Circle minted 250 million USDC on the Solana network 6 hours ago

December 29 As Trump launches his “2.0 era,” the Federal Reserve faces unprecedented political pressure. Trump has publicly clashed with Fed Chair Jerome Powell (rarely in public settings, per reports) and repeatedly criticized the central bank’s monetary policy. He has also been reported to seek undermining Powell’s influence via a “shadow chairman” arrangement, raising market concerns about the Fed’s independence. Reports note Trump has accused Powell of “politically motivated rate cuts” and targeted other Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members—including efforts to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The case is set for trial in January 2025, marking a major test of the line between the White House and independent federal agencies. Against this backdrop, a pattern of “selective silence” has emerged among Fed officials and staff, who stress policy is rooted solely in economic data to avoid further political friction. While analysts say the Fed’s institutional independence and m

December 29 – Per Ai Yi analytics, Trend Research (an affiliate of Easy Life) withdrew $19.77 million worth of ETH from Binance 10 minutes ago and subsequently deposited it into Aave as collateral. Over the past 7 hours, the entity has accumulated 27,598 ETH (valued at $83.05 million), pushing its on-chain holdings to 607,598 ETH. Total holdings now stand at $1.77 billion, with an average cost of $3,111.07 and a total unrealized loss of $117 million.

On December 29, analytics firm The Data Nerd reported that 1 hour prior, the address linked to MetaAlpha — a suspected institutional investment platform — transferred 3,500 ETH (roughly $10.39 million) to Binance. Over the past three months, the same address has sent a cumulative 20,050 ETH (approximately $66.66 million) to the exchange.

On December 29, Abbas Owainati of Charles Stanley noted in a report that the U.S. dollar will continue facing challenges in 2026 following a significant devaluation this year. This year’s dollar decline reflects market concerns including long-term fiscal sustainability, policy uncertainty eroding its safe-haven status, increased currency hedging by non-U.S. investors, and shifts in capital flows, among other factors. Owainati added that the dollar may stay under pressure next year as the Federal Reserve is expected to further cut interest rates. A weaker dollar could support emerging market stocks by easing external debt burdens, improving capital flows, and boosting local currency returns, he noted. (Source: FXStreet)

On December 29th, Bitcoin dropped below $87,000, posting a 0.96% decline over the past 24 hours, per HTX market data.

December 29, WeFi co-founder and CEO Maksym Sakharov said the crypto industry’s core story is shifting from price swings and trading volume to corporate balance sheets and financial infrastructure. True adoption doesn’t come from retail investors—it happens when CFOs and risk management teams start greenlighting stablecoin settlements and asset tokenization. Sakharov noted the key changes over the past 12–18 months: mature compliant custody, clearer accounting and regulatory frameworks. Stablecoin rules (like the GENIUS Act and MiCA), the SEC’s shift to “participatory regulation,” and the Basel Committee reworking capital requirements for banks holding digital assets have given businesses their first path to “on-chain compliance.” On the application side, tokenized government bonds and money market funds have hit a key milestone. JPMorgan Chase now settles trades on Solana, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon are jointly pushing tokenized funds, and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund is already up