Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Next year's dot plot forecast does not include any rate cuts, policy still needs to remain restrictive

On December 17, Kate Irwin, Head of Content at Veda, revealed on X that Shima Capital—a crypto VC firm—is quietly winding down its operations. Three weeks prior, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued the firm and its founder Yida Gao, alleging they participated in a fraudulent scheme to defraud investors. In an email to portfolio company founders, Gao will resign from his post and oversee the fund’s gradual wind-down, writing: “I deeply regret my misguided decisions and apologize for letting everyone down.” Founded in 2021, Shima Capital managed $200 million in funds and backed crypto projects including Berachain, Monad and Pudgy Penguins. The SEC accused Gao of inflating investment returns in marketing materials—claiming a specific investment yielded 90x returns when it actually delivered just 2.8x. Separately, *Fortune* reported Gao transferred investor funds to his fully owned offshore entity without disclosing the move to investors. The day after the SEC f

**December 17 (Xinhua Finance) — Economist Alicia Garcia Herrero says the yen’s ongoing weakness is emerging as a key driver for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and Japanese government to reach a consensus this month on supporting a long-awaited rate hike.** Despite concerns over U.S. tariffs and broader geopolitical risks, Japan’s economy has proven more resilient than expected. Short-, medium- and long-term inflation expectations remain above the BOJ’s 2% target, bolstering the case for further policy normalization. Rising food prices have lifted core inflation, while the yen has persistently weakened to around 155 against the dollar — a trend that could exacerbate imported inflation pressures. Herrero expects the BOJ to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% at its December 19 meeting. Looking ahead, if the yen fails to stabilize after the hike and continues to weigh on real incomes, the Japanese government may also accept further tightening — potentially opening the door t

On December 17, 2025, official sources confirm that Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals for the Terra Classic (LUNC) token at 22:10 UTC+8 on December 18, 2025, to support the token’s network upgrade. The project team intends to implement the network upgrade at block height 26,479,000, which is expected to take place at 23:10 UTC+8 on the same day (December 18, 2025).

**December 17 – Avi Patel, founder of Solana-based AI project Kled, has accused Ben Pasternak, founder of Believe, of ongoing KLED token dumps on the open market.** Patel claims Pasternak has consistently sold millions of KLED tokens over the past seven days using a dollar-cost averaging (DCA) strategy. Under the vesting agreement, Pasternak held more than 6% of KLED’s total supply—tokens accumulated since Kled exited Believe in July. Patel noted Pasternak explicitly promised never to sell KLED on the open market, instead opting for over-the-counter (OTC) trades or token burns for liquidity. On September 25 (Kled’s mobile app launch day), major token sales were traced to Pasternak’s public wallet. Patel explained Pasternak transferred the tokens OTC to an undisclosed third party, who then dumped over 1% of KLED’s total supply on the market. The Kled team responded with an OTC buyback at a ~$27 million valuation, reducing Pasternak’s stake to roughly 3.5%. Roughly a week ago, P

On December 17th, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Hasset’s odds of becoming the next Fed Chair have overtaken those of former Fed Governor Powell, retaking the top spot in nomination probabilities. On Polymarket, Trump’s odds of nominating Powell as Fed Chair have fallen to 30%, while Hasset’s have climbed to 52%. On Kalshi, Powell’s nomination odds are down to 31%, with Hasset’s at 50%. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson noted there could be one or two additional Fed Chair interviews this week. Trump has been direct in asking policy-related questions during the sessions. Both Powell and Hasset are “extremely qualified,” Benson said. He also pushed back against the idea that Hasset is ineligible to serve at the Fed, and rejected the view that a new chair would erode the central bank’s independence.

On December 17, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor shared a message: “Bitcoin’s Quantum Leap: Quantum computing won’t crack Bitcoin—instead, it’ll make the cryptocurrency stronger. As the network upgrades, active Bitcoin holdings will be migrated to more secure addresses, while lost Bitcoin will be permanently frozen. Enhanced security and a reduced supply will make Bitcoin more powerful.” ### Notes on American English adjustments: 1. **Clarity & Accuracy**: Added *MicroStrategy* (Saylor’s actual company—"Strategy" is incomplete for U.S. audiences). 2. **Natural Flow**: Used contractions (*won’t, it’ll*) common in casual/tech discourse; replaced rigid commas with em dashes for smoother contrast. 3. **Precision**: Swapped "moved" for *migrated* (tech-specific term) and "bitcoins" for *Bitcoin holdings* (standard phrasing). 4. **Brevity**: Condensed repetitive "Bitcoin therefore becomes more powerful" to a tight, punchy clause. 5. **Date Format**: Added *On* (standard for U