• Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) announced the digital assets subcommittee plans to prioritize the regulation of stablecoins.
• The subcommittee also plans to pursue a privacy statute federally.
• Rep. Hill believes this will be beneficial to the digital asset industry.

The Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion has been formed by the U.S. House of Representatives, with Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) as its chair. On Thursday, Hill told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” that the subcommittee’s top priority will be to regulate stablecoins.

Hill noted that the subcommittee plans to use its draft of stablecoins regulation as a model for how it will approach digital asset regulation moving forward. He believes that this will be beneficial to the digital asset industry as it will provide clarity on which agency, the SEC or the CFTC, will seek explicit oversight.

In addition to the regulation of stablecoins, Hill also said that the subcommittee plans to pursue a privacy statute federally. He believes that this will be important to the development of digital assets, as it will help protect consumers’ financial information.

Overall, Hill is confident that the subcommittee’s plans will be beneficial to the digital asset industry. He is hopeful that its efforts will result in a more secure, transparent and efficient financial system, as well as more consumer protection. He believes that this will also help to create an environment of trust and confidence in the digital asset market.

• Timothy Stranex, Luno’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), departed from the company in December after 10 years of service.
• He has been replaced as CTO by Simon Ince, who joined Luno about two years ago.
• Luno is a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in London, with offices also in Singapore, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Sydney.

Cryptocurrency exchange Luno has seen a huge shakeup in its leadership team, as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Timothy Stranex, departed from the company in December after 10 years of service. Stranex founded the company with Carel van Wyk, Pieter Heyns and current CEO Marcus Swanepoel in 2011.

Stranex has since been replaced as CTO by Simon Ince, who joined Luno just under two years ago as its vice president of engineering. Ince brings to the role a wealth of experience in software engineering, having previously held positions at financial technology companies such as Worldpay and Fidelity International.

Luno is a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in London, with offices also in Singapore, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Sydney. It claims to have over 10 million customers worldwide and is also a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.

The company has seen a period of significant growth since its launch in 2011, having secured a series of investments from venture capital firms such as Balderton Capital and Naspers. The exchange has also been steadily expanding its range of services, having recently launched a new feature allowing customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using credit and debit cards.

The departure of Stranex marks a significant change for the company, and it is not yet clear what the long-term impact of his exit will be. However, with Ince now in the role of CTO and the company continuing to invest in the development of its services, it seems likely that Luno will continue to remain at the forefront of the cryptocurrency exchange industry.

• Annualized inflation slowed to 6.5% in December from 7.1% previously, in line with economist forecasts.
• Bitcoin (BTC) saw a dip in price but remains above $18,000 following the news that annualized inflation slowed to 6.5% in December from 7.1% previously.
• The consumer price index (CPI) slipped 0.1% in December, roughly in line with expectations for a flat reading.

The US reported a slight drop in consumer price index (CPI) to 6.5% on an annualized basis in December, down from 7.1% a month earlier. This was in line with economist forecasts, and saw Bitcoin (BTC) dip slightly in price.

The CPI slipped 0.1% in December, roughly in line with expectations for a flat reading. On an annualized basis, the CPI was higher by 6.5%, in line with expectations. Core CPI – which strips out volatile items such as food and energy – was up 0.3% in December, in line with forecasts. Annualized core CPI was up 5.7%, also in line with forecasts and down from 6% in November.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a dip in price but remains above $18,000 following the news that annualized inflation slowed to 6.5%. The cryptocurrency saw a 0.1% slip in price, as it responded to the macroeconomic data. This was reflected in a discussion among the “The Hash” panel, which discussed the implications of the data on the crypto industry.

The slight dip in the CPI and the corresponding slip in Bitcoin’s price shows that the cryptocurrency is still very much affected by macroeconomic news. This is a reminder of the volatility of the asset, which is still not yet fully understood by the wider public. However, the fact that Bitcoin’s price remains above $18,000, as well as its continued adoption as a form of currency and asset, shows that it is slowly becoming a more established asset class.

• Major cryptocurrencies experienced a rally in the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin breaking the $18,000 mark and Ethereum rising over $1,400.
• Over $200 million in shorts (bets against price rises) have been liquidated in the last 24 hours as a result of the rally.
• Analysts believe the rally exemplifies indecisiveness among crypto traders, as BTC and ETH are trading with a consolidation pattern.

Crypto markets experienced a strong rally in the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin breaking the $18,000 mark and Ethereum rising over $1,400. A number of other coins like XRP and solana rose as much as 20%. The rally has resulted in the liquidation of more than $200 million in shorts (bets against price rises) in the last 24 hours, in addition to those of more than $150 million earlier this week. Data from Coinglass shows that these levels haven’t been seen since October.

Analysts believe that the rally exemplifies indecisiveness among crypto traders, as BTC and ETH are trading with a consolidation pattern. According to QCP Capital, this suggests that traders are uncertain about the future direction of the market. This could indicate a potential long-term uptrend, though with currently high levels of volatility, it’s impossible to predict where the markets may be headed in the near future.

The crypto market’s strong performance in the last 24 hours has been welcomed by many investors, who are hoping for a sustained rally. However, the current market conditions suggest that traders should remain cautious and keep an eye on the market movements. With a lot of uncertainty in the markets, it’s important to take a long-term view and not be too quick to jump in and out of positions.