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Biden blacklists China's YMTC, crackdowns on AI chip sector
By Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday added Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC and 21 "major" Chinese players in the artificial intelligence chip industry to a trade blacklist, broadening its crackdown on China's chip industry.
YMTC, long in the crosshairs of the U.S. government, was added to the list over fears it could divert U.S. technology to previously blacklisted Chinese tech giants Huawei and Hikvision. The move, laid out in the Federal Register, will bar YMTC's suppliers from shipping U.S. goods to it without a difficult-to-obtain license.
The 21 Chinese AI chip entities being added to the trade blacklist, which include Cambricon Technologies Corp and CETC, face an even tougher penalty, with the U.S. government effectively blocking their access to technology made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.
As the Chinese government seeks to remove barriers between its military and civilian sectors, "U.S. national security interests require that we act decisively to deny access to advanced technologies,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Kendler said in a statement.
YMTC, Cambricon, CETC and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The move builds on sweeping export controls imposed on Beijing in October to slow Beijing's technological and military advances, including measures to curb China's access to U.S. chipmaking tools and cut it off from certain chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.
It also comes as Congress prepares to finalize legislation to bar the U.S. government from buying products that contain semiconductors made by YMTC, Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT or China's top chip manufacturer SMIC.
The Commerce Department on Thursday also targetted nine Chinese entities for allegedly seeking to support China's military modernization, including Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co Ltd (SMEE), China's only lithography company. A total of 35 Chinese entities were added to the U.S. trade blacklist, known as the entity list, as well as YMTC's Japan-based subsidiary.
Thursday's announcements weren't all bad news for Beijing. The Biden administration removed a subsidiary of Wuxi Biologics, a company that makes ingredients for AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)'s COVID-19 vaccine, and 26 other Chinese entities from the so-called unverified list thanks to successful site visits.
Two of the Chinese companies removed from the unverified list - YMTC and SMEE- were added to the entity list.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that such a move was in the works. Reuters also reported earlier this year that U.S officials were able to conduct a site visit at Wuxi Biologics before a different subsidiary of the company was removed from the unverified list in October.
Wuxi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Companies are added to the unverified list if the United States cannot complete on-site visits to determine if they can be trusted to receive sensitive U.S. technology exports, inspections which in China require approval from the commerce ministry.
Being added to the unverified list forces U.S. suppliers to perform greater due diligence before shipping to the targeted companies.
Commerce Department officials have attributed greater cooperation from Beijing in site checks to a new rule announced in October. Under that rule, if a government prevents U.S. officials from conducting site checks at companies on the unverified list, Washington may add them to the entity list after sixty days.
Under that new policy, the Commerce Department on Thursday removed nine Russian entities from the unverified list and added them to the entity list because the U.S. has been unable to conduct site visits.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer heralded the imposition of new penalties on YMTC.
"YMTC poses an immediate threat to our national security, so the Biden Administration needed to act swiftly to prevent YMTC from gaining even an inch of a military or economic advantage,” he said in a statement.
(This story has been officially corrected to fix the total number of Chinese entities removed from unverified list to reflect new guidance from Commerce)

Alameda tried to redeem 3,000 wBTC days before bankruptcy: BitGo CEO
Mike Belshe, the CEO of digital asset custodian BitGo has confirmed that Alameda Research attempted to redeem 3,000 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) in the days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing on Nov. 11.
During a Dec. 14 Twitter Spaces hosted by decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Chris Blec, Belshe confirmed the firm knocked back the redemption request because the unknown Alameda representative involved didn’t pass Bitgo’s security verification process and seemed unfamiliar with how the wrapped Bitcoin burning process worked.

Buying Bitcoin 'will quickly vanish' when CBDCs launch — Arthur Hayes
(BTC) holders looking to avoid Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) may have gained a surprise ally — banks.
In his latest blog post, “Pure Evil,” Arthur Hayes, ex-CEO of crypto derivatives platform BitMEX, argued that banks may limit the impact of the CBDC “horror story.”

FTM Tests the Upper Line of the Cup Handle, Can it Break Through?
Fantom (FTM) has been doing quite well as it has been trading in the green zone mostly during the second half of November up until now. As shown in the chart below, the FTM price was moving sideways with very lethargic vertical movements.
However, come the last days of November, FTM gained some momentum and rose from $0.17 to $0.25 in less than two days. From the time that FTM gained momentum, it has been able to hold on to its position. Since the beginning of December, FTM was trading between $0.23 and $0.26.
The post FTM Tests the Upper Line of the Cup Handle, Can it Break Through? appeared first on Coin Edition.

Why is the crypto market up today?
The crypto market is up today and Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and numerous altcoins rallied ahead of United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech. At the moment, investors are anticipating that December could see the start of smaller-sized interest rate hikes after the most recent Consumer Price Index report came in under market participants’ expectations.

Crypto and equities markets responded positively ahead of Powell’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) speech and cooling inflation figures could back the reason for softer rate hikes. Depending on the subject matter and tone of Powell’s speech, markets could see further upside, or a total retrace of the intraday gains could occur.

Dogecoin (DOGE) Pumps 3.3% After Congressman Declares DOGE is $100 a Coin
Yesterday, the Bahamian Police caught the culprit behind one of the largest-scale financial crimes in the history of the United States, Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX, once the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange globally. As SBF is getting ready to fight extradition, the criminal charges filed by the United States include wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the politicians of the U.S. Congress are thinking of ways to curb crypto and introduce regulation. During the “Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I,” the first congressional hearing for the FTX case, Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who’s serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado’s 7th congressional district, said, “I have ten Dogecoins (DOGE), alright? A year ago, for the sake of argument, 10 Dogecoins was worth $10,000, so a hundred bucks a coin.”
DOGE is Back on Track
However, the outspoken congressman acknowledged that DOGE today is worth not nearly as much. The 8th ranked Japanese guard-dog-themed memecoin is priced at $0.091033, according to CoinGecko.
Indeed, remarks made by Congressman Perlmutter ignited the canine coin for a mini bull run, while the DOGE Army caught inspiration for more memes. With 3.3% gains in the last 24 hours, DOGE is still licking its wounds after getting kicked around by the merciless bears of the crypto winter.
What’s Next for DOGE?
The congressman’s speech kept Crypto Twitter entertained, but some crypto enthusiasts also took it as a bullish signal. For instance, crypto validator White Marlin Staking said, “Dogecoin to $100, Congress confirmed it! It’s programmed in!”, while others cannot comprehend that these people are trying to pass regulation on crypto. Last but not least, other crypto lovers were just happy that Congress finally learned how to pronounce Dogecoin, after Do-Gee coin and Doggy Coin were dismissed by one of the more sophisticated individuals in the room.
The top dog memecurrency was created by Billy Markus back in 2009 as a joke. New Twitter Boss Elon Musk took it a step further, once saying, “fate loves irony,” hinting that a joke cryptocurrency like DOGE can eventually become the centerpiece of a new, decentralized financial system. As Mr. Musk took over Twitter, it’s likely DOGE will eventually become a default payment method in Twitter 2.0, as plans to make a Crypto Wallet for the micro-blogging platform were announced right after the acquisition

NFTs and Soulbound tokens define Web3 filmmaking, says director
Web3 tools and innovations are making their way into various mainstream industries across the world. Some such as the sports and music industries have made a big leap into adoption. However the world of cinema has not been as vocal on its adoption.
Some filmmakers in the past have touched on DAOs as a tool to boost community engagement around cinematic projects.

Shiba Inu Crashes to $0.000008888 After Tremendous Bearish Period
Shiba Inu price analysis indicates that the price is travelling low once again as the bears made a comeback today. The bulls had been at the upper position during the last few days by winning successively and rising to record highs repeatedly. But the trends are shifting as the price is now covering the downward range. The price has come down to the $0.000008888 level because of the successful bearish attempt. A further downfall is likely to continue if the bears remain in power.
The 1-day Shiba Inu price analysis shows that the price is flowing downwards after the bears made a comeback today. The SHIB confirms the downfall, as the price can be seen degraded to $0.000008888. The past week’s value improved the coin’s value, but the trends have also undergone a slight shift today. The bulls were in control, and the price rose above $0.000009293, but that movement initiated the fall.
The post Shiba Inu Crashes to $0.000008888 After Tremendous Bearish Period appeared first on Coin Edition.