Regulatory Trends

1. Serbia has introduced regulations for digital assets

The Serbian government officially implemented a new legal framework for digital assets on December 29. The bill was proposed in October, passed by the legislative body in late November, and will be fully enforced six months later. According to the new regulations, digital asset service providers must obtain permission from regulatory authorities before conducting business. This initiative marks an important step for Serbia in the field of digital assets.

2. Beijing launches the construction of a digital currency pilot zone

The recent plenary meeting of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized that next year it will focus on advancing several tasks, including the construction of a global digital economy benchmark city. The meeting proposed to increase investment in new infrastructure, implement the "Ten-Hundred-Thousand" project for digital economy application scenarios, build a blockchain service platform, and launch a trial area for legal digital currency and the construction of a digital financial system. In addition, Beijing will actively expand digital trade, accelerate the construction of an international information industry and digital trade port, an international big data trading center, and a digital trade pilot zone.

3. Colombia allows companies to purchase Bitcoin.

The Colombian company regulatory authority Superintendencia de Sociedades recently issued an official notice allowing companies in the country to use their own funds to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, provided they comply with existing business regulations. This decision marks a significant shift in the regulator's stance, as the agency warned companies about the risks of cryptocurrency investments back in early 2018, deeming tokens too volatile. However, the new statement still emphasizes that cryptocurrencies "are not money or legal tender" and cannot "be used as a means of payment."

Industry News

1. Bitcoin breaks through the $30,000 barrier

On January 2, 2021, Bitcoin first broke through the $30,000 mark, taking only 17 days to surpass the $20,000 threshold. Data shows that a major trading platform experienced a large outflow of over 35,000 Bitcoins (worth over $1 billion), and analysts speculate that this may be due to institutional investors buying in large quantities for fear of missing out. Currently, Bitcoin's market capitalization has exceeded $630 billion, rising to the 8th position in the ranking of well-known companies, surpassing Alibaba. It is worth noting that since the beginning of 2020, Bitcoin reserves on various exchanges have continued to decline, from 2.88 million to 2.35 million, a decrease of 18.22%.

2. Cover Protocol launched a compensation plan after being attacked by hackers.

On December 28, Cover Protocol suffered a hacker attack, resulting in approximately 10,000 COVER tokens being illegally issued. Subsequently, a white hat hacker also issued a large number of tokens and returned the exchange proceeds to Cover officials. On December 30, Cover Protocol updated its compensation plan to include users providing liquidity for the COVER-ETH pool on a certain DEX, as well as users holding YETI and YPIE tokens in the eligibility list for acquiring new COVER tokens. Additionally, users previously eligible for the new COVER tokens include liquidity providers for the COVER-ETH pool on certain DEXs, as well as all COVER token holders and un-migrated SAFE2 and SAFE holders.

3. MicroStrategy CEO holds a large amount of Bitcoin

MicroStrategy founder and CEO Michael Saylor revealed in a podcast interview that he purchased 88,000 bitcoins through the company or entities it controls. At the current price of about $29,000, these bitcoins are worth over $2.5 billion. Saylor suggested adopting a long-term holding strategy, believing that bitcoin is continuously reaching new highs and predicting that future volatility may not be as severe as in the past decade. Notably, MicroStrategy recently launched a "Bitcoin Strategy" webpage that showcases comparative data between bitcoin and major fiat currencies, indices, precious metals, stocks, and bonds.

4. Shenzhen issues digital RMB red envelopes again

On January 1, 2021, Shenzhen launched a new round of digital renminbi red envelope pilot activities. This event is named "New Year Shopping, Gifts from Futian," funded by the Futian District of Shenzhen with 20 million yuan, open to all individuals in Shenzhen for a lottery draw. Each winning red envelope is worth 200 yuan, and the recipients can spend it at designated pilot merchants. This is another large-scale test following the "Li Xiang Luohu Digital Renminbi Red Envelope" pilot. The lottery registration channel opened at 0:00 on January 1, marking further promotion of digital renminbi in practical application scenarios.