🤖 Human vs. AI Trading; Crypto Policy Gridlock

Good afternoon,

Bitcoin surges to $94K as optimism grows around a potential Fed rate cut tomorrow. Meanwhile, Aster launches human-vs-AI trading battles, regulators clear new crypto transaction models for banks, and U.S. lawmakers continue to face hurdles on comprehensive market-structure reform.

Check out the rest of the news below! 👇

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News Roundup

Artificial Intelligence

• U.S. Clears Nvidia’s H200 Chip Exports to China Under New 25% Fee Framework (Reuters)

• Tether Backs €70M Round for Italian Humanoid Robotics Startup Generative Bionics (The Block)

• ChatGPT Helps Reveal $1M Romance-Driven Crypto Scam in San Jose (Decrypt)

Decentralized, Centralized, & Traditional Finance

• Top Bank CEOs to Brief Senators as Crypto Market Bill Nears Committee Vote (Bloomberg)

• Saylor Urges Nations to Build Bitcoin-Backed Digital Banking Systems (Cointelegraph)

• Circle Gains ADGM License and Hires Ex-Visa Leader to Drive MENA Expansion (Decrypt)

• Fitch Warns U.S. Banks That Heavy Crypto Exposure Could Trigger Rating Downgrades (Cointelegraph)

• Malaysia’s Crown Prince Unveils Ringgit Stablecoin and $121M Zetrix Treasury (Cointelegraph)

• Inveniam Acquires Swarm Markets to Accelerate Tokenization of Massive Private-Asset Sector (DL News)

• Plume Secures ADGM Commercial License, Advancing Middle East RWA Push (CoinDesk)

• Coinbase and PNC Launch Integrated Bitcoin Trading for Private Bank Clients (Coinbase)

• Circle to Launch “Banking-Level Privacy” Stablecoin USDCx on Aleo (Fortune)

• A16z-Backed Daylight Launches DayFi to Turn Electricity Into On-Chain Yield (CoinDesk)

• JPMorgan to Lead HashKey’s $215M Hong Kong IPO Push (DL News)

• Bitwise Flagship Crypto Index Fund Uplisted to NYSE Arca (The Block)

• Swapper Finance Debuts Mastercard-Powered Direct Deposits Into DeFi (The Defiant)

Exchanges

• Coinbase Adds Theoriq (THQ) to Its Upcoming Listings Pipeline (Coinbase)

• HashKey Seeks Up to $215M in First Hong Kong IPO (The Block)

• OKX Says Midnight (NIGHT) Airdrop Rules Come From Project Team, Not Exchange (Wu Blockchain)

• Yi He Outlines Binance’s Culture and Compliance Priorities as New Co-CEO (Wu Blockchain)

• Aster Launches Human-vs-AI Trading Battles (Aster)

• Coinbase Sets December 10 Launch for Hyperlane (HYPER) Spot Trading (Coinbase)

Exchange-Traded Funds

• U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs logged $60.48 million in net outflows on Dec. 8.

• On Dec. 8, U.S. Ethereum, Solana, and XRP spot ETFs saw $35.49 million, $1.18 million, and $38.04 million in net inflows, respectively.

Infrastructure

• Ripple Exec Says XRP Must Match Solana’s Speed and GTM Execution (Cointelegraph)

• Buterin Says Ethereum Is Finally Closing Its P2P Networking Gap (Vitalik Buterin)

• Solana Validator Count Drops 68%, Raising Questions About Decentralization (Cryptonoticias)

• Legacy Privacy Chain Horizen Reboots as Layer 3 on Base (The Block)

• VeChain Debuts ‘Hayabusa’ Upgrade With New Consensus and Tokenomics (Decrypt)

• BMIC Positions Itself as a Post-Quantum DeFi Infrastructure Leader (The Defiant)

• Canton Network Adds RedStone as Core Oracle for $6T Tokenized RWA Ecosystem (CoinDesk)

• Tempo, Stripe & Paradigm’s Payments Blockchain, Launches Public Testnet (The Block)

Markets

• Crypto Market Shows Modest Rebound, but Bitcoin and Ethereum Face Bearish “Death Cross” Signals (Decrypt)

• Bitcoin Nears ETF Break-Even Level as Pullback Deepens and Fed Decision Looms (Decrypt)

• Paradigm’s Matt Huang Flags Possible Polymarket Data Error (Matt Huang)

• Arkham Maps Zcash Activity to Institutions and Individuals (Arkham)

• Analysts Say Fed Cut Is Priced In as Bitcoin Holds $90K (DL News)

• Short Squeeze Hits Crypto as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Rally Ahead of Fed (Decrypt)

• Bitcoin Jumps to $94K Ahead of Expected Fed Rate Cut (CoinDesk)

Mining

• Luxor Expands Into GPUs to Help Bitcoin Miners Pivot Toward AI (The Block)

Politics & Regulation

• CFTC Unveils Pilot Allowing BTC, ETH, and USDC in U.S. Derivatives Markets (CFTC)

• Senators Struggle to Advance Crypto Market Structure Bill (The Block)

• OCC Chief Says Crypto Firms Deserve Equal Path to Bank Charters (Cointelegraph)

• Hong Kong Opens Consultation to Add Crypto to Global Tax-Reporting Rules (HK Government)

• EU Targets 2027 Rollout for Sweeping Capital Markets Integration Reforms (Bloomberg)

• ASIC Expands Relief Framework for Stablecoin and Wrapped-Token Intermediaries (Decrypt)

• CryptoUK Merges With The Digital Chamber Amid US–UK Rulemaking Push (The Block)

• UK Parties Seek Probe Into Reform UK’s Crypto-Linked Donations (Decrypt)

• OCC Approves Banks’ Use of “Riskless Principal” Crypto Transactions (OCC)

• MTG Says GENIUS Act Enables “CBDC Loophole,” but Attorneys Disagree (Decrypt)

• Senate Pushes Toward Major Crypto Bill as Gillibrand Says ‘Nothing Is Holding Up This Bill’ (The Block)

Token Generation Events

• Octra to Hold $20M Public Token Sale on Sonar at $200M Valuation (The Block)

Treasuries

• Hyperliquid Strategies Launches $30M Buyback as Newly Merged DAT Enters Market (The Block)

• Bitmine Buys $435M in ETH as Tom Lee Declares the Crypto ‘Supercycle’ Intact (DL News)

Other News

• 22-Year-Old Pleads Guilty in $263M Crypto Social Engineering Ring (The Block)

• Securitize Hires Former PayPal Crypto Legal Chief Ahead of SPAC Listing (The Block)

• $440K Permit Hack Highlights Growing Ethereum Phishing Threat (Decrypt)

• Farcaster and EigenCloud Confront Missed Goals, Pivot Toward Trading and AI (DL News)

Check This Out!

Global Bitcoin treasuries now hold over 4 million BTC, signaling accelerating institutional adoption.

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