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Elon Musk has unveiled a significant upgrade to the X social media platform, particularly focused on improving the Community Notes feature. Musk's announcement on Twitter generated excitement within the crypto community, with several influential figures expressing their support for the upgrade. The enhancement involves a faster and more efficient operation of Community Notes, providing real-time streaming infrastructure for the scoring system. Notable crypto-themed accounts have applauded Musk's efforts in implementing this improvement, signaling positive feedback from the cryptocurrency space. (Source: Utoday)

Bitcoin (BTC) faced substantial selling pressure, plunging to a low of $40,500 recently. Despite the market's initial downturn, BTC swiftly turned around within the past day, reclaiming a position above the $43,000 level. The cryptocurrency's resilience in the face of selling pressure suggests a pattern where Bitcoin's price tends to rebound against prevailing sentiment, highlighting its ability to thrive amidst investor fear. (Source: Bitcoinist.com)

Crypto asset manager HashKey Capital has successfully obtained a full capital markets service license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The license allows HashKey Capital to operate as a regulated capital markets service provider in Singapore, providing a range of crypto-related financial products. The approval concludes the application process that began in May 2021, positioning HashKey Capital to offer regulated services in the Singaporean market. . (Source: Coingape)

The legal saga surrounding Do Kwon, co-founder of Terra Labs, takes an unexpected turn as Montenegro's Appellate Court annuls a previous decision to extradite Kwon. Citing procedural errors and a lack of clarity in the legal process, the court's decision comes after Kwon's defense filed a complaint challenging the ruling that initially paved the way for his potential extradition to the United States or South Korea. Kwon's legal challenges involve charges related to the collapse of TerraUSD, and the case has now been referred back for retrial in the Podgorica Basic Court. (Source: Cointelegraph)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has accused lobbying groups in the crypto industry, including Blockchain Association, Coin Center, and the Chamber of Digital Commerce, of undermining bipartisan efforts in Congress and the Biden Administration to address the role of cryptocurrency in financing terrorist organizations such as Hamas. Warren's letter referenced a report claiming that these groups are working against legislative efforts to combat terrorism financing through crypto. However, blockchain analytics firms dispute claims of extensive crypto funding for Hamas, stating that the actual amount is in the thousands of dollars, not tens of millions. (Source: Coindesk)

Spanish police have dismantled a network involved in financing ISIS through cryptocurrency transactions, resulting in the arrest of five individuals. The operation, part of a two-and-a-half-year investigation, targeted individuals allegedly connected to the terrorist organization known as DAESH or ISIS. The arrests were made in Valencia (2), Cáceres, Alicante, and Guipúzcoa, with four of the suspects remanded in custody. The investigation uncovered evidence suggesting the network's involvement in planning at least two attacks, ultimately foiled by security services. The recent arrests in Spain mark the conclusion of the investigation, with five individuals taken into custody. (Source: newsbtc.com)

The US District Court has approved the settlement between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Binance, along with its CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao. The court entered a consent order, imposing a $150 million civil penalty against CZ personally. Binance is required to disgorge $1.35 billion of alleged ill-gotten transaction fees and pay an additional $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC. The court order mandates permanent injunctions preventing further violations and proof of improved compliance controls' effectiveness. (Source: beincrypto.com)

OpenAI has introduced a safety initiative, the Preparedness Framework, giving its board the power to override the CEO if they judge AI development risks as too high. The framework outlines processes for assessing and mitigating catastrophic risks associated with powerful AI models. OpenAI establishes Safety, Superalignment, and Preparedness Teams to monitor and evaluate different AI risk categories, aiming to systematize safety protocols and address gaps in studying frontier AI risks. This step by OpenAI is to ensure Responsible AI development and to alert risks in advance. (Source: Cryptopolitan)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on several Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to May 2024. Affected ETFs include the Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF, Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF, VanEck spot Ethereum ETF, and the spot Ethereum ETF by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and 21Shares. The SEC is initiating proceedings to gather additional public input on the listing of these ETFs, prolonging the timeline for potential approval. Analyst predict a 90% chance of ETF approval by SEC. (Source: Cointelegraph)

Investment management giant BlackRock has amended its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The amendment reflects BlackRock's decision to initially exclude in-kind creations and redemptions for its Bitcoin ETF, yielding to pressure from the SEC. In-kind creations and redemptions involve exchanging Bitcoin for ETF shares or vice versa, helping keep ETF share prices aligned with the underlying asset (BTC). While BlackRock has opted for cash creations initially, the amended filing suggests the firm aims to eventually introduce in-kind creations, subject to regulatory approval. The SEC recently recommended companies launching Bitcoin ETFs consider cash creations over in-kind creations.(Source: Cryptobriefing)

The U.K. has introduced a new regulation, effective from January 8, allowing its financial regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Bank of England to operate a Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). The sandbox will enable companies to test tokenized securities and distributed ledger technology under regulatory supervision. This move reflects the growing interest in the tokenization of real assets globally, with U.K. regulators aiming to create a framework for their regulation. The Digital Securities Sandbox will provide a controlled environment for testing new solutions and products, allowing businesses to experiment with digitizing or tokenizing traditional securities while regulators assess and adapt rules to accommodate evolving technologies. The regulation is part of the recently passed Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, demonstrating the U.K.'s proactive approach to shaping regulations in the crypto sector. (Source: Coindesk)