Crypto treasuries and blockchain are paving the way for decentralized science

The post Fed Decides On Interest Rates Today—Here’s What To Watch For appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Topline The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will conclude a two-day policymaking meeting and release a decision on whether to lower interest rates—following months of pressure and criticism from President Donald Trump—and potentially signal whether additional cuts are on the way. President Donald Trump has urged the central bank to “CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER” than they might plan to. Getty Images Key Facts The central bank is poised to cut interest rates by at least a quarter-point, down from the 4.25% to 4.5% range where they have been held since December to between 4% and 4.25%, as Wall Street has placed 100% odds of a rate cut, according to CME’s FedWatch, with higher odds (94%) on a quarter-point cut than a half-point (6%) reduction. Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both Trump appointees, voted in July for a quarter-point reduction to rates, and they may dissent again in favor of a large cut alongside Stephen Miran, Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers’ chair, who was sworn in at the meeting’s start on Tuesday. It’s unclear whether other policymakers, including Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem, will favor larger cuts or opt for no reduction. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his Jackson Hole, Wyoming, address last month the central bank would likely consider a looser monetary policy, noting the “shifting balance of risks” on the U.S. economy “may warrant adjusting our policy stance.” David Mericle, an economist for Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note the “key question” for the Fed’s meeting is whether policymakers signal “this is likely the first in a series of consecutive cuts” as the central bank is anticipated to “acknowledge the softening in the labor market,” though they may not “nod to an October cut.” Mericle said he…

The SEC approved on an "accelerated basis" listing standards for crypto ETFs, setting the stage for those products to be ready for trading.

PANews reported on December 8th that, according to The Block, ZKsync announced on Sunday that it plans to discontinue ZKsync Lite (formerly ZKsync 1.0), the original zero-knowledge rollup solution launched on Ethereum in 2020, sometime next year. In its announcement, ZKsync stated that this is a planned and orderly system phase-out, that the system has fulfilled its mission, and will not affect any other ZKsync systems. The team will release specific details, dates, and migration guidelines next year. According to L2BEAT data, although ZKsync Lite currently processes fewer than 200 operations per day, approximately $50 million in user funds remain on the network. ZKsync stated that the funds are safe, and withdrawals to L1 will continue to operate normally throughout the process. ZKsync emphasized that this discontinuation will not affect its other products. Matter Labs, the company behind ZKsync, reportedly launched the fully functional zkEVM, ZKsync Era, in March 2023. This system could run arbitrary smart contracts, and they have since ceased active development of ZKsync Lite. The team stated that their focus will now be on systems built on the ZK Stack, Prividiums, and the broader ZKsync network.