The European Central Bank (ECB) issued a call for experts in branding and communication with advanced knowledge of payments and digital money to contribute to the digital euro brand rules. The workstream is part of the Rulebook Development Group set up by the Chair of the digital euro scheme to support the drafting of the rulebook. The main objective of this workstream is to develop a proposal for brand rules that participants in the digital euro scheme will adopt for their end-user solutions. This excludes brand strategy, expression, and the visual identity of the digital euro.

President-elect Trump’s transition team is reportedly eyeing former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to succeed SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Atkins is a top contender for the job, while SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda, former CFTC Chair Heath Tarbert, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner Robert Stebbins are also being considered. Atkins served as a Republican SEC commissioner during the George W. Bush Administration, after which he founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm for major financial industry clients. He was recently invited to interview with Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) discussed President-elect Trump’s approach to crypto in an interview with Fox Business, arguing that “It’s time for America to lead here in digital assets,” while criticizing the Biden Administration’s approach. Rep. Flood asserted that SEC Chair Gary Gensler "has gone out with this power that he thinks he has to do these unreasonable enforcement actions and try to guide an industry into the ground." Flood also discussed stablecoins, as well as Trump's proposed tariffs and the need to stay ahead of China.

The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday on how technology is shaping the future of finance. The Committee will hear testimony from witnesses representing Stellar Development Foundation, AngelList, Anchorage Digital, Carta, and EPIC.

US District Judge Kristine Baker temporarily halted Arkansas state officials from stopping a naturalized US citizen of Chinese descent from operating a crypto mining operation in the state. In the lawsuit, the state alleged that the crypto miner was owned by a Chinese man named Qimin "Jimmy" Chen and demanded a permanent shutdown. However, the defendant is a naturalized US citizen living in New York and had requested the TRO claiming illegal discrimination based on natural origin.

US District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen ruled that a Utah man accused of defrauding crypto mining investors out of $18 million must face the claims that the SEC brought against him, denying his request for an interlocutory appeal. Judge Allen said Kristoffer Krohn's request for an interlocutory appeal did not meet the high bar needed to win such an appeal.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in sanctioning Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts. Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022, alleging at the time that it had been used to launder more than $7 billion worth of crypto since its creation in 2019. The 5th Circuit's decision reverses a lower court's decision and grants the platform's users a partial summary judgment.

The incoming Trump administration reportedly wants the CFTC to oversee the crypto industry, as part of a broader effort to roll back some of the regulatory power the SEC has wielded over the digital asset industry under Chair Gensler. Fox Business reported that the CFTC could take on the regulation of spot markets for digital assets deemed commodities and crypto exchanges, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) tweeted about the need to make crypto assets more accessible, arguing that “there are great opportunities ahead to support fintech innovation and expand access to digital assets” with the upcoming departure of SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Rep. Flood also included a video from his Flyover Fintech conference in Nebraska this fall.