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The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, stated on the X platform that he outlined the SEC's three priorities for 2026 during his testimony before Congress: focusing on fraud enforcement and investor protection, reforming information disclosure rules, and providing a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.Atkins mentioned that the SEC will uphold investor rights through targeted enforcement and cross-border enforcement working groups, while emphasizing the need to modernize, rationalize, and streamline the reporting system to make it meaningful and easy to understand for investors.In the field of digital assets, Atkins acknowledged that establishing a clear regulatory framework for crypto assets has been "long overdue," and stated that as Congress advances related legislation, the SEC will collaborate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through "Project Crypto" to clarify regulatory obligations for investors and innovators. Previously, the SEC chairman was questioned about the "relaxation of cryptocurrency regulation."

According to Lookonchain monitoring, there are three main liquidation entities in Ethereum.Trend Research, owned by Jack Yi, holds 356,150 ETH (worth approximately $671 million), with a liquidation price range of $1,562 to $1,698;Joseph Lubin and two unknown whale addresses hold 293,302 ETH (worth approximately $553 million), with a liquidation price range of $1,329 to $1,368;7 Siblings holds 286,733 ETH (worth approximately $541 million), with liquidation prices of $1,075 and $1,029.

The new chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mike Selig, stated that he supports legitimate innovation in prediction markets, and it is time to establish clear rules.Earlier reports indicated that the CFTC officially withdrew the proposal to ban prediction contracts for political events made during the Biden administration.

Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) has announced an upgrade to its multi-currency real-time clearing network SGB Net, adding stablecoin settlement capabilities. Institutional clients will be able to trade, mint, convert, hold, and transfer stablecoins, including Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT, within a single regulatory infrastructure, with these stablecoins operating on blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana.SGB CEO Shawn Chan stated: "Stablecoins have become the working capital of the digital asset economy, but managing them remains overly complex." This upgrade positions SGB as the default bank for managing fiat and multiple stablecoins within a single regulatory infrastructure. The bank currently processes approximately $2 billion in fiat transaction volume each month.The service includes compliance checks such as KYC, KYB, and AML, with digital asset custody and trading security provided in partnership with Fireblocks. According to DefiLlama data, the current total market size for stablecoins is approximately $304.9 billion. The network is expected to be open to clients in the first quarter of 2026. Singapore Gulf Bank is supported by Whampoa Group and Mumtalakat and is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

In response to the decline in the cryptocurrency market, DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert stated, "This is a blessing from the cryptocurrency gods. Clearing out leverage and junk tokens. A massive rotation of funds is about to begin, and it's time to choose your investment targets. My choices are BTC, ETH, SOL, ZEC, TAO, Bittensor subnet tokens."

Binance co-CEO He Yi responded on social media to comments from OKX CEO and Wintermute founder regarding the crypto flash crash on October 11: "The whales trading on Binance are more aware of what happened when the tide recedes and have more authority on the facts. PS: I found out this morning that it wasn't a sunny day, it must be because of Binance."Previously, OKX CEO Star stated: "The crypto flash crash on October 11 was caused by Binance's irresponsible USDe financial activities." Wintermute founder remarked: "The crypto flash crash on October 11 was clearly not a 'software failure'; it is unreasonable to place all the blame on one exchange."

According to the Hong Kong Government News Bulletin, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Securities and Futures Commission are formulating the regulatory details for virtual asset trading and custody services. The goal is to submit a bill to the Legislative Council this year regarding the regulation of four types of service providers related to virtual assets, including opinions on virtual assets and virtual asset management services. In addition, the Hong Kong "Stablecoin Ordinance" officially came into effect in August 2025, and the Monetary Authority is currently processing related license applications.In establishing an international gold trading market, Hong Kong has set a target to expand gold storage by over 2,000 tons within three years to build a regional gold reserve hub. The Hong Kong Central Clearing System, wholly owned by the government, has been established, and the target clearing system is set to commence trial operations within this year. Furthermore, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau is studying the optimization of tax relief measures related to the treasury center and exploring the possibility of shortening the stock settlement cycle from the current T+2 to T+1.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that the outlook for economic activity has clearly improved.

According to Jin Shi reports, "Fed's mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos stated that Federal Reserve officials expect to keep interest rates unchanged for the first time, following three consecutive rate cuts since last September.The conditions for the Fed to initiate rate cuts again depend on a collapse in the labor market or inflation significantly retreating to the target level of 2%. Despite facing political pressure, most officials believe that rate cuts may still be possible later this year, but there is disagreement on when the data will support such cuts.

The regulation of cryptocurrency assets in the United States is accelerating further. If the proposed Crypto Market Structure Bill is ultimately passed, it will clarify the regulatory authority of federal agencies over digital assets, making cryptocurrencies easier to manage, track, and trade, potentially attracting more investors and enhancing token value.It is reported that crypto platforms like Coinbase and Kraken plan to comply with a registration system, while stablecoin issuers such as Circle and Tether will need to meet bank-like regulatory requirements to ensure the safety of retail investors' assets. The subsequent process includes: obtaining approval from two Senate committees, passing a full Senate vote, returning to the House for final signing, and finally being signed by Trump. Overall, most crypto investors are unlikely to be affected in the short term, but in the long run, the bill is expected to provide a safer and more predictable trading environment, while making compliance operations of crypto platforms more transparent.

According to the validator queue tracking website validatorqueue, the current number of ETH waiting to join the Ethereum PoS network has risen to 2,818,506, worth approximately $8.49 billion, with an expected activation delay of about 48 days and 22 hours.The main reason is that BitMine has recently staked a large amount of ETH it holds. The Ethereum PoS network's staking exit queue has been cleared, and currently, there are no users choosing to redeem ETH from staking.

Vitalik.eth posted on the X platform that the simplicity of protocols is an important aspect of trustlessness, through exit testing, and autonomy. Even if the degree of decentralization is very high, if a protocol becomes bloated due to hundreds of thousands of lines of code or complex cryptography, it will ultimately fail.Vitalik Buterin's concern about the development of the Ethereum protocol is that over-adding new features to meet specific needs can undermine long-term autonomy. To address the issue of protocol bloat over time due to backward compatibility, the Ethereum development process needs clear simplification and garbage collection mechanisms. Simplification standards include minimizing the number of lines of code, avoiding unnecessary dependencies on complex technical components, and adding more invariants. Garbage collection can be done in a piecemeal or large-scale manner, such as replacing PoW with PoS, or downgrading low-frequency complex functions to smart contract code through Rosetta-style backward compatibility. Vitalik Buterin hopes that the pace of Ethereum's transformation can slow down in the long run and strives to prevent unnecessary parts from becoming a permanent burden on the protocol.

According to the validator queue tracking website validatorqueue, the current number of ETH waiting to join the Ethereum PoS network has risen to 2,596,246, worth approximately $8.61 billion, with an expected activation delay of about 45 days and 2 hours. The main reason is that BitMine has recently staked a large amount of ETH it holds. The Ethereum PoS network's staking exit queue has been cleared, and currently, there are no users choosing to redeem ETH from staking.

Crypto Quant analyst Axel posted that the Bitcoin price (currently $95,500) is approaching the average purchase cost of short-term holders ($99,460), with the price difference narrowing to just 4%. Axel explained that the current situation falls within a decision-making range, rather than a market retreat.Historically, areas near cost benchmarks are often accompanied by increased volatility and become market reaction zones, which may either continue the trend or trigger a reversal, meaning either a return to a premium state or facing a new wave of selling pressure. If the price stabilizes above $100,000 and short-term holders turn from losses to profits, it will shift back to a bullish outlook. If the discount rate returns to double digits (below -10%), corresponding to a price drop below approximately $89,500, it will significantly intensify the pressure on loss-holding positions.

According to Aastocks, during a speech at an event, Hong Kong's Deputy Financial Secretary, Huang Weilun, discussed digital assets and cryptocurrencies. He stated that Hong Kong will further promote the development of stablecoins in the future, but emphasized "first seek stability, then seek progress," to prevent illegal capital inflows and ensure a robust financial system.In addition, Huang Weilun also pointed out that Hong Kong is actively expanding its gold storage capacity, aiming to increase the total capacity to 2,000 tons over the next three years. Currently, a central gold clearing system is being established, and the Shanghai Gold Exchange has been invited to participate, with the goal of becoming operational within this year.

According to Jinshi News, U.S. stocks opened with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.18%, the S&P 500 up 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.07%. Oklo (OKLO.N) rose 16%, and Vistra Energy (VST.N) rose 15%. Meta Platforms (META.O) announced a nuclear power supply agreement with Vistra, Oklo, and TerraPower. In addition, shares of some mortgage institutions strengthened after Trump ordered them to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds.

According to the validator queue tracking website validatorqueue, the number of ETH waiting to join the network has risen to 1,775,026, worth approximately $5.52 billion, with an expected activation delay of about 30 days and 20 hours.The main reason is that BitMine has recently staked a large amount of ETH it holds. The Ethereum PoS network's staking exit queue has been cleared, and currently, there are no users choosing to redeem ETH from staking.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis posted, "Why is the U.S. government still selling Bitcoin when Trump has clearly indicated that these assets should be retained to build America's strategic Bitcoin reserve? While other countries are continuously accumulating Bitcoin, we are squandering these strategic assets, which we cannot afford. I am deeply concerned about this report."Previously reported, the U.S. Department of Justice instructed the Marshals Service to sell 57.55 Bitcoins, worth approximately $6.367 million, that were paid as part of a plea agreement by the developer of Samourai Wallet through Coinbase Prime, potentially violating Executive Order 14233 signed by President Trump. This order requires that Bitcoins obtained through criminal forfeiture be included in the "national strategic Bitcoin reserve" and not be sold. Currently, the balance of that Bitcoin address is zero, indicating that the related assets may have been liquidated.