Summary: In the past week, there have been continuous developments in regulations and policies related to the cryptocurrency market internationally. According to incomplete statistics from Chain Catcher, there were a total of 13 significant events worth noting last week, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirming her position as U.S. Treasury Secretary and revealing her stance on cryptocurrencies, the SEC's entanglement with XRP, the Bank for International Settlements' investigation into the development of CBDCs by various countries, as well as the attitudes and policies of countries like China, Russia, and Canada in the field of digital currencies.

1. European real estate company Vonovia issues €20 million digital bonds on the Stellar platform
On January 25, European real estate company Vonovia issued €20 million in digital bonds on the Stellar blockchain platform in collaboration with firstwire (a network marketplace for debt financing) and Bitbond (a German digital asset custody technology solution provider).
Firstwire founder Michael Dreiner stated that this latest transaction is a key milestone as it introduces the use of digital tokens into institutional capital markets and has the potential to simplify the traditional bond market.
Previously, the German cabinet recently approved a bill to introduce digital securities. The bill aims to promote or support the digitization of the German financial market and meets an important requirement of the government's blockchain or DLT strategy to enhance transparency, market integrity, and provide better investor protection.

2. Russian public officials banned from holding cryptocurrencies
On January 25, according to a document from the Russian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection cited by Russian media forklog, public officials in Russia are prohibited from holding any cryptocurrencies and must dispose of any digital assets they hold by April 1.
In December, under a new decree signed by President Putin, Russian public officials are now required to declare their holdings of cryptocurrencies. According to the document, any public official working in the government must disclose their own and their spouse's and children's digital assets. They must declare the type and quantity of each asset held by June 30, 2021.

3. U.S. Senate confirms former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary
On January 26, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Senate has officially confirmed former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's nomination as Treasury Secretary. Janet Yellen will become the first woman to head the department.
Previously, during her Senate confirmation hearing, Janet Yellen stated, "Law enforcement officials responsible for regulating money laundering and other illegal financial activities should pay special attention to cryptocurrencies, as many cryptocurrencies are used for illegal financing, and the government needs to curb illegal activities through cryptocurrency platforms." Additionally, Janet Yellen plans to work with institutions like the Federal Reserve to implement effective regulation of cryptocurrencies.

4. Ark Invest founder: Bitcoin ETF unlikely to be approved before crypto market cap reaches $2 trillion
On January 27, according to Coindesk, Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood expressed skepticism that U.S. regulators would approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) before the cryptocurrency market cap reaches $2 trillion.
Cathie Wood stated, "A significant amount of demand must be met, so it must exceed $1 trillion; I believe it is $2 trillion." Cathie Wood is optimistic about the prospects for Bitcoin under the leadership of former CFTC commissioner and MIT digital currency professor Gary Gensler at the SEC. Wood described Gensler as "very supportive of Bitcoin" and praised the SEC's leadership in the cryptocurrency space. In her speech on Tuesday, Cathie Wood also made some bold predictions about Bitcoin's price potential. She cited MicroStrategy's Bitcoin-first funding policy, stating that if each S&P 500 company invested 1% of its assets in Bitcoin, the price would rise by $40,000.

5. Xi Jinping: There is still a gap between China and Western countries like the U.S. in core blockchain algorithms
On January 27, the Jiangsu Internet Information Office published "Xi Jinping's Narrative: My Internet Thinking," which states that the book "Excerpts from Xi Jinping's Discourses on Building a Strong Cyber Nation" was recently distributed nationwide. The article captures the profound thoughts of the General Secretary on how to create a clean and upright online space and build a strong cyber nation.
In terms of blockchain, the article quotes the General Secretary's speech during the 18th collective study session of the 19th Central Politburo: "Breakthrough core technologies. I have repeatedly said that core technology is our greatest lifeline, and being constrained by others in core technology is our biggest hidden danger. Currently, there is still a gap between our country and Western countries like the U.S. in core blockchain algorithms, and the construction of domestically produced high-performance blockchain systems has not made effective progress, and the risk of being 'choked' still exists. We need to promote collaborative breakthroughs and accelerate the advancement of core technology breakthroughs to provide safe and controllable technical support for the development of blockchain applications. We need to strengthen the research on blockchain standardization and promote the normalization and standardization of basic terminology and architecture, security and privacy protection, interoperability, and governance, to enhance our international discourse power and rule-making power."

6. Dutch cryptocurrency exchange Bitonic sues the central bank over KYC rules for crypto wallets
On January 27, Dutch cryptocurrency exchange Bitonic sued the central bank over KYC rules for crypto wallets. Bitonic has submitted a preliminary injunction application to the Rotterdam court, requesting the central bank to stop enforcing a wallet KYC verification rule established in November 2020. Bitonic stated that this rule requires cryptocurrency exchanges to comply with KYC rules, including verification steps for withdrawal wallets, and that the introduction of wallet verification protocols violates existing customer privacy laws and is cumbersome.

7. Ninepoint Partners launches trading of Bitcoin trust fund shares
On January 28, according to Cointelegraph, Canadian investment management company Ninepoint Partners launched trading of its Bitcoin trust fund shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
It is reported that Ninepoint has completed the initial public offering (IPO) of its Bitcoin trust at a price of CAD 230 million (approximately USD 180 million). The company stated that they will issue three different classes of 17,990,491 shares at a price of $10 each, of which over 7 million shares can be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the codes BITC.U and BITC.UN.
Additionally, Ninepoint stated that, like Grayscale's cryptocurrency funds in the U.S., their goal is to provide new investors access to Bitcoin and other digital currencies. It is known that the institution manages assets totaling CAD 7 billion (USD 5.5 billion), and it stated that it would not sell shares of the trust in the U.S.

8. Bank for International Settlements report: 14% of central banks are developing and piloting CBDCs
On January 28, according to a survey report on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in the third annual CBDC questionnaire, 86% of central banks are exploring the pros and cons of central bank digital currencies, about 60% of central banks are conducting experiments or proof of concepts, and 14% of central banks are developing and piloting central bank digital currencies. Additionally, similar to the previous two surveys, about a quarter of central banks have or will soon have legal authorization to issue CBDCs. The BIS concluded that "the widespread promotion of CBDCs, from pure conceptual research to experimentation, will still take years. Financial inclusion is a top priority for the development of CBDCs."

9. Grayscale registers six new trust entities, including projects like AAVE, ATOM, DOT
On January 28, according to the official website of Delaware, Grayscale has registered six new trust entities, namely "GRAYSCALE AAVE TRUST (AAVE)," "ADA," "ATOM," "EOS," "XMR," and "DOT." Previously, Grayscale's CEO stated that registering trust entities does not mean that corresponding products will be launched, and users should invest cautiously.

10. Hong Kong digital asset exchange opens its first physical trading center
On January 29, according to Tencent News, the Hong Kong digital asset exchange opened its first physical trading center, HKD.com. Services provided by HKD.com include real-time account opening and transfers, digital currency wallet appreciation, and buying and selling digital currencies, breaking the traditional limitation of local digital asset industries to online services.

11. Twitter CEO calls on government authorities to pause proposed FinCEN crypto regulations
On January 29, according to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey urged U.S. government authorities not to pass the proposed crypto wallet rules by FinCEN. He stated that any attempts to control Bitcoin would be counterproductive. Although FinCEN aims to combat illegal transactions and criminal activities through legislation, it could also lead to criminal activities moving underground or overseas, and FinCEN regulations would weaken law enforcement efforts, making it harder for authorities to track transactions. The FinCEN regulations are also unfair to law-abiding citizens using cryptocurrencies and could harm their interests.
Earlier reports indicated that FinCEN released a proposed rule requiring banks or money service businesses to record or report transactions involving "unhosted wallets." Subsequently, eight members of Congress and industry participants like Coinbase wrote to the U.S. Treasury Department, requesting an extension of the comment period to 60 days.

12. U.S. online brokerage Robinhood restricts crypto trading due to "market conditions"
On January 29, according to CNBC, U.S. brokerage Robinhood has restricted crypto trading due to special market conditions (the surge in Bitcoin and Dogecoin). Some users reported that they could not top up their accounts on Robinhood today and could only buy coins with existing funds in their accounts.

13. Ripple: SEC has no authority to regulate XRP as a security
On January 30, The Block reported that Ripple provided a preliminary response in federal court on January 29 regarding the lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ripple stated in its response that the SEC's lawsuit is based on "an unprecedented and poorly considered legal theory" that overlooks many of XRP's functions that differ from "securities." For example, XRP serves as a medium of exchange, a virtual currency used in today's international and domestic transactions to transfer value and facilitate transactions. XRP is not a security, and the SEC has no authority to regulate it as a security.
Additionally, Ripple stated in an overview: "While the legal process is slow, we are working hard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible to bring clarity to the broader market."