelerate adoption in the region.Tether's investment in StablR demonstrates its commitment to the European market and support for fully regulated stablecoins. In July of this year, StablR obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Malta Financial Services Authority for its MiCAR-compliant stablecoin.Currently, StablR offers two tokens: EURR and USDR, both issued in the form of ERC-20 and Solana-compatible tokens, which can be seamlessly transferred to any Ethereum or Solana wallet address.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released its final guidance on Tuesday to assist member states in implementing the upcoming regulations. ESMA published the final report on reverse solicitation, systems, the potential classification of cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, and technical standards for preventing market abuse.The EU's dedicated regulation for the cryptocurrency industry, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, is set to come into effect on December 30 across 27 member states. However, some countries have yet to develop legislation to implement MiCA. The Bank of Portugal stated on Monday that, as the legislation has not yet been passed, it is currently unclear which national authority will be responsible for these rules. Industry associations noted that part of the delay in national authorities is due to the short time gap between ESMA's release of the final technical standards in October and the implementation date.ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated, "Looking ahead, as the transition period progresses, we will continue to provide guidance and work with all national competent authorities (NCAs) to ensure the smooth implementation of MiCA and support a level playing field through regulatory convergence actions."

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine, European lawmakers are calling for the establishment of a Bitcoin strategic reserve, rejecting the digital euro.

ChainCatcher news, Caixin Macro analyst Jack Allen-Reynolds stated that the PMI preliminary value shows that economic activity in the Eurozone continues to slow down this month, which will further stimulate the European Central Bank to cut interest rates. The PMI remains below the level of October, which historically aligns with economic contraction. This will reinforce the view of European Central Bank policymakers that further rate cuts should be made on the basis of last week's reduction in borrowing costs.Earlier on Monday, European Central Bank President Lagarde stated that it is necessary for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates again due to the impact of potential new tariffs on European exporters from the United States. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has released a report on tokenized deposits, stating that from a regulatory perspective, tokenized deposits are fundamentally the same as traditional deposits. The agency plans to analyze existing regulations to determine if they are adequate. It noted that, due to the limited activity in tokenized deposits so far, there is no urgency to take action. A survey conducted in March identified only two projects, but did not specify their names.Analysis suggests that one of the projects should be the Commercial Bank of Germany's Currency Token (CBMT), as it mentioned five banks and five enterprises; the other could be Euroclear's D-FMI, as it is purely used for securities settlement and referenced the UTXO used by R3's Corda enterprise blockchain. According to the EBA's survey, 17% of EU banks plan to engage in tokenized deposits in the next two years.The paper discusses the benefits of tokenized deposits, such as programmability, efficiency, and atomic settlement. It believes that most banks may adopt permissioned blockchains due to the need to identify customers, and the Basel Committee's crypto rules make it difficult for banks to use permissionless blockchains. However, the agency points out that blockchains face typical 51% attack risks and potential reliance on third parties, while programmability may introduce additional liquidity risks. Nonetheless, the report states that it is still too early to discuss the impact of tokenization on deposit stickiness.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, in response to changing regulations, Bybit has decided to temporarily adjust the availability of its products and services within the European Economic Area (EEA).Bybit will completely cease all communications with the EEA, a measure aimed at avoiding any potential violations of strict reverse solicitation principles. Existing customers will not experience any interruption in access to their crypto assets.Additionally, Bybit is actively seeking the MiCAR license in Austria to become one of the first participants in the EEA. Once the appropriate license is obtained, Bybit will begin working with its EEA customers in accordance with applicable laws.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Coinbase's subsidiaries Coinbase Europe, Coinbase Germany, and Coinbase Custody International will delist Tether's USDT and five other stablecoins.Coinbase stated: "According to the latest information, we currently expect that we will have to limit services for the following assets: USDT, PAX, PYUSD, GUSD, GYEN, and DAI," all of which are subject to restrictions under the European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.Coinbase will continue to support USDC and EURC.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, in the last interest rate decision of 2024, the European Central Bank lowered the deposit facility rate by 25 basis points to 3.00%, marking the third consecutive meeting with a 25 basis point rate cut, in line with market expectations; a total rate cut of 100 basis points for the year.

ChainCatcher news, Bitget plans to establish a European regional center in Lithuania. Currently, Bitget has completed the registration of cryptocurrency business in Lithuania and will prepare for compliance work under the MiCA (EU Crypto Assets Market) framework, including setting up a local office and recruiting a compliance and operations team.Bitget's Chief Legal Officer Hon Ng stated, "Establishing a European regional center in Lithuania is a key initiative for us to deepen our market presence in the EU, while supporting the development of the crypto ecosystem in the region based on the highest security and compliance standards."Bitget places a high priority on compliant operations and has already obtained licenses in major markets such as Poland, Australia, and Italy. Recently, it has returned to the UK market to provide compliant crypto services to users. In addition, Bitget is initiating registration or licensing applications in over 15 jurisdictions worldwide.

ChainCatcher news, decentralized finance and digital asset company DeFi Technologies announced that it will acquire a minority stake in Swiss asset management company Neuronomics AG, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. According to the terms of the letter of intent, DeFi Technologies will increase its stake in Neuronomics by subscribing to 10% of the issued and outstanding securities of Neuronomics. This acquisition aims to enhance DeFi Technologies' asset management and trading capabilities, diversify revenue sources, and complement the company's specialized arbitrage trading platform DeFi Alpha.It is reported that Neuronomics specializes in quantitative trading strategies driven by artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience, and quantitative finance, and holds an asset management license issued by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

ChainCatcher news, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas posted on the X platform that BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF "IBIT" has assets equivalent to the total of 50 ETFs focused on Europe (regional + single country), which have been in existence for 20 years.In addition, ETF and technology strategist Todd Sohn believes that the investment environment in Europe has bottomed out and cannot get any worse.

ChainCatcher news, Pump Science has released a roadmap update, which includes:On December 24, a partnership will be announced, preparing for mouse experiments and protocol development;On January 25, 2025, mouse experiments for URO and RIF will be launched;On February 25, a new compound will be launched in collaboration with VitaDAO;On March 25, supplement pre-orders and market platform will be launched;On April 25, decentralized human trials will commence, and decentralized compound releases will be initiated;On May 25, related experiments will be expanded.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement from the decentralized biotechnology protocol Molecule, Molecule will collaborate with Pump.science and the DeSci project BIO Protocol to establish the DeSci Ecosystem Fund, with a funding scale of 166 million BIO (half of Molecule's allocation), to accelerate the on-chain scientific intellectual property.Molecule stated that it has repurchased $100,000 worth of $RIF and $100,000 worth of $URO to reaffirm its commitment to supporting $RIF, $URO, and Pump.science. The DeSci Ecosystem Fund will: fund on-chain research; support community initiatives; accelerate the on-chain scientific intellectual property; promote sustainable growth.