By Shikha Singh
Binance BTC Open Interest Surges by $500 mn Following Positive US Inflation Report.
Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI) on Binance surged to $500 mn following the release of December’s lower-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which showed a decline in core inflation.
This data fueled investor optimism that the Federal Reserve may announce interest rate cuts in 2025, leading to a significant increase in Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI) on Binance, which reached $10.96 bn in just two hours after the news.
The total Bitcoin OI across major exchanges hit $63.19 bn, marking a $3 bn increase in 24 hours.
Upbit Crypto Exchange Receives Suspension Notice In South Korea.
Upbit, a major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has received a suspension notice from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) for alleged violations of Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
The authorities are proposing a six-month suspension for new user registrations, ensuring no impact on existing users. Upbit has until January 20 to submit feedback on the proposed restrictions, with a final decision expected by January 21.
The FIU discovered the violations during a review of the exchange’s business license renewal, identifying 500,000 to 600,000 breaches in client identification. Upbit, founded in 2017, is one of the largest global crypto exchanges, trading $7.5 billion daily.
XRP Hits 7-Year High As Optimism Outweighs SEC Appeal Concerns.
XRP surged to its highest level since January 2018, reaching $3.20 on January 15 before retracing to $3.09 by January 16.
Despite the U.S. SEC filing an appeal against a 2023 ruling that deemed XRP sales to retail investors not as unregistered securities, optimism over emerging crypto regulations drove the rally.
Ripple’s partial legal victories and the growing expectation of clearer regulatory frameworks, especially with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, have fueled investor confidence.
Additionally, the potential approval of the first XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. could serve as another catalyst, potentially attracting billions in new investments.
30% of Ethereum Validators Signal Higher Block Gas Limit, Data Shows.
Over 30% of Ethereum validators are supporting a proposed increase in the Ethereum block gas limit from 30 million to 40 million gas units, according to Ethereum Foundation researchers.
Once more than 50% of validators approve, this change—which doesn’t require a hard fork—would take effect.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also recommended the increase last year. The “Pump the Gas” initiative, led by developers Eric Connor and Mariano Conti, advocates for the change to improve network capacity and scalability.
While the urgency for this increase has decreased due to the implementation of proto-danksharding in the Dencun upgrade, a gas limit increase may still be necessary if Ethereum’s demand for decentralized applications grows.
Trump’s World Liberty Financial Moves $61.4 mn in Ethereum.
President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), recently moved $61.4 million worth of Ethereum in 24 hours, including transfers to several wallets like Coinbase Prime.
WLFI stated that these movements were part of regular treasury management and did not involve the sale of tokens.
The project also swapped $10 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) for Ethereum and used $1.7 million in Tether (USDT) to buy more WBTC.
Despite a decrease in wallet balance from $83 million to $17 million, WLFI is adopting a long-term investment strategy, facing $4.8 million in unrealized losses.
Canary Capital Files Amended S-1 for Litecoin ETF Approval.
Canary Capital has filed an amended S-1 for a Litecoin ETF, signaling that Litecoin could be the next cryptocurrency approved for an ETF in the U.S. following Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bloomberg analysts suggest the SEC is considering the approval, though leadership changes there may influence the decision.
The filing, which includes agreements with Coinbase and BitGo for crypto custody, is awaiting a 19b-4 filing to proceed.
Large investors holding substantial amounts of Litecoin drove a 15% price increase from January 15–16.
The filing comes just ahead of pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration and his SEC appointee, Paul Atkins. If approved, Litecoin’s ETF could be a significant addition to the crypto ETF market.
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