Top Crypto Stories This Week: From No More Fun on Pump.fun to No More Sanctions on Tornado Cash

Here at Blockhead, we love putting the spotlight on the seedy underbelly of crypto, even on areas that are best left unseen. But on our quest to uncover the mysterious and down right bizarre, sometimes even we're shocked at what we discover.

This week saw the downfall of Pump.fun's livestream service following backlash over its deeply concerning content.

Users clicking around on Pump.fun's livestreams earlier this week, would before long, land on pornography, with streamers offering various sex acts in exchange for memecoin market cap targets.

"$65K for Topless, $100K for Fully Naked, $250K for Surprise" one cam girl wrote on her live stream that Blockhead innocently stumbled upon.

Worse still, as highlighted by X user AlwaysBeenChoze, Pump.fun's live stream was far darker than we'd first thought. Streamers acts go far beyond stripping. Suicide threats, rape, child abuse, and animal abuse were all present on the memecoin platform.

Thankfully the memecoin platform shortly after deactivated its live stream function after acknowledging the growing concerns about harmful and disturbing content.

The platform emphasized its commitment to ensuring user safety and stated that livestreams will remain paused until a more robust moderation infrastructure is in place.

We're not fans of cancel culture but cancelling livestream animal abuse is probably a good thing.

Speaking of cancelling good things, sanctions against Tornado Cash have officially been dropped. This week, a federal appeals court ruled that US sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash must be lifted.

The ruling challenges the Treasury Department's use of sanctions to target technology that anonymizes crypto transactions and reverses an August district court ruling that labelled Tornado Cash a “notorious” crypto-mixing tool and upheld the government's stance against its service.

Tornado Cash was accused the treasury for facilitating illicit activities, such as money laundering by groups like North Korea's Lazarus Group. However, the Court of Appeals found that its smart contracts are not property of any foreign national.

The decision has since been celebrated by the crypto community with Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer, hailing it as a “historic win for crypto” on X.

Over in the markets, Ethereum has had a better week than Bitcoin for a change. ETH, which hit its five-month high, is up almost 6% while BTC is down just 2%.

Risk appetites have cooled from last week's, 94, "Extreme Greed" to 78, also "Extreme Greed."

The Fear & Greed Index uses 5-6 measurements to assess the current sentiment of the market and then rates that level of emotion on a scale of 1-100 – 1 is extreme fear and 100 is extreme greed.

But before ETH maxis start rejoicing, BRN lead analyst Valentin Fournier believes that despite the momentum being relatively bullish, no positive news is currently affecting Ethereum and he expects it to underperform Bitcoin in the short term.

Top Stories (In No Particular Order)

Animal Abuse, Suicide, Porn - Pump.fun Desperately Needs Regulation

Crypto folk and regulators go together as well as water and oil, just ask Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and SEC Chair Gary Gensler, but even the wild west of Web3 should have its limits.

If FTX wasn't enough to convince you that crypto platforms need regulation, memecoin website Pump.fun just might.

Pump.fun Suspends Livestreams Indefinitely Amid Escalating Content Concerns

In a Community Notice published, Pump.fun acknowledged the growing concerns about harmful and disturbing content on its platform and outlined steps to address the issue. The platform emphasized its commitment to ensuring user safety and stated that livestreams will remain paused until a more robust moderation infrastructure is in place.

Tornado Cash Upturns 500% as US Court Overturns Sanctions

A federal appeals court has ruled that US sanctions imposed on Tornado Cash must be lifted.

The ruling challenges the Treasury Department's use of sanctions to target technology that anonymizes crypto transactions and reverses an August district court ruling that labelled Tornado Cash a “notorious” crypto-mixing tool and upheld the government's stance against its service.

Ethereum Hits 5-Month High Amid Mixed Signals from Founders’ Token Movements

Ethereum (ETH) has surged to a five-month high, briefly crossing the $3,600 mark on Thursday – an 8% weekly gain – before paring gains to sit around $3,573 currently, according to Binance market data. Its outperformance relative to Bitcoin has reigniting speculation about an altcoin season.

Hong Kong Plans to Cut Crypto Tax for the Wealthy

Hong Kong has proposed waiving crypto tax for wealthy individuals in an attempt to strengthen its position as a leading regional crypto hub.

In a 20-page proposal, the Hong Kong government said the tax exemption would apply to private equity funds, hedge funds, and the investment vehicles of wealthy individuals on cryptocurrency gains, private credit investments, and other asset classes.

"Crypto Dad" Could Become Trump's "Crypto Czar"

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Chris Giancarlo, AKA “Crypto Dad,” is emerging as the strongest candidate for Donald Trump's "Crypto Czar."

21Shares Launches Crypto ETPs for Ondo Finance, Near Protocol, Render, Pyth

21Shares has announced the launch of new exchange-traded products (ETPs) for four digital asset tokens.

Trump Administration Eyes CFTC for Crypto Regulation, Plans to Weaken SEC's Role

The incoming Trump administration is reportedly considering a major overhaul of cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S., aiming to transfer significant authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This potential shift would mark a notable departure from the SEC's historically aggressive stance on digital assets.

Dogecoin ETP Gets Listed on Swedish Stock Exchange

A Dogecoin ETP has been launched on the Swedish stock exchange, offering wider access to the world's most famous dog-themed memecoin.

WisdomTree Registers XRP ETF Entity, XRP Jumps 7%

WisdomTree is the latest to join the XRP ETF craze by registering for an XRP ETF entity in Delaware.

A filing shared on X shows that WisdomTree registered the entity titled "WisdomTree XRP Fund" in the state of Delaware on 25 November.

Justin Sun Becomes Biggest Investor of World Liberty Financial, Triggering Payments for Trump Family

Justin Sun is now the largest investor in Donald Trump's crypto project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), after purchasing $30 million worth of its tokens.

Announcing the move on X, Sun declared, "We are thrilled to invest $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi as its largest investor. The U.S. is becoming the blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump! TRON is committed to making America great again and leading innovation. Let's go!"

Singapore Gulf Bank Eyes $50M Fundraising, Stablecoin Expansion

Singapore Gulf Bank, a blockchain-focused financial institution, is planning to raise at least $50 million in a new funding round as it gears up to acquire a stablecoin payments firm next year, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

UK Government to Unveil Comprehensive Crypto Regulation in 2025

The United Kingdom's Labour Party, having swept into power earlier this year with a historic landslide victory, is preparing to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and staking services.

Trump Selects "Most Pro-Crypto Treasury Secretary" Scott Bessent But Who is He?

President-elect Donald Trump has announced his pick for Treasury secretary in the form of Scott Bessent, who is renowned in the crypto space for championing the industry.

A vocal fan of blockchain and digital assets, Bessent was described as the "most pro-innovation, pro-crypto Treasury Sec we've ever seen" by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on Friday.

Blockcast

This week's Blockcast features Independent Reserve CEO Lasanka Perera, who reflects on his journey of volatility, difficulties, uncertainty, and ultimately, success.

Perera, who's also an avid golf fan, discusses how and why Independent Reserve sponsored accomplished Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan, and how the exchange is helping young people invest in crypto.

Additionally, as a seasoned crypto investor who's seen countless bull and bear markets, Perera shares his immediate reactions to the market's recent pump post-US election.

Previous episodes of Blockcast can be found on Podpage, with guests like Peter Hui (Moongate), Luca Prosperi (M^0), Charles Hoskinson (Cardano), Aneirin Flynn (Failsafe), and Yat Siu (Animoca Brands) on our most recent shows.

Events

BRN Goes Live on Money FM (Singapore, 4 December 5:10pm)

BRN analyst Valentin Fournier will be going LIVE with Hongbin Jeong on Money FM Singapore's "The Wealth Tracker" to discuss where Bitcoin is headed.

Tune in here at 5:10 pm on 4 December!

Consensus (Hong Kong, 18-20 February)

Consensus is heading to Hong Kong, bringing together the industry’s most important voices from East and West for pivotal conversations and deal-making opportunities.

Consensus Hong Kong convenes global leaders in tech and finance to debate pressing issues, announce key developments and deals, and share their visions for the future.

Use promo code BLOCKDESK20 at checkout for a 20% discount on tickets here.

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