debate

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum is embroiled in a fierce governance debate over the source of core development funding. Last Friday, former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps warned that as old support programs deplete and foundation expenditures shrink, the core development ecosystem could face a "slow-burning funding crisis" within three to nine months, requiring approximately $30 million annually to maintain over a dozen clients, research, and coordination teams.The core of the debate stems from the "validator redirect income" proposal put forward by Kleros co-founder Clément Lesaege, which suggests redirecting 0% to 10% of validator rewards to an ecosystem funding pool, estimated to generate about 50,000 to 70,000 ETH annually at current staking levels. This proposal has faced widespread opposition, with critics warning that it could entrench the power of large validators and blur the boundaries between operations and governance. Some community members previously countered that the foundation's funds are sufficient to operate for 30 years, but the foundation's actual decisions indicate that it is actively shrinking expenditures and pushing for diversified funding models.On Monday, a nonprofit organization called EthLabs was announced, initiated by five former Ethereum Foundation researchers, aiming to directly fund development through large ETH holders. On Tuesday, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the foundation is cutting its budget by about 40% according to established policies and has recently laid off 54 people.

Aave experienced approximately $8.45 billion in fund withdrawals after the KelpDAO's rsETH cross-chain bridge was attacked in April 2026, but the core functions of the protocol did not fail, successfully completing one of the largest liquidity stress tests in DeFi to date. This crisis originated from the attack on KelpDAO's LayerZero cross-chain bridge, resulting in approximately $292 million in rsETH being stolen, raising concerns in the market about the collateral value and solvency of rsETH.As rsETH is widely used as collateral in protocols like Aave, the risk quickly spread, leading to concentrated withdrawals by users, with some market utilization reaching 100% at one point, causing some users to be unable to withdraw funds immediately. In the face of liquidity tightening, the Aave risk management team initiated emergency freeze and parameter adjustment mechanisms to limit the spread of risk.Aave founder Stani Kulechov viewed this incident as proof of the maturity of DeFi, believing that the protocol continued to operate as designed under extreme pressure, demonstrating the resilience of an on-chain transparent, rules-driven system. However, several independent analysts pointed out that while Aave avoided a systemic collapse, the event exposed that the DeFi lending system still has concentration risks, liquidity risks, and contagion risks arising from high interconnectivity between protocols. The behavior of large borrowers could have an impact on the overall stability of the system that exceeds model expectations.Aave currently controls risk through multiple protective measures such as loan-to-value (LTV) limits, liquidation thresholds, supply caps, borrowing limits, Isolation Mode, E-Mode, and governance mechanisms. These mechanisms played a role during this crisis, but observers believe that the governance response speed and risk models still need further optimization to cope with future unknown systemic shocks.Analysis suggests that this incident indicates that DeFi protocols can withstand large-scale runs without external assistance, but a single stress test cannot fully prove system safety. As the composability between protocols continues to strengthen, an issue with an external asset or cross-chain bridge could still quickly evolve into a liquidity crisis for the entire ecosystem.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on stablecoin regulation and the bank charter application of World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Acting Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould denied any "endorsement" from Trump, pointing out that the only political pressure his agency faces comes from Democratic lawmakers, not Trump. Democrats questioned the compliance of WLFI's bank charter application, citing its connections to foreign investors and alleged regulatory violations involving entities such as Binance.Additionally, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Travis Hill stated that new rules requiring stablecoin issuers to establish customer identification programs will be proposed soon. Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman provided clarification regarding the approval of a master account for the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, emphasizing that the account has limited authority and an initial term of 12 months, during which close monitoring will occur to gather experience for formal rulemaking.

Senator Warren called the application "the most despicable" presidential corruption scandal, pointing out that the UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan's related investment firm invested $500 million in WLFI four days before Trump took office, acquiring a 49% stake, of which approximately $187 million flowed to Trump family entities.Warren urged Gould to reject or suspend the review of the application, stating that approval would make him "an accomplice to corruption." Gould, however, refused to intervene, stating that he would process the application according to standard procedures and countered that the only political pressure felt came from Warren. 41 House Democrats had previously written to the Treasury Secretary, warning that approving the license could threaten "the legitimacy of the U.S. banking system and its independence from foreign actors."

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform SunX will hold a themed live broadcast titled "Fire Horse New Year: Success in the 2026 Crypto Market is Just Ahead!" today at 20:00 (UTC+8). At that time, crypto KOLs such as Crypto Xiao Wu, Jing Yi|Bird, Niu Mo Wang OP_CAT, Gui Gu Yan Xuan, and Li Qian Grace will be invited to attend, engaging in in-depth discussions on the macro trends, hot tracks, asset allocation strategies, and potential investment opportunities in the 2026 crypto market, providing users with forward-looking and practical market insights.

Neo founder Da Hongfei posted on social media that he and Erik Zhang have agreed to stop their previous disputes, believing it to be harmful to Neo and the community.Da Hongfei stated that he is busy preparing the financial report and plans to release a comprehensive preview by February 15. This preview report will contain sufficiently detailed information for financial verification, budget planning, and governance reform. Relevant information will be updated regularly before the final version is released.

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform SunX will hold a live stream today at 20:00 (UTC+8) titled "Gold and Silver Reach New Historical Highs | Is This a Flight to Safety or a New Round of Asset Pricing Reconstruction?" At that time, prominent crypto KOLs such as Big Brother, Xiao Zhi, Cong Ge, and Xihe will be invited to discuss the macro background of the recent historical highs in gold and silver prices, focusing on analyzing the risk-hedging logic behind the strength of precious metals, inflation expectations, and changes in liquidity. They will also further compare the pricing differences between gold, silver, and risk assets like Bitcoin in the current cycle.

According to CoinDesk, PwC stated in its "Global Cryptocurrency Regulatory Report" that as legislation progresses from draft to law worldwide, cryptocurrency regulation will become clearer this year, and countries with more transparent cryptocurrency rules will lead the industry development.The report suggests that the environment will be less defined by regulatory debates and more shaped by jurisdictions competing to attract capital and establish legitimacy. The trend of cross-border collaboration is strengthening, aimed at enhancing market integrity, preventing financial crime, and protecting investors. For cryptocurrency companies, this means higher compliance costs, but it will also bring clearer rules, potentially fostering new products, banking channels, and deeper institutional participation.

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform SunX will hold a themed live broadcast today at 20:00 (UTC+8) titled "CRS 2.0: Will Crypto Assets No Longer Be Invisible? Is the Era of Crypto Tax Exemption Completely Over?" At that time, crypto KOLs such as Mike Banana, 7w, Amber, and Lao Tie will be invited to attend and discuss the disclosure of crypto asset information under the CRS 2.0 framework, trends in cross-border tax compliance, and their potential impact on crypto trading platforms and investor behavior.

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform Sun Wukong (SunX) will hold a live event today at 20:00 (UTC+8) titled "Sun Wukong 72 Debates: The Chinese Meme Wave | Why Are Internet Memes Igniting the Crypto Market?" At that time, crypto KOLs such as Tingting, Anyao Yao, Meta, Youyou, and Feifei will be invited to attend and discuss the narrative evolution of the Chinese Meme sector, as well as how investors can capture early value opportunities in the current market heat.

According to official social media news, the decentralized contract trading platform Sun Wukong (SunX) will hold a live broadcast themed "Sun Wukong 72 Debates: The Political Regulatory Storm of 2026 | Opportunities and Challenges in the Crypto Market" today at 20:00 (UTC+8). Influential crypto KOLs such as Damo Ge, Crazyox, Crypto Master Brother, and Zi Ru | MemeMax will be invited to attend and discuss core topics such as the global crypto regulatory trends in 2026, the impact of policy uncertainty on the market, and response strategies.

Investment giant Citadel Securities submitted a 13-page letter to the SEC, suggesting that stricter regulations should be imposed on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols handling tokenized securities. The DeFi industry responded last Friday with its own letter, stating that Citadel Securities' arguments are "baseless."In a new letter to the SEC co-signed by DeFi Education Fund, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), DigitalChamber, Orca Creative, attorney J.W. Verret, and Uniswap Foundation, it stated: "While we share Citadel Securities' goals regarding investor protection, market order, and the integrity of the national market system, we disagree that achieving these goals always requires registration like traditional SEC intermediaries, nor do we agree that in some cases these requirements cannot be met through well-designed on-chain markets."Citadel Securities believes that DeFi protocols may operate as exchanges or brokers that require registration and regulation. However, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the SEC's new management has been seeking to provide more policy flexibility for the crypto industry. White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt also posted on social media platform X, stating that his office supports "the necessity of protecting software developers and DeFi."A spokesperson for Citadel Securities commented in an email: "As we detailed in our comment letter, Citadel Securities firmly supports tokenization and other innovations that can solidify the U.S. leadership in digital finance, but that does not mean sacrificing strict investor protection measures, which are what make the U.S. stock market the global gold standard."The DeFi Alliance's response stated that Citadel Securities' letter contains "multiple factual inaccuracies and misleading statements." DeFi Education Fund spokesperson Jennifer Rosenthal stated that the company is protecting its business interests. Rosenthal said, "Citadel Securities questioning the existence of a technology that threatens its business and significant market share is very much in its interest."

According to official social media news, the world's first Chinese decentralized contract trading platform SunX will hold a themed live broadcast titled "Sun Wukong 72 Debates: PP Appointed as Construction Ambassador, Discussing Trends and Opportunities of Perp DEX 2026" today at 20:00 (UTC+8). At that time, PP, Sister Mao, Zi Ru, Xia Mi Serena, Jack Li, and 0x Little Sister will attend together to engage in in-depth discussions on core topics such as the evolutionary path of Perp DEX in 2026, on-chain deep construction, trading experience innovation, and incentive models, exploring the development opportunities of SunX.

Alliance DAO co-founder QW posted on social media that he has "outgrown the age of wanting to win debates," but if anyone believes that "a weighted index of their chosen basket of public chains (L1)" will outperform the "8-10 top-rated project portfolio" he listed in the next 10 years, he is willing to settle this debate with a wager.QW has previously shared his "10/10 project list" publicly multiple times, emphasizing that the long-term fundamentals of quality projects will significantly outperform a broad-based portfolio centered around public chains.According to previous news from ChainCatcher, Dragonfly partner: Ethereum already has a solid moat, and the claim that "blockchains have no moat" is overly absurd.

According to Jinshi News, the last Federal Reserve meeting of the year will take place next week, with the interest rate decision announced at 3:00 AM (UTC+8) on Thursday, followed by a monetary policy press conference by Fed Chairman Powell at 3:30 AM (UTC+8).According to CME FedWatch, the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut next week is 84%. The upcoming Fed meeting is expected to be one of the most controversial in recent years, with investors focusing on the divergence among policymakers regarding the prospects for rate cuts, as well as signals from Fed Chairman Powell about the future direction of policy. Among the 12 voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), 5 have expressed opposition or skepticism towards further easing of monetary policy, while 3 members of the board support a rate cut. Since 2019, there has not been a meeting where three or more dissenting votes were cast, and the divisions have drawn close attention to the dissenters. Important macro data and events are as follows:Tuesday:The Reserve Bank of Australia announces its interest rate decision, and RBA Governor Lowe holds a monetary policy press conference;Wednesday:U.S. third-quarter labor cost index quarter-on-quarter; Bank of Canada announces its interest rate decision;Thursday:The Fed FOMC announces its interest rate decision and economic projections summary, and Fed Chairman Powell holds a monetary policy press conference;U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending December 6;Friday:The Fed releases data on U.S. household financial health from the Q3 2025 flow of funds report;2026 FOMC voter, Philadelphia Fed President Harker speaks on economic outlook;2026 FOMC voter, Cleveland Fed President Mester speaks;Chicago Fed President Goolsbee participates in a moderator dialogue before the Chicago Fed's 39th Annual Economic Outlook Symposium.Market Closure Reminder: On Wednesday, the New York Stock Exchange will close early at 2:00 AM Beijing time; on Thursday, U.S. stocks, stock markets in several European countries, South Korean stocks, and Australian stocks will be closed. Trading in precious metals, U.S. oil, foreign exchange, and stock index futures contracts under the CME, as well as Brent crude oil futures contracts under the ICE, will be suspended all day.

Zhao Changpeng (CZ) and economist Peter Schiff engaged in a debate on "Bitcoin vs Tokenized Gold" at the Binance Blockchain Week event. Schiff advocates for gold as a superior store of value, while CZ emphasizes the practicality of Bitcoin.Schiff pointed out that most users do not actually spend Bitcoin directly; they typically convert it to fiat currency before shopping. CZ countered that, from the user's perspective, Bitcoin can seamlessly integrate into everyday payment systems, especially with the advent of cryptocurrency cards. Users simply swipe the card, and Bitcoin is instantly deducted, while merchants receive their preferred currency.Schiff then shifted to emphasize that the value of Bitcoin depends on the price the next buyer is willing to pay, which is fundamentally different from stocks or businesses that generate actual earnings. Schiff believes that Bitcoin is merely a speculative asset, lacking intrinsic value or stable support. Since gold has historically been seen as a way to preserve and increase value, merchants may be more inclined to choose tokenized gold over Bitcoin, especially during periods of rising inflation. However, CZ pointed out that Bitcoin can achieve similar functionality through tokenization and rapid verification processes.