Here are some of the major developments from the world of crypto over the past few days
Solana’s Jupiter Exchange has become a focal point in the crypto space, boasting of trading volumes exceeding $480 million in the last 24 hours. This surge is being attributed to a heightened frenzy surrounding the swapping of Stablecoins and the emergence of a new meme coin named Wen.
This unique token has been designed as an experiment by Jupiter developers and can be claimed by Solana users who have interacted with Jupiter in the past six months, or, own Solana’s Saga phone. The excitement surrounding Wen is further heightened by the impending airdrop of Jupiter’s native token, JUP, scheduled for launch on January 31, 2024.
Impressively, Jupiter has outperformed Ethereum’s Uniswap, surpassing the combined trading volumes of both Ethereum’s V2 and V3 protocols by $10 million, totalling $470 million, according to data from CoinGecko.
Also, while the meme coin fervour does play a role, the bulk of Jupiter’s recent trading activity involves the exchange of Solana (SOL) for Stablecoins, such as Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).
This Stablecoin trading constitutes a substantial portion, amounting to $191 million of Jupiter’s total daily volume. With pre-market JUP tokens currently trading at $0.61, the estimated value of the impending one billion token JUP airdrop could potentially surpass $600 million at current prices. The overall market excitement extends beyond Jupiter, as evidenced by a wave of recently-announced airdrops in the broader crypto ecosystem, including notable projects like AltLayer and Dymension.
In response to ongoing stock market turbulence, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has taken measures to curb short-selling activities by announcing the suspension of lending of restricted shares starting January 29, 2024.
Restricted shares, subject to specific sale and transfer limitations and often tied to corporate governance policies or employee compensation plans, are sometimes lent for derivative contracts, including short-selling.
CSRC now aims to enhance fairness and reasonableness in the market and reduce the efficiency of securities lending, while also mitigating institutional advantages in using information and tools. This move is intended to provide all types of investors with additional time to process market information and contribute to a more equitable market order.
China has been actively considering measures to restrict capital outflows, as evident in recent actions, such as the largest brokerage ceasing stock lending to retail investors and increasing margin requirements for institutional investors.
These decisions also align with broader regulatory efforts, including new rules for hedge funds and increased supervision of arbitrage activities disclosed by the local commission in October 2023. Amid
market challenges, including a decline in the CSI 300 Index benchmark and reduced confidence from foreign investors, China continues to invest significantly in pilot projects for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan. These projects include integrations with foreign banks and the use of digital yuan for settling commodities transactions on Shanghai exchanges.
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has initiated a request for comments (RFC) to gain insights into how regulated entities are employing artificial intelligence (AI) in their compliance efforts and various applications within the derivatives markets.
The CFTC is particularly interested in understanding both the current and potential applications as well as the associated risks of AI. The feedback received from the RFC could potentially shape future CFTC guidance, interpretations, policy statements, or regulations.
The agency is seeking input on a range of areas, including AI applications in trading, risk management, compliance, cybersecurity, recordkeeping, data processing, analytics, and customer interactions. Notably, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam has emphasised that this initiative aligns with the directives established by the Biden Administration to ensure the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of artificial intelligence.
Commissioner Kristin Johnson has also highlighted the comprehensive nature of the ongoing conversation within various departments of the agency. Notably, CFTC’s strategic approach to optimising data-driven policies, surveillance, and enforcement is expected to benefit from the insights garnered through this RFC. The deadline for submitting comments is April 24, 2024.