According to Odaily Planet Daily, Wang Yongli, former vice president of the Bank of China, wrote an article titled "Grasp the Essence, Embrace Innovation, and Effectively Accelerate the Development of the Digital RMB." In it, he points out that China's policy orientation of firmly promoting the development of the digital RMB and resolutely curbing virtual currencies is fully clear. This policy orientation has exceeded many people's strong expectations and is still subject to considerable social controversy. Therefore, it is necessary to explain the reasons for resolutely curbing virtual currencies, while simultaneously accelerating the innovative development and widespread application of the digital RMB both domestically and internationally, quickly forming its unique advantages in international payments, and forging a successful Chinese path for the development of digital currencies.

Despite the crypto market's decline from its October highs and the loss of approximately $1 trillion in market capitalization, venture capital firms still poured about $176 million into the crypto industry this week, covering 16 startups. DefiLlama data shows that total funding in the crypto sector so far in 2025 has exceeded $25 billion, significantly higher than the same period last year and far exceeding market expectations at the beginning of the year.

This week's major investors included Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Digital Currency Group (DCG). Several industry insiders pointed out that the logic of capital allocation is changing; investors are gradually moving away from projects that rely solely on market sentiment and narrative-driven approaches, and are paying more attention to clear product positioning, genuine demand, and sustainable revenue models. Sebastián Serrano, CEO of the Argentine cryptocurrency exchange Ripo, stated that projects with clear product-market fit and stable cash flow are more likely to secure funding in the current environment.

Specifically, cross-chain infrastructure project LI.FI completed a $29 million funding round this week. Its protocol integrates multiple cross-chain bridges and decentralized trading aggregators, and plans to use the funds to expand infrastructure for AI agents and stablecoin scenarios, as well as to advance the intent and solver market, scheduled for launch in Q1 2026. Real Finance also completed a $29 million private funding round. This project builds an institutional-grade L1 blockchain based on the Cosmos architecture, focusing on compliant real-world asset tokenization, aiming to bring approximately $500 million worth of assets onto the chain in the short term. Another key project, TenX Protocols, completed a $22 million funding round and has already listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange. Its business covers staking, validator nodes, and digital asset treasury services for multiple high-performance public chains. The current funding structure reflects the market's continued interest in "infrastructure-type" and "institution-friendly" projects. Even with overall market pressure, capital is still willing to pay for projects with long-term competitiveness and clear business paths. (DL News)

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Chicago Federal Reserve President John Goolsby stated that his dissenting vote this week was his first since joining the Fed in 2023, putting him on the same side as Kansas City Fed President Schmid. His decision stemmed from his desire to await more economic data to determine whether the tariffs' impact on inflation is merely temporary. In a statement on Friday, Goolsby said, "Given that inflation has been above our target for four and a half years, and that progress on inflation has stalled for several months, coupled with the fact that almost all businesses and consumers we've recently spoken to in our district have listed prices as a primary concern, I felt it was more prudent to wait for more information." (Jinshi)

Odaily Planet Daily reports that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued an official alert stating that scammers are impersonating the HKMA's website, luring the public to a website bearing the HKMA's logo to trade central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or cryptocurrencies. These scammers claim that account holders must pay relevant taxes before withdrawing funds from their accounts. The HKMA solemnly declares that this fake website has no connection with the HKMA and will never proactively contact the public regarding any personal financial matters, nor will it request any form of transfer, payment, or account verification. The public is urged to be vigilant and never click on any unfamiliar website links. For unverified information, especially information involving financial investments, remain calm and verify the information first; never transfer money directly. The HKMA has reported the incident to the Hong Kong Police Force.