After Fed Rate Cut, US Dollar Records Worst Single-Day Performance Since September
Mars Finance News, December 11 - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized risks in the labor market while downplaying inflation concerns in his speech, leading the US dollar to record its worst performance in nearly three months. The US Dollar Index closed down 0.4%, marking the largest decline since September 16, following the Fed's decision to cut rates by 0.25 percentage points. Alex Cohen, a strategist at Bank of America, stated: "Compared to previous forecasts, Powell's attitude towards the labor market is less optimistic." He added that the Fed Chair's comments on labor and inflation triggered the dollar's decline. Macro strategist Edward Harrison noted: "As the Fed moves out of sync with increasingly hawkish central banks, a weak dollar should take cues from bond and interest rate differentials."
Trump: Rate Cut Too Small, Could Have Been Doubled
Mars Finance News, December 11 - US President Donald Trump reiterated his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He stated that the rate cut was too small and that the Fed could have doubled the cut.
Stripe Acquires Valora Wallet Team to Further Expand Stablecoin Services Business
Mars Finance News, according to The Block, payment giant Stripe is expanding its cryptocurrency business by acquiring the team of crypto startup Valora. Valora founder Jackie Bona announced on Wednesday that the team will join Stripe to "pursue the mission of expanding global financial system access." The terms of the deal were not disclosed, including how many Valora employees will join Stripe. Valora, founded in 2021, developed a mobile self-custody cryptocurrency wallet application, specifically targeting stablecoins on the CELO blockchain. According to Bona, Stripe's acquisition does not appear to include the intellectual property of Valora's technology; the application will "continue to exist by returning to its original home at cLabs." Previously, Stripe announced that its stablecoin payment functionality will launch on December 12, supporting Ethereum, Base, and Polygon networks.
CFTC Launches 'CEO Innovation Council', Includes Polymarket, Kalshi, Kraken, and Others as First Members
Mars Finance News, CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced the first list of CEO Innovation Council members, all from the exchange sector, to discuss derivatives market structure and regulatory innovation.
Participants include: Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, Cboe Global Markets CEO Craig Donohue, CME Group CEO Terry Duffy, Bullish CEO Tom Farley, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Bitnomial CEO Luke Hoersten, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, LSEG CEO David Schwimmer, Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, ICE CEO Jeff Sprecher, and Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss.
The CFTC stated it will promote market structure innovation in areas such as tokenization, crypto assets, 24/7 trading, perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and blockchain infrastructure, and will continue to review more committee applications.
GameStop's Q3 Bitcoin Holdings Value Shrinks by $9.4 Million Compared to Q2
Mars Finance News, according to CoinDesk, as of the end of the third quarter, GameStop (stock code GME) held Bitcoin worth $519.4 million; however, the company recorded a digital asset holding loss of $9.2 million during this period. Additionally, verified official documents show that GameStop still held 4,710 Bitcoins at the end of Q3, unchanged from the data reported in the Q2 earnings report.
Due to sales performance falling short of investor expectations, the company's stock price fell 5.8% on Wednesday. Since GameStop announced its Bitcoin plan in March, its stock price has fallen more than 22%, as investors weigh the risks of holding cryptocurrency and the impact of the company's weak core business performance.
Musk Hints on Social Media That SpaceX Might IPO
Mars Finance News, Elon Musk hinted that SpaceX might go public, following reports that the rocket manufacturer plans an IPO in 2026. Musk responded to a post by Eric, saying: "As always, Eric is accurate." Eric's post read: "Here's why I think SpaceX is about to go public," accompanied by an article he published. Previously, Reuters reported on Tuesday that SpaceX hopes to raise more than $25 billion through an IPO in 2026, a move that could push SpaceX's valuation to over $1 trillion.
Michael Saylor: Restricting Passive Index Investment in BTC is Like Historically Restricting Investment in Oil Fields, Communication Spectrum, or Data Centers
Mars Finance News, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor stated that currently restricting passive index investment allocations to Bitcoin would be as untimely as restricting investment in oil and oil wells in the 1900s, communication spectrum and signal towers in the 1980s, or computing power and data centers in the 2000s.
Saylor emphasized that Bitcoin has become a new generation of digital credit and value infrastructure, and hindering institutional passive allocation would run counter to historical innovation cycles.
Newly Created Address Accumulates Another 300 BTC, Totaling 1,200 BTC Hoarded
Mars Finance News, December 11, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, a newly created address received another 300 BTC from GalaxyDigital 3 hours ago, worth approximately $27.6 million. Currently, this wallet holds a total of 1,200 BTC, with a total value of approximately $110.47 million.
Senate Strives to Finalize Cryptocurrency Market Bill Before Holiday Recess
Mars Finance News, December 11, according to thehill, senators are trying to resolve key分歧 points in legislation regulating the cryptocurrency industry in the final few working days of the year, hoping to move the bill out of committee after months of negotiations. Although Democratic colleagues are still seeking changes to the draft text, and lawmakers are only days away from leaving town for the holidays, Republicans insist on pushing for a markup of the cryptocurrency market structure legislation next week. An industry insider familiar with the market structure legislation process said: "Time is tight. I think realistically, there are only about 48 hours to judge whether this bill can advance next week." The main proponent of cryptocurrency legislation, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), said on Tuesday that her goal is to release an updated draft by this weekend, which she considers "our best result so far," and to hold a markup on the bill next week. She said at the Blockchain Association policy summit: "I think we are now at the stage where it is best to put forward a proposal, hold a markup next week, and then let everyone take a breather during the Christmas holiday."
Norwegian Central Bank: No Need to Launch Digital Currency for Now, CBDC Project Temporarily 'Shelved'
Mars Finance News, after years of research, the Norwegian Central Bank (Norges Bank) announced that there is currently no need to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), citing that Norway's domestic payment system is already "efficient and secure" with well-established contingency mechanisms.
Although Norway has one of the lowest cash usage rates in the world, making the digital currency discussion highly relevant, the central bank believes the current system still meets demand.
Norwegian Central Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache stated:
"If maintaining the efficiency and security of the payment system requires it in the future, we are ready to launch a CBDC at any time."
She also emphasized that the central bank will continue to cooperate with the financial industry and other central banks, paying attention to global CBDC and digital currency developments.
In the Nordic region, the political layer has been relatively cautious about digital currencies. Although Sweden initially wavered, the Swedish central bank still called for a restart of the e-krona discussion; the European Central Bank plans to launch a digital euro pilot as early as 2027 and may officially issue it in 2029.
The Norwegian Central Bank plans to release a summary of its CBDC research and future plans in the first quarter of next year, stating that it will not rule out the possibility of issuing a CBDC in the future and will continue to research tokenization and various forms of digital currency.
Bitcoin Exchange Paxful Agrees to Plead Guilty, Fined $7.5 Million
Mars Finance News, according to Decrypt, Bitcoin P2P market operator Paxful Holdings Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to US federal charges and pay a $4 million criminal fine to the US Department of Justice. Additionally, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed a $3.5 million civil fine on Tuesday. Paxful had previously shut down in 2023. According to the US Department of Justice, between 2017 and 2019, the company facilitated approximately $3 billion in transactions, earning over $29 million, while intentionally facilitating criminal activity. Despite being aware of criminal activity on its platform, Paxful failed to file required suspicious activity reports and misrepresented its anti-money laundering policies to third parties. The sentencing date is set for February 10, 2026.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index Rises to 29, Hitting Highest Level in Nearly a Month
Mars Finance News, December 11, according to Alternative data, today's cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index is 29 (yesterday 26), currently in the "Fear" range, hitting the highest value in one month. Note: The Fear & Greed Index threshold is 0-100, including indicators: Volatility (25%) + Market Volume (25%) + Social Media Buzz (15%) + Surveys (15%) + Bitcoin Dominance (10%) + Google Trends (10%).
a16z Crypto Establishes First Office in South Korea
Mars Finance News, according to Bloomberg, venture capital firm a16z Crypto will open an office in Seoul, South Korea, joining a growing number of digital asset companies expanding into Asia. a16z Crypto COO Anthony Albanese stated that the region "now accounts for a significant share of global cryptocurrency activity. In the coming years, we plan to expand our business presence in Asia, enhance new capabilities to support our locally operating cryptocurrency companies, and continuously explore new ways to expand our geographical footprint." Albanese said South Korea is the second-largest cryptocurrency market, with nearly one-third of Korean adults holding cryptocurrency. The company has appointed Sungmo Park to lead its Asia-Pacific operations. Park was previously the Asia-Pacific head of the Monad Foundation, which operates its own blockchain.
Powell Says Rate Hikes Are Not Anyone's Baseline Expectation, Hints Rates May Remain Unchanged in the Short Term
Mars Finance News, December 11, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference that the Fed's next move is unlikely to be a rate hike, as the new forecasts from central bank policymakers do not reflect that as a baseline. He stated: "I don't think rate hikes are anyone's baseline expectation." Simultaneously, Powell hinted that rates might remain unchanged in the short term.
Analyst: Fed Statement Dovish, Expects 100 Basis Point Rate Cut Next Year
Mars Finance News, December 11, analyst Anna Wong stated: "My assessment is that the policy statement and updated projections are overall dovish in tone—though there are also some hawkish underlying messages. On the dovish side, the committee significantly raised the growth trajectory while lowering the inflation outlook and kept the 'dot plot' unchanged. The FOMC also announced the start of reserve management purchases. On the other hand, a signal in the policy statement suggests the committee favors a long pause before cutting rates." She continued: "Although the 'dot plot' shows only one rate cut in 2026—while the market expects two—our view is that the Fed will ultimately cut rates by 100 basis points next year. This is because we expect weak wage growth and currently see no clear signs of inflation reigniting in the first half of 2026."
Powell: Believes No One Currently Has Rate Hikes as Baseline Expectation; Divergence is Between Holding Rates Steady or Cutting
Mars Finance News, December 11, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated: I believe no one currently has rate hikes as their baseline expectation. The divergence is between holding rates steady or cutting. Some believe we should stop here and wait and see. Some believe we should cut once more or multiple times.
'Fed Whisperer': Three Rate Cuts Fail to Quell Internal Disputes, Beware of 'Stagflation Risk'
Mars Finance News, December 11, 'Fed Whisperer' Nick Timiraos最新撰文表示,美联储官员连续第三次会议降息,但对于通胀还是就业市场应是更大的担忧,美联储内部存在不同寻常的分歧,因此官员们暗示继续降息的意愿不高。最近几周美联储官员的公开评论显示,委员会内部意见分裂严重,以至于最终决定可能取决于美联储主席鲍威尔希望如何推进。鲍威尔任期将于明年五月届满,这意味着他将只主持接下来的三次利率制定会议。物价压力坚挺伴随着劳动力市场降温,给美联储带来了一个令人不快的权衡取舍,这是几十年来未曾面对过的局面。在 20 世纪 70 年代所谓的「滞胀」时期,当官员们面临类似的困境时,美联储走走停停的应对方式使高通胀得以根深蒂固。
UBS Chief US Economist Jonathan Pingle stated: "As rates approach neutral levels, with each rate cut, you lose more participants' support. You need data to incentivize those participants to join the majority to achieve a rate cut."
