Author: Deep Tide TechFlow
Yesterday's Market Dynamics
SEC Corporate Finance Deputy Director Cicely LaMothe Announces Retirement, Led Multiple Cryptocurrency Policies
According to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Monday that Deputy Director of Corporate Finance Cicely LaMothe is set to retire. LaMothe led several key cryptocurrency policies over the past year, including clarifying that meme coins are not securities and explaining the SEC's stance on staking. She joined the SEC's Division of Corporate Finance in 2002, having previously worked in the private sector and holding a CPA license. LaMothe's retirement comes as the SEC enters its second year of a more crypto-friendly direction, during which it has approved listing standards for specific crypto ETFs, initiated a "crypto project" to update digital asset rules, and dismissed enforcement cases against several prominent crypto companies. The SEC also announced that Nekia Hackworth Jones, Deputy Director of the Southeast Region in the Enforcement Division, completed her term at the end of December.
Democratic Congresswoman Waters Criticizes SEC Chairman Atkins for Terminating Cryptocurrency Enforcement Actions, Demands Hearing
According to CoinDesk, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters sent a letter to Committee Chairman French Hill on Monday, demanding that SEC Chairman Paul Atkins appear at a hearing regarding the termination of major enforcement actions against crypto companies like Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun. Waters questioned the SEC's rationale for dropping these cases and how it plans to prevent market fraud, noting that some companies announced the termination news before a formal committee vote. She also criticized Atkins for using the SEC agenda as a government tool, implementing policy shifts through staff statements rather than formal rulemaking.
Brevis Launches Airdrop Registration and Eligibility Check Portal
The ZK verifiable computing platform Brevis has launched an airdrop registration and eligibility check portal. Users must first check if they are eligible and complete all necessary steps before applying. The application window will be open from December 29 to January 3. The allocation amount will be announced when claiming opens in the future.
SlowMist: New Variant of NPM Supply Chain Attack, Shai-Hulud 3.0, Reappears
SlowMist Chief Information Security Officer 23pds issued a security alert stating that the latest variant of the NPM supply chain attack, Shai-Hulud 3.0, has reappeared, reminding all projects and platforms to strengthen their defenses. The previous Trust Wallet API key leak might have been a result of the Shai-Hulud 2.0 attack.
Flow Foundation: Releases No-Rollback Recovery Plan, Over 99.9% of Accounts Unaffected
The Flow Foundation has proposed a new recovery plan for the security incident that occurred on December 27. Developed in consultation with bridge operators, exchanges, and infrastructure partners, the plan's main features are:
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No Network Rollback: No network reorganization or requirement for partners to replay transactions
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Preserves Legitimate User Activity: Over 99.9% of accounts are unaffected and will function normally after restart
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Precise Fixing: Temporary restrictions applied only to accounts that received fraudulent tokens
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Transparent Handling: Fraudulent tokens to be burned via on-chain transactions verified by an independent blockchain forensics company for transparency and auditability
The recovery plan will be implemented in four phases:
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Cadence Environment Recovery Online, EVM Temporarily Read-Only
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Cadence Environment Repair Completed (approx. 24-48 hours)
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EVM Environment Repaired and Re-enabled
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Bridges/Exchanges Resume Operations After Verifying Network Stability
The attack resulted in the transfer of approximately $3.9 million in assets. The Flow Foundation is currently working closely with validators and the community to ensure a secure network recovery.
Trust Wallet CEO: Security Incident Confirmed to Affect 2,596 Addresses, Reimbursement Verification Ongoing
Trust Wallet CEO Eowync.eth provided an update on December 29th, stating the company is actively investigating the browser extension v2.68 security incident. 2,596 wallet addresses have been confirmed affected so far, and the team has received about 5,000 reimbursement claims. The company is carefully verifying each claim to distinguish genuine victims from malicious actors and promises to share more investigation details tomorrow. This incident and the subsequent reimbursement work have become the company's top priority, with all team members working full-time on it.
Standard Chartered Bank and Ant International Launch Blockchain-Based Tokenized Deposit Solution in Hong Kong
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. (SCBHK) and Ant International have officially commercially launched a blockchain-based tokenized deposit solution, enabling real-time, 24/7 fund transfers in HKD, offshore RMB, and USD. The system, via Ant International's proprietary Whale platform, provides global enterprises with "just-in-time" liquidity management, overcoming traditional banking time constraints and settlement delays.
Investment Bank Cantor Fitzgerald Predicts New "Crypto Winter" in 2026, But Institutional Adoption Continues to Grow
According to CoinDesk, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brett Knoblauch predicted in a recent report that Bitcoin may be entering a long-term downtrend, reflecting its historical four-year cycle pattern, with prices potentially testing MicroStrategy's average cost basis of around $75,000. However, unlike the past, this "crypto winter" will not see massive liquidations or structural collapses but will be characterized by institutional investors driving market trends.
Trend Research Withdraws Another 13,462 ETH, Accumulates Over 46,000 ETH in a Single Day
According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa) monitoring, Trend Research withdrew another 13,462 ETH (worth approximately $39.31 million) from Binance 5 minutes ago.
The institution's on-chain ETH holdings have now been updated to 626,071, with a total value exceeding $1.83 billion and an average holding cost of approximately $3,105.5. The institution currently has an unrealized loss of about $110 million. Data shows that Trend Research accumulated 46,036.72 ETH within a single day.
MicroStrategy Increases Holdings by 1,229 Bitcoin Last Week, Now Holds Total of 672,497 Bitcoin
According to a tweet by MicroStrategy founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 1,229 bitcoin for approximately $108.8 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $88,568 per bitcoin. As of December 28, 2025, MicroStrategy holds 672,497 bitcoin acquired for approximately $50.44 billion at an average purchase price of $74,997 per bitcoin. MicroStrategy's bitcoin investment has generated a return of 23.2% year-to-date in 2025.
WLD Treasury Company Eightco Holdings Launches $125 Million Stock Buyback Plan
According to PRNewswire, Nasdaq-listed WLD treasury company Eightco Holdings announced that its board of directors has approved the initiation of a stock repurchase program of up to $125 million. The company also stated it will drive the construction of a universal digital identity and authentication framework through strategic investments and partnerships to address the evolving identity verification market challenges posed by large-scale AI applications.
Market Trends
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