Bitdeer sets out mining chip roadmap

Emurgo Looks to Fill in Missing Cardano Ecosystem ComponentsEmurgo, the Singapore-based commercial arm and a founding entity of the Cardano blockchain network, plans on working towards filling in the gaps relative to needed Cardano ecosystem components.So said Emurgo Founder and CEO Ken Kodama, in a recent discussion with Andrew Fenton, the Editor of Cointelegraph’s magazine. Emurgo is one of the three entities governing Cardano and has taken on the task of addressing what it perceives as “missing” components in the Cardano blockchain when compared to other leading blockchains.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashAddressing 21 categoriesKodama outlined a strategic shift in Emurgo’s approach, describing it as a transition to a venture studio model to address 21 specific categories that he and his team believe require attention. According to Kodama, the solutions to these gaps will either be built by Emurgo themselves or sourced through investments, hackathons, or grants to incentivize developers within the Cardano community. Kodama stated: “So, that’s what we need to focus on, shifting from where we are today into a venture studio model.”One area that the Emurgo CEO is looking to address is the need to introduce layer 2 solutions to enhance Cardano’s scalability. While other blockchains have seen significant development in this area, Kodama feels that Cardano needs to catch up. Therefore, it’s a priority for Emurgo to cultivate a similar environment within the Cardano network.Along those lines, Emurgo is exploring zero-knowledge rollups and optimistic rollups, indicating the firm’s commitment to exploring and investing in what is the latest cutting-edge blockchain technology. To this end, they’ve already organized hackathons centered around these themes.Developer proficiency issueThe Emurgo boss feels that one of these 21 shortfalls is more pressing than the rest. Kodama acknowledged that the barrier of having developers proficient in more obscure programming languages like Haskell and Plutus is a difficulty. He believes the current pool of developers with expertise in these languages is insufficient. To address this, Emurgo is keen to promote Aiken, a toolkit and a new programming language designed to facilitate the development of smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain.Another one of the highlighted gaps is the absence of a robust decentralized identity (DID) system for enterprise adoption within the Cardano ecosystem. Kodama voiced his concern in this respect, stating: “We don’t see that much DID application being built on Cardano. So, that’s the first gap, or primary gap that we need to fill in.”“Aiken and other programming language applicability are quite important to broaden the number of builders able to build on top of Cardano. We have been educating builders to code in Haskell and Plutus. We had more than 2,000 graduates. However, that’s not really enough,” Kodama added.Emurgo has high hopes for Aiken and similar programming languages that can be integrated into Cardano, with the aim of diversifying the pool of developers capable of creating smart contracts on the platform, using a variety of programming languages.

US Treasury Sanctions Gaza-Based Crypto OperatorThe Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on a crypto operator allegedly linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.The move by OFAC comes as a result of greater scrutiny of terrorist financing following an attack by Hamas on Israel in early October, in which a number of Israelis lost their lives.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels“Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company”The entity targeted by these sanctions is a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange known as the “Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company.” It is operated by Khan Yunis, a resident of Gaza. According to the Treasury Department, both the exchange and Khan Yunis are alleged to have ties to Hamas. Ahmed M.M. Alaqad, the owner of the business, has also been named in the sanctions.The primary objective of these sanctions, as stated by the Treasury Department, is to disrupt the sources of revenue for Hamas. The attack on Israel served as a trigger for these actions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen emphasized the determination to prevent Hamas from raising funds for further acts of terror and violence against the people of Israel.This includes imposing sanctions and cooperating with international allies and partners to identify, freeze, and seize any assets related to Hamas in their respective jurisdictions. Yellen stated:“The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”Crypto sector riskIt’s not the first time that crypto platforms have been implicated where terrorist financing is concerned. Earlier this year it emerged that Bitfinex Turkiye, the Turkish local exchange business of global crypto platform Bitfinex, was alleged to have been used for the purposes of money laundering by Hamas. Additionally, leading crypto platform Binance has found itself facing similar allegations.In the immediate aftermath of the recent attack, Israeli authorities moved to close down accounts they claimed were linked with Hamas on crypto platforms like Binance and elsewhere. The Israelis have continued where they left off in this respect, with a report emerging earlier this week that over one hundred accounts on Binance have been ordered to be shut down, with a further two hundred accounts facing scrutiny.While crypto may not account for a sizable proportion of terrorist financing means, these events open up a point of attack for those who oppose the further roll-out of decentralized money and systems.Fighting illicit finance through sanctionsNotably, the US Treasury has been employing sanctions as a tool to cut off financial support to entities suspected of being involved in terrorism or other illicit activities. In a similar vein, earlier in October, the Treasury announced sanctions against crypto wallets associated with Chinese chemical manufacturers, concurrently with an indictment from the Department of Justice related to the production of the drug fentanyl.Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic indicated that most Chinese suppliers of fentanyl precursors were accepting payments for the illicit material in cryptocurrency.It’s worth mentioning that this move by OFAC not only targets Hamas but also includes other entities allegedly connected to the Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company, including an al-Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The Japanese government and ruling coalition have begun coordinating plans to introduce a flat 20% separate tax on cryptocurrency gains, based on a Dec. 1 report by Nikkei cited by CoinDesk Japan. The change is expected to be reflected in the 2026 tax reform outline.Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on PexelsLower crypto taxes, aligned with stocksUnder the proposal, income from crypto trading would be taxed in line with traditional financial instruments such as stocks. This would mark a notable decrease from the current regime, under which cryptocurrency gains are treated in principle as miscellaneous income, combined with salary and other earnings, and taxed on a comprehensive basis at rates that can climb to around 55% including local taxes. Policymakers are reportedly treating the move toward separate taxation as contingent on the establishment of a stronger investor-protection framework through tighter regulation. The planned reforms are also seen as potentially laying the groundwork for the eventual domestic approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by crypto assets. Market pullback deepens on policy signalsThe more favorable tax outlook for investors came against a weaker market backdrop. According to CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market capitalization declined about 1.73% over the past 24 hours, extending a pullback that followed recent communications from the central banks of Japan and China. In a Dec. 1 report by Reuters, Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated that the central bank intended to consider the possibility of an interest-rate increase at its next policy meeting. His comments are interpreted as suggesting a potential shift toward higher rates in December, prompting concern that yen-funded carry trades could begin to be unwound. Such trades typically involve borrowing yen at low interest rates to invest in higher-yielding assets, and their reversal can create pressure on broader asset markets. In a separate weekend statement, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) restated that digital asset trading remains illegal in China and highlighted what it described as a renewed pickup in speculative crypto activity. The central bank also singled out stablecoins as a source of risk, pointing to concerns about fraud, money laundering, and unauthorized cross-border capital flows that could undermine Beijing’s efforts to maintain capital controls. Against this policy backdrop, major cryptocurrencies moved in mixed directions. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin inched up around 1.02%, Ethereum declined about 0.86%, and XRP fell roughly 0.9%. Analysts split amid weak market activityAnalysts and market commentators continued to diverge on the implications of the latest pullback. Veteran trader Peter Brandt suggested on X that Bitcoin may be entering a deeper corrective phase similar to those seen in past bull markets. He cited historical instances of “exponential decay” and suggested the price could retrace toward $50,000 before potentially advancing to the $200,000–$250,000 range in the next rally cycle. Author Robert Kiyosaki, known for “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” reiterated his preference for assets such as gold, silver, Bitcoin, and Ethereum in a Nov. 29 post on X, linking this stance to his view that the Japanese carry trade had effectively run its course. Roughly a week before that message, he had disclosed selling about $2.25 million worth of Bitcoin at around $90,000 per coin, noting that his initial purchase price had been close to $6,000. By contrast, long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff continued to argue in favor of precious metals. He contended that gold derives inherent value from industrial and commercial uses tied to its physical properties, including conductivity, ease of shaping, and resistance to corrosion, while maintaining that Bitcoin lacks practical utility and instead depends on investor belief. SwanDesk CEO Jacob King, another skeptic of the asset, offered an even more pessimistic assessment. He said he did not expect Bitcoin to revisit its previous all-time high and characterized the current decline as the final bear market before the asset ultimately fades from relevance. Shorter-term indicators have reinforced expectations for muted trading conditions. According to CNBC, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl pointed to a decline in open interest for perpetual futures, interpreting it as a sign of reduced speculative positioning and leverage. He also highlighted relatively subdued trading volumes on both centralized and decentralized exchanges, suggesting that near-term market activity is likely to remain restrained.