ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, multiple insiders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States have exposed a series of misconducts by the agency in Operation Chokepoint 2.0 (a crackdown on the crypto industry).According to the revelations, the FDIC employed various means to evade the disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including marking documents as attorney-client privileged, conducting incomplete searches within regional systems, and hiding documents generated on collaborative platforms like Microsoft Teams. Insiders claim that about 150 key documents were not submitted.At the same time, the FDIC has also been accused of conducting social media investigations on several well-known figures in the industry, including Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, WSPN CEO Austin Campbell, Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long, Castle Island Ventures founder Nic Carter, and Unchained podcast regulatory reporter Veronica Irwin. Insiders stated that they were personally assigned to investigate whether these individuals posed a threat to the FDIC.

ChainCatcher news, Katie Stockton, the founder of Fairlead Strategists, pointed out that Bitcoin may experience bearish momentum in the short term, with expectations of a drop to around $84,500 in the coming weeks, representing a decline of about 10%.If the downward trend continues, the next support level could be at $73,800, indicating a potential drop of 22%. Bitcoin fell below the 50-day moving average last week, confirming mid-term overbought and sell signals, supporting a price correction in the first quarter of 2025.Stockton stated that the negative momentum based on the daily MACD and the 20-day moving average clearly indicates a bearish bias in the short term. However, she remains optimistic about Bitcoin's long-term prospects, noting that the monthly stochastic indicator and MACD continue to support its long-term upward trend. She believes that the correction will present an opportunity to increase Bitcoin investments.

ChainCatcher news, according to NBC News, tech billionaire Musk is facing scrutiny from American conservatives after several prominent right-wing accounts that criticized Musk's views on immigration reported that they were subsequently unable to use the premium features of Musk's social media platform "X."A survey showed that at least 14 conservative accounts indicated late Thursday or Friday that X had revoked their "blue V verification," stripping them of access to various premium features, including monetization through subscriptions and ad revenue sharing. Some accounts claimed that the number of affected accounts was far greater than these.Some conservatives stated that they believe X's actions represent Musk's betrayal, as he is "secretly banning" his conservative critics. Musk acquired Twitter, now known as "X," in 2022 partly because he believed Twitter was unfairly restricting conservative speech. Since then, Musk has referred to himself as an "advocate for free speech."

ChainCatcher message, according to the SoSoValue macro sector display, on December 18th, at the interest rate meeting, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, bringing the target range for the federal funds rate down to 4.25%-4.50%. For the rate cut pace next year, the Federal Reserve adjusted its expectations from "four rate cuts" to "two" through the latest dot plot. In addition, the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for future core PCE inflation and GDP growth, which is consistent with Powell's remarks, all conveying a more "hawkish" signal than the market expected. Data shows that the market risk sentiment VIX index rose to its highest point since early August (when the Bank of Japan raised interest rates).SoSoValue analysts stated that the FOMC proposed an unexpectedly aggressive rate cut plan, coupled with Powell's "hawkish" remarks, led to a shift in market sentiment towards panic, with U.S. Treasuries even overreacting. The U.S. stock market subsequently corrected, while the dollar strengthened. Overall, all risk assets reacted strongly to the FOMC's latest signals. Based on macro data, we believe that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain unchanged, the dollar remains strong, and consensus-driven assets such as cryptocurrencies continue to be a destination for capital inflows. Each market correction driven by sentiment in the game is a good entry point, and we recommend maintaining risk exposure at this time.

ChainCatcher news, Grayscale announced that it will open the Horizen Trust (HZEN) investment channel to eligible investors. The fund allows investors to gain exposure to ZEN tokens in the form of securities.As of December 16, the trust's market price per share is $6.40, with approximately $8.7 million in assets under management.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi Data, UBS released a research report stating that due to Trump's trade threats against BRICS countries, the dollar index has surpassed 106, but the current valuation appears to be overly high. Although the outlook for the dollar still seems bright, UBS analysts suggest that investors take advantage of the dollar's strength to reduce their dollar exposure in the short term.Market attention is turning to key economic events this week, including Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's speech on Wednesday and Friday's non-farm payroll data. According to data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the market expects a 75% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in December. NatAlliance Securities' head of international fixed income, Brenner, stated that this data will determine whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month.Regarding the euro, influenced by the French government's facing a vote of no confidence, the euro fell nearly 0.8% against the dollar on Monday, marking the largest single-day decline in nearly a month. The three-month implied volatility of the euro rose to 8.172%, reaching a two-year high. The yield spread between French and German bonds has risen to a 12-year high, reflecting increasing market concerns about political risks in the eurozone.

ChainCatcher news, Piper Sandler & Co. options chief Daniel Kirsch stated: "We continue to see interest in U.S. election trading, which has picked up in recent days. Clients expecting Trump to win the election are increasing their exposure to financial and cryptocurrency stocks, while those betting on Harris are buying options on renewable energy stocks. Hedging has also increased, with traders buying put options on the S&P 500 index and QQQ ETF."Short-term S&P 500 implied volatility has remained elevated relative to the one-month level, as the impacts of the election and Federal Reserve rate hikes have permeated the calculations of short-term indicators. The Cboe VVIX index, which measures VIX volatility, is also at a high level.Penn Mutual Asset Management portfolio manager Zhiwei Ren commented: "Currently, the options skew is significant, with VIX far above actual volatility. These signs indicate that market hedging measures are in place."

ChainCatcher news, the Dutch police recently disclosed a long-term investigation into the "largest and longest-running" international dark web market, which led to the arrest of two operational administrators and the seizure of 8 million euros (8.7 million dollars) in cryptocurrency.The market consists of two major entities, Bohemia and Cannabia, where users can purchase malware, DDoS attack services, and primarily cannabis-related drugs. The police stated that this is the first time such a large-scale dark web market has been discovered, with 82,000 advertisements posted daily and 67,000 transactions facilitated monthly, earning 12 million euros (13.1 million dollars) in September 2023 alone.The investigation began in 2022, and the market collapsed at the end of 2023 due to an "exit scam," with service interruptions and a dispute with a "rogue developer" believed to be the reasons for its collapse.

ChainCatcher news, the Indonesian Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) has collaborated with Binance and Tokocrypto to capture a major fraud operation, identifying multiple suspects and seizing $200,000 in ill-gotten gains.Bareskrim has launched an investigation into a suspected trading fraud case involving a cryptocurrency trading website. The investigation confirmed that the website was part of a pig butchering scam. During the investigation, several individuals involved in managing accounts that received stolen funds were arrested. Authorities discovered approximately 50 mobile phones and several local bank cards, as well as banking applications, on the suspects' mobile phones and tablets. When asked about the cryptocurrency wallets they controlled, the suspects refused to cooperate.Through forensic analysis, Bareskrim investigators identified wallet addresses that may be controlled by the suspects and found supporting evidence in their communication records, particularly on Telegram. Their chat screenshots revealed several key wallet addresses, further linking the suspects to the fraud.Bareskrim has arrested individuals involved in managing the stolen funds.

ChainCatcher news, ByBit's institutional head Chris Aruliah has a different view on the impact of interest rate cuts on the crypto market. Aruliah wrote in an email statement: "The softening economic indicators and the geopolitical complexities leading to a general slowdown in the global economy are weakening investor sentiment. Therefore, while the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the policy rate by 0.5% may provide a short-term boost to the cryptocurrency market, it is crucial to remain vigilant about the potential challenges posed by economic uncertainty and market volatility."BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes pointed out in an interview that he believes an overall rate cut is unnecessary, and a 50 basis point cut would trigger a brief market rebound but ultimately expose deeper issues within the global financial system, leading to further price declines.He stated: "At a high level, I think they shouldn't raise rates. I believe the U.S. economy is quite strong. If you look at the GDP data from the past eight or nine quarters, you'll see it has been consistently growing. If they decide to continue cutting rates, inflation will accelerate into the fourth quarter."

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Southern District Court of New York has denied Samourai Wallet founder Keonne Rodriguez's request to modify his bail conditions. The prosecution submitted Rodriguez's handwritten "escape preparation" notes as evidence, which detailed travel plans and emergency items. Rodriguez's lawyer argued that this was just a general emergency plan, but the prosecution believes it constitutes an active escape plan.ChainCatcher previously reported, according to The Block, that the co-founder of the crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet was arrested. Prosecutors stated that they are accused of laundering $100 million from Silk Road and other illegal markets. On Wednesday, Samourai CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Lonergan Hill were charged with operating Samourai Wallet.

ChainCatcher news, according to Microsoft's official page, a serious security vulnerability has recently been disclosed in the Windows system, identified as CVE-2024-38063. This vulnerability affects all supported versions of Windows, including Windows 11, Windows 10, and several versions of Windows Server. The CVSS3.1 score for the vulnerability is 9.8, categorized as "critical." Attackers can remotely compromise devices and execute arbitrary code through specially crafted IPv6 packets. The vulnerability exists in the TCP/IP network stack of Windows and is a serious remote code execution flaw. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability and execute code remotely by repeatedly sending specially crafted IPv6 packets to Windows devices, without requiring user interaction or authentication. Microsoft strongly recommends that all users update to the latest version of Windows as soon as possible. Microsoft is releasing related patches to fix this vulnerability, and disabling IPv6 can temporarily prevent the exploitation of the vulnerability.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, blockchain security company Match Systems released a report on July 16 stating that the crypto phishing application Angel Drainer has been shut down after the developers may have exposed their identities. The Drainer program allows scammers to trick users into granting token authorization, easily stealing cryptocurrency.Previously, Blockaid reported that phishing scammers used Angel Drainer to steal over $25 million from 35,000 users.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, Paraguayan Senator Salyn Buzarquis has severely criticized the National Electricity Administration of Paraguay (ANDE), claiming that its senior officials accept bribes to allow illegal Bitcoin mining operations to run unchecked. Salyn Buzarquis stated that these unnamed officials receive bribes of up to $500,000 per month and called for ANDE President Felix Sosa to resign or be questioned about the matter.ANDE issued a statement denying these allegations and emphasized that the country's companies have been harmed in their efforts to combat energy theft. The statement claimed: "This agency is characterized by its proactive stance against such punishable behaviors (especially illegal mining operations for cryptocurrency)."

ChainCatcher news, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has approved the proposed regulations regarding banks' disclosure of cryptocurrency risk exposure. The Basel Committee, a subsidiary of the Bank for International Settlements, approved the proposed regulations on banks' disclosure of cryptocurrency asset risk exposure and amendments to the prudent regulation of cryptocurrency assets during a meeting held on the 2nd and 3rd of this month.This will require banks to disclose their risk exposure information related to virtual assets, including trading activities and holdings. The Basel Committee began developing the proposed regulations in December 2022, aiming to establish standards for the risk assessment of virtual assets and provide adequate information. The Basel Committee will release more detailed information about the proposed rules later this month. The finalized rules will take effect starting in 2026.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, data from investment firm River shows that by the end of the first quarter of 2024, 13 of the largest 25 hedge funds in the United States had exposure to Bitcoin ETFs.Among them, Millennium Management holds 27,263 Bitcoins, valued at $1.69 billion, accounting for approximately 2.5% of its total assets under management (valued at $67.7 billion). Other hedge funds with significant Bitcoin holdings include Schonfeld Strategic Advisors (holding 6,734 Bitcoins) and Point72 Asset Management (holding 1,089 Bitcoins).On the other hand, some top hedge funds, such as Bridgewater Associates, AQR Capital Management, and Balyasny Asset Management, have yet to invest in Bitcoin ETFs.