[Midnight News Brief] Binance hacker attack mastermind released early, etc.

Bitfinex Hacker Case Main Perpetrator Released Early

According to DL News, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2024 for the Bitfinex hacking attack, money laundering, and theft charges, has been released early under the First Step Act, which aims to promote rehabilitation and reintegration of federal prisoners. He is the husband of rapper Heather Morgan, who in 2016 stole $4.5 billion worth of Bitcoin from Bitfinex and laundered the funds.

Bitfarms Sells Paraguay Mine… Exits South American Business

According to GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms announced it will sell its 70 MW Bitcoin mining facility in Paso Pe, Paraguay, to Sympatheia Power Fund for $30 million. With this sale, Bitfarms will fully exit its mining operations in Latin America. The proceeds are planned to be reinvested into high-performance computing and artificial intelligence energy infrastructure development.

December 2023 CEX Spot Trading Volume Hits 15-Month Low

According to The Block, citing its own data, the monthly spot trading volume of major centralized exchanges in December 2023 reached the lowest level since September 2024. During this period, the spot trading volume was approximately $1.13 trillion, down 32% from November ($1.66 trillion) and 49% from October ($2.23 trillion). In terms of trading volume, Binance held the largest share at about $367.35 billion, followed by Bybit, Gate.io, and Bitget.

Analysis: “CME BTC Futures Formed a $655 Gap on the First Trading Day of the New Year… Watch Volatility”

Daan Crypto Trades analyzed on X platform: “Data shows that on the first trading day of the new year, Bitcoin CME futures formed a $655 gap. This gap was created during the market close from year-end to New Year’s, and is an area of interest for short-term investors. This gap may lead to increased market volatility.” CME futures gap refers to the price difference between spot and futures prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin futures during non-trading hours caused by spot market price movements.

Binance Delists 9 Spot Trading Pairs Including AI/BNB

Binance announced it will delist the spot trading pairs AI/BNB, ETC/BNB, FLOW/BTC, LPT/BNB, SFP/BTC, VET/BNB, WCT/FDUSD, WIF/BRL, WLFI/BRL at 17:00 Beijing time on January 3.

Binance Places ACA, D, DATA, FLOW on Watchlist

Binance announced it has placed ACA, D, DATA, and FLOW on its watchlist.

Binance Delists FLOW/BTC Margin Trading Pair

Binance announced it will delist the FLOW/BTC margin trading pair at 13:00 Beijing time on January 3.

US Stock Market Opens Higher

The three major US stock indices opened higher.

S&P 500: +0.63%

Nasdaq: +1.06%

Dow Jones: +0.19%

BTC Breaks $90,000

BTC breaks $90,000. According to Binance USDT market data, the trading price of BTC is $90,040.