Morning News | DAWN completes $13 million Series B funding; Coinbase launches customized stablecoin service; SoFi Technologies launches fully backed dollar stablecoin SoFiUSD
Overview of Important Market Events on December 18整理：ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Bloomberg Analyst: A large number of crypto ETPs are expected to be liquidated by the end of 2027
- Ethereum is expected to raise the gas limit to 80 million in January
- Bitcoin Lightning Network capacity hits an all-time high
- Coinbase launches customized stablecoin service, accessible via Coinbase's global distribution network
- DePIN project DAWN completes $13 million Series B funding, led by Polychain
- Market news: Trump Media Technology Group (DJT.O) to merge with TAE TECHNOLOGIES in an all-stock transaction
- NASDAQ-listed SoFi Technologies launches fully-backed USD stablecoin SoFiUSD
What important events happened in the past 24 hours?
NASDAQ-listed SoFi Technologies launches fully-backed USD stablecoin SoFiUSD
According to ChainCatcher, SoFi Technologies, a digital fintech company listed on NASDAQ, announced the launch of its fully-backed USD stablecoin SoFiUSD, issued by the OCC-regulated SoFi Bank, N.A., fully backed at a 1:1 cash ratio and redeemable immediately.
Reports indicate that SoFi's stablecoin infrastructure will enable banks, fintech companies, and corporate partners to leverage SoFi's regulatory, operational, and reserve framework to issue white-label stablecoins or integrate SoFiUSD into their settlement processes.
xStocks to launch US stock tokenization trading on TON chain and integrate Telegram wallet
According to ChainCatcher, xStocks, a tokenized stock platform under Kraken, announced it will launch US tokenized stocks on the TON chain and integrate Telegram's non-custodial wallet, Wallet.
Once launched, users will be able to buy, hold, and transfer tokenized versions of blue-chip stocks, including Tesla and Nvidia, within the TON ecosystem. xStocks will also be directly integrated into the TON wallet, allowing users to access stocks and ETFs.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that millions of users will be able to access US stocks on-chain within Telegram as easily as sending messages. As financial assets migrate to open networks, they will become neutral, composable building blocks that anyone can use.
According to ChainCatcher, market news reported by Jin10 Data states that Trump Media Technology Group (DJT.O) will merge with TAE TECHNOLOGIES in an all-stock transaction, expected to be completed by mid-2026. The merged company is expected to select a site and begin construction of its first utility-scale nuclear fusion power plant in 2026.
According to ChainCatcher, CZ Zhao Changpeng stated in a Space that he has spent a lot of time recently consulting for various governments and has had serious communications and dialogues with about a dozen countries, covering official, public, and private formats.
The discussions mainly focused on how to formulate a regulatory framework for the crypto industry and how to introduce the crypto industry and related innovations into national development.
Taiwan currently has 210.45 bitcoins seized by the judiciary
According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin Magazine reported that Taiwan is conducting a comprehensive inventory of bitcoin assets seized by judicial authorities. Data shows that as of now, the Ministry of Justice in Taiwan holds approximately 210.45 bitcoins as confiscated assets pending further disposal or strategic reserve assessment.
Last month, it was reported that Taiwan plans to review the bitcoin holdings of authorities by the end of the year and assess BTC reserves.
DePIN project DAWN completes $13 million Series B funding, led by Polychain
According to ChainCatcher, the decentralized autonomous wireless network project DAWN announced the completion of $13 million in Series B funding, led by Polychain.
The new funds will be used to accelerate global expansion, new deployments, and ecosystem collaborations, as DAWN continues to focus on expanding decentralized broadband globally.
According to ChainCatcher, the Solana-based DePIN project Fuse Energy announced the completion of $70 million in Series B funding. This round was led by Lowercarbon and Balderton, with the company valued at $5 billion.
According to ChainCatcher, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams revealed that he has submitted the Unification proposal for final governance voting. The voting will start at 10:30 PM EST and end on December 25.
If the proposal passes, the following measures will be executed after a 2-day time lock: burn 100 million UNI tokens; activate the fee switch for v2 and v3 versions on the mainnet, starting the burn of UNI tokens, including Unichain fees; Uniswap Labs will align with Uniswap governance through a contract agreement that is legally binding under Wyoming DUNA law.
Trump: The new Federal Reserve Chair will advocate for significant interest rate cuts
According to ChainCatcher, US President Trump stated that he will soon announce the next Federal Reserve Chair, who will advocate for significant interest rate cuts.
According to ChainCatcher, Coinbase announced on Wednesday that it has launched a customized stablecoin service, allowing users to create branded stablecoins for their businesses, hosted by Coinbase and backed by 1:1 collateralized assets. Advantages include:
Earnings based on usage and trading activity;
Seamless cross-chain interoperability;
Access to Coinbase's global distribution network.
According to ChainCatcher, billionaire and Bridgewater founder Dalio announced yesterday plans to match a $250 donation for children in Connecticut. Previously, the Dell couple had donated $250 each to children under 10 through the "Trump Accounts" initiative.
In response, Musk stated that while this is certainly a kind gesture from the Dells, there will be no poverty in the future, so there is no need to save money. Musk has previously advocated for universal high income, believing that AI and robotics will allow humans to no longer need to work in the future.
Trump Accounts is a new type of children's investment account introduced by President Donald Trump in the "Working Families Tax Cuts" act signed in 2025, aimed at providing long-term savings and investment opportunities for American children to help them accumulate wealth.
Ark Invest increases holdings in BitMine, Coinbase, and Bullish stocks
According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that Cathie Wood's Ark Invest purchased $10.56 million worth of BitMine stock, $5.9 million worth of Coinbase stock, and $8.85 million worth of Bullish stock through three of its ETFs on Wednesday. The company is increasing its holdings while these cryptocurrency stocks are significantly discounted.
BitMine (BMNR) saw its stock price drop 6.59% on Wednesday, closing at $29.32, down about 24% from five days ago. Coinbase's stock price fell 3.33% to $244.19 on Wednesday, down a cumulative 8.78% over the past five days. Bullish's stock price dropped 1.89% to $42.15, down a cumulative 6.41% over five days.
Bank of Japan expected to raise interest rates to the highest level in thirty years
According to ChainCatcher, the market widely expects that the Bank of Japan will raise the overnight lending rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% at the policy meeting ending this Friday, marking the first rate hike since January this year, with the benchmark rate also reaching its highest level since 1995. Under the leadership of Governor Kazuo Ueda, the policy committee is expected to unanimously approve this rate hike decision. In the previous two meetings, some committee members had already expressed support for a rate hike. Recent data shows that wage growth in Japan remains robust, and the impact of US tariffs has been less than expected, further strengthening market confidence in a rate hike.
Market participants point out that investors are currently focused on the Bank of Japan's statements regarding future interest rate paths. Insiders reveal that even if the rate rises to 0.75%, the central bank still believes it has not reached the "neutral rate," with some officials even considering 1% to be low.
Analysts believe that if the central bank releases a more hawkish signal, it could help stabilize the yen, but it may also push up bond yields, putting pressure on the Japanese government, which is preparing the budget for the next fiscal year. Overnight index swaps (OIS) indicate that traders expect about a 95% probability of a rate hike at this meeting, nearly doubling since the beginning of last month.
The policy statement is expected to be released around noon local time, and Ueda will hold a press conference at 15:30.
Bitcoin Lightning Network capacity hits an all-time high
According to ChainCatcher, Cointelegraph reported that with widespread adoption by major crypto exchanges and continuous optimization of its functions, the capacity of the Bitcoin Layer 2 network—the Lightning Network—has reached an all-time high.
Data from Bitcoin Visuals shows that the Lightning Network capacity has reached 5,606 bitcoins, breaking the record set in March 2023. The analysis platform Amboss also reported that the Lightning Network capacity peaked at 5,637 bitcoins, worth approximately $490 million. Data indicates that after a year of declining capacity, the Lightning Network saw a surge in capacity in November and December, as more bitcoins were added to the network, resulting in faster transactions and lower costs.
Currently, the number of Lightning Network nodes is 14,940, down from a peak of 20,700 in March 2022; while the number of channels between nodes is 48,678, also below the peak in 2022. Data shows that the number of bitcoins added to the Lightning Network is increasing, but the usage measured by the number of nodes and channels may not correspondingly grow.
Bloomberg Analyst: A large number of crypto ETPs are expected to be liquidated by the end of 2027
According to ChainCatcher, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated on social media that he agrees with the crypto asset management company Bitwise's prediction that over 100 crypto ETFs will be launched in 2026, but also pointed out that many of these products will struggle to sustain themselves.
"We will see a large number of crypto ETP products liquidated. This could happen by the end of 2026, but more likely before the end of 2027. Currently, there are over 126 ETP applications awaiting results from the SEC. Issuers are flooding the market."
Ethereum is expected to raise the gas limit to 80 million in January
According to ChainCatcher, Cointelegraph reported that Ethereum core developers revealed plans to raise the network gas limit from 60 million to 80 million after the BPO hard fork on January 7, further increasing transaction throughput and reducing fees.
Galaxy Digital's VP of Research, Kim, stated that Nethermind representatives believe developers are ready to push this increase forward. However, Ethereum Foundation engineer Busa pointed out that two client optimizations need to be completed first: blob response for the execution layer and the maximum blob flag for the consensus layer.
Raising the gas limit can increase the number of transactions and smart contract operations processed per block. While it may not match the speed of L1s like Solana, it can enhance Ethereum's attractiveness as a secure settlement layer while maintaining its decentralized advantages.
This year, Ethereum has raised the gas limit three times, with the developer community aiming to reach 180 million by the end of 2026.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of December 19, 09:00,
The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, xAI
The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: TRUMP, PENGU, MELANIA, FO, ME
The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: PEPE, MINKY, BASED, NATO, SKYA
What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?
Coinbase: Goodbye to buying houses and trading stocks, cryptocurrency is the main battlefield for young people's wealth
For decades, the path to wealth accumulation for Americans has remained largely unchanged: find a good job, buy property, invest in stocks, and then wait for time to bring compound returns. However, our latest "Cryptocurrency Industry Report" shows that the younger generation of investors no longer believes in this traditional path and is adjusting their investment behavior.
To understand the market response strategies of different generational groups and the role of cryptocurrency in their portfolios, Coinbase collaborated with Ipsos to conduct a special survey, interviewing 4,350 American adults, including 2,005 investors with investment accounts. The core conclusions of the survey are as follows: Generation Z and millennial investors are more inclined than any previous generation to actively manage investments, more willing to embrace non-traditional assets, and more likely to view cryptocurrency as a core component of their personal financial future.
Why are acquisitions of crypto projects happening now without tokens?
Early yesterday morning, the Interop Labs team (initial developers of Axelar Network) announced its acquisition by Circle to accelerate the development of its multi-chain infrastructure Arc and CCTP.
Logically, being acquired is a good thing. However, the further detailed explanation by the Interop Labs team in the same tweet caused a stir. They stated that the Axelar network, foundation, and AXL token will continue to operate independently, with development work being taken over by CommonPrefix.
On the eve of the dollar's devaluation, Bitcoin is waiting for the final trigger
Last week, the Federal Reserve lowered the target range for interest rates to 3.50%–3.75%—a move that has been fully digested by the market and was largely expected.
What truly surprised the market was the Fed's announcement to purchase $40 billion in short-term Treasury bills (T-bills) each month, which some quickly labeled as "lightweight quantitative easing (QE-lite)."
In today's report, we will delve into what this policy change has altered and what it has not. Additionally, we will explain why this distinction is crucial for risk assets.
Let's get started. Is VC "dead"? No, the brutal reshuffling of Web3 has just begun
As a former VC investor, how do you view the current rhetoric on CT that "VC is dead"? Regarding the paid issue, I will answer seriously; I actually have quite a few thoughts on this rhetoric. Let me start with the conclusion:
It is an undeniable fact that some VCs are dead.
Overall, VCs will not die; they will continue to exist and push the industry forward.
VCs, like projects and talent, are entering a phase of "clearing out" and "survival of the fittest," somewhat similar to the internet bubble in 2000. This is the "debt" of the last bull market, and after a few years of repayment, we will enter a new phase of healthy growth, but the threshold will be much higher than before.
Risk warning
Risk warning
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